Rule One

The day begins promptly at 5:00 a.m. Each child must be sitting at the breakfast table, fully dressed and ready for the day, by 6:30 a.m. Any later will result in no after school activities for the next consecutive 7 days. If child fails to be at the table by 6:30 again during those 7 days, the child will be grounded from activities for another consecutive 7 days, and so on. No yelling, fighting, running, jumping, loud music, or TV will be experienced during these morning hours from 5:00 a.m. till 7:00 a.m.

Thank you,

Mother and Father

"Isabelle Jones! It is 5:05! Out of bed, now!" A loud, stern voice traveled up to my room. Groaning, I tossed around and flipped my bed covers over my head. I knew it would only be seconds before the creaky stair steps would be heard, but I didn't care. Maybe, just maybe, today would be different.

Creak...creak...creak...

"Isabelle, I will not call your name again!" I groaned once more at the sound of Mother's voice. With all my will, I tossed my sheets to the ground and grabbed ahold of my headboard. I pulled myself to a sitting position and glanced at my alarm clock. 5:06.

"ISABELLE!" My mother appeared at my door, fully dressed in black dress pants and a orange and yellow tunic. The colors were too bright for my eyes at this hour, so I squinted and rubbed the back of my neck.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. 5:06. I'm up, mmk?" I grumbled, hardly even sure if my words were audible. My mother just stared at me with her hands on her hips, giving me that motherly look. That lasted for at least 30 seconds before she marched over to my window and blasted the blinds open. Yellow light burned through and began to swallow the darkness whole. I groaned and fell backwards onto my bed. Why did the sun have to get up so early?

"Just 10 more minutes, pleeeease!" I whined, burrowing my face in a pillow.

"Isabelle, on your feet this instant. Into the shower you go." Mother growled. I turned my head to the side, away from the pillow, and could see her shadow hovering over my bed. I mumbled something that sounded like a 'fine' and surprisingly, I watched the shadow disappear. With a thump, my door was closed shut.

I had no choice but to drag myself into the shower. I had plans this afternoon, and if I wasn't at the table by 6:30, those plans were history. Zip, zot, ziltch. As I let the water warm up, I undressed and turned my radio on, making sure the volume was quite low. Like I said, today was no day to goof around with the rules.

Later that morning...6:28 a.m.

"Yoooooo! Look who's here! And just in time! Whoooo! Go me, go me!" I raced down the stairs, laughing. My two sisters, brother, mother, and father were sitting around the table, eating pancakes and reading the paper. They all stared at me as I came down the stairs. My sisters, Jessie and Jeanne, who were twins and sweet 16, were giving me a look-what-the-dork-brought-in look, and my little brother Adam, who was at the age 11 and three quarters (he makes everyone say that), was giving me a can't-believe-this-is-who-my-parents-tell-me-to-look-up-to glare. My mother just rolled her eyes and turned back to the paper, and Father just gave me a sideways glance before he crammed a piece of his syrup-drowned pancake into his mouth.

"Isabelle, please sit down. And next time, try to make a quieter entrance." Mother said with an irritated tone. I shrugged with a smile and sat down. But just as I was scooting in my chair, I happened to look down at my feet. Oh God no, please tell me it wasn't true! Two fuzzy, pink bunnies stared back at me. I had forgotten to take off my dang slippers! But I couldn't let my parents find out or I'd be grounded for not being 'fully dressed'! Today was not a good start.

I continued on with breakfast quietly. I made sure that no attention was drawn to my bunny feet. No one seemed to notice anyway, but better safe than sorry. I ate each piece of my pancake slowly. My only plan was to be the last to finish, and as everyone was getting out their books and homework (yes, we were homeschooled), I would make some excuse about leaving my homework in my room, and that'd give me time to dash upstairs. There I would change out of these stupid slippers and into my black converse. It would work. It'd have to.

