The beginning of the end

" Promise to keep a secret?" my best friend Elise asked.

"Er, yeah of course." I said frantically, trying to ponder all the possible things Elise could say.

" Nicole, I'm serious!" she yelled through the phone in a demanding tone. "

She must be really serious" I thought to myself, she had used my first name as if I was in trouble. I paused, then drew out a long deep breath " okay what is it?" 

There was a pause as if she was trying to find the right words and then spoke " well I can't tell you now, what are you doing tomorrow? I am in some dyer need of Elise and Nicole time." 

Throwing my hands up in the air, annoyed " are you serious! You wont tell me? Of course I'm not doing anything, but still what the f Elise?"

" I know, sorry but I just should tell you in person, and don't judge me for it either!" she said in a hyper tone.

" Well like it or not I'm going to judge you, we've been best friends since the 3rd grade practically sisters." I explained.

" Yeah, your right well tomorrow then?" she asked excitedly.  

I sighed once again, adding some eye rolling this time " tomorrow then." 

" Great!" Elise shrieked of happiness, and I couldn't help but feel the same way " I am going with  my mom to hardware store, we can go to the library or park, whatever we want to do. Oh crap! I have to go its dinner time and you know how my parents like to eat at the dinner table, I'll call you back around 8 for the deets on tomorrow, bye!" 

Before I could even say goodbye the phone died off. I was left confused, what could be so serious Elise has to tell me in person? I hope it wasn't bad news like she was moving 1,000 miles away, i shuddered to think. As I continued to ponder all the possibilities  I made my way downstairs, realizing I myself needed some dinner.

" Hey Nicole, mind doing the dishes for me while I finish up dinner?" my mom asked not bothering to look up from making hamburger. I rolled my eyes since I knew my mom wasn't paying attention, I knew it was a trap, I shouldn't of even set foot out of my bedroom. 

" Ugh, okay but can I go with Elise tomorrow to her moms hardware store?" I asked starting the dish water. 

" Yeah, sure" she said still focused on the hamburger. 

As I finished up the dishes, and dinner had been ready my dad walked in the house, dirty from work. 

" Hey honey! how was work?" my mom asked handing my dad his plate of food.

" Same old, same old Marie" he said taking a bite out of his cheeseburger.

My mom, Marie and my dad, Bill were high school sweethearts, since my mom was 15 and my dad at 17. Secretly I've always hoped I would meet someone young and in high school. I was 2 months shy of my 15th birthday so I thought anything was possible. Watching my mom and dad was like watching two best friends play house, two best friends who were married and with two kids, my brother Allen, and myself. I admired my parents, my mom worked at the local Casino in housekeeping and my dad worked as a crane operator for a garbage place. They hated their jobs with a passion, but they stuck with it for me and Allen and that's good enough for me. 

" ALLEN, NICOLE DINNER TIME!" my mom yelled, oblivious to me standing just across the room from her.

" Mom I'm right here, I have been for 10 minutes now, doing the dishes like you asked me." I said laughing.

" Oh yeah, right I knew that" she admitted turning red " you know how bad my memory is." It was true she had a terrible memory. 

My brother came running down the stairs as if he was running from a trail of fire. " about time hockey practice is gonna start soon!" he said grabbing his plate quickly and making his way to the living room, where my dad now was watching ESPN.

My family was definitely not one to eat at a table, we were the family that gathered around the TV and ate, which was fine and dandy to me. My mom and I joined Allen and my dad a few minutes later. I soon forgot about tomorrow and what Elise had to tell me, from talking with my parents and listening to Allen talk about the upcoming hockey season. My entire family had played hockey, I gave it a shot when I was 8 and had no desire to pursue it, but I still continued my love of ice skating whenever I could because when you were born into my family your basically a natural at it.

" I hope were better this year than we were last year" Allen said doubtfully, referring to his team last year who had only won one game the entire season.

My dad with his mouth full was quick to reply " yeah me too, that was honestly terrible! Hopefully you get some better players too!"

" BILL!" my mom yelled.

" What it's true, half those kinds couldn't even skate." he said with a smile on his face.  

" Yeah well some of those kids had never even played before, not to mention their only 12-13 years old!" my mom said earnestly.

Allen, unlike myself inherited all the talent, he was good at everything sports and everyone knew it. I on the other hand got all the brains. We were only 18 months apart so we could be at each others throat one minutes then playing video games and having a good time the next. At 13 I must say he had incredible talent.

" No dad's right" Allen included " I did all the work pretty much last year" he said smiling. I guess I forgot to mention with great talent comes cockiness. 

Half an hour later, our stomachs full, my dad sleeping in his favorite armchair, my mom and Allen made their way out the door and to hockey practice, leaving me alone, with the exception of our two dogs, Lenny, a mutt and Lulu a Pomeranian. I wandered up stairs, falling on my bed and almost immediately falling asleep until my cell phone started ringing. It was Elise. I had forgotten that she was going to call me back on the details for tomorrow. 

In a daze from my short-lived nap I answered " hello?"

"Nicole?" Elise asked sounding puzzled.

" No it's Morgan Freemen, yeah of course it's me, whats up?" I asked cracking a smile.

" Oh sorry! You actually did sound like a dude" she said laughing.

" Yeah well you woke me up from an awesome nap"

" Well anyway about tomorrow me and my mom will be at your house around 9"

" Cool can't wait,I'll see you then, oh hey what were you going to tell me?" I asked hoping she would just tell me but instead got " Nicole you have to wait" 

" Fine, whatever bye" I said annoyed.

" Bye!" and that was that.

As I layed in bed that night I wondered what could be so important, I mean she was my best friend, why wouldn't she just tell me? My imagination would have to do until the next day.

 

  

 

 

Author's Note

This is only my first chapter and is no where near done, trust me it gets better I am just looking for feedback on this chapter and anything I can improve on or fix!

Reviews

[Melody Lane]

Your writing is great! Keep up the good work, you have lots of talent!
A couple of tips on grammar: Capitalize the beginning of every sentence, including the ones inside quotation marks. Commas are your friend. Don't be afraid to use them, even though sometimes it may seem like a lot.
Remember that you're = you are, and they're = they are.
That's really all the criticism I have to make! You're doing a wonderful job already!

[Bhumika Devkota]

I like the story, it has curiosity that makes the readers, or at least me, want to read it more.