I open my eyes and wake up to rain beating down on my window. I am quickly shaken from my half-asleep state. I love rain even more than I love fall.
The streets are almost completely flooded outside. I slide open the window and breathe in the cool, refreshing smells of the wonderful weather. A drop of water slides off of one of the large leaves of the maple tree that grows outside my bedroom, and it falls onto my forehead. During the summer I can climb out of my window right into the tree and scale it right up to the top. Once when I was 8 years old I climbed up and fell asleep in it. My mom almost called the police when she couldn't find me for the two hours that I was gone. She sobbed for an hour after I climbed back into the house covered in dirt and leaves.
I stretch and pull on a rain jacket and Ugg Boots. Sunday is my day to take out the trash and feed the dog. As I roll out the barrels I spot my friend Aura from my dyslexic program at school. She's holding her tiny tabby cat and a polka dot umbrella and grabs the mail out of her rusty mailbox.
"Aura!" I yell and give an extravagant wave. She looks up and her smile brightens.
"Hi, Jade!" she screams, and runs over. The cat is wailing in protest, even though not a drop of rain lands on its fur.
"Aura, why do you have your cat?" I ask, giggling. She looks down.
"Oh. I have the cat," she says, and strokes his head. "Hi, kitty."
I smile. Aura is the definition of a dreamer. That, and other words.
"Aura, have you done the science homework?" I ask, and puts her mail under her raincoat.
"Yes! I have! Mrs. Lombardi helped me with it," Aura says, surprising me. She usually just simply doesn't do her homework, a product of her absentmindedness. Mrs. Lombardi is Aura and I's favorite teacher, she teaches math and science.
"I can't, for the life of me, understand these Punnett Squares," I said, and Aura winks at me.
"I don't remember any of it anymore!" she says, and I laugh. Shouldn't have expected more. Aura smiles innocently.
"Want to come over later? Lunch?" she asks me and I eagerly nod. Aura's mom is a dream. Aura is an only child, and her mom loves me.
"Cool! I'll go tell my mom. See you later, Jade," she says, and skips off, her pink rain boots splashing on the cool asphalt.
When I finally am able to correctly position the heavy barrels on the curb, I'm completely soaked. I hadn't realized that during my conversation with Aura, I hadn't stood under her umbrella. My hair clings to my scalp. Getting a sudden chill, I put up my hood and run inside. When I get inside and shut the door to the mud room, I nearly crash into Donovan, who seems to be on his way out. I look up at him (he's more than six inches taller than me) with a surprised expression.
"Donnie! I didn't know you were going out today," I say, scanning him up and down. He's dressed warmly, in a Carhartt jacket and a beanie. He scratches the back of his neck and pushes past me.
"Video game store," he says and pushes open the door.
"Oh, what game were you-" I begin, but he slams the door. I frown and watch him walk off. He ususally tells me ahead of time when he's going out, and he didn't say anything yesterday. I take out my phone.
you didn't tell me you were going out today.
I wait a minute before he replies.
change of plans.
I frown and scoff.
change of plans? for video games? donnie, where are you
No reply. I shake my head and try to remind myself that my brother's business is not mine. I hang the soaked coat on one of the hooks and kick off the wet boots before heading inside. I shiver when I get inside, and go in front of the warm fire my mom must have lit.
