"Ali!" Mom called for me.

I walked into the kitchen where she was making breakfast. "Yeah?" I could tell that my voice was thick with sleep.

"I have a surprise for you! It's a good one, not, like, we have to move again." She looked sheepish at that. Telling me hadn't gone over well.

"Well?" I was tired, and not really in the mood for surprises. "What did you want to tell me?"

"One of your friends from back home is moving here!" I perked up at that. "Can you guess who?"

"Umm... Anna?" Surprise flitted across her face, I made the deduction that I'd guessed right. Back home, Anna had been my BEST friend. We did our homework together, read a lot of the same books, we were the best of buddies. Since she didn't have a phone, though, we couldn't keep in touch.

"Wow, that's right! Pretty lucky, isn't it?" she asked.

"Yeah," I couldn't believe my good fortune. I came over and sat down at the table, a bowl of oatmeal on the table in front of me.

As Mom talked to me about her new job, I thought about what school Anna might go to. Bub and I were going to a public school, but with her grades and stuff she might get a scholarship to Gotham Academy. Bub and I had applied, but we hadn't gotten word back, so for now, we were going to a public school. At least we didn't have uniforms.

After school was over, thank God, I came to our apartment and emptied the mailbox like I would back in Oklahoma. I ushered Bub inside after unlocking the door, and put the mail on a table by the door. I walked over to our hooks, and set my backpack on one of them. I made my brother and I a small snack- today it was some carrots, broccoli, and a bit of ranch- and sat down on the couch to do my homework. I was only in Pre-Algebra, but I never had been good at math. I got good grades, but it took a while for me to understand. When that was done, I read some of the book we were reading in English- "Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allen Poe.

Seeing that it was now close to 5:00, and Mom wouldn't be home for another hour, and we got home around 3:30, I cleaned up the mess from our snack, and went into the kitchen to make some dinner. I was close to starving, and guessed Bub was too, so I made some grilled cheese and tomato soup. After dinner, I went through the mail to see if we had junk mail, or if it was mostly bills. To my surprise I saw the Gotham Academy seal. I pulled that one from the pile that had amassed on the table, and opened it slowly.

Dear Alison Parks,

I am happy to inform you that you and your brother, Bo, have been accepted to Gotham Academy. Please purchase two uniforms, and come to class on the 6th of September so that you may receive your lockers, and familiarize yourselves with our school. We are delighted to have two new brilliant minds joining our student body.

Sincerely, Principal Sparks

I was so shocked and excited that I almost dropped the letter.

"Bub! Bub! Come here real quick!" I yelled, jumping up and down.

He came barreling in, wondering what had got me so excited. "What is it, Sis?" He looked to the letter in my hand. "What's that?" Curiosity flashed across his face.

"Our acceptance letter!" The smile on my face could probably light up a room- not to be conceited or anything.

A puzzled look on his face made me grin. "What's an acceptance letter?"

"I means we got into this really good school. We start the sixth of September!" The smile was back.

"Ohh, I get it now." He frowned, "Do we have to wear a uniform?"

I laughed this time. "Yes, but it is a really good school."

The sound of our front door unlocking interrupted our conversation. The sound of my mom's voice carried through the house to the kitchen. "What's a really good what?"

"Mom! We got our acceptance letters!" Mom, being the one who helped me fill out the form, beamed at the news, even tired as she looked.

"That's great! We gotta tell Dad when he gets home. Well, if he gets home before you guys go to bed, anyway." She looked sullen at this.

"Cheer up, Mom, I made grilled cheese!" I tried to cheer her up. When she's not in a good mood, she gets all grumpy and snaps at us.

"You are the only one who doesn't burn them." She looked wistful at the prospect of the golden brown crust my grilled cheese provided.

I led her over to a plate I had placed in the microwave to keep them warm. She grabbed a plate from the cupboards, and came over to the microwave where I gave her a grilled cheese. Next to a pot on the stove that was on heat low enough to keep the contents warm, but not to cook them any further. I grabbed the ladle that was resting on a napkin nest to the stove, and spooned Mom some tomato soup into the bowl she had grabbed.

"Thanks, Sissy." She sat down at the table, and we talked for a little bit. When she finished, she told me, "You and Bub'd better go take a shower 'fore Dad gets home." I nodded, and turned to leave.

"Bub!" He turned towards me. "You wanna shower first, or am I going to?"

"You," he replied, turning back to his movie, 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl'. From what I could tell, he was at the part where Barbosa said, "You'd best start believin' in ghost stories, Miss Turner. You're in one."

I went to my bedroom and got my clothes, then went to the bathroom to get the water to my favorite temperature- almost scalding, but not hot enough to burn. I stepped in, and almost groaned at the relief the hot water and steam brought to my pounding head. I finally broke out of my stupor, and grabbed the shampoo. I squeezed a dollop onto my hand, and lathered up my hair. I rinsed, and conditioned-cause if I didn't, my curly hair would be mad at me- and then washed off. I turned off the water and grabbed my towel, then dried off my upper half. I opened the shower curtain, and was greeted with a steamy mirror. I dried off my bottom half, and got into my pjs. I hung my towel back on the rack, and was greeted with cool air the minute I stepped out of the door.

I put my dirty clothes into the hamper, and went into my room to retrieve the book I was making my way through, 'Lord of the Flies'. I came into the living room again, and found the sight of my dad and brother cuddling on the couch adorable. 'Awww', I thought. I sat down opposite them, and looked back at the movie that was still playing after saying 'hi' to Dad. It was at the part where Jack was saying "But why is the rum gone?". I opened up my book and began where I left off. Chapter five. I read in my head, because that was just easier for me.

""Look at us! How many are we? Yet we can't keep a fire going to make smoke. Don't you understand? Can't you see we ought to- ought to die before we let the fire out?"

There was self-conscious giggling among the hunters. Ralph turned on them passionately.

"You hunters! You can laugh! But I tell you the smoke is more important than the pig, however often you kill one. Do all of you see?" He spread his arms wide and turned to the whole triangle.

"We've got to make smoke up there- or die."

He paused, waiting for his next point.

"And another thing."

Someone called out.

"Too many things."

There came a mutter of agreement."

My reading was interrupted by Mom telling me that it was nearly 9:00, and to go brush my teeth. I was surprised, it didn't seem like that much time had passed. I went to do it anyway. After, I went to bed and read some more for another thirty minutes or so, then went to bed. Tomorrow was the thirtieth of August, and we had school. Thank the Lord above that it was a Friday, though.

Okay, just wanted to let you know, not all of the chapters in all of my stories will be this long. I had a suggestion from someone, though, and I took it to heart. So... here. Take your chapter, and please don't hurt me if the next one is late.