Chapter One
Max and Ella Martinez have just moved from Miami, Florida to Sunny Los Angeles, California with their mom, Dr. Martinez. Dr. M is a highly renowned Veterinarian and is following a huge job offer to California. Ella is excited about the move and can't wait to make new friends, she will start freshmen year. Max is bitter about having to leave behind her best friend since kindergarten, JJ, right before her senior year in high school. Max is 17 while Ella is 14.
Max POV
I was woken up by my annoying, younger sister Ella screaming in my ear and yanking the curtains back from the window, flooding my new room with unwanted light.
"Get up! Get up! Get up! I want to go explore the neighborhood and meet all our cute neighbors!" screamed Ella right in my ear. It should be illegal for someone to be so cheery in the morning. I reluctantly turned over and held my eyes open long enough to peek at the alarm clock.
"8:00 a.m.! Ella, what in the world made you wake me up at this ungodly hour of the morning?!" I said to her, while turning back over in my bed trying to cover my face with the blankets. Unfortunately, it would not be that easy.
"I told you! Our new neighborhood has a park and I want to go look for cute neighbors!" she said while yanking all my blankets off me. I felt a rush of cold air hit my legs as she ripped my blankets off. Unfortunately, I have a habit of making a cocoon with my blankets at night, so when she ripped my blankets off the bed, she also spun me onto the floor. She immediately started laughing.
"Oh my gosh Max! I'm so sorry!" she said while laughing and backing towards the door. I rolled over from how I landed on my stomach, to on my back.
I looked at her and said, in a very calm voice, "Run".
She squealed and took off running down the stairs to the kitchen, with me right on her heels. I could smell pancakes and bacon coming from the kitchen, so I knew Mom was cooking breakfast. Ella and I raced down the stairs to the kitchen, where Mom was standing behind the island, reading a medical book until breakfast finished cooking. Ella ran around the island and hid behind Mom like a scared little girl. I ran around the island to get her of course, but she ducked out of my way and to the other side of the island. She ran left, and I ran right, her trying to escape and me trying to catch her. I finally faked her out and was just about to grab her by the shirt when I heard a voice in my ear.
"Maxine Martinez, what are you doing to your little sister!?" My mom shouted from other side of the island.
"She woke me up, mom!" I told her, my mom knows I am not a morning person.
"Because I told her to, Max!" Mom said.
"But she made me fall on the floor!" I tried to reason with her, but I could sense that I was not going to win this battle.
"Well, it woke you up didn't it?" she said, with a smile on her face. I looked over at Ella and she was positively beaming that she was not going to be attacked by me anymore.
"Humph!" I said as I plopped down in my chair at the kitchen table. I told Mom thanks as she slid 4 pancakes and 3 pieces of bacon in front of me. After drowning my pancakes in enough syrup to give a healthy person a heart attack, I picked up my fork and knife and dug in. After only five minutes I finished eating everything on my plate, I looked over at Ella and she was only halfway through with one pancake.
"Geez Max, Hungry much?" Mom teased, she knew I always ate like this.
I looked at her and said "Not anymore!" and I hopped out of my chair, put the dishes in the sink, and bounded up the stair two at a time, to my room.
Before I shut my door, I heard Ella scream "Don't get dressed yet! I'm picking out your clothes today!" Oh, lord help me… If I let Ella pick out my clothes then I will end up leaving the house is something pink, or worse, a skirt.
"No thanks Ella, I'm good!" I shouted back at her, trying to convince her not to put me through that torture. I quickly ran to my closet to put on clothes before she got up here. I picked out my signature ripped skinny jeans, and a faded purple t-shirt that said 'Sarcastic comment loading', and my favorite purple converse. Apparently, the people in this house before us did not believe in privacy because none of the doors had locks on them. I remembered this a little too late as I ran back into my room, and tried to do a quick change. Ella burst into my room before I even had time to put my clothes on my bed.
"Absolutely not!" she said "You are not wearing the same old clothes that you've always worn! We are in a new place! I'm getting you something from my closet!" she said as she turned on her heel and headed to her room across the hall. I know better than to argue with Ella, the last time I did, she stole all the black and purple from my closet and replaced it with pink and miniskirts… for a week. I fell back on my bed with a sigh; maybe I can tone her down a little this time. I thought as she came back into my room with an outfit that was way to pink and short for my taste.
"Oh no, Ella! You go back to your room and find something longer and less pink!" I told her. With a "humph!" she turned around and came back with dark wash skinny jeans and a dark blue V-neck with a white tank top.
"Now this, I will agree to," I told her "now go, so I can change." And with that, she smiled and went to her room to change. I put on the clothes she left me, looked in the mirror and thought one word: Average. With my brown hair and brown eyes, I did not think I was anything special, granted, I wasn't ugly, just not overly pretty. After putting on some Ella approved brown sandals, we headed downstairs and out the door to head to the neighborhood park.
Maybe we will see some cute guys there, I thought. Then I heard the screaming and yelling of little kids, maybe not.