Earth Angel

Chapter 1

I lightly padded down the stairs, praying that my mother wouldn't hear me. Yet, the creek at the bottom of the stairs had to be particularly loud that morning.

"Margaret, you're awake! Please come help me clean up the kitchen. Kathleen made a mess," my mother demanded. I silently cursed myself for not going down the side of the stairwell to avoid the loud creek that alerted my mother that I was awake. I walked into the kitchen to see my mother washing the dishes. She turned around and smiled, handing me a wet rag. "Be a dear and wipe down the counter." I did as I was told and wiped down the counter, swiping crumbs of toast and bacon onto the floor.

"Is there anything left for me to eat?" I questioned while sweeping the crumbs into a dust pan.

"I'm afraid not, hon." She told me. I sighed, and eventually rolled my eyes when she turned around to scrub grease off of a pan.

When we finished, I looked in the cupboards for corn flakes. I removed them from their spot, and then went out the front porch to check for milk. "Mom, is there any milk?" She gave me a look that said, 'Sorry. All the milk is gone.' And that was exactly the case.

So then I was dressed at 11:30, going out the door as my mother reminded me what I needed to get at the drugstore.

"Milk, tobacco for your father, and here is some extra for anything else. Hurry back, Janet is coming home for the summer around noon." She informed me and sent me off.

The drugstore was only a 5 minute walk from where we lived, so I was lucky. My parents haven't bought me my own car yet, and even if they had, they'd still say it's a waste of gas to drive 2 minutes to the drugstore.

When I walked in, the kids drinking their Cokes at the counter all turned look at me. I fidgeted with my light brown hair, and twirled it around my finger. I silently (and awkwardly) made my way past them and to the clear doored fridges in the back. I got the milk, and went up to the man behind the counter to get the tobacco.

"What can I do ya for?" He asked, leaning on the counter.

"Uh, I'd like some pipe tobacco," I told him. It quieted down a bit, and I started to get nervous. "For my father." I added on. The man nodded and retrieved a tiny tin of tobacco.

"15 cents and an ID, please." He ordered. I handed him three nickels and dug through my pockets. It must've been my lucky day when I found my school ID. I handed it to him.
He glared up at me and I started getting nervous again. "This is for your father?" I nodded my head so hard I thought it would fall off. "I believe ya, but your father is going to have to come in and get it himself. You're only 17." I sighed.

"Okay. Sorry." I said and took back my 15 cents. I began turning around to go check out the milk, but someone tugged my arm. I turned around to see a tall boy, probably six foot, looking down at me.

"Give me the 15 cents." He whispered. I dropped the nickels into his large hand.

"Sir, I'll buy that tobacco," Before the man behind the counter could say a word, he slid his driver's license across. The man sighed and handed him the tobacco in exchange for my 15 cents. The boy walked back towards me and handed me the little tin.

"Here you are," He said. I took it and put it in my pocket.

"Thank you. My father loves his pipes." I laughed. He smiled.

"I'm Andrew." He told me.

"I'm Margaret." I said. He smiled and nodded.

"Pleasure to meet you, Margaret. I've gotta get back to my buddies, but I'll see you around?" He told me, which sounded more like a question, while walking backwards to 3 guys.