Gifted Ones

Chapter 3 Amber

The day we were pulled from the reality of our world, I was sitting on the roof. My room has a window that faces my backyard, situated right above our screen porch. That's how I get out. I've been coming here since I was eleven. That's when my parents started fighting. They filed for a divorce a few months ago, and since then I've spent nearly every spare minute up here. My dad isn't abusive or anything, they just don't love each other anymore. Because Dad's a doctor and Mom's a psychologist, they rarely have time for me and my brothers, let alone themselves.

I have four siblings, all boys. To make it worse, their names are Alan(12), Alex(8), Andrew(6), and Andy(6). The youngest two are identical twins. My parents rely on me to get them to the bus stop every morning, and to babysit them every afternoon. Both Mom and Dad are married to their work. The "A," names are horrific, especially dealing with the twins. I mean, who names all five of their kids names that start with "A?" Even my Grandma gets the boys confused on occasion.

I let my head rest against the white siding and close my eyes, thinking about all of the extra credit work I have to do. Back when the fights began I figured that getting good grades would take stress off Mom and Dad. I began to study all the time. This got me to the head of my class, so I continued. By the time I was in High School I was known as the "nerd girl," and good grades were what I lived for. They still are, actually. If my GPA slipped I would disappoint my parents. Now I need to get into a good college to follow my dad as a doctor. I don't really have a choice, because I just want to make him happy. To tell you the truth, I've always been interested in writing. Creating books would be like a dream to me. I love reading, especially fiction, and English is my favorite subject. I'd love to become an author. But getting an unstable job like that would disappoint my parents. I can't put more stress on them than they already endure. I'm the obedient child, and I have to keep it up.

I stare out at the sunset on the horizon, watching the blue fade into pink. It's so pretty. I could stay out here for hours and hours. . .

"Amber? What are you doing?" A voice asks from behind me. It's Alex. My heart skips a beat. No one's ever caught me up here, not in six years. Immediately I scramble up and crawl back through the window. "Nothing," I wave away. "What's up?"

"I need help with my homework. Mommy and Daddy are busy," his brown eyes are downcast. I shake my head exasperation. They're always busy. "I'll tell you what," I sigh, "if you don't let Mom and Dad know that I was on the roof, I'll help you with your homework. Okay?" I would've done it anyway, but if mom and dad found out, they'd forbid me from going out there anymore.

Alex nods enthusiastically. I take the paper from him and sit down at my desk, pulling up my extra chair for him. This has been a rather common occurrence for a while now. I teach my brother about subjects and predicates until he can work through the problems himself. This makes me feel very young and very grown up at the same time.

When Alex leaves I pull out an English essay that was assigned today. A lot of the stuff I study is difficult and unfulfilling, but I've never had a problem with writing because it came so naturally to me. Essays have always been fairly straightforward. It's more like a challenge to my creative abilities than actual work.

After a while I pull out my phone and text Haven, "r u gettin ready for your date? ;)" I wait for an answer, focusing on my next paragraph. Ten minutes later she still hasn't texted back. The clock reads six ten. She doesn't leave for another fifty minutes. Strange. I dial her number and wait.

"Hello?" A voice asks on the other line. It's not Haven. It's her mom, Gail. Why did she pick up Haven's phone?

"Hey Mrs. Cross!" I greet. "I was just calling Haven. Um, is she there?"