Just a Pinch

Chapter One - What If

What if your world turned upside down without any explanation?

What if you didn't have anyone to turn to in your time of need?

What if you wished on stars?

What if your wish came true?

What if?

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"Wake up Meghan! We're going to the zoo!" Nathan bounced over to my bed, jumping excitedly.

"Shut up. I'm tired and just want to sleep." Nathan stamps his foot impatiently.

"No." I roll over to my side and look at my alarm clock. 8:15. Too early to get up on a Sunday. I groan and stretch my arms above my head before settling back down into my bed, the comforter engulfing me. Nathan crosses his arms. His eyebrows are squiggly, his nose scrunched, his shoulders slightly hunched. His foot taps the floor in a rhythmic pattern. Nathan's thinking pose. Quickly, grabbing my camera from my bedside table, I snap a photo of him without him glancing at me. It should be one of the last few I need to complete my collage of him for Mom and Dad's anniversary. Eyeing my camera, Nathan takes a step forward and sits on my feet. I curl into a ball and flop onto my side, my camera sitting on the pillow next to me.

"Meghan, you can take pictures." Grinning wildly, I shoo him out of the room and jump up without hesitation.

The scent of bacon wafts up the stairs before I'm even out the door. I push my way to the kitchen past the maid, Gloria, and the butler, Pierce. Darlene, our chef is at the stove, already blocking my path to the bacon. I sniff the air and check the surroundings. Spotting a cheese grater, I assumed breakfast would be bacon with scrambled eggs and cheesy toast. I sat at the island and as Darlene approached, I saw an omelet. No bacon. I frowned. "Eat," Gloria said, knowing why I was sad. I cut a small square out of the corner with the side of my fork, leaving a gooey trail of melted cheese behind the tiny morsel. I raised it into my mouth and savored the flavor. It was hot, the still-melting cheese sinking under my tongue. I chewed, my molars tearing through the soft, eggy flesh. Then it hit me. The bacon. It was in the omelet. It was smoky, perfectly crunchy, and delicious. Burnt around the edges, the bacon crumbled when I bit it. Eventually, the bite of egg was nothing but a pulp so I swallowed it. "What do you think?" Darlene smiled slyly when I said,

"It's amazing. It's like, a perfect combination of the egg, cheese, and bacon. H-how did you do it?"

"I used to be a science teacher before I decided to become a chef. All I really did was ration out the ingredients" My eyes widened.

"Did you have a  teaching degree?" Darlene's cheeks flushed slightly.

"Yes. That's before I went to chef school. My mother wanted me to teach but I was never any good at it." I nodded, scarfing down the omelet. For a time, we were silent until my plate was scraped clean. I stood and prepared to go get changed when Darlene stopped me with a hand on my shoulder. She held a glass of orange juice, a D3 pill, and two fish eggs, the weird yellow see-through pills that taste and feel nasty when you bite down on them. I remember when I was little that I used to spit them out. Sighing, I took them in my palm and gulped down the glass of juice like it was a shot. The pills formed a lump in my throat and I chugged a glass of water for good measure. Leaving Gloria to tidy up after me, I went upstairs.

What to wear, what to wear. My closet was boundless, never-ending. My friend Anya compared it to a shopping mall. My clothing is color coded and organized in seasons. Y'know, winter clothes, autumn clothes, spring clothes, summer clothes. Just like that. I went to the spring section and grabbed a tan crop top and a pair of pale, light wash skinny jeans. I pulled on a pair of short ankle socks and black converse. Camera around my neck, I went down the stairs and slung my black Chambray jacket over my shoulder, holding it with one finger as Nathan poked my right arm.

"Do you have a jacket Megs?"

"Yeah, Mom." I hold up my coat as evidence. She nods and ushers us into the car.

It'd been 30 minutes since we left the house, and traffic included, it had taken 28 minutes to get to the zoo. The extra two minutes we'd been spending in the car trying to find Mom's sunglasses. I pulled my hair into a ponytail and got out of the car. We paid the admission fee because we didn't have the special cards, though Dad had insisted on them the last time we went to the zoo. Nathan and I strolled through the jungle exhibit and were about to enter the bird dome when something - I don't know what - hit my butt. Let me rephrase that, when someone's dirty little hand slapped my @ss. Using a technique we learned in self defense at school this year, I grabbed the person's hand, twisted it, and gasped when I turned and saw the face of my attacker.