Chapter 2 The End of a Hot Summer

"Wake up!!! You need to prepare us breakfast!!!"

Aunt Marge hollered, pounding on my bedroom door. "Sarah and I will be heading to town to finish last minute shopping before school starts tomorrow."

Groaning I turned and glanced at my alarm clock, seven-fifty am!!! It wasn't even eight o'clock in the morning yet. It was the last day of summer before school starts and they are already up before eight in the morning? Ugh this day was totally going to suck. I grabbed my pillow and tossed it over my face, hoping they would just go away.

"Get up now! Or we will be late to your cousins appointment!" Aunt Marge shouted rapping on the door one last time before thundering back downstairs all two hundred and fifty pounds of her.

"Come on get up or I'll be late to my haircut appointment. I need to get a new hairstyle before school starts. This hair of mine was so last week," Sarah huffed twiddling her hair while looking into her hand held mirror. "I need to look my best so Josh will finally notice me this year," eek she shrieked gleefully. He is like the dreamiest guy in school. I can't believe we ended up attending the same middle school together!" she giggled.

My body aching, I contemplated with myself about whether or not it was worth getting out of bed.

Not hearing her cousin moving from within she continued to pound on the door incessantly.

"Ok, ok, I'm getting up. I flipped the covers off and headed downstairs.

I turned on the tv for my uncle, before heading into the kitchen to make breakfast. While surfing through the fridge, my Uncle Marvin who had been sitting at the table this whole time looked up over his paper with his beady little eyes and with an obnoxious snort, he growled,

"Find us something cold to make. It's too damn hot to cook anything. This blasted heat will be the death of us if you fire up the bloody stove now."

My Uncle retorted as he went back to reading his paper. "Yes uncle Marvin," I muttered.

And that's my Uncle for you, isn't his personality great? I thought rolling my eyes as I continued my hunt in the fridge before settling on the granola and yogurt, and grabbed the ingredients to make a salad using the leftover hard boiled eggs and ham from last nights dinner.

I sat the ingredients on the table and grabbed the lettuce spinner prepping and washing the lettuce. Putting everything together I placed a bowl in front of each persons spot on the table and dished out the yogurt. I was about to set a bowl of yogurt in front of Sarah when she screeched at the top of her lungs,

"Get that disgusting hogwash away from me! I can't eat anything with dairy! You should know better! I have to maintain my perfect figure for Josh. I don't want to get any fatter than I already am. I'm just now starting to slim down this summer from losing my baby fat. I'll just stick to the salad. You shouldn't eat yogurt either. Your going to embarrass me in front of the whole school. You still haven't lost your baby fat yet," Sarah sneered as she leaned over pinching my love handles.

"Don't worry I don't want anything to eat right now, I'm not hungry," I said glaring at my cousins hand. I never had an appetite while they were in the room with me. "I'll eat later," I whispered sipping on a glass of water. My uncle grabbed the remote and hiked the volume up on the TV.

TV reporter on the Daily News

We are coming to you live

with today's weather

Report. (static) Today will

be a high of 108 degrees

with a low of 102. (Static) We

can expect the temperatures

to remain in the 100s for the

remainder of this week

and into next week. (Static)

"Dang blasted TV! We should toss it out and get a new one. This static is driving me crazy. It's been happening all week," my Uncle thundered slamming his fist on top of the tv.

"Can I get a new phone too Daddy? It's been losing signal all week as well. I need to keep up with my friends on Facebook and Twitter but every time I go to post something my phone blacks out, Sarah whined tossing her phone onto the kitchen counter.

"Don't worry sweetie we will add a new phone and tv to our shopping list when we go out. I can't have my baby girl lose her popularity if she doesn't have a working cell phone now can we," my Aunt Marge pinched my cousin's cheek lovingly doting on her favorite and only child.

"Hurry dearie we don't want to be late!"

"Ok mom I'm done let's go." Sarah rushed only taking two bites of the salad I had to get up so early to make. She checked her reflection one last time before heading out the door to the car.

"Can I add a pair of shoes to the shopping list? Sarah's shoes are too big for me and I can't walk in heels." I asked not feeling too hopeful.

