Playing the Heart Strings

3. Before the Eastern Epics

3. Before The Eastern Epics

When I woke up, the sun was shining through my window and illuminating the large room that I now called mine. I could hear birds chirping, and for a moment, I laid in my bed silently, appreciating the day. And then I looked at the clock. The numbers flashed at me, not registering in my sleep-dazed mind. All of a sudden, though, they hit me; in order to be at Eastern Epics with enough preparation time, I needed to be leaving in under an hour. I tossed the soft white covers off and leaped out of bed.

As I hurried to the bathroom to run through the shower, I saw Dean sitting at the kitchen table, perusing a book with a bowl of cereal in front of him. “What are you doing here?” I shrieked, frazzled after five minutes of being awake.

He looked up with a start. “Ah, didn’t mum tell you?” he yelled back, obviously confused and taken off guard. “I eat breakfast here in the mornings!”

“And why didn’t you think to wake me up?” I screamed, angry and tired. He just laughed at me.

“Ava, I did. You threw a pillow at me and told me to go… do something unpleasant,” he replied amusedly. “So I figured I’d let you get yourself up. Now get ready, you have plenty of time as long as you keep moving!” With that, he went back to his book, smiling to himself. I groaned and stormed into the bathroom.

But ten minutes later, hair sopping wet, but clean, I had another problem. I stared into my closet, at a loss for ideas. “Dean!” I hollered, tying my thick bathrobe tighter around my waist and adjusting my self-made towel turban. He came barreling into my room, panicked.

“What? What’s wrong?” He took in my room and appearance, then sighed. “Let me look in your closet,” he said, stepping forwards. My face turned red with embarrassment as he began rummaging through my clothes. Finally, he emerged with a sweet white lace dress. “It’ll look so great on you, and I promise, you’ll stand out from the other girls.”

“What do you mean by that?” I asked, confused. “This isn’t really a unique dress or anything like that.”

He blushed. “No, it’s just so… innocent. Believe me, most girls don’t wear things like this during Eastern Epics.”

“Are you sure?” I was skeptical of his fashion sense. “I don’t want to seem weird before I even start going to school.”

“Ava, believe me, I’m stylish and cool,” he laughed, holding it out in front of me, “and I promise that you’ll look perfect.”

“Fine,” I grumbled, snatching the dress out of his hands. “Now get out of my room!” I shooed him out the door and slammed it, clutching the dress.

Another ten minutes later, my hair was dry, thanks to a very nice hair dryer provided by Susie, and I was in my dress. I selected a necklace that was made up of a thick silver chain and a chunky black key pendant, then paired it with a simple pair of black flower studs. I kept my makeup simple, with long fluttery eyelashes and winged eyeliner, sweet pink blush, and a smooth, creamy pink lipstick. To finish the look, I slipped on my pink ballet flats, and then I was ready. I tied my hair back out of my face by tucking it into a sophisticatedly sparkling headband, a princess-like look, then went into the kitchen to get breakfast. Dean was nowhere in sight, but his book was laid on the table, abandoned and open to the middle. I grabbed an apple out of the fridge and sat down at the small table, flipping the book over to read the cover. To my surprise, it was from the Sherlock Holmes series by Arthur Conan Doyle. Although I had read it before, I turned to the front page and began reading as I enjoyed my apple.

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“Ava?” I heard Dean calling me, so I finished my last bite of apple and closed the book. “I’m heading over to help June set up, do you want a ride?”