Chapter 1
Sleepyhead
I wake up in the morning feeling like myself, as opposed to some popular, black rapper. It was a normal, hot summer day. I was more than bored, and begging to go outside. Unfortunately, my grandfather had an irrational fear that I was going to be bitten by ticks and die. This is true, of course, for we all know very well that ticks are widely known for swarming people, regardless of whether or not they use bug repellant. It wasn't often that I could go outside without getting an earful for it. Sadly, I also got yelled at for staying inside all of the time.
I spent most of my time reading, which I was almost certain would drive me insane one day. Now, I'm not to say that reading is a bad thing, but too many books, and too little a social life would probably drive me into insanity one of these days. A lot of kids my age thought I was strange, for I sounded more like an adult than a child of ten years. Instead of playing soccer, or riding a bike (which I didn't know how to do, anyway,) I preferred to spend my time reading, and broadening my vocabulary. I still liked to play video games. And, I still had the mind-set of a child. I was whimsical, spontaneous, and I really enjoyed climbing trees at any chance that I got.
After making my bed military-style, (the way my grandmother liked it,) I headed downstairs into the kitchen. "Ryan, you know, yer birthday is coming up in a few days." Well, it was true. In just three days, I was going to be eleven years old.
I was not excited about it, either. Most kids my age would say that they couldn't wait to be a "grown up." They couldn't wait to drive, or get a job. The girls were eager to kiss, and wear a bra. The boys wanted to be wrestlers, and super heroes. And, none of them could think of any kid super heroes. But like I said, I was not excited about getting older. More than once, I'd overheard my grandparents speaking of how hard it was to be an adult. They would talk about taxes, and mortgage. They would complain about insurance, and social security. While I had someone around to worry about all of these things for me, they did not.
None of my cousins, all of which were older than me, were whimsical and free. It seemed that with age, they all lost their imaginations. Perhaps they never had any. They didn't know what it was like to pretend that they were Link, and Hyrule Castle was taken by Ganondorf, and that they were the only one in the world who could rescue Princess Zelda. / All of which are copyright to Nintendo. / They don't know what it's like to be an adventurer, exploring the great unknown, deep, deep down in a cavern, (formerly known as Grandma's closet.) They don't know anything about being a giant beast, swimming large bodies of water, causing havoc and distress amongst innocent swimmers… (In the bath tub.) And if they ever did these things, then surely, they have forgotten.
But, my grandparents were excited for me. They always were. So, I smiled at them, and looked eager. "Yeah, I know!" And, I was, at least, a little… or a lot… excited for whatever place it was we would visit this year. Normally, that was our summer vacation, and my birthday surprise. "Where will we be going? To the beach? Out of state? London? Rome? Canada?" I could feel joy, just bubbling up inside of me.
"Actually," my grandmother cut in, "we won't be going anywhere." She must have noticed the look of disappointment heavy on my face, because quickly, she added, "Someone is coming here to visit you!" Something was odd about the way that she said it. It was like she was trying to be excited, but she really wasn't.
"Who?" I asked, obviously curious. Who dare come in and spoil the only vacation I got all year? And on my birthday, even! It was probably Aunt Heidi. She only came over "from across the pond" every few years, expecting everyone on the entire east coast to stop everything that they were doing and pay tribute to her. And this time, she chose to interrupt my birthday break! How unfair…
There was a long pause before anyone spoke. Finally, my grandfather decided to break the silence. With a flat voice and a vacant expression, he said, "Your father."