Chapter One

Mom says bad things come in threes. Four bad things happened to me that day. The first thing was that my evil science teacher told us that we had to write an essay on what we had learned in science that whole year in order to pass the grade. We had the whole summer to write it, but I had "accidently" thrown all my notes away near the end of the year, so I had completely no idea what to write. I told the teacher, but he said that I couldn't take a book home with me and I had to ransack my memory to remember. The friggin' idiot couldn't even see that I was close to tears. I was nearly crying from joy after school ended cuz I wouldn't have to deal with him anymore.

The second bad thing was that when I got home, my wicked step brother Erik had taken my room. He had torn down all my posters of Robbert Pattinson and Taylor Laurener and put up frickin' Metallica posters and Iron Madien headlamps. He drew with black permenant marker all over my walls, and I felt like killing him. I demanded who the heck  he thought he was, taking a obvlious girl's room like that, because I couldn't sware and say what I was actually thinking cuz mom and dad wont let me. He said he was staying before he went back to collage, and kicked me out of my own room. I swore at him under my breath, but, according to mom and dad, and my stepdad, I could never utter a word edgewise of a actual sware. 

The third terrible thing that happened that day was Mom got home really late, and she rushed in and woke me up at 10:00. I yelled at her that I was seventeen, and I wanted to get some sleep cuz next year I would be going to collage, and that I hoped I didn't get a nosy roommate like her. She yelled back, but softer than I did so she wouldn't wake up my Stepdad and Erik, that I wasn't to speak to my mother like that. So I got, what, four hours of sleep that night, where I was planning on, like, thirteen. I'll sleep in real late tomorrow, I told her, cuz seventeen year olds need their beauty sleep.

And the final, most dreadful fourth thing that happened to me that day happened almost three seconds after the quiet fight that my mom and I shared. Mom looked me straight in the eye and told me, "Do you know what I came in here for?" I answered, "No," and she said, "I'm going to got to a special work all summer and you'll be here alone. I'm going to send you to a place for the summer." I yelled loudly, not caring who heard, "No!! I'm old enough! I can take care of myself!" Mom answered dumbly, "That's not the question. Your going wether you like it or not." That's a great thing to sleep on.

I packed my bags that morning and left a nine. I ignored Mom's fleeting calls to her remarried husband, telling him "She'll see him soon, munchkins!". It was totally disgusting! 

On the way there, Mom flipped on the radio. "Highway to Hell" began blaring out of the speakers. Drat. Erik influence has changed Mom forever. I hurriedly flipped the station to KISS 108. I enjoyed this station cuz it wasn't Erik music. "You Belong With Me" began blaring out of the car speakers, and I smiled warmly. Yesss. My music. 

"Emmy, turn that frickin' thing down!" Mom cried angrily, smashing her hand against the stereo, fumbling to try and turn the music down. I swayed back and forth, interested in the music, lost in the lyrics. Finally, the music slurred, as if Taylor Swift had drunk one too many, and the song quieted. Mom lay back against the red leather seat of her maroon Buggy, sighing with sucess. I crossed my arms and remained silent until the song ended. 

I pulled out Max, my Maximum Ride novel I'd been dying to read for a month now. Mom bought it for me a month or so ago, and said I could only start reading it the first day of summer. The stupid foster home, or so I called it, was probably the reason why. She was planning all along I needed the intruging book for the way up. 

"Emmy, honey, put the book away." I looked up at her dryly, making no motion to stop reading. "Emmy, sweetie, I want to talk to you."

"There's nothing to talk about, Mom," I growled, while hurriedly folding my page and throwing the brand-new book to the fuzzy floor of the Buggy. "You're getting a summer job and your sending me away to Alcatraz for the summer because you don't trust me."

Mom shook her head solemnly. "It's nothing like that, honey," she said, using the word "honey" to calm me. She always called me that to soothe the anger out of me. "I getting a job as a medical nurse in the War, and if something happens to me, I want to know your in good hands."

"Mom! What the h--" I slowed myself, keeping from pleasuring the devil, as my Stepdad Stephan would say. "eck. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want you to worry, sweetie." Mom said soothingly. "I never said anything was going to happen, but I quit my job as a nurse in town, and I wanted a job where I could still serve my fill to our country. They need a nurse in the War in Vitnam, honey."

"God, Mom, are you crazy!" I screamed, tears gleaming my vision, blurring it. "You see the pictures. You read the magizines. You listen to the Gosh-Darn radio! People die out there! I don't want you to... die." My lecture ended in a gasping sob as I try to control my emotions, as the theripist told me to do when Mom and Dad split. 

Mom did the farest thing I would have thought she would have done. She pulled the car into a Seven-Eleven parking lot and hugged me tightly, laughing. "Emmy, I'm not going to die. I'm going to help people! Wont you be proud when you go to collage and say 'My mom's a nurse in the War and she saved tons of lives!'."

"Yeah, but," I breathed laboredly, trying desperately to keep my cool. She was making sense now, but I didn't want to see it. "What if you don't come back?"

