O P A L

I watch as the red light on my alarm clock blinks at me. I huff and click the alarm off while rolling out of bed.I grab a fluffy cardigan off the hook beside my door as I exit my room, pulling it on as I jog down the stairs.The smell of bacon fills the air. "It smells delicious!" I chirp, placing a soft kiss on my fathers cheek. 

He chuckles, "It always does when I cook." 

I grin and pat his back while shoving bacon into my mouth. 

"Nope, that's just the bacon." Polli booms from the kitchen table, taking a bite of her cereal. "You don't need another ego boost." 

"Polli, pops is only kidding." My older sister Marci tells her. She grabs her makeup mirror and turns the light on, blinding Polli in the process. 

"Ouch." Polli mumbles. 

"My bad." Marci murmurs, caking foundation on. 

"Marci you don't need to put so much foundation on. You need to let those freckles breathe." My mom giggles to herself. She grabs the coffee pitcher and pours some steaming coffee into her mug. 

"Yuck, I don't know how you drink that as it is." Marci blubbers out. 

"That's because you like everything extremely sweet." Dad reply's. 

Mom wraps her arms around my dad and kisses his lips. "Dutch, are you only making bacon?" 

He shakes his head, "No Olive." He chuckles softly, "There's fresh omelettes on a plate at the table." 

"And he baked cookies, there in the cookie jar." Polli gestures towards the calico cat cookie jar.

"Oooo." She drools, pulling a handful of cookies out of the jar. 

"Careful Olive, they're still hot." 

"And delicious!" She bubbles. "Has anyone talked to Leelan today?" Mom queries, taking another bite out of her cookie.

"Oh I did!" I squeal out. 

Leelan Clemens; he's the eldest out of the Clemens siblings, and the only boy. He's probably one of the nicest guys you could ever meet. 

"Is he still in London?" She asks, twisting her black hair and clipping it up. 

"No, he's in Scotland now, but he said tomorrow he'll be in Tokyo."

"That boy." She ticks her tongue against her teeth, "Always so busy. It's been what? Three months since we last saw him?" 

"Almost four." Dad states.

"Have the animals been fed yet?" Marci asks, coating her cheeks with bronzer.

"I only fed the dogs, the cats still need food." Dad tells us, flipping bacon on the process.

"How many cats have we rescued this month?" Polli inquires. 

Mom reaches for a plate on the table and piles bacon on top of her omelette. "Six so far." 

"Have any been adopted?" I ask, shoving some of my omelette into my throat. 

Mom thinks for a moment before responding, "Two dogs, three cats." 

"Hey that's pretty good!" I beam, brushing my messy bed hair with my fingers. "Does anyone have any detangler? My hair is so knotted." 

"I do in my bathroom." Marci states, "It's in the medicine cabinet." 

"Wait!" Polli whoops, "How many animals does that leave us? Because a girl at school wants a dog and one of the kittens." 

Dad piles his plate high before taking a seat next to mom, "Fifteen cats and twelve dogs. We have plenty." Dad stares at his food for a moment, he inches closer and pulls one of his red hairs from the omelette. 

"Eww are we eating dad hair?" Marci cringes, scrunching her face.

Dad grins awkwardly, "Sorry girls." 

"Big deal, it's just your fathers hair, it could be a lot worse." Mom says casually, keeping her eyes locked on her note book. 

"So Polli." Dad wiggles his eyebrows at her, "Your sixteenth birthdays right around the corner. What do you want us to get you?" 

She shrugs, "I don't know." 

"Come on, there's got to be something." Marci nudges her shoulder. 

"Hmm, there's this tapestry I saw at the mall last week. It would go really cute in my room. But.. it cost a lot." 

"How much is a lot?" Dad inquires, his brows creased. 

"Two hundred. But! It's really great quality, besides it's not like I'm asking for a car. Opal doesn't even have a car and she'll be turning eighteen soon." 

Mom frowns, "Our budgets pretty tight right now, Polli." 

