Something New (Book 1 of the Reaching New Heights Series)

Chapter 1

"Lucy! Stop running around the kitchen, please!" Mom exclaims. I stop chasing my 4 year old brother, Jake. I sit down at the kitchen counter out of breath and sweaty. "Lucy, I want to talk to you about something." Mom says.

Uh oh. I bet she saw my report card from my first semester. I'm in the first grade, and it's really difficult. I thought kindergarten was hard... Yeah so right now my math grade is an 83 and mom and dad don't like me to get anything below a 90... Oops!

"What?" I ask, cautiously.
"Aunt Carol, Grandma, and Mrs. Chapman are coming over in an hour." Mom says.
"Why?" I ask.
"Just to chat, maybe have something to eat. But I want you to get all cleaned up and in nice clothes for when they arrive. You know Mrs. Chapman always likes to see you in nice clothes."
"I hate Mrs. Chapman." Whoops! The words just slipped right out of my mouth before I had time to stop them. Mom really doesn't like it when I say hate. She acts like it's a curse word, but I know it's not because Alice Sterling in Mrs. Quincy's class told me so. I think Alice knows everything, well she seems to at least.

"Lucy Collins! You do not use the word hate especially if you're speaking about an adult. Mrs. Chapman is a very kind and gracious woman and I expect you to treat her with respect."

Whatever. All Mrs. Chapman does is pick on me. But mom always has the final say, so I just get up from the kitchen counter and sulk up to my room to get changed. Mom's already laid out a dress for me to wear. It's a white dress with purple polka dots and pink ruffles by the sleeves. I hate it. I can bet that Mrs. Chapman made it for me. I stare at it in disgust before pulling it on. Then I run down the stairs and into the kitchen again. Jake stands up from the living room couch and says, "Can't catch me!"
"Bet I can!" I yell and then I bolt after him, eventually catching him and tackling him right in time for my mom to come in the room.
"Lucy! Act like a young lady, please! You're wearing a very pretty dress that Mrs. Chapman made herself! I want you to look clean and presentable for when she arrives." Ugh I can never have any fun, yet Jake can get away with whatever he wants just because dumb Mrs. Chapman doesn't sew him any ugly clothes.
* * *
I come downstairs to hear mom, Aunt Carol, and Mrs. Chapman talking in the living room. Grandma couldn't come because she had the electrician coming or whatever. I try my best to walk past the living room without being noticed because I don't want to talk with old Mrs. Chapman. But of course my mom notices. "Lucy! Come say hello to Aunt Carol and Mrs. Chapman!" I walk into the living room and Mrs. Chapman says, "Hello, Lucy. You've grown quite a bit! Oh! Is that the dress I made for you?"
"Yes it is! Lucy loves it!" Mom says. I really just want to rip the dress off because the ruffles are really itchy. Who even wears dresses anymore? Luckily mom doesn't want me to stay longer because she says, "Lucy, why don't you go play up in your room? And don't do anything wild. You don't want to get all dirty." I bolt out the room and sprint up the stairs to my bedroom, where I shut the door and flop onto my bed.
I can't wait till soccer starts back up. Last year was my first year playing and I loved it! I was on the Green Gators team, and at the end of season party I won the Top Goal Scorer award.
I stay up in my room a little while longer before lingering back downstairs to see what there was to eat. I find a box of cookies in the pantry, and sit down at the kitchen counter to begin snacking. How did mom and Mrs. Chapman meet anyway? Mrs. Chapman's a million years old! I bet grandma introduced them. Grandma should just never introduce her friends to mom, because this is what happens!
After eating some cookies, I put the box back on the shelf and start down the hall. I hear "The Tea Party" chatting away, so I decide to see if their talking about me. Sure enough I catch some of their words.
"Now what is Lucy doing for fun these days, Grace?" Mrs. Chapman asks my mom.
"She's playing soccer in just a few weeks! The season this year starts later than usual because it's an indoor league so it starts in November." Mom replies.
"Does she enjoy it?" Aunt Carol asks. "Chloe tried soccer last year but didn't like it much. I'm still trying to find something for her to do. She has a lot of energy."
"Not as much as Lucy does." Mom says and they all start laughing. Wow, thanks mom! Why does she even care to talk about me? She should talk about her own problems before bringing up mine.
"My sister's neighbor signed her two kids up for..." I couldn't hear the last part of Mrs. Chapman's sentence. Dang! I need to know what they're talking about!
"Maybe I should sign Lucy up for that! I've heard that you can definitely get out some energy doing it! Would you want to sign Chloe up for it?" Mom asks. What's it?! I need to know what's going on in there!
"Sure!" Aunt Carol says. Then I hear footsteps coming towards the door, so I run up to my room and shut the door. I'm out of breath and hot but at least I wasn't caught eavesdropping. Mom hates it when we eavesdrop. Now if I could find out what "it" is...