Who Are You Pepper Carter?

Chapter 1

I walked home from the store guided by the silver chain. There was one to every place here in Burlington. A new safety feature. You just had to be careful not to get tangled, especially around the markets. Sometimes pollution floats over from the factories making it hard to see where you're going.

"Pepper, hey Pepper, wait up!" It my younger brother Basil. I'd tried to leave him, he's very loud and always bugging me with questions.

"I hope you're not running. You'll trip if you're not careful," I scolded. I heard his footsteps slow down a little.

"Hey, do you know what day it is?" he asked eagerly. "Box day! I really hope there's paper and coloring pencils. We haven't had coloring pencils in ages. Maybe there's coloring wax. What are those things called again?"

"Crayons Basil, they're called crayons," I huffed. Basil is only 7. I know I was not as annoying as he is when I was seven.

"Oh yeah, now I remember. Maybe there will be stickers!"

"Basil, this is a box of supplies to help us live for another month. I don't think they'd waste space in it by filling it up with junk for small minded children," I snapped.

"Maybe there will be gum?" he asked. I stopped for a second. I do like gum. A pack isn't all that big, maybe they could fit it in... but no, there hasn't been gum in three years.

"Lets get home and find out," I said. I walked fast hoping to loose him again. But all I did was trip. When we reached the end of this thread, I squinted closely at the directory pole. I'd gone this way a million times, but it's easy to get lost in a heavy smoke like today. Dill, my other brother once got lost for two whole days because he grabbed the wrong chain.

I was glad when we finally got home. The Box was sitting in the middle of our apartment.

"I'm home!" I shouted as I walked into the house.

"Don't shout, I'm right in here," said my mother. "Is Dill with you?"

"Nope, just Basil. I think Dill had one of his club meets," I explained. I washed my hands in the kitchen sink.

"Try to get a shower before dinner dear, you look like a homeless boy," her words stung. But as usual, she didn't notice that it hurt my feelings. I walked out the back door, down the stairs and to the complex's bathroom. We have to share a large bathroom with many stalls and sinks with most of the other families on this street block. I waved to the Blake family as they walked past them on the stairs.

There's Mr. Blake, Mrs. Blake, their sons Jeffery, and Hank. Hank is a little older than me, and he can be mean sometimes.

I slid the lock shut on one of the stalls and got undressed. I folded my clothes and placed them on the bench. You get four minutes for a shower, no more. It usually isn't enough time to wash off all the soap.

I washed my short black hair with the bar soap because we are out of shampoo. When I say short, I do mean short. Hank made me cut it on a dare, really short just like his. He said he'd throw my homework in the toilet in the boys room if I didn't do it. I was fine with it, my hair grew pretty fast. I figured it would only be a year until it was down to my shoulder. So I let him cut it.

It's been two years, and it hasn't grown more than an inch.

I never really looked all that much like a girl anyway, even with long hair. And I would look like a cross dresser, but after I cut my hair mom stopped buying me dresses and skirts. She just patched up Dill's old clothes and put them in my dresser. Then she packed up all of my clothes in a cardboard box and gave them to a neighbor girl. Things haven't been the same between us since.

Oh, and in addition my chest is as flat as a board. Pretty embarrassing for a fourteen year old, right? I rinsed my hair and moved on down my legs and in between my toes.

When I was done, I dried off and snuck quickly back to my room to get clothes on. It wasn't exactly my room. I had to share with Dill and Basil. There's my bed, then a thin curtain spread across the middle of the room and where to Dill and Basil sleep. I had to hurry to get on my clothes before one of them walked in.

"Pepper, I believe I said shower before dinner, not during," mom said when I came back to the apartment.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think I took all that long," I mumbled. Dad was already home all he ever does is sit there and look menacing. It's a little scary but it seems that Dill is the only one of us he really likes. I didn't see Dill yet. He'll be in bigger trouble than I am for coming into dinner late.

"Well you did. DON'T sit down. You will stand during dinner. Is that perfectly clear?" she asked with her voice high and cold.

"Yes ma'am it is," I stood close to my food as I ate. Basil laughed into his cup of milk. I shot him a look.

"Hey, sorry I'm late! Club went on a tab bit longer than I expected and I didn't want to run. It's smoky out there today!" Dill is the nicest guy anyone could ever know. He's one of the few things about my life that makes it remotely livable. He's never mean, he doesn't ask questions, he doesn't snore, and he never ever yells. No matter what.

"It's alright dear. Help yourself, Pepper doesn't seem to have much of an appetite," Mom smiled. The woman is psycho.

"Too bad, this looks pretty good. I'll leave a bit I case you get hungry later." He scooped 90 percent of the remaining dinner into his plate. His only flaw... He's hopeless naive.

I waited until Dill was done serving himself and took what was left of the turnip casserole and a few Ritz crackers.

"Alright, let's get that box open," dad said. He stood up slowly and grabbed the crowbar from its usual place on the mantel. He pried the lid open and we sat on the floor watching him open it. There was some fabric and thread, paper, two new pencils, aspirin, crackers, some other food, a new container of toothpaste, a bar of soap, and instead of the usual light bulbs, there were about ten thick candles.

"No more light bulbs?" Basil asked.

"There is a war on dear. They probably need them for something else," Mom said sweetly. She never talks like that to me.

"There has been a war on for over a hundred years, and in a completely different country. We shouldn't be bothered with their problems, we have enough of our own," I said.

"Pepper, don't say things like that," I could feel the hatred in her voice, not exactly anything specific I said... just the fact that I'd said anything at all.

"I'm going to brush my teeth, excuse me please." I stood up briskly and walked out of the room. I don't think they heard me. Just a normal day at the Carter house. I brush my teeth twice a day, I feel kind of guilty about it. Everyone else only does it once, save on the toothpaste. I just don't like having fuzzy teeth all day.

Everyone was already asleep in their rooms when I got back up. Maybe just a quick snack. I walked over to quietly open the ice box. As usual I was still hungry after dinner, but honestly no one would miss a single carrot and a thin slice of bread. I didn't take enough to be noticed, but the little snacks do help a bit at night. When I finished I went back to my room and curled up on my mattress under the sheets.

In the middle of the night I heard the door creak and saw the shadow of Dill. I figured he just had to go to the bathroom so I turned over and kept sleeping. Little did I know that that would be the last time I'd sleep in my room.

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Hey there! Remember to Vote and Comment to earn a dedication.

And P.S. Sierra told me to name this chapter Crap Title. I'm not sure why...

(7/3)