Author's Note: This may seem a little teenager-ish at first, but this story is going to fastforward in some parts and eventually the main characters won't be in high school anymore. My advice is to give it a few chapters and then maybe become addicted?? Personally, I LOVE this story! Of course, I have to love it to write it...
Feb. 1st, any given year…
"Push! One more big push! Come on, Mrs. Corbin!"
"I'm pushing!"
"Here comes the head. You're doing a great job!"
"Almost there sweetheart," whispered Aidan Corbin, a tall slender man with light brown hair, to his Asian-American wife.
"Congratulations! You have a beautiful baby girl!"
"It's a girl, sweetheart," said Aidan, bringing their new squealing baby daughter to his wife, Kimora.
"Oh my precious baby, my precious little Katherine."
"Ten fingers and ten toes. A beautiful, healthy little baby," said Aidan, looking down at his wife and his new baby.
Four years later…(Four Years Old)
"Why are you dressed like that?" asked five year old Travis Jameson.
Kat looked down at her outfit from her new pink bike. She was wearing a pink feathered boa, her pink ballet tutu, a purple leotard, and lime green tights. Her dark brown hair was put up in pigtails and her brown eyes were covered with purple butterfly sunglasses.
"It's my birthday, and my granny said I could wear whatever I want."
"Oh. How old are you?"
"Four."
"Oh. You're just a little kid."
"I'm not a little kid anymore!"
"Yes, you are. I'm going to be six in a month. I bet you're not even in school yet."
"I go to pre-school."
"Oh, okay. I haven't seen you around here, where did you come from?"
"Daddy said we used to live in this place called Manhattan."
"Where's your mommy and daddy anyway?"
"Daddy's at work and mommy's in heaven."
"Why is your mommy in heaven?"
"Her heart was sick and she died when I was a baby."
"Oh…Do you want to go play?"
"Okay."
From that day on, Kat and Travis were practically inseparateable.
Four years later…(8 years old)
"I'm getting a new mommy," said Kat, sitting on her back poach, eating ice cream.
"How does that work?" asked Travis, sitting at her feet, playing with his action figures.
"My daddy's getting married so I'm going to get a new mommy, duh."
"Oh…So do you get to pick?" Travis asked, looking up at Kat.
"Pick? No, but she's nice AND she's pretty."
"That lady with the blond hair who hangs all over your daddy?"
"Yeah. Her name is Stacey, that's not a bad name."
"Yeah. She looks nothing like your mommy."
"I know, but I like her."
Four years later…(12 years old)
"It's my birthday! It's my birthday and they think it's a great idea to tell me that they're going to have a new baby. A girl!? My birthday only comes around one time every year and they think it's a great birthday gift to tell me that I'm going to have a new little sister! She's going to replace me!" Kat exclaimed overdramatically to Travis, who was playing with a football, in her bright pink room.
"Nobody could replace you, Kat."
"You're just saying that because you're my best friend. They already have me and Sam. Why do they need another one? And a girl too!" Kat flung herself on her bed and covered her face with her arms.
"I have a little sister, it's not too bad."
"Yeah, but you guys have the same parents. These people are my half-siblings!"
"Stacey and Sam aren't too bad. I'm sure the new one won't be that bad too."
Kat rolled her dark brown eyes and said, "Oh Travis, you just don't understand!"
Travis thought about it for a moment and decided that maybe he didn't understand. Kat had been simple and easy to understand, but lately she has just been getting weird. It must be a girl thing, he decided.
"Okay, maybe I don't understand."
"Of course you wouldn't!"
"Uh…me and some of the guys are going to the park to play football later, you can come if you want."
"It's my birthday and no, I don't want to go to the park to watch you and the boys play football. It's always about football with you."
"No, it's not."
"Yes it is. Just go away!"
"Fine. Well, happy birthday."
"Whatever, just leave!"
Travis looked over at Kat for a few seconds. He ran his hands through his light brown hair and then went over to her desk to get his book bag and got out his gift warped in balloon paper.
"Here's your gift," he said. Instead of giving a verbal response, she just waved with her other arm still over her head.
Girls just being girls, I guess, he thought and left.
A few minutes after Travis left, Kat got off her bed to open his gift. No matter how mad she was at Daddy and Stacey having a baby girl to replace her and for Travis not understanding, she couldn't be mad with him for that long. Carefully, she unfolded the wrapping paper to reveal a box. She opened the box to see a picture frame of the two of them when she was five and he was seven, eating ice cream on her back porch. The frame was one of those girly, "Friends Forever" ones that she always joked about getting him. She let herself smile a bit because she knew how embarrassed he would have been going to the store to buy this. Underneath the picture frame, she found a 14 carat white gold charm bracelet Kat had been saving her money to buy. The only charm on the bracelet was one that said, "Best Friends".
Kat looked out her window into Travis's window. He was getting his stuff ready to go play football. Typical Travis, she thought with a smile.
