Remember When...

Chapter I

Every night I walked the streets,

Never dreaming what could happen

~ Dress and Tie (Charlene Kaye and Darren Criss)

The sun was blinding me. I blinked rapidly, struggling to focus on my blaring alarm. Only seven o’clock on a summer morning? I groaned and pulled the covers over my head. Then I remembered – it was my first day at my new job.

The sheets flew off and I practically jumped to my washroom. I was working at Adelaide’s Book Shop and Café, the independent bookstore near the beach. Ever since I was little, I loved getting lost between the shelves, curling up with a big pile of books for hours on end.

The owner, Adelaide McClain, knew me personally, since I passed by so often. She had warm, trusting brown eyes and chocolate-brown hair. My best friend, Ariel, was her daughter. We were all so close that it was my ‘home away from home’. Adelaide was practically my second mother and Ariel and I were two peas in a pod. I smiled just thinking about it.

This summer, I was finally old enough to work there – sixteen turning seventeen next week. I wore my favourite blue sundress with lavender coloured blooms and clipped a lacy, white flower in my dark, shoulder length hair.

I slipped on my tortoise shell glasses and pinned on my nametag. Yet another perk of working at an independent bookstore – no strict uniform. I reviewed my checklist of work requirements as I grabbed my straw tote bag and hopped downstairs. After I ate breakfast, I walked to the plaza.

It was tourist season, so I saw dozens of cars as I strolled on the sidewalk. Living in Ontario, Canada, means that the beaches are freshwater, with the Great Lakes being the water source. That meant no salty breeze, but I still love it all the same.

It was sunny, but not too hot, and nary a cloud in sight. As I removed some sand from my shoe, I looked up at my homey workplace. The exterior had a stone design and the door was made of glass. The building was two storeys; it had the bookstore on the bottom and the café, with a balcony and patio. It was right on the corner of the road, and a wooden sign had Adelaide’s Book Shop and Café proudly emblazoned on it in pretty gold cursive. I took it all in and sighed happily; this is where I belonged.

When I stepped through the door, I almost smacked into my brother, Nathaniel, face-first.

A brief background on my siblings, shall we?

Nate is my twin brother, younger than me by five and a half minutes. I liked to tease him about it a lot. We have an older sister named Cassandra, who is currently off in New York City, studying at Juilliard, but will come back for our birthday next week. I was really excited to see her again; I hadn’t seen her since Christmas!

My sister was my idol for the most part of my childhood. She was so talented in the arts. She could dance, act, draw, paint, sculpt... you name it. Nevertheless, she didn't let it get to her head. She was the best big sister a girl could ask for. Unlike my brother, on the other hand.

Nathaniel was cocky, sure of himself, athletic, good-looking – and he knew it. After all, he was the only Asian in our school to have blue eyes – both him and my sister did. Our father is Chinese and mother is German, which explains the whole fiasco. They look like my mom, and I, my father -which means boring brown eyes for me. I was completely jealous of my brother’s eyes... not that I’d ever admit it to his face!

 Now, back to the story.

Bonk!

“Nate, there you are! You left the kitchen a complete mess – thank God mom didn’t see it!” I exclaimed.