Counting by 12

Chapter 1

I wake up to a pillow being tossed at my head.
"Hey" I cry out as I throw the pillow back not knowing who it's going to hit.
"Come on we have school today" Nicole whines in her soft voice. I get up knowing she's going to keep bothering me if I don't. I throw on a loose black tank top and blue skinny jeans. I slip my feet into my converse as I busily brush my long black hair. I head downstairs where no one appears to be. I grab one of the croissants that Macy made yesterday. My mom comes down one of the many sets of stairs yelling for the kids to wake up.
"Good morning" she says kissing me on the cheek. I look up as Emma comes down the stairs writing in a notebook. Behind her Victoria and Danielle are talking about something that happened in a book they both read. Maddison comes down in a paint stained shirt with Nicole behind her talking about a song she heard on the radio last night. Ariel comes downstairs nearly running into Candace as she sprints into the kitchen. I hear everyone else come down into the kitchen whining about how they hate Tuesdays. 
"Mom do I really have to go to school today? I was planning on working on my dance routine" Dannielle says eating an apple.
"Of course you do. Just because you all have things you are working on, doesn't mean you can just quit school" my mom scolds pushing us out the door. I head to the corner where I always meet up with my best friend Maya. Maya and I have always been friends. She's one of the only kids who doesn't want to use me for my money or fame.
"Late again I see" I tease as she comes up beside me, late as usual.
"Hey in my defense Aurora wouldn't get out of the bathroom" she grumbles as we head of to school. We go to a prestigious art school. Most of my family goes there, except Ariel, Maddison, and Charity who are in college and Victoria who goes to a really smart school for advanced kids. Of course we all go here for different things. Maya is a dancer and singer like me. But unlike me Maya doesn't have a big family who influences her everyday like I do. She has one brother and one sister. We get to our school , Johnson's school of the arts, here we have different classes than public schools but also its a longer school day so we can fit all of it in. I push through the doors to see the usual: organized chaos. The hall were very organized and clean and we were all in a straight line but it was still chaotic. I head to my first class: ballet.
We all line up in our spots on the bar and Mrs. Rosa comes in and watches us stretch.
"Jeté" she calls out and we do 5 and wait for our next instruction.
"Balloné" she calls out. Next she says"Brisé Volé." After that she tells us to grab our partner and practice the duets we've been planning for 3 months. Me and Josaline are partners because Maya isn't in this class. We start out with a cabriole, double. Then, together we Brisé. Then I pause as she leaps into an elegant routine. Once she reaches the part where we trade off she lands in a graceful position. I start off in fifth position then do a changement. Then go to a chassé en tournant. She joins in and we do a coupé-jeté en tournant. We do the last few steps. Mrs. Rosa surprises by clapping because we didn't even know she was watching us and not another group.
"That was amazing girls. It will be great at the showcase in a few weeks" she says beaming proudly.
"Thank you" Josaline says shyly. The bell rings and I head to my next class: Vocals. I head in and Ms. Johnson tells us to get into our groups of 5 and practice our song or songs for the showcase. Maya, Luke, Chelsea, Drake, and I are a group. We're singing "Bright" by Ecosmith. We start singing and our voices blend together in harmony. Maya sings a solo part. Then, Luke starts his solo and we follow in harmony after he finishes. When we finish Ms.Johnson compliments us and tells us we're  doing great. When the bell rings I walk to my next class: Math. I know normal. It's weird right? Well I guess us prodigious still have to learn. I walk in right before the late bell rings. Mr. Newson eyes me evils as I sit down. Math is my favorite regular subject but Mr. Newson hates me and I hate him. He starts talking about some advanced lesson we learned last year. I take notes as he tell us what we need to know then assigns our homework. My next class is also with Maya. But unfortunately I'm neither good at drawing nor enjoy doing it. I hate art class. But like any normal school everyone is forced to take an intermediate class for it. The prodigies take 2 art classes and an advanced one. We start working on a 3D tunnel illusion project that I'm failing miserable. Luckily, she knows I'm awful and doesn't judge us on how perfect it is she judges us on if we tried our hardest. The bell rings and I head to 5th period photography ( advanced). I walk in the classroom just to be ushered out.
