Chapter 2.

Bringggggg! I woke up with a startle. I forgot I had an alarm clock. I got up and looked out my window, I saw my best friend Rachel walking towards my house. I opened the window and waved at her. She didn't see me. "RACHEL! I'M UP HERE!" I shouted, not realising I woke up my neighbours. "Yep, I see you now. You nutter!" She shouted back. I went downstairs to open the door for her. "HEY!" She shouted.

"Rachel. I'm right next to you." I explained.

"I know but I put the excite in excitement. Duh."

"So you get excited about shouting?"

"Well, yeah basically"

I laughed.

"Come lets go get ready."

Rachel always gets ready for school at our house because her parents have work and leave early in the morning and she has no food in her fridge because her parents come back till 10pm and they eat at work so she eats at our house. Our house is like her second home.

"So, the summer holiday is coming up. And I was wondering …" I interrupted her,

"No, I'm not going to those summer museum trips you do with your grandparents. We always go there every summer holiday and to the same museums every year. It's getting boring." I looked in my mirror wardrobe, my hair was scruffy and my mascara was all over my face. I must have forgotten to take of my make up last night. I started brushing my hair when Becky came into the room. "OH I'M SO GOING TO KILL YOU!" She shouted.

"Good morning to you to." Rachel said awkwardly.

"No not you. But morning. I'm talking to my sister." Becky replied with an evil gleam in her eyes.

"Becky what did I do?" I grumbled. My sister was so annoying she would blame me for everything, even though Mum didn't believe her.

"You snitched on me before you came downstairs because you knew it was me making the noise!" She argued.

"No, I didn't. Why would I do that?"

"Becky, she didn't snitch on you!" Mum came into the room. Her voice gave me a startle. It was croaky and really angry. She sounded like her throat was on fire.

"SHUT UP! ALEENA! YOU'RE NOT EVEN OUR MOM! SO SHUT UP! WHY DON'T YOU JUST LEAVE!" Becky screamed at Mum. Aleena was Mum's real name. Well to be honest Mum isn't my real mum she is my step mum, I call her mum because I was bored of calling her Aleena and she was as close as a mum to me. Becky is my real sister and doesn't like Aleena (Mum) as much as I do. She thinks Mum only cares about me, when that is certainly not true because 1. Mum does everything to make Becky happy but Becky doesn't realise that and 2. Mum honestly cares for her, for both of us. She is a great Mum. I hated Becky for not realising that.

"Becky. You can't say that. YOU'RE THE ONE WHO NEEDS TO SHUT UP NOT MUM. BECKY HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT. YOU BITCH!" I screamed at her. I didn't mean to but I couldn't help it. Becky was being a selfish brat thinking about herself and not realising how Mum would feel with what she said. Becky's too selfish and thinks that the world revolves around her that she doesn't realise Mum loves us and that Mum cares about us more than our real mum did.

Becky ran off.

Mum was on the verge of tears. And so was I. But I didn't want to cry. I didn't want Mum to feel like it was the most horrible thing if Becky shouted at her. I wanted Mum to be strong, to not let those words break her. Rachel started comforting Mum who was now sobbing her heart away. "Mum, don't listen to her. She just doesn't realise your love for her," I calmly said, using my gentlest voice.
"Yeh. Aleena you're so good at being a mum. Better than my mum. Becky just doesn't realise it. Which is really stupid!" Rachel cried.

"Thanks girls but I just have to go." Mum left the room with tears streaming down her face. She was muttering to herself. I didn't catch what she was saying but I had a wild guess she was saying what a bad mum she was.

Rachel and me got ready quickly and ran to school without eating breakfast.

"Care to explain how the drama started?" Rachel finally said breaking the awkward silence.

I explained everything from the part where I couldn't sleep to Mum in tears.

"Becky is so annoying and so bitchy sometimes and her anger gets the best of her." Rachel replied. That was the thing I liked about Rachel she would just tell me anything, even if its about my sister being bitchy. I loved my other friends but Rachel was the friend that I could just tell everything to and I wouldn't regret it because I know that she would help me and listen to me and be there for me.

"I agree, completely" I nodded.

"Oh, Aleena. She must be so upset!" Rachel honestly cared for my Mum, she didn't act or anything, I could tell she really did. And I was more than grateful for that.

"Thank you"

"For what?"

"For caring, for being there, for just being awesome"

"Honey, I will always be there for you and your family. I love you"

"I love you too. And I will always be there for you and your family too" I replied with a big smile.

"So for the summer holiday. Before we got interrupted I wanted to say that, I didn't want to the museum thing, I was going to ask if you wanted to come to California with me?" She smirked.

"OMG! Yes of course. Wait by ourselves or?"

"By ourselves, my mum and dad have to go to England for work so they asked if I wanted to go to California. I've been there several times to meet my uncle Poseidon and my cousins. They live near the beach. It's amazing!" She replied with enthusiasm.

"Wait let me ask my mum. Sounds amazing."

"You're going to call your mum now?"

"Yep, because I can get it out of the way."

Just as I was about to call Mum, she called me. Wow, pretty good timing. I picked it up.

"Hello, yes, yeh I know sorry. Okay. I promise. Also I was wondering if I could spend my holidays with Rachel in California? For how long. Umm let me ask her. For how long Rachel?"

"3 weeks."

"3 weeks, Mum. Yay thanks Mum. I love you. Please be okay and talk to Becky. Okay. Love you."

"So, I'm guessing she said yes?" Rachel presumed.

"YES! Oh and she also said we can go to the café now to get some breakfast. She has given us the permission to skip gym, which is our first lesson, and go to a café. She told the teachers that we both had to go to a 'special meeting' for something."

"OMG! I love your mum" Rachel squealed with excitement.

"Me too. C'mon let's go"