Ruby

~Chapter One~ Alarm Clock

"Have we met them before? What are their names? How old are they?" My mom paused and turned around to look at me. She smiled and answered sweetly.

"You'll find out when you get there."

"Can you at least tell me how far they are?"

"About 2 hours by train."

"We get to ride a train there?"

"Chloe mentioned it."

"I never listen to what Chloe has to say." After hearing this my mother sighed.

"Can't you two get along, just once?" I shrugged.

"How long will I be gone?"

"About 3 days." I nodded and then finished my questions, as well as my eggs. Mother went into the living room to read. I got up and start my chores after I sighed. Spending a whole week of no school doing chores was not what I had in mind of "exciting", but visiting new cousins sounded fun, at least I hoped it would be.

I put my dish and fork away in the sink and then thought of another question for my mother. I'm sure that she was very annoyed by my curiosity today already.

"When should I pack?" I called to Mom in the other room.

"Darling, don't worry about it." She replied. I went into the living room where I saw my mother sitting in a big, dark red, tall chair which had a small mahogany table with a lamp next to it. Mom put down her book and looked up at me. Chip was apparently laying down by her feet, sleeping.

"Are you coming with us?" I probably was pushing all of my mom's buttons for she sighed and closed her book, without even book-marking it. I assumed that she remembered the page number.

"Yes, I coming with you, so can you just stop asking all of these silly questions? They'll all be answered when you get there, alright?" I nodded. I was a very impatient person and I didn't want to wait until we got there to have my questions answered, but I had to deal with my horrible patience. I didn't ask any other questions, which made me mom into a better mood.

After that, I completed several of my chores which included washing the dishes, making my bed, and taking out the trash. I also had to take Chip for a walk everyday, which is why I grabbed the blue leash and doggy bag and then called for Chip. He didn't hear, even though he was in the room next door. So, instead, I went to the phone which was on the kitchen counter to make a call to my friend Hannah. I set the leash and bag onto the counter and picked the phone up. After a few rings, she picked up.

"Hello?" Said the voice on the other end.

"Hey Hannah, can we meet at your home?"

"Sure, what's up?"

"I have some news for you."

"Okay. You comin' now?"

"If I can."

"Of course, but why so early?"

"Thanks." I hung up and called for Chip again. This time, he heard me. With a bark, the little dog walked into the kitchen and looked up at me with small brown eyes.

"Ready?" I asked him. Chip didn't understand what I had said so he continued to stare at me. I then grabbed the leash from the counter and held it up. The leash was a light blue, like Fred's collar. My dog then understood what was going on. We were going to take a walk. He immediately went to the front door and waited for me to open it. I didn't open it until I switched out my white vest for a long sleeved coat that had a hood. It was a light purple and fuzzy on the inside. The coat wasn't extremely poofy, but it was still very warm. Before I left, I put my tennis shoes on.