"Today I want you to go use the 1 and a half hours you have in here to take amazing pictures around school and you'll share them with the class tomorrow" Mrs. Gonzalez says slamming the door in all the students faces. I go out to the courtyard where students are dancing,painting,writing,ect. I take a lot of pictures of them. Then I head to the wall where the painters are aloud to paint on the wall as long as it appropriate. I take pictures of it at many angles getting a few perfect ones. Then I head to the meadow out back where musicians come to write music and play there instruments. No ones there at the moment so I take pictures of the flowers and the forgotten prices of paper that were left behind. Then I head to the fashion studio where class is currently going on. I take pictures of the beautiful fabrics and clothes then of the kids and the needles. After that I head to the art classroom where an advanced abstract  painting class (one of my favorites) is going on. I take pictures as students make beautiful swirls and lines. Then I go out to the fountain where students are drawing. Soon the bell rings signifying that it's time for lunch. I sit down next to the tree where my friends and I eat lunch. Maya comes over and plops down next to me. But being clumsy as usual she gets her long brown hair tangled in the bark. Lucas comes over laughing at the sight of Maya trying to free herself from the evil tree. He sits down next to her and helps her untangle her as.
"Do you have a brush I can borrow" she asks me gesturing to my backpack.
"Sorry, left it at home" she groans when I say that and busily tries to comb her fingers through her hair. Lucas and I grab our cameras and take multiple pictures of her and her hair. Lucas is a photographer but also takes a few art classes like abstract painting (advanced) like me. He falls on his back laughing. When he gets back up his green eyes are twinkling and he attempts to brush the dirt out of his blond hair. He shakes the dirt onto Maya and she screams at him when the dirt gets all over her. Nikki and Joey come over and sit next to me. Joey steal my lunch as I cry out in protest.
"Mmmmm. Let's see what cook made us today" he say looking through the contents of my lunch.
"Not us, me. Cook made that lunch for me." I say as I snatch the bag out of his hand. Joey is a painter and sketcher. He wears his brown hair with his bangs falling over his bright blue eyes. Nikki, his girlfriend and my friend, is a singer and musician. She's very quiet and has black hair, like me, and green eyes, also like me it that's where the similarities  end, we look nothing alike.
"Your cook probably made enough food to feed an army. Why can't I have some?" Joey wines as I unpack my lunch. All the contents spill out and I place them on a napkin. I have 10 strawberries, grapes, a banana, a chicken salad sandwich, a Pepsi, and a salad adorned with tomato, lettuce, vinaigrette, avocado, carrot shreds, blue cheese, and green bell pepper. Nikki tosses me her raspberry lemonade and I trade her my Pepsi. Maya gives me her BLT and I giver her my chicken salad sandwich. I trade my vegetable salad with Lucas for a fruit salad. We all dig in and finish right before the bell rings. My next class is advanced abstract painting. I can't draw or sketch anything real but I can abstract paint. I put on a smock and sit down behind my half finished project. I add the dark swirls to the edge of the painting lightening my colors as I head into the middle swirls. When I get to the center the colors almost appear white as I blend them in a pattern of swirls. Once I'm finished I put it in the corner to dry. The teacher tells me that I can go and wait for my next class to start in 5 minutes. I head over to the gym to change into my p.e. clothes before class starts. I head out of the locker room when Coach calls for us.
