The year before high school

I walked though my dark cold house wondering who could be up at this hour. The clocks all read four a.m. which probably meant my sister wasn’t home from her friend’s house yet.  I walk down our carpeted stairs and into the living room. My mom was asleep on the couch and dad was in his chair reading a book. “Nathanal what are you doing up so early?” my father’s voice rang out into the dark where I stood. “Nothing dad, I was just wondering who was up at this hour. Did Natasha ever come home from her friend’s house?” I reply back to my father. He just shook his head no. That meant she was going to be in big trouble and she wouldn’t be able to go to the concert with me.  I decide that I should probably go back to sleep. I had to work in the late morning tomorrow and I wanted to be awake for that. I walk back though out darkness filled house and up the stairs. Once at the top of the stairs I turn right and follow it down the hall to my room. My door was a navy blue that had hockey pictures on it. I was playing on the school hockey team during the school year but we had just started out summer vacation. I walk back to my room and climb in my already cold bed. I sigh and pull the covers over my head. I quickly fall asleep because I was still very tired. I was in my bed sleeping with the covers pulled over my head when I felt the world shake. “Nate come on time to get up” the voice rang out almost in my ear. I pull the covers back and open my tired eyes. There stood my twin sister Natasha. She looked a lot like me beside the fact that she was a girl and I was a boy.  I pick up my pillow and toss it at her head. She laughs and jumps on me. We were probably the closest sibling ever. I get up out of my bed and push her out of my door and shut it. “I will be back, Nate and you will not be so luck” she teased as she walked down the hall towards her room.  I pulled of my sleeping pants and pulled on a pair of jeans. My job was working at the local barn.  Natasha and I were going to be going into eighth grade this upcoming year. I then pulled on a tee shirt that had a picture of a skull on it. I open my door and get hit will a pillow. “Tasha!” I yell then start laughing she was already laughing and almost rolling on the ground.  I through the pillow at Natasha and then I run down the stairs. I walk into the kitchen and pull out a loaf of bread from the pantry. I open the bag and put two pieces of bread into the toaster. Natasha came in and opened the fridge. “Mom and dad were pretty mad when I got in this morning. “ she said all of a sudden. “Well sis you know the rules. Coming in after four a.m. is not something we are allowed to do. “ I comment  back to her as I jump.  The toast pops up making both of us jump. I grab my toast and butter it just before having to pull on my rubber boot and run out the door.  I run into the garage and grab my green mountain bike. Our older brother Jason had already gone to work so his truck was gone. I pull out my bike and take off down the street to the local barn. I put my bike in the bike rack that was just outside the normal sized door. I walk through that and start with my everyday tasks. I was supposed to muck out stalls, fill water buckets and let the horses out. I read the roster to see who was supposed to be let out at what time and who they were with.  I walk out to the pasture and lead the horses out there inside. I knew where all of the horses went now. I put a large bay stallion in his stall on the end of the isle and the dapple gray stallion, which was slightly smaller, into the stall next to the bay one. I do this until all of the stallions were inside and in their stalls. I then grab the mares that are supposed to go out next. I let them all out then I start on the mucking out of the stalls. I spent most of my morning mucking out stalls. “Well you smell like manure” a voice rang out from behind me. It was one of my barn friends. Her name was Lisa. She had emerald green eyes with medium length brown hair that was always pulled back into a pony tail. “Hey Lisa, Esmeralda is outside with her pasture mates”  I say while leaning on my pitch fork. She smiled and grabbed her halter and walked outside. I got back to work, once I had filled up my wheel barrel I had to take it out ot the manure pile that was outside behind the barn. I finally finshed my job around one p.m. It had been a long day and I was fairly tired. I walk outside and climb on to my mountain bike. I ride it back home and see that Jason was home already. That was weird he is never home at this time, I thought to myself.  I put my bike into the garage and walk into the house. It was quiet and I wondered why. Jason sat at the kitchen table reading the newspaper with my dad sitting in the living room doing the same thing. “Hey Jas, you are home early today” I say while walking towards him. “Ya I got the night shift tonight so they sent me home. I heard that Tasha got in trouble last night, well this morning.” He said setting the paper down and looking at me. I nod and walk into the other room. I run back into the kitchen and take my boots off at the door and then continue into the living room. Natasha was sitting on the ground watching her favorite show. She looked up when she heard the floor squeak. “Nate you are home” she squealed and I heard Jason laugh in the other room.  I take off running and she was hot on my tail.  I ran up the stairs and into my room. I jump on my bed and she causally walks in. “You stoles it” she says intimating Gollum from Lord of the rings.  I pull out my fake imaginary sword. “Be got with you demon” I say thrusting my imaginary sword towards her. She acts like it hit her and she falls back and pretends like she died. Then we both start laughing when I hear the door open and close down stairs. We run to the railing to see who it was. Our mother walks into the living room carrying a few bags. We race down the stairs and over to her. “Mom what did you get” Natasha asked looking at the bag like she was about to grab it. “I just got some school things kids.” Mother replied with a smile. I sigh and walk up stairs and into my room.  The rest of the summer was almost the same as that day. Right before school started Natasha, mom and I all went to the mall to get new school clothes.  We shopped from a few hours. I would help Natasha pick something out and then she would help me pick something out. This would last for a while.  The school year started and I walked into the school. Natasha was with her friends and I was going to find mine. Our school was small so everyone knew each other and probably had a class with each other a least once during the year. I walk down the eighth grade hall and put my backpack into my locker. My good friend James walks past and “accidentally” hits me into my locker. “Oh I am sorry were you standing there” he playfully teased. “Why yes I was and how dare you” I tease back. I then put him in a playful head lock then let him out.  “How have you been James” I ask while turning back to my locker to get out my books. “Nothing much, my mom enrolled me in boy scouts. Not really looking forward to that” he replied looking slightly annoyed with what his mom had done. I laugh and we walk to our home room. My sister was in a different room but James and I were in the same one. We were given a lecture on how home work was for home and not homeroom. James and I listen but it was something to talk about while we walked to our first hours.  I walk into my first hour, it was history with one of the meanest teachers in the school. I seat near the back of the room and watch the other students walk into the room.  The teacher gives up busy work from our books and then gives us homework. No one in the school liked her a least I only had to see her once. She was the history teacher but also the French teacher. I had taken Spanish so I didn’t have her. I walk to my next class and sit down. I do this for the rest of the day, sit , walk, and listen.  Finally it was time to go home. Natasha runs over to me and whispers “I want you to meet someone” she had a smile on her face. I follow her as she walks towards the lunch room.  We walk into the lunch room and I see a few of her close friends and then a boy named Ethan. Natasha walked over to Ethan and took his hand. “Nate meet my new boyfriend” she announced to me. Her friends all had smiles on their faces like they knew about this already.  Well she dated Ethan lasted for the school year but that was about it.

The last day of school

I wake up and hit my alarm turning it off. It tumbled to the ground because I had hit it off my night stand. I sit up and swing my legs over my bed and stand up. I was half awake as I got dressed. It was going to be a fun day but I was tired. Natasha and I had gone to the moves last night to see a new movie. I pull on a pair of basketball shorts and a Nike tee-shirt. I then pull on a pair of white socks and walk down the stairs. Natasha was already up and eating breakfast with Jason. Jason was watching us for the rest of the month because mom and dad had gone to Europe for work.   My sister had cooked chocolate chip pancakes , they were really good. I eat about 5 before we had to race off to school. My sister chased me all the way to the school and we hooked our bike on the bike rack before entering the school. We raced into the school and to our homerooms right before the warning bell rang.