Obsession Starts with a V

Chapter 5

It had been almost a week since she received her punishment and every night she kept having the same dream over and over again, but every morning she could only remember three things about it. The rumbling of motorcycles, the feeling of a breeze slipping and sliding through each strand of hair, and every once in a while blue eyes that would look back at her. When she woke up to her alarm this morning, something was different. It wasn't blue eyes that looked back at her, but orange ones.

She sat up in her bed and looked at the clock that read 6:30 am. Inside she silently rejoiced, because today was the last day to get up early for the next three months; today was the last day of sixth grade! Soon she would be one step closer to the top of her school's food chain. One more year and she would be a head honcho, the cat's meow, the cream of the crop, the top tomato-she would be an eighth grader at last!

"Veronica, your breakfast is getting cold!" Her mom yelled up to her to break her out of her fantasy. Most likely nothing would change for little Veronica once she became an eighth grader. Besides, she still had all of seventh grade to get through first.

"Coming Mom!" She yelled back as she pulled on today's outfit which consisted of her jean overalls, purple tank with black stars, and her black converse shoes. Putting her hair in her normal pigtails she picked out her rubber bands with purple and black star designs. Thinking of stars, she wondered how Star was doing, and Sam and Michael. But mostly she wondered how David was doing. After that marvelous bike ride home, she never saw him again and the few times she talked to Sam at school she was too embarrassed to make a mention of him.

"Veronica, get down here NOW!" Her mom shouted again. Veronica rolled her eyes and flew down the stairs. Looking at the time she noticed she only had ten minutes left to scarf down her breakfast, get her school supplies together, and walk to the bus stop. She looked at the kitchen table and saw her mom had made her her usual Last-Day-of-School-Bananza Pancakes. One chocolate chip pancake decorated with a pair of banana eyes and a mouth, a strawberry nose, and bacon for hair.

"Hey Mom, do you think I could eat this on the way to the bus stop?" She cocked her head, placed her left arm on her hip, and looked at it quizzically. Her mom came into the kitchen, stood next to her daughter, and struck the same pose.

"I guess if you put it on a paper plate and take a plastic fork. Or I could wrap it up for you like a burrito. Maybe that'll start a new tradition?"

"Oooh, I like the Bananza Burrito tradition! Just don't include the bacon into it."

"Why not? I've heard rumors that some people eat chocolate covered bacon."

"That's just gross!" Veronica cried as she crinkled her nose in disgust.

"Alright, get your things packed," her mom smiled as she lightly pushed her toward the living room coffee table. The night after the initial grounding her mother approached her about the drinking. She apologized and promised to never touch another bottle again, no matter how worried Veronica made her. Veronica couldn't decide if it was the embarrassment of her daughter seeing her that horribly drunk, or the hangover that caused her to make that promise.

Veronica was still munching on her Bananza Burrito when she arrived at the bus stop. Sam and his friend Tommy were already there talking about how their math teacher was a "total barf bag". Tommy looked over and eyed Veronica with an evil smile.

"Aw, did Mommy pack your breakfast to go?" He said in a mocking baby voice.

"Leave her alone scumbag." Sam jokingly punched him in the arm.