Chapter 1: Meet Tania Ayame

The shrill cry of the alarm pierced through the silence, jolting me out of my calm sleep. I rubbed my eyes gently getting used to the sunlight streaming through the window. Lazily, I pulled myself out of bed towards the bathroom to freshen up.

"Tania, you need to come downstairs right now!" I heard my older brother Shininchi yell.

"Okay brother!" I replied skipping the idea to freshen up in the bathroom. I yawned and descended down the stairs to see what he wanted.

"You should sit down, Tania." My brother demanded, pointing at the wooden chair. His dark brown eyes, the ones we shared, were completely devoid of emotion. I did as he told me and took a seat.

"What's this?" He asked, holding out a piece of paper with the letter F written on it.

"My math test.." I mumbled, sliding down my seat knowing what to expect next. Shininchi slammed his hand down on the kitchen table completely changing his voice into a much frightening tone.

"How could you fail this test? Did you not study? How many times did I tell you to always pay attention in class and do the best you can possibly do?"

"Hundreds." I answered. "But brother, I assure you that I will do my best next time. Cross my heart and hope to die."

He smiled warmly and nodded.

"You may go now. But first you must get ready for school it starts in a hour and a half." Shininchi said and ushering me upstairs.

Silently I nodded and ran upstairs to go take a shower. Once I was in the bathroom I shutted the door behind me, turned on the warm water and began to unclothe myself. I threw my pajamas onto the rack and stepped into the steamed water awaiting me. My hair became soaked as I let the liquid rinse the dirt off my body.

Grabbing my shampoo, I squirted the last ounce of it into my hand and gently scrubbed my dark brown hair with it. The shampoo smelled just like strawberries and it helped my hair stay very healthy and long.

Once done washing my body with body wash I stepped out of the shower feeling slightly better than before. I reached for my towel and wrapped it around my thin body. After firmly wrapping the towel around my body I opened the bathroom door, scooping up my dirty clothes from the tile and carried them into my bedroom which was across the hall.

I opened the door to my bedroom and threw my clothes in the hamper that was by the door. Going through my closet was tough since I had a whole lot of clothes in there. Finally after searching for an outfit for quite some time I managed to find black sweatpants along with a white t-shirt and putted them on. I walked over to the pink vanity set and grabbed my brush. I brushed my hair to get rid of any knots that might've formed and took a look in my mirror that was hanging in the center of the room. In my opinion, I didn't look bad. Having high cheek bones, a small nose and, full lips really brought my confidence up a little.

There was a knock on my door while I was tying my long, straight brown hair into a high ponytail with my bangs falling down on the side of my face.

"Come in!"

"Neenee!" My little sister, Melanie cryed out running up to me holding me in a hug. I picked the four-year-old up as I grinned. Melanie is my younger sister and one of the few people who understands me. She usually calls me by my nickname but I don't mind it. Unlike my brothers and I, Melanie is a very cheerful child even though she often tends to get easily upset.

"Hey kid. What's up?" I asked. She rubbed her cheek against mine while I laughed.

"Sinako." She says.

"What about Sinako? Is something wrong?"

Melanie nodded her small head as she took my hand, guiding me towards our other brothers room. I heard as a soft moan escaped someones lips. Slightly opening the door I watched as Sinako held a picture of mom and dad. Tears were running down his face as they landed on the photo.

"Sinako? Are you alright in here?" I asked him letting myself in his room. He looked down at the carpet. Melanie and I sat on opposite sides of him as we stared at the picture of our parents. I still clearly remember the day of our parents death.

They both died thanks to a car crash on a stormy night. I was sleeping when it had happened, the neighbors and the police had rushed into my room and explained the devastating news to me. Mom and dad was rushed into the hospital and shortly died a few weeks later. My brothers and I were devastated but that was when I was about eleven. Now i'm fourteen.

Unfortunately for Melanie, she was too young to even remember what her parents were like and she would often ask me about them.

We stayed like this for a few moments before Shininchi opened the door.

"Time for breakfest." He says with a smile.

I wiped away my tears and encouraged my seventeen-year-old brother to do the same so we can move on with our lives. He agreed and happily stood up embracing me in a hug. I did the same and released him as we smelled some pancakes waiting to be eaten.

"Hey Tania, I'll race ya!" Challenged Sinako.

"Fine, first one there gets the biggest pancake." I bet.

"Okay! ready, get set, GO!" I shout.

But before we even took a step forward, Shininchi tugged on both me and my brothers arm.

"Not so fast. I already setted up everything on the table. You'll get which ever pancake I give to you, alright?"

"Okay.."

With that, we all headed down the kitchen and took a seat where Shininchi pointed at. Unfortunately for Sinako and I, we ended up getting the smallest pancakes while Melanie and Shininchi had the largest.

"How unfair." I whined.

"Life's unfair." Shininchi responded.

Thirty minutes had gone by and before we knew it my bus had arrived and it was time for me and Sinako to head out the door. I grabbed my blue bag and headed for the door.

"Bye Neenee! Bye Sinako!" Melanie and Shininch say in unison

"Bye!" We say back waving.

Off to Misami junior high now.