"What have I told you about asking for things?" My uncle barked tossing his shoe at me. I quickly dodged out of the way. I was used to him throwing something at me when he got upset, so I was well prepared this time.

"No we got you a used pair right over there on the counter. We also left you a box of Sarah's old school clothes in the hallway from last year as well that you can go through. We took you in out of the kindness of our hearts when we didn't have to you ungrateful child."

"You should be a little more grateful that Sarah is letting you have all of her old clothes since they are all almost brand new. You know better than to ask us to buy you brand new stuff. You're lucky we even feed you our leftovers instead of giving them to the dog!" My aunt sneered evilly while rushing her family out of the house.

"We must be on our way. Watch the house while we are gone and don't mess anything up. We have guests coming over tonight to celebrate the last day of summer," my uncle shouted over his shoulder as she and my uncle scooted out the front door.

"Don't forget to take care of FiFi for me while I'm gone. She needs to be taken out and she needs her weekly bath so she doesn't stink up my blankets," hollered Sarah over the car radio.

"Turn that bloody radio off. It's gone berserk just like everything else in this house," my uncle yelled as they pulled out of the driveway.

I waved sheepishly until they disappeared around the block. Once out of sight I headed back into the house. Well there goes my last day of summer. I get stuck taking care of my cousin's dog, and watching the house while she gets to get a new hair style, phone, and new clothes, while I get to sift through a box of her old clothes.

"Man I hate her clothes," I mumbled under my breath kicking the box in the hallway in frustration. It's too hot to wear clothes anymore. I wish this heat would go away. This sun was going to be the death of me if this heat doesn't let up soon. It's going to burn my pale skin.

My name is Chelsey, as you must have guessed by now I live with my Aunt Marge, Uncle Marvin, and my spoiled to death older cousin Sarah. They are a real piece of work aren't they? Yeah I think so too. Ever since I could remember I have always lived with my Aunt and Uncle.

I was told that my parents had died in a car accident when I was just a baby, so I never knew my parents. I just turned thirteen this past January and I'll be starting my first year in middle school this year. My cousin Sarah is a couple years older than me so this will be her last year in middle school before she's off to high school next year.

All my life I grew up in a small town called Traverse City in Northern Michigan. My Uncle is a famous brain surgeon, while my Aunt is a biomedical engineer and they both work for the Munson Hospital of Traverse City. This means that money is no option when it came to spoiling my cousin Sarah.

Sarah is a five foot six inch blonde hair blue eyed beauty with a Brazilian tan. She has long tall slender legs and huge breasts with perfect baby fine straight hair. All the guys in school always make goo goo eyes at her whenever she walks by.

Me on the other hand, I am but a puny little runt standing only four feet seven inches tall barely weighing eighty five pounds soaking wet. I have golden brown hair with creepy emerald green eyes with gold flecks in them. It was rare to see someone with green eyes.

Supposedly I was told by my cousin Sarah that I mostly take after my father's creepy looks except for my skin. She told me that my mom looked like an alien with how pale her skin looked. So I must have inherited my pasty white skin from her. I guess this is why I always burn in the sun. This heat wave we've been having doesn't help my cause any either with the heat being over one hundred degrees.

Turning my thoughts back to my cousin I couldn't help but think of the money my family made. Because of the money my Aunt and Uncle make, my cousin has always been spoiled. This caused her to turn out to be a bad apple with a rotten attitude. She always gets what she wants, and when she wants it, since she was my Aunt and Uncle's only child. But the saying goes the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

My Aunt and Uncle's attitudes could rival Sarah's any day. They get upset over the littlest things, or should I say they get upset when it came to me. They have always hated me ever since they were forced to take me in when my parents died. They always say things like she's just another mouth to feed or she is a nuisance, as if they didn't have enough money, I grumbled. Whenever they really got angry they took their anger out on me by throwing something at me or when I was younger they would hit me.