"25 laps around the football field. Then, 50 push-ups 25 sit-ups 2 minutes of planks then 2 minutes of wall-sits. Then grab a partner and a volleyball and practice your under hand passes and your sets. Get to work" she says and we all start our laps. I stay ahead of the group and loop them a lot. I finish my laps first without barley sweating, because dancers do conditioning all the time. By the time I finish my sit-ups and push ups everyone else just finishes their laps. I head to do my planks and then my wall sits. Maya finishes quickly and we grab a volley ball. We pass back and forth to each other without ever dropping the ball. We are on the schools volleyball team witch started last month. Coach sets up the nets and tells us to get in groups and start a game. I start in serving position. When the ball gets to our side Sarah quickly calls 'mine' and spikes the ball over the net. Lucky for me my team consists of only girls on the volleyball team. The other team dives for it quickly and sets it over the net. The ball hurtle towards Maya and she passes it to Sarah who sets it to Mary, who spikes it over the net. The other team try's to get to it but misses and we get the point. I jump serve to the back row of the other teams line and they quickly spike the ball back to us. Lea bumps the ball to me and I spike it hard over the net. The other teams performs a perfect bump, set, spike and gets it quickly over the net. Maya calls 'mine' and sets it to Brie who under hand passes it over the net. Katherine, on the other team, tries to set it but misses and it falls to the ground. I do another jump serve over the net it come down with such force that the other team just lets it drop rather then injure themselves trying to hit it. I over hand serve it to the other side and they bump it back but it hits the net and falls to the floor on their side. I jump serve it but it goes to far and lands out of bounds. The other team rotates and Clary jump serves the ball over the net. It comes down and Maya quickly passes it to Brie who spikes it over the net. The set it back over and I under hand pass it over the net and it lands on their side with a thud. We rotate and Maya steps up to serve and does a perfect jump serve over the net. The other team dives for it but they collide together and the ball lands on the ground. They throw the ball back to us and Maya over hand serves the ball over the net. They spike it back to us and Brie sets it over the net. In the end we win 15-12. We change back to our regular clothes and I head to language arts. Our teacher puts 70 grammar questions on the board and tells us to work on them for the rest of the class period. I finish in ten minutes and pull out a book to read. When the bell rings I turn in my paper and head to my next class: fashion design. I walk into the clothing room where we are currently making the clothes for the showcase. Right now I'm in the middle of making me and Maya's clothes because Maya can't design or make anything related to clothes. Of corse we have tennis shoes. Maya has ripped black skinny jeans and a sparkly white flowing tank top. Witch I am currently in the process of adding the final touches to. My clothes are black tennis shoes, dark blue skinny jeans, a gold bracelet, and a sky blue flowing tank top. By the end of the class I have finished the clothes and made myself busy by trying to find a bracelet for Maya. Right before the bell rings I find a perfect silver charm bracelet at the bottom of the jewelry bin. I walk out to the hall and get wrapped in the sound of voices. I slip pass people as I head to my last class: science/social studies. I go to one or the other every other day. Today it's social studies. I walk into the classroom right before the teacher calls my name.
