Chapter 1 Day 1

"Mmmmm....." Thought Sammy. This has been a wonderful day. "I never thought that I would get a scooter of my very own."
Sammy ran his fingers through his strait brown hair that needed to be cut. He had bright blue eyes that almost shown, and had a birth mark on his cheek. He went to a school that started about one o'clock. He loved school and looked forward to it every day. He couldn't sleep but was lying there in bed thinking over the events of the day. His mother had said that when he was twelve he could have a scooter and here he was finally. His birthday was yesterday. He had received a nice shiny scooter.
George stood up, turned around and went to sleep. George was the family cat. He was a brown tabby. Sammy smiled and went back to thinking. His mother had let him ride his new scooter just before he came in for supper. IT WAS FAST! It was probably the fastest scooter in town!
Next thing he knew, it was morning. Light was flooding through the windows. And it was warm. He could feel his body soaking up the warmth. All of the sudden he heard a voice calling "Breakfast is ready. Come and get it."
Just then he noticed that the cat was gone. Then he looked at his alarm clock. It was 7:00! "What is happening?" he asked himself.
He hurried downstairs into the kitchen. The cat was lapping a saucer of milk, and the family had already started eating! Father had a sad expression on his face. He was always thoughtful but today he was more so than usual. He sat down and started listening to his parents conversation. Mother was very caring. Luckily both of his parents were disapproving in areas like smoking, drinking, and drugs. Katie, Sammy's younger sister, was gulping down her food. She was a little bit small for her age, thoughtful, and she always tried to think things out before asking. Tiny Tim on the other hand had hardly eaten anything, which was unusual. He had a near-tears expression on his face. He was always insistent, playful, and he always wanted his way. That trait had not diminished this morning.
"Why couldn't the school house burn some other morning?" asked Tim.
Sammy gave a little gasp. "Now, now it is O.K," said Mother. "We are going to help rebuild it. Remember it didn't burn this morning it burned last night. And, Sammy could you baby-sit your brother and sister?"
"Sure," replied Sammy.
"We will be gone all day."
Sammy's heart dipped a little.
Then his parents stood up and mother did the dishes. Father went out to start the car. Sammy caught his father out side coming out of the car and walking up the driveway to help mother get the dishes done sooner so that they could go.
"How bad was the damage?" Sammy asked.
"Not to bad. We should be done in about seven days," replied father. Father left a sad Sammy standing alone on the sidewalk. A few minuites later his parents came out.
"Remember to do the chores," called mother from the car.
Waving his hand, he turned and went into the house. The children were restless but the day went smoothly. He made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch and supper when his parents came home. At the end of the day all were exhausted except for Katie. Tiny Tim tried to prove to his sister that he could circle the yard 2000 times in one day. Sammy ended up spending most of his day in the yard either eating or reading from his text book. Katie just sat and watched... and kept count. At last it was time for bed.