Especially Sarah, one time I got caught taking off with her iPod, just so I could listen to some music when they were out shopping and Sarah came back early because she had forgotten something. She found me with her iPod and she slapped me. From that moment on she would slap me whenever she got upset. There was nothing I could do. If I ever hit her back my Uncle would come after me and hit me himself, if I was lucky enough I would escape his hits by running outside but then he would lock the front door and I would be stuck sleeping outside on the porch all night as my punishment. I couldn't stand my family, if I could even call them that. They can't even remember my name. It was always, "hey you, brat get over here, or hey you stupid child."

They weren't the only ones who couldn't remember my name either. None of my teachers or classmates could ever remember my name. Every year when I would enroll for my classes, my records would mysteriously disappear. Or when I went to the doctors one time when I broke my arm, they would say they had no recollection that I was listed in their system. My Uncle would always say it was a pain every year when he would enroll me into next years classes.

If it wasn't for me printing out a copy of each years transcripts as they got sent out, this being the only documentation that had my name on it and told me that I had attended school there then it would be as if I had never went to school there at all. It was a complete mystery to me as well as my Uncle. It was like every year my name would be wiped clean and no one ever remembered me. Not even my teachers from last year.

I guess it doesn't help my situation that I was always quite and reserved. I never talked in class and no one wanted to be friends with me so I guess this could be why no one ever remembered me. I was considered the weird kid that never spoke next to my cousin which everyone adored at school. I was always told I was way too nice by everyone who met me. I was even told by a teacher once that I was so nice they thought I was being a pushover, whatever that was supposed to mean.

I would always do as I was told and never back talked my Aunt and Uncle. I did all the chores in the house without complaining. I never get in arguments like normal friends do so most kids see me as weird and non-aggressive like my cousin who is a go getter and has all the guys flocking her way.

I guess you can say I have always been a little reserved. I am always getting over shadowed by my beautiful older cousin. I wonder if my personality would have been different if my parents were still alive and I didn't have to try to follow in my cousin's footsteps all the time. Maybe I would have gone to a different school and I wouldn't have a crush on Josh's best friend Kaleb. Josh and Kaleb are the two most popular boys in our school. Girls flocked to them like a magnet. My cousin was smitten with Josh who was the jock on the football team. While Kaleb was a little more reserved and a pretty boy.

I've seen Kaleb and Josh over at our house multiple times for dinner parties and to pick Sarah up for a day at the mall. That's how I met Kaleb and Josh. I fell in love with Kaleb at first sight. Don't get me wrong Josh is a pretty handsome boy too and every girl in the school is head over heels for him but I am not a two timer. They are both beautiful males. But I like Kaleb a little better. He seems a lot more nicer than Josh who sits there and flirts with all the girls in the school except for me of course. And there was no way I was going to get in the middle of my cousin's crush on Josh. It was so not worth my time. I would never hear the end of it.

I just wish one day Kaleb will notice me and fall in love with me. I have always been alone and unwanted by my family and the kids at school. Even my own cousin hates me thinking I am mooching off her parents money so there is less money for her to get spoiled with. Even though my Aunt and Uncle have never once spent a single penny on me. I was always stuck with Sarah's hand me down's.

I wish just this once that I could be whisked away by a handsome prince that will love me, and call me by name. I want to be able to start a new family and be loved and cherished forever, never to be forgotten and tossed away like yesterday's garbage. I want to be spoiled too. I want to be able to eat as much as I want and not just the scraps my Uncle feeds me because heaven forbid the food he buys is much too expensive for me to eat.

I want to be able to sleep in and not have to get up early. I don't want to have to be someone's Cinderella always doing everyone else's chores, cooking, cleaning and errands for the rest of my life. I want to be a normal girl, with a handsome boyfriend and friends to call my own. I want to be able to make mistakes and not get hit or punished at every turn. I want to find my soulmate, you know that love at first sight thing and everything ends in happily ever after? I want to be tall and beautiful not scrawny and short.

Why can't I have a tan instead of burning in the sun? Can't I be popular for once and have every guy in school chasing after me even the older guys heading to high school? Nope, never because to even have one of my wishes come true would be asking for way too much. My life will never be like Cinderella where I get whisked away by a prince and taken to a castle. I sighed in frustration looking at the clock on the wall.

