Ruby

~Chapter One~ Alarm Clock

I opened the door to find frost everywhere. On the grass, on the sidewalk, and on the roofs of people's homes. A cold breeze rushed by and gave me the chills. Chip didn't mind too much. He walked right beside me. I didn't bother to use the leash because Chip was so well behaved. I still brought it with me in case we went to park that required a leash. Every time I exhaled, a cloud of steam filled the air and if I was a pot boiling on a stove.

Soon, we arrived at a park which we visited the most since It wasn't too far for my home. I could always smell the sweet smell of pine needles from the evergreen tree which grew around there. There was also the scent of wet grass in the air. Chip was also interested in all the smells. He sniffed a tree nearby and did his business. After a few other trees, I called for Chip again. I still wanted to meet Hannah.

We started to walk again as a cool breeze rushed through the air and I was able to get a whiff of something sweet. I instantly recognized the smell as cinnamon. Somebody must of been cooking with cinnamon somewhere nearby. Not only did a scent flow through the air, but something else. That something flew into my face which shocked me at first.

"What the heck?" I asked as I took off the object and looked down at it. I then looked back at the direction where it flew from. I sniffed the object. It was a piece of paper. Blank on the side I was looking at. The paper smell a lot like cinnamon. Perhaps whoever was cooking with cinnamon, lost this piece of paper. I flipped the paper over to see that not both sides were blank. On the other side were multiple dots all in jumbles and in odd shapes. The dots didn't form anything, other than a sheet of dots. I didn't know what the little circles were or if they meant anything. I didn't know and I didn't really care, so I stuck the paper into my jeans and continue to walk down the sidewalk and Chip followed beside me.

Eventually, I arrived at my friend's house. It was a tall and white building. Three stories actually, and it had a dark red door which had a small set of stairs that led up to it. There was a long pathway that led from the public sidewalk to the stairs. Along that pathway was a row of beautiful yellow flowers, on each side, growing.

Chip quickly walked up to the stairs and looked back at me. I too then walked toward the stairs and knocked onto the door and waited for an answer. Pretty soon, a light brown haired girl with blue eyes and small freckles on her cheeks answered the door. She greeted me and let me enter.

"What's the news?" Hannah asked, but before I could answer, she scooped up Chip and held him high in the air and looked up and him and Chip looked down at her. "He's so adorable! I can't think of any cuter face!"

I stared at Hannah for awhile, wondering what she was doing, but I had to agree. Chip was pretty cute.

"Do you want me to answer your question or not?" I asked as I closed the front door.

"Yes. Come into the kitchen and then we'll chat." She put Chip down and I slipped my tennis shoes off. I dropped the leash next to my shoes and hanged my coat onto a coat rack next to the front door, then, we all walked into the kitchen.

Hannah's home was always cozy inside. Oddly, it also smelled like baby powder. They didn't have a baby, but would still always ask if they did.

Once we entered the kitchen, I picked Chip and and sat in a stool that was next to a small bar beside the kitchen. As I stroked Chip's head, Hannah got something out of a pantry above the black marble counter. It was a large bag of Cheetos. My favorite snack food.

"Tell me everything." The bag of chips then made a loud popping noise as Hannah opened it.

"Apparently I'm going to visit some cousins today for three days." I said.

"Today? Dang it."

"Why? You have plans?" I grabbed a Cheeto and ate it. The orange, cheesy flavoring stuck to my fingers which tempted me to lick them.