Morning

The sun began to rise slowly, leisurely, turning the gray sky lavender. A golden rooster crowed, for once on time. His hens clucked and ruffled their feathers, not wanting to wake. A pair of dogs barked and growled at a doe and her twin fawns. A cat slept on one of the three beds in a house, stretching lazily and meowing in her master's ear.

Three alarm clocks went off in the giant, three-floor house. One alarm stayed on, the country music blaring loudly, trying to escape the closed door of the light purple room. One alarm was slapped twice, for the first slap missed the 'sleep' button. One was turned off with a gentle touch of its owner's hand after it played for fifteen minutes.

A dark Russian blue cat carefully placed a paw full of unsheathed claws on her master's cheek, and curled her long claws. The girl yelped and leaped out of her bed, the feline hissing. This was not a good way to begin the morning.

Bleary-eyed, she walked down the fir-wood hall, careful not to dent the soft wood. Making her way to the laundry room, she dressed slowly, not wanting to go into the kitchen. Going into the kitchen meant dealing with them.

She reluctantly left the warmth of the laundry room and went into the gloomy, dark kitchen. The bowl-shaped light wasn't on in the dining room, where a a boy with reddish-brown hair was eating Cheerios out of a gigantic bowl. "Doesn't anyone ever turn the lights on in here? Aren't you tired of the dark?" she said as she slid her finger under the light switch and flipped it so it said on in little letters on the bottom of the light switch.

A blond-haired, blue-eyed man roamed about the kitchen, carefully putting sandwiches in plastic baggies. The girl had the same blond hair.

"Morning, Daddy!" she said, trying to sound cheery.

"Hi, Cassie," her father said blandly.

"Hi, Jacob!"

"Leave me alone," the boy eating cereal replied.

"Fine."

And the rush to catch both buses began.

First Day Reflection

The first day of school made me feel as if I was coming home for the first time in a very long time. I loved being able to breathe in the crisp air on a cool morning; being able to see my friends in person for the first time in three long months. I almost felt like someone had knocked the breath clean out of me so I could take in the scent of my homeland. It just felt right to be back on the grounds again.

Throughout the day, I saw people I had not seen in ages: some had just moved back to the district, others had just enrolled in LMS. A few were brand new to the state of Washington. I met up with some of my old friends as well, and discovered that I, surprisingly, liked every single one of my teachers.

My schedule was convenient; my classes mostly took place in the eighth grade hall, where my locker was. And my new science teacher completely changed the views I'd acquired from the year before, when I'd had a science teacher that wasn't really the best personality match for me.

And as I got on the bus to go home, I realized that I loved my schedule and my teachers. And I knew exactly what I was going to say to my mother when she asked how my day had gone.