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Twists&Turns--TheLifeOfTaraKeyes


Chapter one

"Tara!" screams Jessica, my older sister from down the hall, "Turn down your dumb music!"
Uhg, I think to myself as I jump around the room, lipsyncing into my brush to Taylor Swift's song, Fearless. Why do I have to be the only one in this house who enjoys real music?
I forgot in my forest of thoughts to turn it down, and soon Jessica's classical music is blasting down the hall, drowning out Taylor. "Oh, come on!" I yell back. "Classical music stinks!" I then say in a smaller voice, "In my opinion anyways..."
"What did you say?" she yells back, in a voice obviously telling me she had heard me loud and clear. I reach over to the volume knob and turn it down to a seven. Eight notches down. "Thank you!" she yells, relieved as she turns down her Bach music. Jess was a ballerina, and had been for six years. Ever since the afternoon she started in 2003, every weekday at six o'clock when she gets back, you hear anything from the Nutcracker to Beethoven. Not my personal style. I'm just glad we don't share a room anymore.
"Dinner!" calls Mom from the kitchen downstairs. I smell pea soup and cheese & herb bread. Mmmm.
"Coming," I reply, running down our hallway. I arrive and everyone but me is seated at the table.
"Miss Late is finally here," says Jessica in a brattish tone.
"Jess," says Dad, warning her to stop.
"Can we eat yet? Puh-lease?" asks Bailey, my 7-year-old sister. My stomach grumbles, and Mom immediately begins serving the soup.
--
About half way through dinner, Dad says he has an announcement. "Jessica, Tara, Bailey," he begins. Mom begins choking up. Bailey looks confused, and Jessica worried. I'm in between those emotions. "I know how attached you are to Minnesota."
My siblings and I would go crazy if we had to leave; Mom and Dad knew that. I knew this meant we were moving. I just knew it.
"But I've gotten a job offer... in Paris," he says as if he'd practiced it at least a dozen times. Tears flow down Mom's now puffy face, and that makes Bailey begin to tear up.
Jess groans. "It was hard leaving Texas! Now we have to leave Minnesota--after seven years? That's like torture! Especially for Bailey, who's lived here her whole life!"
"I don't wanna go!" wails Bailey, slamming her bread onto her plate.
"Now wait, kids!" says Dad, a worried expression begining to creep onto his slightly wrinkled face. "You can either come to Paris with us," he begins, "or stay at Hawthorne Boarding School. It's only an hour away from here."
"So we're not staying period?" I ask, my eyes wide. I'm scared.
"Your dad... had accepted." Mom forces out of her quivering mouth.
"Oh, that's just 100% fair!" complains Jessica.
"I'm sorry! They gave me an hour to decide... you all were gone, and I thought maybe you'd want to go to Paris with us! See the world... Right?" he asks.
"Wrong," murmurs Jessica.
"I've shown bad judgement. I'm sorry." confesses Dad. I'm begining to cry, and Jessica's just plain mad.
I can't leave Minnesota. So unlike Jessica and Bailey, I choose boarding school.

Chapter two

Mom, Dad, and Bailey are tearing up as I hold my two suitcases in front of Hawthorne Boarding School. They say their goodbyes as Jessica is quiet, her hood pulled over her head and her snow white earphones attached to her covered ears. Something about her expression just tells me that maybe, just maybe, she'll miss me. I'll miss her, I know that.
My uniform they sent me is itchy. Navy, yellow and white argyle knee-high socks rub against the many bugbites scattered across my legs, and I know that my brand-new-used Black Converse shoes (which were Jessica's) are going to give me blisters later on. My grey skirt goes down to my knees and is actually somewhat comfortable, unlike the rest of my outfit. The sweater they gave me is really hot, even for September.
"I love you, honey," says Mom through her tears. I'm crying now as Dad steps forward and gives me that special big bear hug that only dads can give. I can tell he's crying, too. Bailey steps forward and hands me a bracelet I can tell she made. The beads on it spelled out: T A R A ♥ K E Y E S, and I choked up more as I slipped it onto my left wrist.
Bailey gives me a big hug and begins crying like she had spilled a hot kettle of water on her arm. "I'll miss you!" she wails, sniffing occasionally. Or maybe she's snorting. I am crying too hard to tell. Because... well...
I'll miss them too.