"I will honey, I will," Mom smiled. "And I'm not sending you to Alcatraz. They'll be lots and lots of other people your own age to play with, or hang out, or whatever the term is today. I love you, Emmy, and I will always be there for you."

"Love you too mom. Thank you."

"Everything will be all right now," Mom said, though I knew she didn't mean it entirely. I knew I wouldn't have meant it either.

 

~

 

"We're here!" Mom cried in a sing-song voice, jolting me out of my sleepless state. I'd been burried in Max ever since we finished our "talk", and Mom had just totally brandished a good moment. I wont ruin anything for you readers whom haven't read it yet, so I'll keep my mouth shut about the good parts. 

I hung my head out the window, marking my page and placing Max on the floor. I looked out a viewed my new home for the next three months for the first time. Dear God.

It was a mansion that looked like the burned down Baudelaire mansion in "Series of Unfortunte Events". There was a charcoaled, burnt look to it, like someone had set it aflame on the outside, then perserved the inside. Light radiated from the darkness, and I realized it was 6:00, as I checked my watch. The place looked hellish, and a lot like Alcatraz. My assumption had been correct. The huge house was surrounded by solemn looking girls and boys, or should I say, ladies and gentlemen, looking as depressed as the Alcatraz Mansion. Mom parked the car in the island-sized parking lot and pushed me out the door.

I quickly snatched up my bookbag, and the rest of my clothing and such. Books were the most important to me, so I took them first. 

An older woman, whom I guessed was the owner, stood at a podieum, smiling warmly at the surrounding kids. They mostly looked my age, seventeen, but some looked younger. None but the adults looked older. 

"Good afternoon, parents and peers. This is not an academy, as you may think. I have started a village foster home as many call it for children during the summer. All of you must be very excited to meet your new home and family?"

A dull, "Yeah, OK" rumbled through the audience. I muttered nothing. I felt a terrible, tearing sense of dread about the place, and I had to think twice to stop myself from tugging Mom's sleeve and begging her to go home.

"OK, then," the owner smiled warmly again, which seemed to be her favorite thing. "I'll call you by dorm name, so you shall meet your other two dormmates." She paused, looking at the list, then stopped and laughted loudly. "Oops, I almost forgot." Clumsily, forgetful leader. Things were definately not looking up. "My name is Mrs. Quaffer. You may calle me Mrs. Quaffer or LeeAnne."

Mrs. Quaffer/LeeAnne called out many names from the list. A lot of them were guys, which I was worried about. I had never been on a date before, though only two guys had asked me out. And they were weirdos. Maybe one of these guys would fall for me or vice versa...Oh Emmy! Stop your raddling!

"Emelia Taylor!" called Mrs. Quaffer/LeeAnne. I jumped up, grabbed my stuff, and scrambled up to the center where small little groups of three were meeting. I stumbled and fell forward, but someone caught me. A cute looking guy with shiny green eyes and Taylor Laurener style black hair. He grinned and helped me up. 

"T-thank you..." I choked out, quickly placing my stuff with a chaffeur, then standing in the circle platform that was slightly raised up from the orginial ground marked, "Group 14".

"Krystal Abner!" 

Krystal Abner was a small girl of probably sixteen, with pink-streaked blonde hair. She was shy, I could tell, and her dark eyes reflected the emotion of fear and embarrassment. 

"Morgan Sulfur!"

Morgan Sulfur was probably my age, seventeen, but she looked much older. She had green-dyed hair that hung down to her elbows, and silvery brown eyes that reflected the emotions of misunderstanding. She looked less prissy enough; like Krystal, she looked a bit shy. Or maybe that was just the way she ducked her head down as she walked up to the platform to join Krystal and I.

"Hi," I stumbled on my words, searching for the right greeting. "My name is..."

"Emelia Taylor, we heard her," Morgan Sulfur said dryly, sighing angrily. "I'm sorry, I just don't want to be here right now. I'd rather be with my BFF Sue on the Rockin' Roller Coaster in California Disney Land."

"I don't want to be here either." I agreed. "Mom got a job as a War Nurse and she sent me packing here."

Only Krystal Abner remained silent. Finally, she whispered in a quiet voice, "Call my Kris."

"Hey, Kris," I greeted happily, smiling warmly, mimicing the too-happy Mrs. Quaffer/LeeAnne.

"Do people really call you just Emelia?" Morgan Sulfur inturrupted my trying to bring Kris out of her fog. 

"No," I answered dumbly, turning pale with embarrasment. "Emmy." I cut myself off short. I pointed to the guy who had helped me up. "Know him?"

"No, sorry." Morgan managed to say before Mrs. Quaffer/LeeAnne tried to rush us inside the burnt mansion. I waved to my mom one last time before she disappeared from view.

And I prayed to God nothing would happen to her.      

Author's Note

:)

Reviews

[Rune---a Novel]

Wow. This read like REAL writing, if you know what I mean, like something that should be published or something I would read at Borders. This would make a great YA novel. There are a few spelling errors that I'm not sure if you did on purpose, for instance, college is spelled with an e not an a. Other than that, I'm really looking forward to reading the other chapters.