"Alright, girls and boys, it's 7:00 a.m. Dishes to the sink, hurry hurry! Now into the office, and make sure you've all got your homework and books." Mother declared, her voice booming louder than my father could ever even attempt. Father was quite mute most of the time. He left for work around 8, and wasn't home until 7 so we didn't see him much. Mother had to adjust dinner time just so we could eat as a family, which sucks cause my stomachs begins growling around 4, and of course, no snacks inbetween those times. Mother says that my stomach can wait those three hours. Those three hours of gnawing, painful stomach aches. I swear, she's going to starve me one of these days.

"Uh, Mother?" I peeped, biting my bottom lip out of habit. Stop it, I shouted to myself, don't show fear. I repeat, don't...show...fear to the enemy. Mother didn't turn to face me. She just continued to load plates and forks covered in syrup ooze into the dishwasher.

"Yes, Isabelle?" She replied, taking a moment to glance at me. "Oh, and bring those dishes here, will you?" I grimanced. Don't call me Isabelle! I wanted to scream. It was the number one thing that annoyed me most about my parents; they had named me the ugliest name in the universe. Isabelle. Just the sound of it made me shudder. I told everyone to call me Ellie, or Elle at least. But Mother, so typical, said that she and my father did not name me Ellie...they named me Isabelle and that was what they planned to call me by. It sounded like I was some sort of queen. Queen Isabelle. Perfect, just perrrrrfect. That title really fit me (sarcasim here).

"Yeah, yeah, I will." I said, pushing my plate to the center of the table. "But, uh, first, can I go get my homework? I left it in my room on accident. Sorry Mother." I tried to say this in my nicest, most innocent voice. I wasn't sure if it worked or not by the look she was giving me.

"Yes, you may fetch your work, but I would be pleased if you brought me the dishes first. Please do as I say, Isabelle." She placed one hand on her hip and tapped her free hand on the counter. Tap...tap...tip...tap...tip...tip... It was morse code for do as I say or else, I'm sure. As my neck grew red, I shook my head.

"But Mother, I just wanna get my homework first. Pleeeease." If the whole innocent thing didn't work, maybe the whinning/begging thing would. What else could I try? If I gave her those dishes first, she would surely see the bunnies.

"Isabelle, why can't you do as I've asked? Why is it so important to get the homework first?" Mother was getting pissed now.

"It's gnawing at my soul, Mother. I must get it before I die inside."

"I'm sure you'll be fine, dear."

"No I won't."

"Yes, you will."

"No."

"Yes."

"Nooooo."

"Yesssss."

"Please?"

"No, Isabelle."

"Puh weez?"

"NO, Isabelle!"

"Peesy, peesy, peesy with cheesey ontop?"

"NO, ISABELLE! BRING ME THOSE DISHES IMMEDIATELY!" And I thought no yelling was allowed from 5 to 7. Pssh...

I had no choice but to bring her the stupid dishes. She won. So much for seeing a movie this afternoon. Standing up as slow as possible, I pushed back my chair and grabbed ahold of the white plate and silver fork. I glanced from side to side, checking to see if my sisters and brother had shown up. Nope. I guess they were used to all the shouting and arguing between me and my mother. What could I say, I was a bit of a rebel. Don't know who I inherited it from (defiantly not Mother), but I had those genes, rebel genes, in me. And guess what, I wasn't afraid to show it.

"Ok, you asked for it...catch!" I yelled, and before I revealed my bunny slippers, I tossed the plate and fork high in the air towards Mother. She let out a girlish scream and my God, you should of seen her face. Pure terror. Holding in my laugh, I took that chance when Mother wasn't looking and zoomed upstairs. My bunnies hardly even touched the stairs. They knew exactly where to take me, and that was to our safe haven. I was whisked around a right corner, down a long hallway and fell into my bedroom. The door closed behind me and my hand turned the lock without even consulting my brain. But at least I was safe...safe at last. My bunny feet could relax. No one would hurt them now.

I collapsed on my bed and turned on the radio. My room was filled with blaring, loud music. Who would care if I broke another rule now? This day, and the future week, was already ruined.