Nocturnal by Chelsea M. Cameron

Author:Chelsea M. Cameron [Cameron, Chelsea M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Juvenile Fiction, Love & Romance
ISBN: 9781478174219
Google: 5FqqMQEACAAJ
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Published: 2012-02-14T16:00:00+00:00

***

I sleep late the next morning. Both my parents are up and making pancakes before I roll my way out of the tent.

“Ugh.” I put my hand up to shield my sensitive eyes. I feel like they've been scraped by a grape peeler. The fire's already going and the scent of fresh coffee tickles my nose.

“Good morning sunshine.” My mother looks amazing. Fresh as a daisy, wearing her everyday wig. My own hair is already greasy, and I'm regretting not taking off my mascara. I wipe my hands over my eyes and they come away with black smears.

“Want some pancakes?” She looks up from the frying pan balanced on a metal rack over the fire. How she doesn't burn them, I don't know, but they always come out good. Mom magic.

“After I brush my teeth.” I walk down to the bathroom, which is in a big cement building a short way from our site. There are even hot showers, but they cost you a quarter for five minutes. I know I'm going to get desperate in a few hours and have a roll of quarters just in case.

A couple of people smile at me on their way to the sinks to wash their morning dishes. I smile back, trying to be friendly. I scrub my face with cold water, trying to wake up. My eyes have taken the train to puffy town, but there's nothing I can do about that. Stumbling back to our site, I nearly get attacked by someone's cockapoo. There's a plate of golden pancakes waiting for me. My stomach snarls in response.

“So we've got a big day planned. We're thinking of taking this hike, since we've never done it before.” She points to the map, tracing the path we'll take with a marker. It looks twisty and windy and probably difficult.

“Sounds great.” I say around a bite of pancakes. I have to open my mouth and suck in air so I don't burn my tongue.

After piles of pancakes and a quick wash up, Mom is itching for us to get going. Even though Dad clearly slept, due to the snoring, he looks like he got less than I did. I slather my skin with sunblock and bug dope, ignoring him as he packs up the water and gorp and maps. By the time we're ready, I'm so slippery if someone tried to grab me, I'd slide right away.

I'm wearing hand-me-down hiking boots from my mother, since our feet are the same size. She's wearing a newish pair that Dad bought her a few months ago that she's been breaking in ever since. Dad's are so old they're falling apart, so he's taped them up so they'll stay on his feet. We're quite the ragtag bunch of outdoorsmen.

“So Ava-Claire, your father and I were talking and wondered if you'd like to take a few weeks off from school. It's almost the end of the year and I could help you study for your exams at home. What

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.