Chapter 1:

Beep…..Beep……Beep…..

I turned over and hit my alarm clock to make it shut up. I had hit the snooze button way to many times this morning. I wasn't really sleeping, I'd been awake for an hour, but I was too lazy to turn the stupid thing off. I rolled over in my bed again.

I could hear the birds outside my window; it was the perfect morning. It may have been Friday, but I didn't care. I didn't have to go to school!! Teacher work days were the best. However, the way I was wired prevented me from sleeping past 7:00. Ugh! It was my one flaw and I absolutely hated it. My alarm had been going off since 6:30, but I wasn't getting out of bed just yet.

I closed my eyes, and sighed deeply. I was going to steal a few more minutes in my warm bed before starting the day. I wasn't sleeping, but I was in that realm between being fully awake, and completely unconscious.

Ring…..Ring……Ring…..

Would my alarm clock just shut up already!!!

I turned over and looked for it; I wanted to throw that thing up against a wall. I grabbed it and realized that it wasn't making any noise.

Ring…..Ring…..Ring…..

Oh, it's my cell phone! I had to laugh at myself. I placed the clock back on my dresser and plopped myself out of bed. My cell was somewhere in my backpack, and I needed to find it.

Ring….Ring….Ring….

"I'm coming!" I told my cell, as if it could hear me.

I found it and looked at the ID. It said Megan was calling. I answered.

"Hello" I said in a voice that was way too happy for this time of the morning.

"Oh don't you hello me!" she scolded. "Where the heck are you? We're gonna be late for school!"

"We? What do you mean we?"

"Uh, well I kinda need a ride. And it's already 7:45, and you and your hunk o' junk ain't here yet!"

"Hunk o' junk" as she called it, was her way of saying my car. Hey, I knew it wasn't the spiffiest thing, but it got me where I needed to go.

"Diss my car and you won't ever have another ride to school again!" I scolded her.

"Okay, sorry. But what are you doing?"

I knew the only way to get her to quit pestering with questions was to start rambling about something.

"Well, last night, I was watching this movie, and…" she immediately cut me off.

"I don't want to know. Just get your butt down here pronto!" She hung up the phone.

All I could do was laugh. Megan was one of my best friends. She was great to be around, but she was often very forgetful. I liked to refer to her as Chicken Little. Every little thing was literally like the sky was falling. I had known her for all of high school, and she had always been that way.

Lately though, our relationship hadn't been that strong. I guess I was partly to blame for that. Last year she had spilled that she had a major crush on Tony, my other best friend. We used to all hang out together, and there was never any sort of weirdness between us, and that's the way I wish it had stayed.

Tony had confessed to me that he really like Megan, and me (being that sort of romantic sap I am) told him to ask her out. She readily accepted, and since the beginning of last summer, I was starting to feel like the third wheel.

Sure, we used to hang out together, but things were never the same. I paused from my flashback and decided to get dressed. I opened my closet and scanned through all my clothes. If there was one thing I enjoyed in life, it was clothes! Most of the stuff in my closet was made by me. Fashion was my passion. I was also pretty lucky; we had enough finances to support my hobby. My mom had won the lottery a few years back, and the jackpot was a whopping 56 million. But we still liked to live a pretty normal life. I went to a normal public school, and did normal kid stuff. Our house had four bedrooms and three bathrooms. We didn't live in Hollywood or LA.

My family had lived in Florida before, but after winning, my mom just wanted to go somewhere quiet. We moved completely out of the state, and found a small city named Huntersville, and that's where we had lived for the past four years. My dad had moved with us, but he died last year when some drunk driver hit his car. I remember how sad it was. I wanted everything to go away, I would have given everything just to get my dad back, but I couldn't. That was something money couldn't buy.

I glanced in the mirror and saw the huge tears which were welling up in my eyes. I quickly wiped them away and got changed. A black, layered knee length skirt, and black and white checkered shirt, and some open-toe black heels. I didn't need them to be super high, I mean, I was already 5'8". I quickly ran a hairbrush through my hair before putting it in a low off-center ponytail. I threw on a white fedora hat, and headed downstairs.

My phone rang again.

"Hello?" I answered, although I already knew who was calling.

"Uh, yeah, Megan again! Where are you?"

I rolled my eyes.

"I just finished getting dressed. I'm going to have breakfast. I'm not starting today on an empty stomach."

"Well hurry up!" she demanded. "School starts at eight!"

"Okay, I'll call you when I'm on my way."

I heard her groan impatiently before hanging up the phone again. I didn't know how long I'd torture her, but it was fun.

"Hey Amy" my mom's cheerful voice called from the kitchen.

I walked in and saw her preparing breakfast. My mom was just awesome like that. Every morning we would sit down for breakfast, discuss plans for the day, and organize fun things to do later. There was only one problem - my mom was a total health freak. Every morning she would attack me with her organic and meatless creations. But we had a good relationship. She knew almost everything about me, and we would constantly tease each other.

"Morning mom" I said as I ran over and gave her a peck on the cheek before peering over whatever she was making. It looked like eggs, only I knew better.

"Artificial eggs for breakfast huh?" I asked.

"Yes, and they're very tasty" my mom replied knowing exactly where the conversation was going.

I made a face to show that I was disgusted and she immediately retaliated by pushing my hat down to cover my eyes. I adjusted it again before going to the refrigerator and pouring myself a glass of orange juice.

"Is that what you're wearing?" my mom asked as she looked me up and down.

"Yes" I responded as I turned in a full circle. "Like it?"

"Very much so" was her reply. It made me so happy when my mom liked my fashions and designs.

"I also love the length of that skirt" she commented.

My mom believed in modesty, and she had instilled it in me too. I absolutely loved that about her. Knee length for me could still be modest, but hot at the same time. I didn't like anything shorter; it made me feel as if everyone were checking out my butt.

"Thank you" I replied as I reached into the refrigerator and pulled out some left over fruit salad. My mom could have her fake eggs all to herself.

I sat down at the table and began to eat. My mom cleared her throat. I looked up to see that she was still making her eggs.

"Hat" was all she said. I knew what that meant. I took my hat off and set it aside. My mom believed in courtesy, manners, and tradition; a fact which made her very respected by everyone. She put her eggs on a plate and came and sat across from me.

"Any plans for today?" she asked.

I finished the mouthful of fruit I had before responding. I knew if I hadn't I would have been scolded for talking with my mouth full.

"Not really. I thought Tony, Megan and I would go and hang at the park for a few hours. Maybe catch a movie, just chill. What about you?"

"I'll be in the office today for a few hours. Should be home around four if you wanna do something later."

"Sure!" I responded and took another mouthful of fruit salad. I never passed up an opportunity to hang with my mom. My cell phone started ringing again. I looked at the ID.

"Who's that?" my mother questioned.

I laughed. "Oh, it's just Megan again. She thinks there's school today."

My mom just shook her head. "That's Megan for you."

I finished my fruit salad and placed my bowl in the dish washer. I walked into the foyer and grabbed my car keys, and then walked back to my mom.

"I better go get her before she has a cow." I commented. "I'll see you later then."

My mom nodded her head. "Okay, four o'clock then. Call me if you need anything."