Try as I might, I couldn't sleep that night. With that crazed bald guy and
his witch chasing me, that comment to Chase, and Uncle Jim's possible
death, my mind refused to shut down.
It's true that Chase is really cute, but that doesn't mean I need to SAY it! Oh why do I have a knack for letting my mouth run away with me?
Sighing, I sat up, letting the colorful afghan fall to my waist as I twisted and punched the pillow, taking out my annoyance on the poor bag of feather and cotton. Glancing at the wall clock I saw that it was four am, two hours after Chase and his mother had retired to their respective bedrooms.
"So much for a good night's sleep."
Suddenly the idea of a glass of water appealed to me as I felt the grime of five days without brushing my teeth. I slowly raised myself from the slightly worn sofa and made my way for the doorway that I assumed led to the kitchen.
Their kitchen was small, but comfortable, with the fingerprint of a loving household in its atmosphere. There were a few dirty dishes on the counter, but it was mostly clean, as long as you didn't count the spaghetti sauce spilled on the stove. After rummaging around a little I found the cupboard where they kept their glasses and 'stole' one, filling it halfway with clear, sweet water.
Upon glancing out the window my breath caught in my throat as I saw the beautiful desert bathed it moonlight, giving it a peaceful look. The moon's beauty literally outshone the stars, as it was exceptionally bright that night, hiding the farther stars from scrutiny.
The Rinaldis lived in a suburb, but they were on the edge of it, as well as the edge of the irrigated area, so I could really see the desert in all of its glory.
After I broke away from the spell that the landscape wove around me, I quickly gulped down my water and headed back to bed. Err, sofa, and willed my troubles away as the image of a desert wove its way into my dreams.
~*~
"SHHHH! You might wake her up."
"But who is she?"
"That's none of your business, Jet, and you know it, now let's go already!"
The sound of the door softly closing brought me to full awareness, as well as signaled that 'Jet' and Chase had left. I swung my legs over the side of the couch, noting that it was full daylight, so it couldn't be earlier than ten-o clock.
Not willing to find out the hard way that I had gunk in my throat again, I cleared it before wondering aloud where everyone was, only to be startled by an amused answer coming from behind me. I turned to see Chase's mother walking towards me, dressed in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt.
"What time is it?" Thankfully my voice actually did what I requested, and sounded fairly steady to my ears, which were greeted with a laugh as she told me that it was eleven, and that it was Saturday, if I wished to know.
"Are you hungry?"
For some reason robbed of my already less than satisfactory eloquence, the question startled a particularly brilliant reply out of me.
"Huh?"
"I said are you hungry, though you must be because you're a teenager, and teenagers are always hungry."
I followed her to the kitchen where she began rooting through the fridge, occasionally bringing things like cheese and eggs out and setting them of the counter, where I noticed a decided absence of the dishes I had seen last night.
"What should I call you?"
"Hmm?"
I glanced at her from where I was making a pretense of studying the kitchen, which I had already seen last night.
"What should I call you? I don't know your name."
Some onions joined the growing pile of food on the counter, and she smiled at me pleasantly while considering the question.
"I suppose you should just call me Mrs. Rinaldi. What should I call you?"
I demonstrated my wonderful speaking skills yet again with a strange sort of grunt, being as I had no idea what she meant. By now she had finished getting out the food and retrieved a skillet from a hook above the sink. With efficient, well-practiced motions she cut a sliver of butter off and dropped it into the pan, then replaced the butter in it's rightful station in the refrigerator. When all of this was done and she had cracked three eggs into the skillet, she turned to me and repeated her question, and after some very intelligent stuttering I choked out my name.
"Varina, that's a pretty name. Well, Varina, what do you like on your omelets?"
I've only been to Reno once, and we only briefly passed through it, but I'm pretty sure it's a desert, correct me if I'm wrong. I don't know much about deserts, so I'm assuming that they could live on the edge of the area where it's irrigated, but it's right for this, so it now is, because I said so :-P I'm sorry I didn't write more for this chapter, but I still have been unable to go to the library to check out the book I need. I'm not sure when you should expect the next chapter, probably not by new years, but almost definitely before Valentines Day, actually. Before February. Hopefully it will be longer than this one was.