Well I guess I better take the dog out and give her a bath before everyone comes back home. I took FiFi out and gave her a bath. Soaking wet I head to my room to change into some dry clothes. I head back downstairs to sifted through the box of old clothes hoping I would find something decent to wear for this school year. Ugh this was going to be the worst part of my day.

Going through the box just, about every article of clothing was either a mini crop top that shows your belly or white capri pants with thick wedge heels. This was Sarah's favorite style, yuck I stuck my tongue out at the awful choice in clothes she had. Due to her unique style choices I decided I had to go with my cousin to the store every year from here on out so that I could give her some advice on what's in style.

I was hoping that she would use her daddies credit card and buy some items I recommended because I knew once she got home she would just toss them out and go out and buy more clothes. I had her try on a few sun dresses and some sandals and I lied to her and told her she looked really pretty in them and Josh would surely notice her in them. So of course money was no option for her so she bought a few summer dresses and when she got home she ended up hating them.

Which means they got passed on to me. Yay wardrobe fiasco avoided for another year, I thought. I looked down at my flat chest frowning. The only problem I had left to solve was that the sizes she wore were a little too big on me because of course Sarah had a whopping C cup for her breast size while I was lacking in the boob department with my bare flat chest.

I still haven't hit puberty yet which means I still have yet to get my period, which I knew my Aunt was so not looking forward to seeing that this was going to be another added expense to her pocketbook. My cousin told me, you better be thankful little runt that you don't have your period yet because it's a pain in the ass. I wish I at least had some boobs so that her dresses weren't so big in the chest. It meant that I was either going to have to hem them or stuff a sports bra to get the dress to fit properly.

But hey at least I had something cute to wear. I grabbed a simple white sun dress and ripped a green sash off of one of Sarah's crop tops and tied it around my waist. I grabbed the pair of brown sandals my aunt had left on the counter and put them on to complete the outfit.

Turning around and looking in the mirror behind me I whispered under my breath "mission complete." At least I know what I will be wearing for my first day back to school tomorrow. Changing back into my shorts and t shirt I slipped on my sandals, grabbed a book I had checked out at the public library and hunted down my cousin's iPod, and headed for Cedar Lake. I didn't feel like sitting around the house all day waiting on my family to return home. It was way too hot in that stuffy house.

I thought it would be a little cooler sitting under a tree and try to catch a little of that breeze blowing in from off the water. It was about a ten minute walk to get to the lake from my house. I didn't own a bike so I had to go on foot. I didn't mind though it was a nice day out minus the heat.

After walking in silence for a few minutes I spotted the lake just beyond the tree line. Making sure no one had followed me, I found a perfect shaded area and sat down and opened my book to read. Books were my life. I didn't know what I would do without books. I had no friends, no phone, wasn't allowed to play sports, and my Uncle always hogged the TV at home so I literally had nothing to do in my spare time. So one day I walked to the library and told the lady my situation and that I was too young for an ID but I really wanted to read books.

So the nice lady checked the books out under her name and made me promise to bring them back on time. I promised and to this day I was allowed to check out as many books as I wanted and I would come here to Cedar Lake to read in peace away from my obnoxious family.

Reading through a few pages, I began to doze off under the tree, the heat making me a little sleepy. I barely got to sleep since my cousin and aunt always made me do chores late into the night and then would wake me up early to do more chores. I yawned aching all over. All of a sudden I felt a pair of eyes on me, I got a subtle feeling that someone or something was watching me. Even though I knew I was the only one that came to this clearing, it still felt odd. I flinched hoping it wasn't a creeper or some crazy stalker. I peeked through my eyelids scanning the area.

There was no one there, the clearing was empty with only a gently lapping from the water, and yet there was still this intense pressure bearing down on me. "Is anybody there," I called out just to be safe. I scanned the trees again trying not to miss any hidden dark area.

No response, hmm I must be imagining things, or maybe it was a rabbit hiding in the underbrush. I still felt a little uncomfortable but I decided to wave it off. No one ever came here except me. It was probably just the heat getting to me. I settled back down against the tree, and put the earbuds in my ears and pushed play on the iPod before leaning back against the tree. I fell asleep in the heat of the early morning. Not realizing that there were two sets of eyes watching me from above invisible to the naked eye.