No Ordinary Girl

Chapter Five

It was my last night at home, and I was stretched out on my bed, staring at the origami hanging from my ceiling; birds, butterflies and flowers mostly, in every color of the rainbow, my own creations.

It's what I do to relax. It's what I've done since I was small. I do it to turn off my mind. One of my therapists suggested it to my mother when I was small. It was meant to calm me. I was pretty wired back then. My mom raced to the craft store and bought me a book all about origami and some paper, and I loved it. I'm pretty good at it now. I've done all sorts of crazy stuff. When I'm not creating origami masterpieces, I also like to sketch and doodle in my notebook.

My luggage was on the floor, next to me; fuchsia pink with colorful flowers. I was pretty sure I hadn't forgotten anything; I had it all: uniforms, pajamas, my fuzzy socks, jeans and t-shirts, warm jacket, hat, mittens, and two hoodies (I was told that the weather can be really cold in Maine), my sketchbook and pencils, my hair brush and toiletries, my Rubik's cube, my origami collection, my jewelry box, my guitar, my supply of Tic Tacs, my fancy new black shoes, a glass jar of cinnamon spice, my vintage record player, and a few records.

I hate that feeling you get when you're half excited, half scared. I hate not knowing what to expect. What would everyone be like? Would I be an outcast there, too? What would my roommate be like? Would I measure up? Would I miss my family?

Hell yeah... I knew I would.

The digital display on my clock radio read 10:22 PM. I was supposed to be under the covers but I couldn't imagine getting a single wink of sleep.

Kylie popped her little head into my room holding three of her favorite stuffed animals. She squeezed them hard against her chest, a huge pout on her face. "Anna..."

I propped myself up on my elbows. "Sweetie, you should be sleeping. It's past ten."

She shook her head. "I can't sleep. I don't want you to go. I'm going to miss you so much."

My heart sank. I reached for her and squeezed her and her animals tightly. "I'm going to miss you, too, so much."

"I have Coco, Buttercup, and Pompom and I want you to take one of them with you so you remember me. You can sleep with one of them in case you're scared at night. It looks kinda scary where you're going. I saw the pictures in that book you have. It looks like a witch's castle."

I smiled a little. She was genuinely scared for her big sister. "I'll be safe there, I promise," I assured her. "It's just a really old building, but there's no monsters there, or witches." As far as I know. "I'll come back at Christmas time, and you'll see I'll be just fine."

She let out a sigh of relief. "Good... I was worried."

"So about your animals," I ventured, knowing that these were her favorite stuffies. Coco, the lab puppy, Buttercup, the grey horse, and Pompom, the fluffy little brown dog. I knew Pompom was the only one she could actually bear to part with. "I like Pompom," I told her.

A huge smile broke her face in two – she was thrilled by my choice. She handed him to me. "You can take him with you to keep you company in case you're lonely."

I took the soft stuffy and held it against my heart. A golf ball was lodged in my throat. I couldn't let her see me cry. She needed to see this as a happy event. She was already worried out of her little ten year old mind. "Thank you," I said. "I love him, and I'll keep him on my bed."

"He likes to be petted at night," she explained.

I smiled. "Sure, I promise to pet him every night."

"He also likes to sit by the window during the day."

"Sure, I promise to sit him by the window before I go off to classes."

"And he likes to be taken out at least once a week."

Geez, this little doggie was suddenly very high maintenance. I wasn't sure I could swing that one. Oh, what the hell, the place would be filled with weirdos. I was sure that I could rock a stuffed animal and no one would care.

She threw herself at me and I wrapped me into a big bear hug, and then I just lost it. I bawled my eyes out – I couldn't help it.

She pulled from me. "I guess we won't be able to have cinnamon toast together anymore?!" she asked with the saddest eyes I'd ever seen.

Cinnamon toast is a little tradition of ours. Every night, at around eight o' clock, just before Kylie's bedtime, we share a slice of buttered toast, sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon. The four of us each have a quarter.

"Maybe we still can. We can Facetime. You can have my piece."

She nodded and mulled this over, a little finger perched on the corner of her mouth. "Maybe Mommy can have it. Or Daddy..."

"Sounds good. I'll see what I can do. I promise."

It hadn't fully sunk in until that moment.

My life was about to change. Big time.