Just Kelsie

1. Bad Luck Mondays

First day of school is the worst. I'm not even at school yet and the stress is too much to bear. You'd completely understand if you had two sisters like mine. Now, Amy is only 8, but she's more frustrating than a cubicle with no loo roll. And as for Lisa, she's just plain annoying and bossy. You'd think she were our mum the way she demands and commands us. Speaking of mothers, ours left when Amy was a baby, I was only 5 and Lisa was 9. I can barely remember her, but Dad often keeps her in our memories with nice stories about their life together. Apparently, she was jovial and beautiful. She adored her family but she was like a bird. She yearned to travel and wander the world. Dad said he couldn't keep her wings un-clipped, it felt cruel. So, he let her go. I suppose she's in Mumbai or Bangkok right now, cruising down the clear blue oceans admiring ancient cliffs and conversing with the diverse communities. I wonder if she ever thinks about us... Dad's always thinking of us, he's done a pretty good job raising 3 rambunctious girls. He says 'we're the apples of his eyes', whatever that means. He's always been there for us, he's the only thing us girls have left.

"Kelsie!" Those shouts come from none other than my older sister Lisa. I bet she's about to accuse me of nabbing something or the other, again. "Where's my hairdryer?" she bellows.

I roll my eyes, has she not learnt? If you leave anything out of place, our crazy cat Pebbles will have it dead and buried.

"No Lisa! Have you asked Pebbles?" I sarcastically reply, which immediately drives my sister up the wall.

"Why on earth would I ask a cat? We've got to leave for school in 10 minutes Kelsie, so you'd better get it to me before then or you're dead meat!" There's no use in arguing, we're all about to be late for school again.

I march down the stairs two at a time and skip into the kitchen where Dad is making 3 sets of lunches.

"Good morning flower" He beams at me, I can see Dad has hardly slept. He's got stubble the length of freshly cut grass and his hair looks like a bird's nest.

"Morning Dad!" I give him a quick hug before ducking out the patio into the back garden.

"Are you sure this is a good time for gardening petal?" Dad asks, obviously confused as to why I'm sifting through the soil in the flower beds. Finding my treasure, I yank out the hairdryer and grin at Dad. "That darn cat" Dad shakes his head in amusement.

"Here you go" I stand in the doorway of Lisa's creatively decorated purple room, holding out the hairdryer.

"Ew! Why is it covered in mud?" She flinches as she takes the styling product from me.

"I told you, Pebbles buried it" I simply shrug.

"I think it's time we buried that stupid cat" Lisa mutters frustrated under her breath. There's an angry meow from under her bed.

"Now, that's not very nice" I say to her. "Are you still giving me a lift to school?"

"If you're ready in 5 minutes, yes" She slams the door in my face and I suddenly hear her music blasting out her new stereo.

I pop my head around the room next door. Amy is lining up her Barbies on the window sill. Something about her dolls catches my eye.

"I thought I told you to stop using my hair bands for your dolls!" I moan. I seize back my hair bobbles from the Barbie dolls' untamed hair.

"Well I wouldn't have needed them if you hadn't let Pebbles use my dollies as scratching posts!" She yells back at me just before I slam her door.

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