It's true that Chase is really cute, but that doesn't mean I need to SAY it! Oh why do I have a knack for letting my mouth run away with me?
Sighing, I sat up, letting the colorful afghan fall to my waist as I twisted and punched the pillow, taking out my annoyance on the poor bag of feather and cotton. Glancing at the wall clock I saw that it was four am, two hours after Chase and his mother had retired to their respective bedrooms.
"So much for a good night's sleep."
Suddenly the idea of a glass of water appealed to me as I felt the grime of five days without brushing my teeth. I slowly raised myself from the slightly worn sofa and made my way for the doorway that I assumed led to the kitchen.
Their kitchen was small, but comfortable, with the fingerprint of a loving household in its atmosphere. There were a few dirty dishes on the counter, but it was mostly clean, as long as you didn't count the spaghetti sauce spilled on the stove. After rummaging around a little I found the cupboard where they kept their glasses and 'stole' one, filling it halfway with clear, sweet water.
Upon glancing out the window my breath caught in my throat as I saw the beautiful desert bathed it moonlight, giving it a peaceful look. The moon's beauty literally outshone the stars, as it was exceptionally bright that night, hiding the farther stars from scrutiny.
The Rinaldis lived in a suburb, but they were on the edge of it, as well as the edge of the irrigated area, so I could really see the desert in all of its glory.
After I broke away from the spell that the landscape wove around me, I quickly gulped down my water and headed back to bed. Err, sofa, and willed my troubles away as the image of a desert wove its way into my dreams.
~*~
"SHHHH! You might wake her up."
"But who is she?"
"That's none of your business, Jet, and you know it, now let's go already!"
The sound of the door softly closing brought me to full awareness, as well as signaled that 'Jet' and Chase had left. I swung my legs over the side of the couch, noting that it was full daylight, so it couldn't be earlier than ten-o clock.
Not willing to find out the hard way that I had gunk in my throat again, I cleared it before wondering aloud where everyone was, only to be startled by an amused answer coming from behind me. I turned to see Chase's mother walking towards me, dressed in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt.
"What time is it?" Thankfully my voice actually did what I requested, and sounded fairly steady to my ears, which were greeted with a laugh as she told me that it was eleven, and that it was Saturday, if I wished to know.
"Are you hungry?"
For some reason robbed of my already less than satisfactory eloquence, the question startled a particularly brilliant reply out of me.
"Huh?"
"I said are you hungry, though you must be because you're a teenager, and teenagers are always hungry."
I followed her to the kitchen where she began rooting through the fridge, occasionally bringing things like cheese and eggs out and setting them of the counter, where I noticed a decided absence of the dishes I had seen last night.
"What should I call you?"
"Hmm?"
I glanced at her from where I was making a pretense of studying the kitchen, which I had already seen last night.
"What should I call you? I don't know your name."
Some onions joined the growing pile of food on the counter, and she smiled at me pleasantly while considering the question.
"I suppose you should just call me Mrs. Rinaldi. What should I call you?"
I demonstrated my wonderful speaking skills yet again with a strange sort of grunt, being as I had no idea what she meant. By now she had finished getting out the food and retrieved a skillet from a hook above the sink. With efficient, well-practiced motions she cut a sliver of butter off and dropped it into the pan, then replaced the butter in it's rightful station in the refrigerator. When all of this was done and she had cracked three eggs into the skillet, she turned to me and repeated her question, and after some very intelligent stuttering I choked out my name.
"Varina, that's a pretty name. Well, Varina, what do you like on your omelets?"
I've only been to Reno once, and we only briefly passed through it, but I'm pretty sure it's a desert, correct me if I'm wrong. I don't know much about deserts, so I'm assuming that they could live on the edge of the area where it's irrigated, but it's right for this, so it now is, because I said so :-P I'm sorry I didn't write more for this chapter, but I still have been unable to go to the library to check out the book I need. I'm not sure when you should expect the next chapter, probably not by new years, but almost definitely before Valentines Day, actually. Before February. Hopefully it will be longer than this one was.