Chapter 11: School Days

With breakfast long ago finished and in my tummy. I feel full and happy.

I am sitting at my desk in my school room with Grandma, she is at her big desk in front of the room. I am quietly writing in My Morning Journal while Grandma is reading the news from the morning paper.

I don't know what it is about grown ups and the news but they really liked it a lot. However, I don't focus on that too much. I have more important business to do which is writing in my Morning Journal about my lifelong dream. I also have to draw a picture at the top of the paper when I'm done writing the words.

The lifelong dream that I am writing all about is to have a pet. I really, really want someone to play with and since I can't have a baby brother or sister I want a pet to play with. I think that would be fun.

I finished writing the four sentences that I'm supposed to write. Nice and neat just like I've been asked to do. I look at the space where I'm supposed to draw a picture but I don't know how to draw what I want to.

I look up at where my Grandma is sitting at her desk. She turns the page of the newspaper. This is our time. She reads while I write in my journal.

"Grandma," I say to get her attention.

Grandma puts two fingers to her lip and raises her other hand in the air as she looks at me. Even though she doesn't say anything I know what that means. I'm not not supposed to call out the way that I just did.

My grandma used to be a teacher when she was human. That was a very, very long time ago. But she still remembers the rules that she used in her classroom so long ago. Those are the same rules that I have to follow, like raising my hand and waiting to be called upon instead of just talking. But sometimes I forget. It's not always easy to remember.

Quietly, I raise my hand.

"Yes, Nessie." Grandma calls upon me.

I put my hand down. "I need help drawing a pet." I explain. "Having a pet is my lifelong dream."

Nodding her head she gets up and walks over to the white bord. That's where she draws or writes things so I can see them. As she grabs a black marker I think about all the fun things I would do with my pet.

I imagine myself outside running with my pet beside me. I would take it for walks on a special leash that would be purple. I would also carry it around when her legs get tired and cuddle her. Another fun thing I would want to do with my pet would be take it for rides in the wheelbarrow. I think my pet would love that.

"What kind of pet do we need to draw?" Grandma asks with a smile.

"A chicken." I say happily.

"A chicken?" She repeats the words I spoke. She looks confused.

I nod my head. That's the kind of pet that I think would be the very best to have. My lifelong dream is to have a chicken for a pet.

Seeing that I am serious, Grandma tells me to pick up my pencil and copy the shapes on my paper that she draws on the board. I followed her instructions and before I knew it I drawed a chicken on my piece of paper. I also draw myself next to the chicken and the wheelbarrow next to the drawing of me. So I can give my chicken a ride in it. Because I think chickens would like that, to get a ride in the wheelbarrow.

When my drawing is done I open up my orange pencil box and take out my box of crayons. I take my time coloring my picture of my lifelong dream to own the best pet.

Once I am finished with Morning Journal time. I close up my journal and now it's time for spelling. Grandma writes my new spelling words for this week on the whiteboard. I write them down on a piece of paper.

With my spelling words all written down I now have to write sentences using those spelling words. I do that really fast and soon it's time for my break. Grandma and I go down the stairs and out the back door to our green house where we keep all the pretty flowers that smell so good. We water all of the flowers including the five cactuses that I have planned for my Mommy.

I will never understand why Mommy likes prickly cactuses. To me those plants don't look so beautiful because they have spiky stuff on them. But I water them anyway.

With all the watering done, which we did super fast because we have vampire speed. Not much time passed. I'm still on a break. So we decided to do yoga in the greenhouse because it's very peaceful here.

We do relaxing yoga for a very very long time. I'm really good at it. The only problem I have is staying quiet and concentrating on it. Which Grandma keeps having to remind me that it's not talking time, that it's quiet yoga time. This is to get in touch with our inner peaceful self. Not time to talk about cartoons.

I try not to talk as I do a pose of a tree. But not being able to talk is kind of difficult. I like talking and thinking. I keep thinking about the best pet in the world that I really want. Too bad Mommy has already said no on pets. She thinks that since we drink the blood of animals, someone from our family might eat it. At least, that's what she said when I asked her if I could have a kitten when I was five.

Grandma and I do nine yoga poses before it's time to go back inside the house. I zoom up the stairs like a streak of lightning. I run down the hall and burst through the door to our school room.

As quick as a kitten I run to my desk and sit down. That's because when I'm in my schoolroom I have rules that I must follow and I try to. One of which is that I have to sit at my desk very politely.

It takes a few seconds for Grandma to finally walk into the school room. When she finally does she stands in front of the white board.

"It's time for math." She says in her teacher's voice. "Take out a sheet of paper and a pencil."

I do and she begins to write a bunch of math problems on the board. I copy them down.

My school day goes on with geography, recess, science and reading. When we get to the subject of art, which is our last one for the day. The phone down stares rings just as grandma places a paper on my desk for me to draw a self-portrait.

While I begin to draw the shape of a circle for my face and add two eyes, a nose and a mouth on the paper. Grandma steps out of the schoolroom to go downstairs to answer the phone. A human wouldn't be able to make it from the schoolroom on the second floor, down to the kitchen where the phone is before it stops ringing. But a fast vampire like Grandma does.

Coloring in my reddish-brown hair I hear Grandma talking on the phone but I'm not listening to what she says. By the time I get to coloring my brown eyes, I hear her hang up the phone.

My self-portrait is almost complete. I put the finishing touches on it. It's finished now and very colorful. I smile as I look at it. I am very happy with what I drew.

Grandma walks in and I show her my drawing right away.

"Nessie, it's beautiful." Grandma smiles. She takes the paper from me and holds up my portrait. "You did a great job."

"Thank you." I smile.

She's a great artist so it always makes me feel really good when she says my artwork is good. I watch her as she hangs up my self portrait on the artwork wall. That's where all my artwork goes.

"Grandpa called. That was him on the phone." Grandma begins. I stand beside her and listen to what she says, wondering why he called. "He's taking off work early. The three of us are going to go out to lunch today. He'll be here in a little bit to pick us up."

"Yay!" I jump up and down.

I smile as I think of a lunchtime caribou. Just like the big one I had yesterday. It was very yummy. Going hunting makes me very happy. I can't wait.

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Thanks for reading.

Like this chapter? Please leave a review. :))

Amber would like to know what you thought about this chapter. She also would like to hear your guesses about where Grandpa Carlisle, Grandma Esme and little Nessie will go for lunch.

Do you think they are going hunting like vampires?

Or out to a restaurant to enjoy human food?