Love and Hate and Cats
Sunday, September 16
11:00 P.M.
The Iris had reached her destination with her older sister, Ribbons, at the largest mansion of Clemont, Virginia, filled with a certain precious and priceless piece of art. Ribbons, with her brilliant mind, were able to disable the alarm system with ease.
The Iris stalked through the mayor's house and, remembering the layout of the mansion, the 18-year-old girl climbed the circling staircase and turned left. Massive library doors stood before her. Pulling the handles down she was met by tall bookshelves filled to the brim with books, but these works of art were not what she was after. Swiftly making her way to the sitting area in the back, The Iris found what she was sent to retrieve.
The last painting of Queen Elizabeth I hung proudly on the wall. What a shame it will be to have it magically disappear, she thought. The Iris lifted the beautiful painting of its hook and quickly pealed it from its frame. She rolled it up and put it in her long, cylinder case. She hung the frame back on the wall and placed a blooming iris on top of the frame. The young woman ran quietly out of the library and back outside to where her sister was waiting in her black corvette.
The Iris climbed in the passenger seat and turned to her older sister. "Well, Daphnee, that went rather well don't you think?"
"Well, Jasmine, I certainly have to agree."
And the two girls drove off into the night.
~.~.~.~.~
Monday, September 17
6:15 A.M.
First Day of School
Jasmine Hartwood woke up to her alarm clock blaring. Groaning, she sat up and almost fell over. She was still tired from her mission last night letting her to only gain about five hours of sleep.
Today was Jasmine's first day of her senior year. She was excited for school for once and was glad that she was able to pass junior year.
Jasmine walked towards her closet. She picked a pair of jeans and her favorite shirt. Slowly making it towards her bathroom she put her outfit on the back of the door and undressed. She jumped in the shower and quickly washed up. Jasmine dried herself off and dressed.
She grabbed her black designer bag and headed down the two flights of stairs. It was really the only bad thing about living on the third floor, but she was used to it. At the bottom of the stairs, Jasmine's older twin brothers, Nick and Jack collided with her. The two giants carried her to the kitchen and dumped her onto a chair.
"Good morning, Jasmine!" they yelled in her ear.
"Uh, hi."
"And how are you this lovely morning?" Nick asked with a smirk.
"Tired."
"Well, isn't that wonderful? Nick and I just can't believe you're all so grown up. It just breaks our little hearts." Jack exclaimed while faking a tear.
"Shouldn't you be worrying about something else? Like Daphnee and her date tonight?" Jasmine said chuckling. She knew her brothers were just messing around with her, but for twenty-one year olds they were such kids.
"No! You're still are baby sister! It's sad to see the one person we always picked on the most turn into someone we can't make fun of anymore. Besides, Daphnee's been a grown-up since the day she was born. She can take care of herself. I'm just sorry for the idiot who asked her out." Nick said with fake pity.
"I heard that!" Daphnee entered the room. She hugged her younger sister and slapped her brothers up side their heads. "You guys have no idea how smart and handsome Carlos is, and you have no idea how much he's in love with me." She turned back towards Jasmine. "So Jas, what do you want for breakfast? I'm in the mood for waffles. Come help me."
Jasmine stood up from her chair and followed Daphnee to the counter to help her make waffle batter. She started mixing the ingredients when her other older brother, Samuel, came in the kitchen.
"Morning," he said with his base-like voice.
"Look who finally woke up!" yelled Jack.
"Seriously! It's only seven. You're usually up and ready by the time you're out the door." Nick said.
"Yeah. So who was it last night? Valerie? Serah? Oh, oh I bet it was Rachel!" Daphnee laughed.
"I know. Twenty bucks says it was the blonde." Jasmine said with a smirk.
"Shut up, Brownie. You too, Blondie." he hissed.
Sam's face was red and covered with anger. The other Hartwood children were silent. He always hated it when his siblings talked about his...friends. Sam grabbed the waffle Daphnee had just put on a plate for Jasmine, and he rushed out of the room. The twins listened for Sam's footsteps to decrease as he reached the second story to his bedroom. When they did, the boys exchanged worried glances with their younger sisters.
Sam was a troubled nineteen years old. He was a quiet kid, barely talked to anyone except for Jasmine, that was extremely intelligent, but he rarely ever used his mind out side of school and missions. He hung with the wrong crowd. Sam had way too many girls falling over him. Every night it seemed, he would be over at a different girl's house and would not come back home until two in the morning, which sickened Jasmine. At home he was usually holed up in his room, only coming out to get something to eat or get more food for his cat.
Oh, little Terrance, Jasmine thought. Terrence was the most adorable brown cat with the biggest brown eyes. That ball of fluff was the highlight of Sam's life the day he received him the day after his first mission when he was fifteen. That cat was Sam's way to get out of everything.
Jasmine sighed. She grabbed her plate Daphnee fixed for her and headed out to the porch swing in the half-acre backyard. She sat down and started swinging back and forth slightly. Picking the waffle apart bit by bit, Jasmine looked up at the orange Virginian sky rising above the mountains. Her heart dropped slightly.
Looking at that beauty, she knew she could never see it up close. Jasmine had never traveled farther than where her missions have taken her, and none had ever been close to the giant peaks.
Jasmine would do anything just to see the sun rising from atop those mountains. All she could do now was sketch it. Even though her drawings resembled it perfectly, it was not the real thing.
Something jumped her lap, causing Jasmine to flinch. Looking down, big blue eyes met Jasmine's own gray ones, and she smiled at her little pure white cat. Isis rubbed her soft head against Jasmine's hand, begging to be pet. Jasmine complied, as usual.
She loved the fur ball. Like Sam, she received Isis the day after her first mission. Ever since then, that cat was Jasmine's best friend, besides Ariel.
Daphnee came out then, and yelled for Jasmine to come inside, that it was almost time to leave for school. Jasmine stood, lifting Isis with her. She walked back into the house and looked at the clock hanging in the living room right next to the kitchen. It was 7:20. Since school started at 8:00, Jasmine usually left the house no later than 7:35. Still holding Isis, she walked down the hallway connected to the kitchen and jogged up the stairs in front of her. She took a left when she touched the top of the stairs, heading to Sam's room for she usually drives him to school.
Jasmine knocked loudly on the door, waiting for an answer. Tapping her foot impatiently, she started pounding on the door. Again, no answer. She knew if she turned the knob, she would find it locked.
Jasmine frowned and reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. She put down Isis so she could use her other hand. She popped the back off of the device, and grabbed the little bobby pin hidden under the cover. The eight-teen year old girl put the bobby pin in the keyhole. Twisting it to the left, and jamming it in, the lock clicked open.
Smirking, Jasmine turned the knob and her smirk turned into a frown. Sam was not in his room. Walking forward, Jasmine said, "Sam? You here?"
There was no answer, much to Jasmine's disappointment.
She walked over to his bathroom and was met by silence. Jasmine sighed. She started making her way back to the hallway when, with her keen eyesight, she saw a piece of paper attached to the door. The note read,
Jas,
I already left.
Sorry.
Well, Jasmine thought, how nice of you.
Looking at her phone, Jasmine's eyes widened. It was 7:42. Cursing a little in her head, she bolted downstairs, nearly tripping over Isis in the process. When downstairs, Jas grabbed her bag and car keys, and she ran for the garage. Jumping in her sleek corvette, she floored the accelerator, making the car lurch to eighty miles-per-hour.
A/N so what do you guys think? not bad? please leave a review! :D