Bear with Me

Chapter 1

"Dad? Are you okay?" I asked cautiously as I entered the room. The backpack I had swung over my shoulder was not particularly heavy, but at that moment, it was the heaviest thing I could possibly carry.

"Yes, Riley. Daddy's just a little under the weather."

It looked far more serious; perhaps it was the flu that came with the winter. I was only nine, but I knew how harsh a rampage of the flu could be - runny nose on the one side, the dry desert on the other, scratchy throat, coughing your lungs up, and the wonderful groggy feeling of not being able to get up from bed to go take wizz.

I kissed my Dad goodbye and hurried off to catch the bus to school while Mom called after me with a, "Love you! Have a good day!" as I ran past her, waving my little pale hand excitedly.

The rest of my brothers and sisters were all waiting for me at the bus stop,

"Hurry, you slow poke!" cried Mia. She was the oldest. She could be mean sometimes, but she meant well. Then there were my other seven siblings: Dylan, Anthony, Zack, Hannah, Tamara (but we all just called her Tammy), Kyle and Lyle - they were twins. Yep, we were a pretty big family for the 21st Century. Biggest family I knew only had 3 kids. We really weren't popular at school or in our community... or rather we were, just not very well liked. My mom got lots of glances and looks that sized her up and down, wondering, "After 9 kids how does she still look so good? It must be liposuction or plastic surgery." Not that I knew what any of those were, but I figured they meant something not highly recommended.

I was kid number 7, just before the twins showed up shortly after me. You think you've heard of middle-child syndrome? You are wrong. There's Mia and then the twins. Every other kid is a filler for mom to say,

"Anthony, please go tell your father supper is ready," or Dad saying, "Riley, go fetch your sister's school books."

Which sister, Dad? That would help. I sometimes feel like I don't exist but then Mom sees invisible little me and comes home with a teddy bear just for me, because I'm the only kid in this family that loves them. I have an entire collection of plushies that have taken over my bed. Sometimes Dad will take me and my older brothers camping and then we all bond quite well. But despite being one of the middle children, I love my family and I would give the world to protect them. I would, however, like to make a difference in this world and not just be another middle-child.

What I did not know, however, was that it was all about to change. This is my story of how I discovered The Magic.