"Here" I call out as I sit down. The teacher starts a discussion on ancient Egypt. She tells us how they treated illnesses, she tells us about the Nile river. Then she tells us about their advances in technology. She tells us what they did with their dead and how they buried them. Before I know it the class is over and it's officially the weekend. I meet up with Maya and we head to the gym to get ready for volleyball practice. After volleyball we have soccer then cross country. I change into my volleyball clothes and head out to do my laps around the gym. When I finish I do my stretches and warm ups then help the coach set up the nets. She tells us we're going to do scrimmages for a little bit. Maya, Bella, Sarah, Brie, Zoe and I are on a team. We face of against the other team as they serve. Lola jump serves far over the net, right next to my spot. I call 'mine' and spike the ball hard over the net. It goes right in the middle and the other team struggles to reach it in time. They barley bump it over the net and Brie spikes hard and it hits the ground with a loud thud. It's our serve and Bella's up. She under hand serves to the back row and the set it to our side. Sarah bumps it to Maya who sets it to me, and I spike it to the front row of the other team. They spike it back at us. I go for it and bump it to Zoe and she sets it over the net. They easily set it back to us and we spike it over. One girl calls mine but doesn't make it in time and the ball hits the ground. Bella jump serves it hard over the net and hits another girls hand with a smack. I wince as I see her hands are bright red from the impact of the ball. I see her flinch in pain as the ball sails right back at her and she under hand passes it to Lauren. Lauren sets the ball over the net and Sarah spikes it back with such force at the girl with the bright red hands, Gwen, she goes for the ball again and cries out as the ball hits her hands once again very hard. She passes it and they spike it back at us. Eventually we win 34-23. Maya and I change into our running clothes and head out to the field where the cross country girls are already taking role. They finish taking role and we're assigned 2 miles, witch is 2 laps around the perimeter of the school. Maya and I start and stay at the head of the group. We finish in 5 minutes. We get water and wait for instructions. The coaches tell us to do splits. Splits are where you run a certain distance as fast as you can, get your time then try again to beat your time. We're going to run .5 mile. I finish in 1:23 and write it down. As we wait for everyone else to finish I get some water and take a deep breath. We start again and this time I finish in 1:12. Maya and I both beat our times. We go change into our soccer clothes and cleats. We get into my car and drive to the game. Maya's a starter right forward because she's right handed. And I'm a starter left forward because I'm left handed. Since I'm team captain I go over to the ref and call tails. It lands on heads as we line up in our positions. The other team dribbles the ball up the field and Maya steals the ball from them. She passes to Lala who passes to me and I shoot at the net. The goalie try's to block it but the ball goes past him and straight into the net. We win 2-1. I drive Maya home so she can pick up her stuff then we head back to my house. We get out of school at 4:00 so it's 8:00 now. At home Cook has already made dinner. When I step into the kitchen she offers to heat it up for me and Maya but I tell her that she's already done enough and can go to her room downstairs. I take out the leftover salad, mashed potatoes, and chicken. I make two plates for me and Maya. We scarf it down quickly and head upstairs to the dance studio. Ariel must have taken the private jet home from college for the weekend because she was up there practicing a elegant routine.
"Hey sis, hey Maya. What do you think of this?" She asks as she does a few beautiful steps.
"It great" Maya says "but what if you add in this" she says also doing a few steps. Ariel adds them in.
"Your right this looks amazing. Great suggestion" she gushes after she tries it. We all practice different routines for little while until Ariel collapses on the ground in exhaustion. We fall down next to her.
"Phew. I'm exhausted, I think I'm going to bed. Night Blake, night Maya" she says as she gets up and walk out of the room. Maya and I head up another flight of stairs to my enormous room. The floor is wood and the walls are painted on, some abstract (me) some drawing and murals (Maddison, Charity, Mom, and Victoria.) There covered floor to ceiling in paintings. My bed sits in the middle of the room and has a baby blue bed spread on it. There's a desk in one of the corners and a bathroom off to the side. Next to my bed is a night stand and a closets full of clothes. In another corner is a sewing and up cycling section where I make clothes and up cycle clothes to make them my own. There's a mini kitchen stocked full of my favorite drinks and snacks. There's also multiple collages of pictures on the walls. There's a window over looking the garden,pool, gazebo, and forest. On the wall there's a bar and a mirror. There's a small sound booth in another corner along with a easel and stand. Against the wall there's a table stacked full of cameras and photo albums. On my desk is a phone, tablet, laptop, and a photo printer. Next to the desk is 4 bookshelves full of my favorite books. Maya plops down on my bed and flips through one of my photo albums.
"I remember this" she says and shows me a picture of us at age 5 dancing in front of my mirror and bar. Later that night we fall asleep watching a movie on my laptop.

Authors note
3623 words. That's got to be like a record. Constructive criticism is appreciated. I gnome weird mistakes and typos. Enjoy. Xoxoxo
-Emily