Okay, this story is going to be first person for now on…
Four years and a few months later…late April…(16 years old)
"Kat, can you take care of Marcie and Sam this weekend?" (Sorry everybody else who read this earlier, her little's sister's name started out as Jamie but then I changed it and didn't get it all changed).
"This weekend?" I looked up from my bowl of cereal in the kitchen at Stacey. "I can't, Travis is having his 18th birthday party this Saturday. What are you guys doing anyways?"
"It's our eighth anniversary, remember?"
"Oh. I forgot you guys have been married that long." I finished off my cereal and put the bowl in the sink.
"Yeah, seems like forever ago," Stacey replied from her laptop on the counter.
"Well, sorry. If it was anybody else, I would do it, but I can't back out with Travis."
"It's okay; I forgot about Travis's birthday party. I'm sure it's going to be loud. It'll probably be a better idea if I just ask grandma to take the kids for the weekend. She's always saying how she needs to see her grandkids more."
"Yeah, I'm sure," I said. "Okay, I'll see you later tonight." I walked out of the kitchen. I was barely out of the kitchen before I was stopped by a three and a half year old little blond girl wearing carrying a teddy bear and a DVD.
"Kitty. Watch Princesses with me. Please?" asked Marcie, my little sister, holding up her Disney Princesses Sing Along DVD.
Actually, my little sister's name is Marcella, but for some reason, my dad likes to give his kids long names and then shorten them. For example, I'm actually Katherine but everybody calls me Kat or K.C. or Kitty in Marcie's case, my little brother is named Samuel but we call him Sam, and Marcie is Marcella, but we all her Marcie.
"Can't, I have to go to school."
Marcie made a sad face before turning around to run to the living room. She didn't get very far because I tugged on her little blond pig tails to get her attention and said, "Why don't we watch it after school?"
"Okay!" She then held out her little arms for a hug and a kiss. "Bye-bye! I love you!"
"I love you too," I gave her a squeeze before letting her go. Marcie was speeding off before I could get another word in. Oh, three year olds…
"Have you seen my shoe?" asked six year old Sam coming out of the living room with only one shoe on.
"Which ones?" I asked just to ask.
"The ones that I always wear! The ones that go with this one!" he said, pointing to his one shoe.
"Okay, calm down. I think they were in the kitchen. Hurry up or we'll be late for school again!" Since I agreed to drop Sam off at school as a trade off for the "responsibilities" that came with having a car, we seem to be late more times than not.
"Okay, okay." He made a face at me and then ran off to the kitchen to get his shoe.
"Kat," said Stacey from the kitchen.
"Yeah?"
"I forgot. Is there anyway you could pick up Sam from school today? Marcie has a doctor's appointment, and today is Tara's day off." Tara was Marcie's nanny.
"Can't! Remember, I have Grease today!" I went off to the living room to look for my backpack.
"Oh yeah, sorry, I forgot. Do you think Travis could if I asked him?"
"Probably."
"Yeah! I want Travis to pick me up!" said Sam with his shoes and backpack on.
"Well, tell Stacey to call him now or he'll turn off his phone."
"Stacey, call Travis!"
"Don't call me Stacey, Sam."
"But Kat gets to call you Stacey!"
"Well, you're not Kat."
"But—"
"Come on, come on! We're going to be late!" I ushered Sam out of the door before he could make us any more late.
"Bye Stacey! Bye Jamie! Bye Daddy!" I heard a muffled sound coming out of Dad's office that was probably his reply.
I dropped Sam off at the elementary school before rushing off to Grover High School with fifteen minutes to spare – a record.
"Hey Kat," said Jordan, one of my best friends, who was standing next to my locker waiting form me.
"Hey," I replied, going through my locker looking for my Civics and Economics book for first period.
"Are you going to Travis's on Saturday?"
"Yeah," I said, finally locating my book. Next step in the morning locker time: check reflection in mirror. A few fly-aways, but nothing too major; mascara not smudged yet, thank goodness; forgot eyeliner, but who cares; need to bend blush some more; lip gloss, need lip gloss!
"Is there anyway I could get a ride?"
I looked over at Jordan in the middle of putting on lip gloss and made a sight face. "Jordan, sweetheart, I live right next door to Travis. I'm just going to walk over there."
"Oh…oh yeah." Jordan might have been extremely beautiful and cool, but she wasn't the brightest crayon in the box.
"You can sleep over if you want. Emily and Bridget probably will too."
"Oh, thanks! I might need to; I think Travis has been checking me out lately." Jordan ran her hands through her curly auburn hair and pursed her lips together in thought.
Her statement hit me in surprise. I thought this over for a few moments. Jordan and Travis? No, there was no way that would happen. Jordan is so…and Travis is so…
Lost in thought, I felt him before I saw him coming. Thud, right on the back of my head. "Hey, Dork."
Author's Note: Thanks for reading!!!