“Ring, ring, ring.”
“Ugh,” I groan. I get up from the couch and wander into the kitchen.
“Autumn, honey! Be a dear and get the phone!’ My mom yells from her office.
“Okay!” I yell back. I reach for our beat up ten-year-old phone, hoping it isn’t my brother's girlfriend.
“Hello, who is it?” I ask. It is, of course, Dale’s girlfriend.
“Hi there. It’s Harmony. May I speak to Dale?”
“He’s not home.” I reply, annoyed, for it is the fifth time she had called our house today.
“Do you know where he is?” Harmony asks, in a voice that sounds like she has dipped her words in overly sweet honey.
“Nope.” I say, and hang up. In the pit of my stomach, I can feel the guilt building up. It feels like the last time I had been forced to talked to Harmony, and had hung up. But then I remember how she is so fake, annoying, and truthfully, obnoxious, and the guilt vanishes.
It is late in the afternoon, and the warm sunlight shines through the windows. In the backyard, the bees buzz and pollinate the blooming roses. The sprinklers get T-Rex, my brother’s dog, soaking wet while scaring him half to death. T-Rex hates getting wet. Personally I think that he is secretly a cat. Dale just doesn't want to admit he got a cat instead.
The weekend slowly ticks by, every hour. That thought makes me feel like rain clouds are threatening to ruin my Sunday so I shove it into the back of my head.
“Ahh!” I yelp, almost stepping on our grumpy old cat, Mr. Snuffles, who is curled up on the rug, sound asleep. Mr. Snuffles was named by my brother when he was five. I was only two when we brought him home, and all he did was sneeze and sniffle. That’s how he got his name. Careful not to wake Mr. Snuffles, I plop back onto the couch, take the remote, and switch the channel to good old Tom and Jerry.
***
“Rise and shine, Autumn!” My mom says. I open my eyes, but quickly shut them for I am blinded by the light.
“No, thank you!” I mutter into my pillow, soft as a cloud.
“Autumn, on the count of three, I expect you to be out of bed.” She says in a tone that suggests I will be in trouble if I don’t obey her orders. I brace myself for the cold and ease out of bed.
“Thank you, honey.” My mom smiles, her shiny white teeth showing. Her shoulder-length sandy blonde hair and hazel eyes gleam in the sunlight.
Dale, my mom, and I all have the same hazel eyes. When I look at her it is as if I am looking at my brother and myself. People on the street are always saying how much we look alike. I do not want to look anything even close to Dale. Eew. Trust me. That is not a good thing.
She begins to give me more orders about breakfast, soccer practice, school, homework, and all of that boring stuff I tune out.
“Understood?” she asks.
“Sure, cool mom!” I reply, and run into the bathroom before she can suspect anything.
“Autumn, you are going to make your brother late as well as yourself! Come on down, it’s already 7:30 and I need to get out of the house in exactly five minutes,” my mom yells from the garage. I can tell she is getting frustrated.
Deciding not to anger her and Dale, I shove the last bite of French toast in my mouth, dash down the creaky wooden stairs, open up the door to the garage, close it, and hop into Dale’s car to see Harmony sitting in the front seat.
“Hey Autumn,” she coos and kisses Dale on the lips.
“Why are you here?” I ask, emphasizing I am not happy to see her.
“Where were you the other day? I called but Autumn said you weren’t home,” she asks Dale innocently, ignoring my question.
“Oh, sorry about that. I was at the library studying for the final. You know, I have to ace this one if I want to get an A in the class.” Dale says, also ignoring me.
I really don’t understand why he likes Harmony. There is nothing too special about her, well, other than her looks. Harmony happens to be a model so I guess he fell for her crystal blue eyes, long, shiny hazelnut hair, perfect tan, and her tall thin frame; just two inches shorter than Dale. Wait a second. What am I saying, she is as ugly as frog! At least on the inside. I sigh and slide down in the seat ignoring Harmony and Dale, just as they do to me.
“Have a great day at school, honey!” My mom says smiling with concern in her eyes as she blows me a kiss.
I smile back, “Okay, I’ll try.”
“That’s the spirit.” She waves goodbye and Dale, Harmony, and I am off to school. Since Dale got his driver’s license last fall I don’t have to walk to school, which is a relief. We live up on Park Court, right next to Henry Davidson Park. Henry Davidson Park is an enormous park with dog walking trails, a playground, and even a soccer field where I have soccer practice. Occasionally, I’ll take T-Rex on a walk when my mom makes me because Dale is too busy. There are many beautiful old trees, which provide shade for the park on hot summer days that make you wish you were in the Arctic. I, however, live on 195 Park Court, west of the park, and up the hill. I go to Amy Gates Middle School, and to walk there, it takes about half an hour, to bike fifteen or so minutes. It’s a pain in the butt. I have no choice but to let my mom or Dale drive me. Sadly, Harmony has to come along too. Which ruins it.
“We’re here, Aut,” Dale says awakening me from my daydreams.
