HERO

CHAPTER ONE: Hi, I'm...

        "Kenzie, wake up!" My mother screams at me.

        "Hmm? What?" I say in a scratchy morning voice.

        "Uh, school? Finals? Last day? Remember?" she says in a sarcastic tone.

        "Noooo! I don't wanna get up," I groan.

        "Now Kenzie Lynn, or I'll get the spray bottle," she threatens.

        "Whoa mom, no need to go to drastic measures. See, I'm up!" I say as I stumble out of bed and onto the floor.

        "I have breakfast waiting downstairs," she says, laughing at me. She gives me a small nudge with her foot, then shuts the door. I crawl to my dresser to plug my music in. I go to stand up, but my mile long blonde hair gets caught under my foot, pulling me back to the ground.

        "Ouch..." I whimper.

        "What's going on up there?" yells my mother up the stairs.

        "Gravity mom! That's what's going on..." I yell back to her. I strip off my hot pink shorts and replace them with a pair of light blue denims. I drag my feet over to my vanity and plop down on the cold seat. I flip the on switch to my curling iron and grab my makeup. As I slowly line my eyes with a black pencil, I see a moving van and a black jeep pull into the driveway across the street through my mirror. My attention is drawn to the window to see the new neighbors. I remember my mother telling me about them but I didn't think they would be here this quick. The car shuts off and the drivers side door open wide.

        No way... My mouth practically drops when he turns around.

        Holy hotness! He gorgeous!

        His attention switches to my house and then to my window. I'm frozen, unable to move. He smiles and waves to me and I slam the curtains shut.

        Way to make a first impression you idiot.

        I go to grab my curling iron, but I'm so distracted by all my thoughts I grab the hot part.

        "SHIT!" I scream as I drop the iron to the floor.

        I look down to my hand and see a perfect, thick, line forming across the palm of my hand.

        If you haven't guess already, I'm very accident prone.

        I waterfall braid my hair and begin to curl each strand very delicately, desperately trying not to pull out the braid. I slip on my navy blue button up tank that ties at the bottom. I throw on my gold Sperry's, a gold bracelet, and a matching necklace to go with the elaborate gold buttons on my shirt. I brush my teeth in my bathroom and skip to the dinning room, where my mother has set out a large breakfast. My mouth waters at the sight of all the delicious food. I drop down into a wooden chair and grab a fork. Just before I take a bite, the door bell rings.

        "Kenzie, honey? Could you get that? My hands are full," hollers my mom from the laundry room.

        "Yeah, I guess. If it's a salesman, do I have permission to shoot him?" I shout to my mom playfully.

        "Go ahead! Just make sure you get rid of the body!" she shouts back.

        We get a lot of salesmen around here. Last week they tried to sell everyone on the block a vacuum and the week before that a time share... What the hell is a time share?!

        I leap up from the table and walk over to the door.

        I pull the door open and say, "I hope you have a good reason for not letti-" I stop mid sentence and freeze. I open the glass door and stand there. It's him. The boy from across the street. The one that caught me staring like a freak. He's wearing a red diamond bro tank that matches his red Air Jordans. A pair of plain old blue jeans pulls the outfit together.

        "It's a good thing I'm not a salesperson," he says in a sly tone, winking at me.

        "Oh...uh, you heard that? I was only kidd-"

        "It's alright," he interrupts with a smile. "So, as you probably already know, I'm your new neighbor," he says, referring to when he caught me staring at him across the street.

        "Hah...yeah...I may have noticed," I mumble, keeping my head down. "We'll, welcome to the neighborhood!" I say, trying to change the subject. "I'm Kenzie," I say with a warm tone, sticking out my hand.

        "Thanks!" He says, grabbing my hand. "I'm Austin."