"I know, that's why I didn't want to ask for it." 

"We'll see." 

- 

As I rush up the stairs I trip over my own foot but quickly pick myself back up. I close the door behind me and hurry to grab an outfit. 

I quickly coat my lashes in mascara and add the tiniest bit of blush to my cheeks. I grab my school essentials before heading out the door. Polli and I shove ourselves in Marci's car. 

Marci checks herself out in the rear view mirror. "Drive you knuckle head!" Polli huffs.

"Alright alright! Hold your horses Polli." 

"I just don't want to be late for school again." 

"You won't be late." Marci assures her. "We've got plenty of time." 

"Yeah only twenty minutes!" She squeaks, "It takes almost forty to get there." 

"With my driving skills, you'll get there in no time." Marci holds herself proudly. 

"As long as you don't get a ticket or kill us, then fine."

"Relax. You know I'm a good driver."

She crosses her arms and sinks down into her seat, "I know I know." 

Marci reaches over, clicking the radio on. "So girls, any crushes?"

"Go ahead Opal, tell her." Polli shoves my shoulder forward. 

I grin and twist my red hair around my finger. "Theres this new guy, his name is Briar."

"Oooo!" Marci chortles, nudging my knee with the palm of her hand. 

"Yeah, I met him yesterday. He's really cute and sweet."

"Wheres he from?"

"London originally, but he moved to New York about eight years ago."

"Goodness gracious Opal, a British boy! You go girl!" She and Polli squeal.

Polli lays her head on the back of our seat, "Yeah! He's super hot Marci, you'd die if you saw him."

"Oh I believe you." She chuckles softly, "But I have my eye on this boy."

"Spill dem beans!" Polli wacks Marci's arm, "Whats his name?"

"Cory Thomas."

"My history teacher?" Polli inquires.

She bobs her head, "Yeah.."

"Dude," She plasters a smile on her face, "He's one of the hottest teachers! A lot of the girls always talk about him. He always has a herd of hormonal teens around him."

She giggles, "Seriously?"

"Uh yesss. Its crazy, I know."

"So where are you going to set up to sell the fruits and veggies?" I ask, glancing over to her.

"Umm probably downtown Maplesgrove, it's always busy down there."

-

I slam the car door, gazing over at Marci flirting with Mr.Thomas. She bats her eyelashes and twists her hair around her finger, he lays his hand on her shoulder, exchanging his irresistible smile that all the girls fall for. 

Polli walks up to them pointing her finger at Mr.Thomas. "So, does this mean I can get out of doing homework?"

I walk around them and walk through the french school doors.

I wander down the hallway and see my best friend Iris charging towards me. She wraps her arms around me, knocking me onto the floor. "Opal!!" She bursts, hugging me tightly. 

I brush her jade black hair from my face, "Hey Iris!" 

"Can I help you two girls?" Briar stares down at us, a smile creeping its way onto his lips. 

We giggle as he reaches for our hands, pulling us both off the floor. "Thank you!" We say in unison. 

"You're welcome. I like your dress Opal." 

"Thanks!" 

"Who's this?" Iris asks, both brows wiggling at me, a sly grin on her face. 

"This is Briar." 

He extends his hand out to shake hers, "Briar Bennett."

She smiles cheerfully and shakes his hand, "Iris Kingsley. I'm Opals best friend."

"Nice to finally meet you. She talked about you for a whole hour yesterday."

Iris giggles with her hand covering her mouth, "You look familiar."

He lifts a brow, "Well I'll catch up with you girls, I need to go to the office to pick up something." 

Iris turns to me as he walks away, whipping her phone out of her dress pocket. "Do you know who he is?"

I shake my head, "What do you mean?"

She swipes to her instagram, pulling his profile up. "His father is a world famous soccer player, his mother does amazing graphics for movies, and him and his brothers are BOTH models and they've invented insanely popular apps, that we use daily."

"Then why would he come to school here in Maplesgrove?"

She shrugs, "Maybe we should find out."