Chapter 1

Chapter 1

“ Amir, wake up and get ready for school.” My sister says as she busts into my room.

“I’m up, I’m up, just give me a second.”

As she walks away to continue her morning routine I take my time getting out of the bed. I never was a morning person, getting up early is one of the worst parts about going to school. I sit up, wipe the crust from my eyes and make my way to the bathroom. I lock the door, turn on the shower and take my seat on the toilet.

After handling my business I sit for a while in a daze wishing I was still in bed. I hop in the shower and as the water trickles all over my body I wonder to myself how this year will turn out. Things will be different this year since I'm not in elementary school anymore. Even though I’m still at the same school I’ve been at since pre-school, middle school will probably be even harder. My sister Amirah says it’s not that bad and that the only real difference is now I switch classes every period and go to my teacher instead of sitting in one class room all day and the teacher comes to me. At Least I’m not down the hall from my mother anymore, that means I have a little bit more freedom. With my mom's classroom being in the same hallway all the time I had a habit of staying out of trouble as much as I could. Most of the times I did get it bad it wasn’t even my fault it was the other boys acting up and I ended up being grouped in with them.

"Stuff like that is exactly why I’m not looking forward to going to school."

*Knock, Knock, Knock* “Amir hurry up, you're taking too long in the bathroom, Quamir and Jamir still have to get washed.” My sister yells from outside the bathroom.

She’s so annoying, “I’m almost done.”

I guess I should actually start washing up so she can stop rushing me. After getting out of the shower I wake my brother Quamir up then I head down stairs to get my uniform that my mom just finished ironing.

“Here you go, did you wake your brother up?”

“Yes, he’s in the bathroom now.”

“Okay good, make sure your bag and their bags are packed please while I go upstairs and get ready.”

“They’re packed already. I did them last night. Everything we need is in there for me and them.”

“Okay thank you, make sure you all eat something.”

“Okay.”

Our morning routine is the same every year. Dad leaves for work early in the morning so he’s gone by the time we all wake up. Mom gets up next and does whatever she does. Then she wakes up Amirah and so on and so on. The funny part is even though mom is up before us she’s always the last to get dressed. I guess it’s understandable since she also has to get us ready as well.

After feeding the cat and making oatmeal for me and my brothers we all sit in front of TV as we wait for our mother to get ready. Sesame street before school is like a tradition for us even though we are all to old to be watching it. By the time the number of the day comes on mom should be ready and making her way downstairs so we can leave.If I have to be honest I wouldn’t mind it if she ended up making us late. Too bad that won’t happen since us being there early means she’s on time for work.

As we finish up our breakfast and the count counts mom comes down wrapped in her garments as usual ready to go as expected.

“Come on lets go, grab your bags, I hope you all have everything you need I don’t want to see any of your teachers comig to my classroom to tell me you were missinfg something you should already have. I have all the extra supplies with me if you all need them just come to my classroom.”

“Okay!” we all exclaim together as we head out the door and into another long year.