Virgo

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The series of events before it happened were very... boring. Literally. Nothing happened. Apart from a shopping trip...

One Saturday morning, in autumn, I slumped into the soft, warm leather of my sofa, and tucked my knees under my chin. The world outside was barely alive. A few birds fluttered past, and even that was an improvement to the vast, blank silence inside my house. I decided to close my eyes and block out the boringness that was my life.

A few hours later, I felt firm paws treading over my legs. My little (and completely adorable) kitten Mojo woke me up with a soft meow and collapsed onto my lower- half. This was a sign that my mother was finally home, as she had probably let him in.

I stretched out my legs, disturbing Mojo. He peered up at me with his green eyes. Like mine.

"Heidi, get up. Now." The voice of my mother came as a shock, shattering the silence. I buried my head into the the side of the sofa.

"Can I just have a few minutes to-"

"No, get up." Her voice was completely monotone, but she seemed quite relaxed. She chucked a pillow at my chest, flicking her long, mouse- brown hair over one shoulder. Today, she sported a long, flowing black dress, lined with lacy ruffles. My mother wasn't overly stunning, but she was very pretty in her own way.

I lifted myself off the sofa, my socks slipping slightly on the shiny, wooden floor. My phone lit up from across the room, and I grabbed it quickly, pressing the "answer call" button, waving my mother out of the room.

"Anabel, hey!" I said loudly, surprised at how croaky my voice was.

"Hey, girl!" came the reply. She was significantly more awake than I was at that moment. "Wanna go out shopping, babes?"

"Babes" was a nick-name she often used for me, even though I thought it sounded like a quote from some soppy, girl movie, riddled with "straight-hair" girls as we called them. There were a number of said creatures at our school. They would huddle in bunches, clutching pastel-shaded smart-phones, and texting their oh-so-amazing boyfriends when the teachers weren't looking.

"Yep, sure, of course," I replied. I ran my hand down my long, long hair. Naturally, it had knotted while I had slept. The price of being a curly-head. But at least that qualified me to not be a straight-hair.

"Great, meet you there girly-girl!" she called down the phone, hanging up.

Inevitably, she had forgotten to leave any details that indicated a time or a place for our little shopping trip, but it was Anabel, so...

I quickly texted her, then dropped my phone on the soft, raggedy cushions now face-down on the carpet. Little Mojo poked his head round the door curiously. His fur then puffed out, and he collapsed on the spot. Tired little kitty.