Chapter One- At the Mercy of the Winds of Change.
Has anything in your life dramatically changed? Something that may seem small at first, but then leads to years and years of change? Such a thing has happened to me. A ripple. A ripple in my future.
My name is Charlene- Charlie for short- White. I live in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Ever since I was really little, my family vacationed at Cape Cod every summer... up until I was ten. Instead, my parents scored a cottage in Maine. It was cute- with crimson clapboards and shutters that actually opened and closed- but my brothers and sisters and I wanted Cape Cod. Who are my siblings? Well, the oldest and only boy is Haven, and he was 17 that first summer- what we came to call the Summer of Changes, because everything turned upside-down for us. After Haven, there's Raven- I'm not kidding. My parents didn't even want to have kids with rhyming names, they just liked the names Haven and Raven. After Raven (a year younger than Raven) there's Alva, then Ellie, the Diana, then Millie, then Beck, then me, then Fiona, and finally Gala. Anyway, all ten of us were mad at Mom and Dad.
My name is Charlene- Charlie for short- White. I live in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Ever since I was really little, my family vacationed at Cape Cod every summer... up until I was ten. Instead, my parents scored a cottage in Maine. It was cute- with crimson clapboards and shutters that actually opened and closed- but my brothers and sisters and I wanted Cape Cod. Who are my siblings? Well, the oldest and only boy is Haven, and he was 17 that first summer- what we came to call the Summer of Changes, because everything turned upside-down for us. After Haven, there's Raven- I'm not kidding. My parents didn't even want to have kids with rhyming names, they just liked the names Haven and Raven. After Raven (a year younger than Raven) there's Alva, then Ellie, the Diana, then Millie, then Beck, then me, then Fiona, and finally Gala. Anyway, all ten of us were mad at Mom and Dad.
Chapter Two- The Teddy Bear and an Unnecessarily Long Car Drive
We had to go to Maine anyway, and it was beautiful. We still weren't over it. Ellie, who was a bit nervous about swimming, said while we were in the car "I hope you don't expect me to swim. Or even go near the water in general."
Beck, who was eleven and opposed to anything that wasn't Cape Cod, said stubbornly, "There isn't a Cuffy's here, is there?"
"No, but there is a lovely sweatshirt shop in town," Mom replied.
"How do you know?" Diana asked.
"This is where we got married," Mom sighed.
"Yuuuuck!" Alva pretended to throw up.
"Somebody roll down the window!" Millie called.
Gala, who was three at that time, and had some trouble comprehending that we weren't going to Cape Cod, said hopefully, "Cod sweater?"
"No," Raven said. "No Cod sweater. No Massachusetts. No cool cottage. No traditions. No... anything!"
Gala, bored with Raven's rant, reached for her teddy bear, which had fallen between the door and her seat. "Teddy!" she yelled.
Diana reached down to get it from behind. "Ow! I think I'm stuck!"
I peeked over the seat and saw she was right. Her arm had gotten stuck in the crack where the teddy bear was. Beck started yanking on her other arm. "Nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh," Millie said quickly. "That's just gonna hurt both of her arms. Like this."
She put her arms around Beck like she was giving a hug from behind. Beck did this to Diana, and with the combined efforts of the three, Diana's arm came free.
"Teddy?" Gala asked gleefully.
"Aw crud, I forgot why my arm was stuck there in the first place!"
"Wait!" Ellie said. "How about you shine a light down there first?"
I fished a penlight
Beck, who was eleven and opposed to anything that wasn't Cape Cod, said stubbornly, "There isn't a Cuffy's here, is there?"
"No, but there is a lovely sweatshirt shop in town," Mom replied.
"How do you know?" Diana asked.
"This is where we got married," Mom sighed.
"Yuuuuck!" Alva pretended to throw up.
"Somebody roll down the window!" Millie called.
Gala, who was three at that time, and had some trouble comprehending that we weren't going to Cape Cod, said hopefully, "Cod sweater?"
"No," Raven said. "No Cod sweater. No Massachusetts. No cool cottage. No traditions. No... anything!"
Gala, bored with Raven's rant, reached for her teddy bear, which had fallen between the door and her seat. "Teddy!" she yelled.
Diana reached down to get it from behind. "Ow! I think I'm stuck!"
I peeked over the seat and saw she was right. Her arm had gotten stuck in the crack where the teddy bear was. Beck started yanking on her other arm. "Nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh," Millie said quickly. "That's just gonna hurt both of her arms. Like this."
She put her arms around Beck like she was giving a hug from behind. Beck did this to Diana, and with the combined efforts of the three, Diana's arm came free.
"Teddy?" Gala asked gleefully.
"Aw crud, I forgot why my arm was stuck there in the first place!"
"Wait!" Ellie said. "How about you shine a light down there first?"
I fished a penlight