Chapter three
([Part one])
"Ah, Tara Keyes?" asks the woman at the desk in the lobby of the Henton Dorms building.
"Uh, yeah, how'd you know?" I ask cautiously.
"You're the last one to arrive," says the woman. She's really grumpy; I can tell she hates her job. "Room 203." I nod and drag my suitcases to the elevator. This is a nice school! I press 2. There must be 100 rooms on each floor!
I walk to room 203 and the door is already open. I hear Flyleaf music blasting loud. "I'm so sick..." screams a girl with dark, dark hair. Is she my roomie? She notices me. "Oh! Sorry," she says, turning down the music from her iHome.
"Ah, no problem. I'm used to it," I reply, shrugging and referring to Jessica's classical music.
"I'm Vienna," she says, offering her hand. I shake it, feeling the silver rings on her fingers, and hearing her bracelets dangle and clash together, sounding like the chimes on my grandma's porch.
"Tara," I say with a smile.
"I love that name! It's on my top 100 name list. Number 67," Vienna tells me with a grin. "I left it at home by mistake, though."
I laugh. I know we'll be great friends.
Suddenly a girl runs in with a billion bags. "Just got back from meeting our neighbo--Oh, Vi, is this our other roomie?"
"Yup," Vi replies. That explains the third bed!
"Sam," the girl says, giving me a hug. I freeze in the midst of it. It felt... weird. I never get hugs at my house, except for the occasional dad hug or mom hug here and there. But I feel welcomed.
"Tara," I say, smiling even bigger.
([Part 2])
Knock knock, we hear. All three of our heads turn. Vienna walks over and opens it up, and there stands a boy, shaking furiously.
"They'll eat me!" he screams, running in.
"Get out!" yells Sam, pointing at the door.
"Who are you?!" I ask, throwing my hands in the air.
"John Nakishu," he tells us briefly. "Now help me!"
"With what?" screams Vi loudly.
"The Sophomore boys are after me! They'll eat me alive!" John explains, jumping under Sam's green and yellow polkadotted sheets.
"Get out!" Sam screams louder. "Get out, out, out, out, out!" John is immediately freaked and jumps under mine.
"Please!" I yell. "Get out from under--"
Bang bang, we all hear. Our door flings open and there stands three older kids. Probably the Sophomores John was talking about. "Hey, where's Johnny Nacashew?"
"Cashew?" repeats Vi, obviously confused. "I thought it was Nakishu..."
"There he is! Cashew's under the sheets!" yells the shortest of the three.
"Yeah! Get 'im!" They all run towards my bed and Sam jumps forward.
"Get one inch closer and I'll knock you down," she threatens. They actually look... frightened.
I'm standing about four feet away, totally freaked out. Sam flexes her arms--she's buff!
"I have these guns," Sam says, flexing her arms again, "And I ain't afraid to use 'em!"
"Dude, she's buff, man," says the tallest of the Sophomores. The other two nod. "Let's bail!" They finally leave and John is shivering.
"What was..." he begins. "Thanks, Sam!"
"Eh, sure. Now just leave. Okay?"
I blink and stand here, speechless, as John walks out with a greatful look on his face. He looks... flattered.
So does Sam.
Vi bursts out laughing, and then I begin. Sam is still in the same place, her eyes half closed, and staring at where John left.
"Looks like someone has a new frie-end," I sing. Vi laughs and nods.

