Clarinets

Chapter 1

The day I started high school was the day I died. No No No No I said once I realized my best friend was going to a different school. It's not that bad, Mia said. I still live right down the street, and hey we can hang out everyday after school. Yah but what about being bored in class, Or the embarrassing moments, like when the water fountain blows up in my face.

   Ok she said, That water fountain thing happened once.

    Yeah I mumbled slowly scratching the granite marble countertop of my apartment. Ok i'll call you later, Mia said. Then she turned around and slammed the door shut.

     I went upstairs and got all my volleyball stuff together for tomorrow's try outs. Last year it was amazing. I became team leader of the squad. I have been practicing for months for these tryouts.

   My mom came in the door yawning. Honey I'm home from work. When my mother said the word work all that popped into my head was torcher.

   My mom had me at 16 so she couldn't finish high school, So now she works over at a local dentist office as a receptionist. 
  
    One day I went over to her work because I was sick and she could not miss another day of work. My mom told me I could play on her laptop in the waiting room. I could see my mom though a little glass window and I waved and she smiled back kindly waving. Everyone in the little glass room was with another person laughing and talking as my mother, quietly and awkwardly just worked on the computer. She offend looked up nervously to see if anyone was pointing at her or talking about her. Her at twelve o'clock her boss, Bill came in and said that it was the fifth time she had wrote down the schedule wrong! My mother tried to say that it was Lydia's fault, and that she was on break for that hour, But Lydia said otherwise. YOU'RE FIRED!! Bill screamed furiously. No, no she begged, it is the only way to feed my daughter and to pay bills, insurance, and other crap. "Fine you can keep your job but next time be expecting to be fired!" Of course he has said this the last three times her co-workers wrote down the times wrong.

   When my mom came into the kitchen she pulled out a wooden chair from the table. Are you all ready to go to you first day of high school? Yah, I responded slowly and steadily. Ok what's the truth Paisley? I'm scared to death. I mean what if my teachers hate me, or are really strict, what about playing my clarinet, I haven't played it all summer, and what about Mia moving away, What about volleyball tryouts, and what about...  Everytime I said a problem my words started to get faster and faster. As they slipped from my brain,to my mouth then, my mother's ears. Until finally I stopped talking and my mother said, "hold up you said that Mia is moving away?" Well she's not moving she just got accepted into that private school. Oh yah that one that came to your elementary school when you were ten and told you the alphabet, and said A B C D... Y Z now I sang this to you, because kids at normal schools are dumb. Yah I said, Mia doesn't want to go to that school, but her parents are forcing her to.
   
    I'm sorry honey she said sympathetically. But you could make new friends. "I don't want new friends I want the one i've had since kindergarten," I said madly. "Well I think we should go to bed" "Mom?" I asked. " Lets eat strawberry poptarts and watch "Dancing with the stars"" My mom Didn't say a word, grabbed two packages of strawberry pop tarts and turned on the TV.
   See the thing about my mom is, we aren't that close. We watch TV shows, go out, and other stuff, but we don't have the best relationship. The conversation can get ugly very quickly. I think it's because of her job and that its stressing her out. I think her job is going to change very quickly. A few days ago I overheard my mom talking on the phone about city council. I suppose she had something wrong with her taxes or something like that but then I heard the word interview.

    "Really? Thank you sir" My mom said excitedly. "I will meet you at city hall at three." I knew my mom was excited about this because her voice got very high and squeaky.

     I was getting sleepy and tired scared about tomorrow. And the lights and the dancers became dimmer and dimmer.