Book of Secrets

Chapter 2

An annoying voice wakes me up from my slumber. I slowly blink open my hazel-green eyes and let out a big gaping yawn. My head had been smushed against my mother's shoulder when I drifted off to sleep, but now I'm facing something dark and greasy...

Oh, ew!

My head had been resting upon the man next to me. His hair looked like it could use some shampoo. And.. oh, nasty! Little dandruff flakes are residing on his scalp, and a few fall down onto the shoulder of my Forever 21 blazer.

After I get off this stinkin' plane I am going to go burn this blazer.

I get over my utter terror and disgust long enough to hear the airline attendant chirp, "We are landing momentarily. Please turn off and stow all portable electronics. It is 10:45 PM in D.C. right now. Thank you for flying with Southwest! We hope you enjoyed your flight!"

Mom had apparently been listening to music, because she had her white earbuds in her ears and her eyes were glued shut. I can also hear the pop music blasting through the speakers.

My mom tells me that she wants to stay on top of everything popular: movies, TV shows, music, celebrities, etc. Which works out well for me because she always downloads all the new songs I like. Right now Want U Back by Cher Lloyd is playing.

I yank on the cord of her headphones and tug it out of one ear. "Your lasgnas burning Mom!"

She immediately sits up and her eyes widen. "What?" She gasps.

I tip my head back and laugh. This never gets old.

Mom glares at me. "You know, I feel like I should be mad at you, but I'm really mad at me for falling for that again!"

I let out another wheeze before getting back to the point on hand. My voice raises in pitch in my excitement, "We are landing in D.C. in just a few minutes! I can't wait to stay at the hotel and then go see Kylie! We are going to do all the touristy things and she's going to show me around and-"

Mom places her hand over my mouth. I tell my mouth to shut but I cant help myself. More mumbled words escape through my covered lips.

"Ok. I got the message Emma. Just get ready to leave and make sure you leave nothing behind."

This is my first trip on an airplane since I have such a large family. And with a large family, you can't travel a lot without racking up some huge expenses.

I have five brother and sisters. Gwenyth is the oldest at age 23, Mark and Nathan are 20 year old twins, Fisher is 18, and Rylee is 13. I fit right in between my brother Fisher and my sister Rylee at age 15. I'm turning 16 in a week and this trip is my birthday present.

I was sort of hoping for a red Volkswagon Bug, but I guess this trip is cool too.

My mom, me, and the greasy haired obese man wait until our we can feel our plane touching down. Meanwhile I am stuffing all the items I took out of my purse at the beginning of the flight back into my purse. Funny how it all fit so perfectly before I unpacked everything and made myself at home, but yet now it doesn't fit.

The pilot makes the announcement that we can now leave the aircraft.

I unclip the buckle and bounce out of my seat, eager to get off this heap of metal. I swing my leather bag over one shoulder and manuever my way past my mother who is trying to get our luggage down from the overhead compartment. I squeeze through the aisle after the other passengers are let off, leaving my mom to carry our two rolly bags off the plane.

I impatiently wait inside the airport terminal for her. Where is she? I wonder. Ugh, she is sooooo slow!

Mom finally comes out hauling the luggage. She stops outside the plane and breathes heavily. "Would you like to help?" She pants.

I chirp back, "Of course!" I reach out in her direction and grab her purse that is dangling from her arm. "There you go! Now it will be a lot easier for you to bring our bags out to the taxi!"

I pull out my phone and send a quick text to Kylie, letting her know we landed. Choosing to ignore Mom's dramatic sigh, I strut to the automatic doors and leave through them to the streets. The street is lined up with dozens of taxis which are all idling next to their drivers.

I wave one of the drivers over as in the corner of my eye I see Mom coming out with our suitcases. The driver walks over and says, "Yays, mam? Cane I hep yous?" He has a thick beard to go with his thick accent.And he just slaughtered the English language.

I sigh and nod. "Can you drive us to the Mariott in D.C.?" I ask, over-annunciating the words.

The man frowns slightly but nods. "Come wit may."

Mom and I follow him to his little yellow taxi in which he tosses our suitcases into. We all load into the car and Mom gives him the address.

He smiles, turns on the monitor, and drives away.

After a short while later and some polite chit-chat we pull up to our hotel. I open the door for myself and step out of the taxi one high-heeled boot at the time.

I stroll into the hotel lobby while a baggage boy carries in the luggage after my mom.

We check in and since it's on the first floor, we walk to our room.Sliding the key into the slot, the door makes a click and my mom and I are let in.

I instantly grab our baggage, closing the door on the man who brought them to us. I unzip the suitcase and grab my pajamas. I shimmy into them and brush my teeth.

I jump into the queen sized bed, leaving the pull-out couch for my mom.

Because I need a good night's sleep. For tomorrow the real fun begins.

.........................................................

Sorry for the boring, undetailed chapter. I'm a little busy and preoccupied. : / Sorry for the sloppy work. I promise it will get better. Right now you are seeing a bit of Emma's true character. What do you think? Can you see where this is heading? Write "fourpaws" if you read this so I know who I'm writing to! :)