Chapter 4
([part one])
I open my eyes the next morning to the sun's golden rays beaming through the window onto my bed.
Or maybe it's more Flyleaf blasting from Vi's iHome. The song is Cassie. I see Vi dancing around the room, her hair in her face and a brush in her hand.
Sam's in her bed, cracking up, yet trying to look asleep. I see she has her phone and is taking a secret video of her. I'm grinning a big grin.
Vienna's head turns and she sees Sam. "Shut up! Shut up! No! Turn that off!" she yells.
"Shhh!" I shush, holding one finger to my lips. "We're not the only ones in the building!"
"But she!--"
Sam starts laughing louder. She grabs Vi's brush and dances around the room mockingly. I can tell Vienna's trying to hold in laugher with her glued on angry look. I burst out laughing.
"Tara, join me!" says Sam.
"Oh, I'm flattered! Lacey Mosley wants me to sing with her!" I say sarcastically. Vienna starts laughing now and she joins us on top of Sam's bed. Suddenly the door bursts open.
"I told you to lock that!" yells Sam to me.
In comes John. "Hide me!" he says.
"Not again," I groan.
"Do I need to flex again?" asks Sam angrily.
([Part 2])
"John, seriously, you need to get out!" I tell him, my hands on my hips.
"But, but, they'll--"
"Eat you, we know," finishes Vi.
"This kid is making me mad!" says Sam.
"Fine! But next time you need me, I won't help you! How would you like it if everyone called you a cashew and wanted to eat you?" John says, leaving.
"What do you think of him now, Miss-He-Makes-Me-Mad?" asks Vi, with a mysterious smile.
"Now what do you mean by that?" Sam asks, acting as if nothing had happened. She immediately changes the subject. "Tara, should I wear the green or pink cami?"
"Go with green," I mouth as Vi rambles on about the face Sam had made at John left yesterday.
"Thanks," Sam says, heading to the bathroom to change.
"Ugh, Sam makes me angry," Vi vents to me. "'Now what do you mean by that?'" she adds in a mocking tone.
"Class in an hour. We better get down to the Hudsenn Building for breakfast." I tell Vi, hoping not to make her explode with any of my words.
"You're right. Lemme change once," she then says in a louder tone, "MISS LIAR gets out of the BATHROOM!"
"Vi, chill!" I say, grabbing some faded grey jeans, brown flipflops, and a yellow top.
"Yeah!" Sam chimed in from the bathroom. She steps out in a green cami (suggested by yours truly) with a brown jacket over it, blue jeans, and black ballet flats.
"Wow, you match," I say sarcastically and jokingly. She glares at me. "Sorry!"
"Hm, like you match better?" Sam challenges.
"Oooh," says Vi from her dresser.
"You didn't just--" I begin.
"Mhm," Sam says with attitude in her voice. My eyes narrow.
"I hear a fashion face-off!" Vi shouts.
"You're on, Bennett." I tell her.
"Bring it, Keyes!"
Suddenly, for the third time, our door bursts open.
"JOHN!" I yell.
"What?!" John yells back. "They're gonna--"
"Stop it!" yells Vi even louder than the rest of us.
Sam tops us all. "GE-E-E-ET," she starts, "OU-U-U-UT!"
"For crying out loud, I just came to ask what classes you guys had!" he says.
Vi looks frustrated. "What did you just say," she says in the tone that doesn't sound like a question, even when it should be.
"There's such a thing as knocking..." Sam says, calmer than before. She bats her eyelids. "You guys seen my mascara?"
"Eww," says John. "You don't need that,"
"Oh! Uh, I knew that! I was just... kidding!" Sam says with a smile.
It's ten minutes later and we're finally off to breakfast. Sam is still mad at me and I'm still angry at her for being angry at me.

Chapter 5

I bite into the fresh, chilly cream cheese on the toasted bagel. "Mmmm," I say, my mouth full.
"Ew," spits Sam, "That stuff is disgusting."
"I think it's pretty good," John adds.
Sam laughs. "I was joking!" Vi rolls her mascara-brushed and eye-shadowed eyes.
I had already made an enemy. But I thought she was my friend... at first. Wasn't she?... I don't know.
"Six! Ten! Forty-nine! Sing our song and make it shine!" cheerleaders sing from the other half of the huge dining room.
"Cool!" yells Vi. "Cheerleading rocks!"
"What?" John, Sam and I ask at the same time.
"I mean, ew! They--stink! And... I hate their uniforms! Yeah!" Vienna tells us. "No, no, I'm really joking. Seriously."
Unsure, I finished my bagel.
Suddenly the whole crew of cheerleaders skip over to us, pick up Vi by the arms, and cheer.
"What are you creeps doing to me?" she asks.
"We want you," the head cheerleader says.
"You!" the rest of them cheer.
"To join,"
"Join!"
"Now,"
"Now!"
"Me?" Vienna asks, flattered.
"Do you even want to?" I ask, confused.
"Chyeah! Talk about cool unifor--" she sees our stares and stops. "I'm joking. Again. Yeah." She bends over and whispers something to the leader.
"Cool!" squeaks the leader happily.
"Gotta go, girls... and John." Vi says, putting down her apple. "Seeya!" She gets up and follows the cheer squad.
"What is this world coming to?" Sam asks, her hand on my arm.
"Why?... Why are you so happy? To me?" I ask.
"You're my friend, silly!" Sam says.
"Uh... yeah," I say, fake smiling.
This is weird.





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