Chapter 1

I looked down at the steps of my front porch, my eyebrows raised at the two small boxes that sat there. Really they were nothing out of the ordinary, just plain brown cardboard packing boxes that were about big enough to fit a football inside. Something the mail service would have dropped off on a usual day, not to mention it was my birthday, so I suspected they were for me.

What was out of the ordinary is that neither of the packages were marked. No sticker to say who they were for, or who sent them, not even a post stamp or trademark. Stranger still, each box was battered, looking as if they had been thrown down countless flights of stairs. To be honest, they looked like someone had pulled them out of the trash.

I shivered as a harsh wind blew past me, snow from the drifts dancing through the air. I hated the cold, and most people would think it strange to see me outside this time of year because of it, I tended to stay inside as much as possible. I pulled the boxes into my arms as I headed up the steps and through the front door, eager to let the warmth from inside thaw me out.

I smiled as I closed the door behind me, the house was clean for a change. Everything from the floors, to the end tables had been whipped clean; And the strong scent of cleaner filled the house. I have five younger sisters and brothers, and that makes it hard for the house to stay clean with everyone running about all the time. Usually when the house looks this clean is after my mom and I knuckle down while all the kids are at school.

Today though, she was working, and I headed towards the kitchen at the sound of running water and dishes knocking together in the sink. I laughed at the sight of Sam elbow deep in dishes, her headphones in and dancing in place over the sink. It was only two o'clock and she should have been in school, but it seemed she skipped today, which would explain why the house was so clean.

Our mom didn't take kindly to the kids staying home from school, unless they were sick and near death; So if we did stay home sick, or just skipped school, we had chores, and by chores I mean cleaning the whole house top to bottom. It was not that bad, especially if we timed it just right and took a day off after the house had just been cleaned; But since no one really wants to clean on a day off it stopped us from skipping so much, which was moms plan all along.

A smile tugged at my lips when I remembered last year, before I had graduated high school. Me and Sam used to skip on the same days, so the cleaning would get done faster and we could spend the rest of the day goofing around. She was fourteen, five years younger than me, but we got along like best friends. She was my favorite, and all the other kids knew it.

I took a seat at the breakfast nook and set the packages down, still curious as to who they were from. I continued to watch Sam as she washed the dishes, and the familiar twinge of jealousy swelled up inside me. I love Sam, she is my sister, and my best friend, but every now and again I would look at her with envy.

She took after our mom, and though she was still young you could look at her and just know that in a couple more years she would be nothing short of drop dead gorgeous. Her skin was naturally tan, she was athletic yet that didn't take away from her feminine curves. She had long dark brown hair, that was wildly curly and only drew more attention to her face. Her lips were the perfect shade of pink that went with her complexion flawlessly, plump and resembling something of a innocent pout.

She was blessed with soft features and dazzling blue-green eyes, set off by graceful lashes. She was outgoing, a little bit ditsy, a total sweet heart, and beautiful. Yup, that girl pretty much had it all, and I was proud to call her my sister, but damn her for being so damn pretty. I didn't really mean it though, not once had I ever hated her for any of it, only got a little envious once in a while.

Her and Emma just happened to get the better half of DNA than I did, where they took after our mother, I took more after our father, and didn't really look like any of the other kids. Though I was the oldest, I was probably the shortest, besides Lea who was only ten so she didn't count. I was little, in every sense of the word, nearly ten pounds from being skin and bones.

Don't get me wrong, I still had the feminine curves, but since I was small I was proportioned small as well. Unlike Sam, my hair was a lighter brown, with some red undertones and not nearly as long, and instead of curly hair mine was straight with barley enough body. My features were still soft, but my lips were not as full, my cheek bones more defined, and my Hazel eyes less intense; And the freckles, how could I possibly forget the light scatter a crossed my cheeks, and the random dotting of them here and there over the rest of my body.

Of course, if I were to say so in front of Sam, mom, or anyone else in the house they would call me blind. Tell me I was beautiful, stunning, everything but ordinary and a hundred more compliments that I didn't agree with. Of course I didn't think I was ugly, but I knew I didn't compare with Sam, and Emma's voluptuous body, bright blue eyes and soft blond hair beat me by a landslide.

My family would not take no for an answer though, if they said I was beautiful then there was nothing in the world that would change their minds. So I usually just shut my mouth and nodded my head, laughing on the inside at how childish we all were when it came down to the little things.

I considered letting Sam know I was home, but decided against it. Usually it was best to leave her alone when she was in the middle of doing the dishes, if she got distracted it was near impossible to get her to finish them. So instead I pulled out my camera and started going through the pictures I had taken before coming home.

I was a photographer, or I wanted to be anyways. I had done some of my classmates senior pictures, and even took pictures at a local wedding, but other than that I was just another amateur with a dream. Photography was more than just a hobby to me, it was a passion; Capturing moments with just a click and being able to forever remember them, it was an amazing feeling. Currently, I worked as a secretary for the local news. I had applied for the job hoping to get the chance to land the open photographer spot, but I had no suck luck.

So I was stuck answering phones, checking people in and scheduling appointments and meetings and other nonsense; Saving up money and sending in countless applications to various colleges, all the while taking pictures in my free time. Today I had gone down town and taken photos of some of the older buildings in town, they had turned out well, but the lighting was not quite right.

My back was starting to hurt, as well as my eyes as I sat with my gaze locked on to the computer screen. Tweaking my pictures this way and that until I didn't recognize them anymore. I was a bit of a perfectionist when it came down to my pictures. I had finished top of my class in High School, but ever since I graduated and have been turned down by every opportunity to further my photography career I have been cursed thinking my photos were no better than ordinary.

So this is where I would end up after a day of taking amazing photos, crouched over the computer, examining every mega pixel of every picture for hours. Sam had been done with the dishes for a while, and was now starting dinner. Soon enough Lea, David and Josh would be home from school and my concentration would be broken. As if on Que, just as I was logging off the computer, I heard the front door fly open along with three pairs of feet rushing into the house and out of the cold.

"Valery!" Josh yelled from the living room as I stepped away from the desk.

"Shut your face, Josh, I want to tell her!" David shouted. They ran through the house down the hall, headed to my room. I heard them wrestle each other to open my door as they simultaneously yell again.

"Val!" Realizing I was not there they come running back into the living room and the foot steps stopped as Sam finally decided to speak up.

"She is on the computer, dorks."

I took a couple steps back as they came rushing to the computer room, all four of them; Josh holding an envelope up in the air as David jumped trying to reach it, Lea trying to squeeze past them in the door way, and Sam looking to be as confused as I was. I didn't have time to ask what they were all yelling about, or what it had to do with the mail, Josh rushed forward and pulled me into a bear hug as he shouted happily in my ear.

"You got in, Val! Its from the University of Modern Arts, in Colorado. You got in!" He spun me around then stopped as the other kids came in to join the hug. I was silent for a second, his words taking a moment to register in my mind; But soon enough I was hugging all of them back, jumping up and down and screeching with excitement.

Reviews

[blueeyeddevel]

Theirs talent in these finger tips. You know how to make a page flow together. No rough edges at all. Some people on here can't right two paragraphs with out a a jittery jump, letting your mind try to fill in the empty gaps.