Wrote this as my short story for English class, and was convinced to post it on WattPad. I'll probably continue on the story a bit, as there is room for that, but we'll see.
Dedicated to TicoTeco246 because the day I posted the story it was her one year anniversary on WattPad. Congrats, Billy!
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"Akira! Aki, wake up, mom says you need to help with breakfast," shouted the voice of a young boy. That would be my brother Raj, though he isn't actually my brother. My mom has adopted kids from different ends of the earth. We adopted him from India about seven years ago.
"Yeah yeah, tell her to give me a second," I grumbled, "I'll be right there." I'm the oldest of four kids. I may be going on 18, but here in Tokyo, age of majority isn't until you're twenty years old anyway. I help around the house often, because despite that money may as well grow on trees in this house, mom doesn't believe in housekeepers or maids. I have a lot of responsibilities on my shoulders. Mom hasn't been feeling well lately, she isn't as young as she used to be.
I slowly crawled out of bed and slipped on my flip flops. Once I drew the curtains, the sunlight burned my eyes and woke me up better than my siblings ever could. I'd slept in, but that's no problem, it was summer, and although I had ballet every weekday, that wasn't until after supper time. I ran out of my room and down the stairs to see that mother had already gotten everyone at the table.
"Somebody slept well," she chuckled, "I could here you snoring from my room!" I can see how she finds that funny, our rooms are on opposite ends of the house...
"Aki, bring us to the park today?" questioned Ami, my sister, and the youngest of us all. She's a petite girl from Mexico, but she keeps her brothers in check.
"Please? Pretty please, Akira?" chirped in Corman, the oldest of the three, yet still seven years younger than me. With all of them looking at me pleadingly, and my mom also hoping for some quiet time to rest, there was no way I could deny them.
I sighed, "Fine, but we aren't staying as long as last time, you three have endless amounts of energy!" I'm sure we were at the park for at least 3 hours one time, but it felt like forever. I cooked up some rice and assorted chopped vegetables for everyone to eat before we went off to the park.
It took us another half hour to get dressed, cleaned up and ready to go. Finally, once we were prepared, we set out the door and down the street. They weren't nearly as packed as normal, because everyone was at work, except for the few on their early lunch break. Ami, Raj and Corman knew to stay nearby when the streets got crowded, but for now I only told them so stay in sight. We were an odd bunch, being from different backgrounds. We stood out in the Japanese community, but Japanese was our first language. I was apparently adopted from England, yet I don't know much English. I'm often mistaken as a tourist, but I'm used to their shocked expressions when they realize I speak fluent Japanese.
Evidently, we weren't the only ones with the idea of going to the park today, there were about twenty other children there too. Some of them my siblings recognized and immediately ran off to play, so I found my regular bench nearby to watch them from. I began to let my mind wander, and think of what it would be like if I didn't have to take care of my family. I would love to travel, get out of Tokyo or something. Even if I was old enough though, I doubt my mom would ever let me leave the nest. My family needs me, but aside from chores, I really don't do much that a housekeeper couldn't do. I loved them, but I had many stressful responsibilities for being so young, and I would escape them if the chance ever arose. I was snapped back to reality by Ami bouncing into my lap. Many of the kids had already cleared out back home, so I gathered up the gang and we set off.
