Chapter 1
Beep! Beep! Beep! I groaned at the sound of my screeching alarm clock. It seemed to be calling my name, but I was reluctant to get out of my warm cocoon. But of course, Wanda had moved the alarm clock to the other side of my room, making me have to walk a whole one and a half feet to press the snooze button, which so wasn’t worth being late.
I got up and stretched my arms, flipping on the light switch as I walked out the door and into the bathroom. I glanced at my face in the mirror as I turned the water onto full blast. Bags were under my eyes, due to the lack of studying before eleven P.M, again. I sighed, high school was hard, especially with all A.P. classes.
I smelled the steam before I saw it, stripping off my pajama pants and tank top. I stepped into the shower, the steam curling around my ankles and slowly up the rest of my body. The steam was like an aroma that woke me up every morning, opening my eyes and seeing light for the first time at the new dawn.
As I stepped out of the shower after about ten minuets lathering myself in white foam and yummy smelling products I wrapped the towel around my body, letting the heat stay with me as I walked into my room and changed.
I grabbed a pair of jeans and a tank top from my drawers in the dresser before me. I walked into the bathroom and quickly dried my hair before putting on my olive knit sweater over the white tank top. It was pretty cool for Reno, Nevada, but, it was the end of February after all, meaning it was around forty degrees Farenheight.
I applied some light greenish eyeshadow, the color making my emerald eyes pop. I smiled in satisfaction at my reflection, I looked much better than the beast who had woken up this morning.
The aroma of sausage and pancakes greeted me from the kitchen as I started down the stairs. Wanda and Paul were home today, most likely would be all day. I smiled as I sat down, giving them my daily good morning.
Wanda and Paul were my parents, well, the parents I had grown up with since I was twelve. I loved them, but sometimes, I wished I could still remember my birth parents faces. I can’t remember anything from the night they died. It wasn’t like it was a long time ago, only about four years. But for some reason, I wouldn’t have even known that they were murdered if it hadn’t of been for the newspaper clippings.
Wanda plopped a pancake and a couple sausages onto my plate. I quickly flooded the plate with syrup, sausages and all. “Mmm,” I sighed, taking the smell and flavor as it ran over my eager tastebuds.
Paul looked up from his newspaper and took another sip of his black coffee, announcing some troubling news in the world, like usual. It seemed like nobody could escape bad news nowadays. It happened in at least one place each day.
I glanced at the clock hanging on the wall and let out a small squeal. “I’m going to be late!” I said, chugging down the white milk in my glass. I ran upstairs, quickly running my toothbrush over my teeth and darted back down in record time, swinging my backpack over my shoulder and saying goodbye to Wanda and Paul.
I sprinted out to my old, light blue Honda Civic, groaning as I saw fresh splats of bird poop on the side mirrors. “Stupid birds,” I cursed, unlocking the door and climbing in. I started the engine, pulling out of the driveway and driving down the street.
“Breaking news! In all fifty states of our country the governors of each state and his or her family have been found dead. The murderer has been traced as far as each state border, but no further. Officials believe that the killer of each of the governors is associated or responsible for the Californian Bank Robbery that took place five years ago in Sacremento. The killer is also believed to be responsible for Governor Gallant and his wife’s murder which took place three years ago-”
I quickly changed the channel, clenching the steering wheel. They were so close to discovering the killer of my parents, but they always seemed to escape. I bit my lip, I wanted to find who was responsible for my parents death, and who was responsible for me not to have a normal life.
My father had been the governor of Nevada, and a very rich governor at that. Well, we were rich even before he was a governor, maybe that was part of the reason he won the election. But, he was a good man. After he had died everyone told me about how honest and hard-working he was, and I knew it was true, even though I couldn’t remember him.
My mother had been the same way, or at least everyone told me so. Our neighbors, friends, and many of the people my father worked with said my parents had been made for each other, and I believed it.
I sighed, turning up the volume of the radio till it was blasting. Sappy love songs filled my ears and my smile quickly returned. “I wanna stand with you on a mountain, I wanna bathe with you in the sea…” I turned up the radio even louder, this was mine and my boyfriend’s, Jared Williams, song. We had started dating the night of the Homecoming dance in October, and this had been the first song we had danced to as a couple.
As I pulled up to the school I saw Jared waiting for me, him leaning against his black SUV, his shaggy blond hair blowing slightly in the wind. I pulled up next to him and turned off the engine, climbing out.
“Hey Kashmere,” he said as I made my way around my car and into his arms. He kissed me tenderly, his blue eyes shining.
“Hey guys!” I heard a voice say and I turned, my smile broadening as I saw my best friend Missy approaching us, her boyfriend Rob clinging to her waist.
I couldn’t help but notice Jared roll his eyes. He didn’t take a fancy to my two friends I’d known since seventh grade too much. Especially Missy, he thought she was too “immature,” though she was a lot like me.
“Hey track season starts in two weeks, you excited?” Missy asked, flipping her blond wavy hair.
“Oh yeah! I totally forgot!” I said. “Are you going to do track this year Jared?”
“Yeah, probably. I’m pretty good at the long jump you know,” he said, smiling.
“Yes yes, we all know,” Rob said, rolling his eyes. It appeared that Rob didn’t like Jared too much either.
“You should do the hurdles again this year,” Jared told me. “You have the legs for it.” He grinned, kissing me on the cheek.
My cheek blushed red as he planted the kiss. It was kind of embarressing to tell you the truth, when he kissed me in front of my friends. “I might,” I said. “But as long as Missy does the high jump and Rob does the four hundred.”
“You already know that we are experts at those events,” Missy replied. “Why wouldn’t we do them?” she laughed.
Bing! Bing! We all groaned as we heard the warning bell rang. “I hate school,” I said.
“Me too,” Jared answered. “You’re the only thing that makes it worthwhile.” He nuzzled my cheek and down to my neck and I felt spiders run up and down my spine as we walked into Walding High.
