Love from Tinley

Love from Tinley: Chapter 1

                                                                      CHAPTER 1: Baby please don't go..

     "TINLEY RHEA STEELE!" my mom screamed from downstairs.  "WAKE.  UP!"

     I grumbled and rolled out of bed.  I looked at the alarm clock.  7:28.  Was it really necessary to get up this early?  I sat up and glanced around my room.  Everything was boxed up and ready to go.  But I wasn't.

     I could hear my twin sister Nadia chatting away on the phone through the wall, and I could hear my dad's awful singing-in-the-shower voice from downstairs.  I was going to miss this place.

     About four months ago, our parents dropped the bomb on us.  We were going to have to move from our cute little house in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to a charming downtown neighborhood in South Kensington, Great Britain.  Not that I wasn't excited, don't get me wrong, but I couldn't leave Cape Cod quite yet.  Not easily.

     We used to move all the time, but we finally settled in Cape Cod when Nadia and I had just turned 8, and our family loved it.  My parents seemed to adore the place; I had never seen this coming.

     But I had so many great friends!  How could I leave Beth, Kira, and Valerie?

     I hopped out of bed.  My feet hit the cold floor and shuddered.  I never would forgive my parents for taking my rug out before I woke up.

    I already had an outfit laid out so I wouldn't have to dig through all my bags.  Besides, most of my stuff had been sent out to Kensington a few days ago.  I threw on what I had chosen for today- a ruffly light pink blouse and some dark wash jean short-shorts.  And, of COURSE, my makeup.  I couldn't go a day without it, obvously.  I gave myself a once-over in the mirror and sighed.  Same old green eyes, same old long, curly blonde hair, same California-girl tan.

     Nadia knocked on the door twice.  "Hey, Tinley, can you come help me look for my headband?"  I turned around and frowned.  Even though she was my twin, how could she be so much prettier than me?  She had long, pin-straight, glossy dark brown hair, brown eyes, and gorgeous pale skin.  And she was looking gorgeous in her yellow tank top and ruffly white skirt.  "Yeah, sure.  I'll help you."

     "Cute outfit, by the way,"  Nadia said with a smile.  She always claimed that I was prettier- yeah, RIGHT.

     After about 10 minutes of searching, we FINALLY found her stupid headband.  So I went back to my room and grabbed my carry-on bag, a really cute floral mini duffel bag from my favorite boutique, Ally Dee's.  Nadia and I sat on the floor in our conjoined closet and looked out the floor-length bay window.  I sighed.

     "I'm gonna miss it,"  I said to Nadia, looking out at the Cape Cod coastline.  It was rocky and the waves were constantly crashing on the shore.  I loved it.

      Tears came to both of our eyes.  "Me too,"  Nadia said.

     Eventually Mom called us downstairs and the movers helped us pack all of the boxes into the last moving van.  Dad was on the phone with our moving agent and Mom was saying farewell to all the neighbors.  Nadia and I climbed into our silver Sedan, sitting in our usual seats and setting up our pillows for our ride to the airport.  Nadia immediately reached for her phone and started texting, but I shoved in my earbuds and put my iPod on shuffle.

     We finally all got in the car.  Dad said he had a special surprise, and Nadia and I exchanged a skeptical glance.  The last time he "had a surprise", it turned out we were moving.  We just couldn't wait to see what torcher this surprise would be. 

    But, for a change, it wasn't torcher.  It was a going away party with our closest friends at the local ice cream parlor.  I smiled when Kira, Beth, and Valerie enveloped me in a bear hug.  We all had ice cream- I got my favorite, mint chocolate chip- and reminisced about our favorite memories.  I guess time does fly when you're having fun, because before I knew it, it was time to load up the car again. 

     Tears streamed down my cheek.  My besties had even gotten me mini-presents for the long plane ride all the way to Britain.  Juicy Fruit gum from Valerie, wild cherry Tic Tacs from Kira, and a mega Crunch candy bar from Beth- all my favorites.  It was official, I had the best friends in the world, and I was being forced to leave them.  My parents hate me.

     I got in the car, and Nadia and I were crying like crazy.  It was a good call to go with the waterproof mascara.  I put my earbuds back in and listened to my iPod, silently crying until I fell asleep.