Sunlight and Gloom

Chapter 1

       Beep! Beep! Beep! Amber slapped the alarm clock's off button, then turned to look at the time. 6:00. She was about to go back to sleep, when she remembered.
      She leaped up from her bed and searched through her closet, looking for just the right outfit. Bingo. She held up her favorite dress. It was mainly black, but it had splotches of pink scattered throughout the design. Hurriedly, Amber shrugged off her nightgown and pulled on the dress. Not bothering to pick up the clothes covering the floor or to make her bed, Amber dashed out her bedroom door, pausing to check herself in the mirror. Then she ran as silently as possible to the bathroom. After pulling a brush through her slightly frizzy dark brown hair, she braided it as carefully as she could. She glanced around the counter and saw her mother's makeup bag sitting there. Her mother's words flashed through her mind, If you even think of touching my makeup, I'll skin you alive. She had said it with that smile that meant "I love you, but I'm only half joking." But she wouldn't miss a little bit. After applying some eye shadow, Amber grabbed the tube of lip gloss that she and her mother shared. She carefully placed the makeup back in the bag, trying to make it look like she had never touched it. After checking that everything was in place, she walked out the door of the bathroom. Her brother walked out of his room just as she was passing by.
      "Good morning, sleepy head. How's it going?"
      Her brother, Cole, just murmured a reply that sounded like, "I'm tired, leave me alone."
      "Okay, squirt," Amber laughed, then said, "you'd better get dressed, it's almost time to go!
      "Go where?"
      "Did you forget?" she questioned, slipping on her nice sandals and grabbing her backpack. "It's the first day of school!"