• I love watching the sun come up in Durem; I sit on the roof of my house each morning with a blanket wrapped around me and watch it come up. The sky has such pretty colors, pinks and oranges and red. Would be amazing to paint it, if only had an artistic talent, but I don’t so I settle for pictures taken by my camera. I raised the camera up and lay back against my roof, when the lens was focused and I was sure the clouds wouldn’t just be smudges I snapped a picture and sat back up. “Today is the day.” I said to myself and looked back up into the pinkish/orange sky.

    After a while, like I always do, I got bored and the beauty had worn out of the sun rise I went back into my house through the window and stepped down onto the desk I had under it. Today was going to be a good day, I could feel it. Today was the day I was going to go visit Ian and Rufus at the Barton Boutique. I had planned this shopping trip for a week and a half. I loved shopping in Barton, especially seeing my best friend Ian.

    Ian is one of my best friends and I loved visiting him--wait...have I said that already?

    I did?

    Ok Ok, I'll squeal.

    I have a crush on Ian.

    I dont see why everyone say's he is so weird! He's a sweetheart; he’s kind, caring, gentle and cute too! I stopped before going into my bathroom and looked at the digital alarm clock I had on my bed, it was six AM. Plenty enough time for me to get ready before getting on the road to head to Barton.

    I undressed and turned the water on before going and standing outside the shower, it was still cold. But I couldn’t help smiling and thinking Today is the day. I had such a good feeling in my gut. Finally the water got a bit warm and I got my bathrobe off the back of my door and threw it over the chair of my make up table, getting a towel out and laying it with it to before jumping into the shower.

    As the water rushed down on me I shivered until I adjusted to the heat thinking about what I'd do today. First I'd take a nice hot shower to put me in a good mood, and then I'd go down stairs and have my favorite breakfast: pancakes in silence. After I'd eat I'd finish freshening up: styling my hair, brushing my teeth and putting on my best make up. After I was presentable I'd get my bike and ride down the road and take short cut to Barton, once there I'd just dilly dally around town until noon or so and then I'd head over to Ian's shop to say a 'casual' hi to Ian and his cat Rufus.

    I absolutely adore Rufus! He's so soft and cuddly! Sometimes he lets me feed him fishy crackers from the store while he sits in my lap when the store is really slow or if Ian is busy. I love the way he purrs when you scratch behind his ears too.

    Suddenly there was a rush of cold water and I yelled out in surprise, pushing against the furthest wall of the shower I glared at the shower head, apparently there was something wrong with my shower, usually I have a good hour or two’s worth of hot water. I turned the water off and huffed, so much for a relaxing shower to put me in a good mood. I jumped out of the shower and wrapped a bathrobe around me as I towel dried my short brown hair. I walked into the kitchen and opened up the freezer door and smiled. At least I have pancakes.

    I laughed at myself for thinking that and pulled out the box, the pancakes are microwaveable and easy to fix, a lot faster than having to make them from scratch. I popped them into the microwave and got out a glass of milk but the window caught my eye. I looked out the window and noticed the clouds looked a little grey. cloud cover? I turned on my TV as the microwave stopped, Cindy was on the TV for the weather right now. "Good Morning Gaians!" she greeted, "Today seems like a good day for those in Barton and Durem with only a slight 25% chance of rain which should be heading down toward Gambino Island...Watch out though, our Doppler radar has picked up that the rain might turn into a storm later in the day…" I flicked the TV off and smiled, see? I knew today would be a good day.

    I ate my pancakes in peace at my kitchen table. I closed the blinds on the window so I wouldn’t have to look at the grey clouds, I didn’t want anything messing with my mood anymore. Once I was finished eating I put my plate in the dishwasher and walked back to my bathroom, by the way my house is one-story with five rooms. My room, bathroom, living room, kitchen, and dinning room. I walked back into my bathroom and brush my teeth while in my bathrobe, I didn’t want to take a chance on getting toothpaste or spit on my good new clothes that I had bought. Some had even been welcome to the neighborhood gifts from my new neighbors.

    Once done with that I got out my blow drier and styled my hair. Straight and sleek, just like I knew Ian liked it. I was still in my bathrobe as I opened up my make up and sitting in the chair, I took my time putting on make up cause I wanted it to be good. Concealer first, then mascara, curling my eyelashes, and eye liner last. I checked myself in the mirror to make sure that I hadn’t found any place’s I’d missed before putting on a cute black tennis skirt, a white shirt and my black laceback leather jacket. But it still seemed off, what was I missing? I looked down at my legs and smiled: stockings. I reached into a drawer under my bed and pulled out a pair of fishnet stockings and pulled them over my legs before stepping into my open toed high heels. I walked to the stand up mirror on the back of my door and looked myself over Good, looks good. Remember: you can do this. I smiled and nodded to my reflection before grabbing my keys and locking the house up.

    I always locked my bike up to the tree right next to my house, it only took me a minute or two to get the code on the bike lock and get ready to ride. I had to take off my shoes and put them in the basket on the back of my bike. I looked up again, This will be a good day. The day I tell Ian how I feel about him! I pushed off from the tree and started down the road that lead into town.

    ~+~

    A dark wood wagon being pulled by a black horse with white spots stopped on the halfway point to Barton. A man with a green cap on his head looked up and sighed, taking the piece of hay he had in his mouth out. "It’s going to be a bad day." He looked down at the horse and replaced the hay, "Hyea!" He snapped the reigns on the horse and it started up in a nice gallop down the road, "We need to make it to Barton before this storm hits..." The horse turned into the gates and the man jumped down, grabbing the reins again he untied the horse and then tried him up to the tree, “Stay here and don’t try to move.”

    ~+~

    Black clouds and rain are NOT part of my good day!

    I had been on my bike maybe an hour and a half when the rain started to sprinkle; I wasn’t too worried about it. The sun was still out and it was only a drop or two here and there so I kept ridding. Then the dark clouds came after another ten minutes, I was starting to feel a little uneasy about the whole deal but I knew I was only maybe fifteen minutes away from the gates of Barton. But I didn’t last fifteen minutes, I barely lasted five.

    The rain got so bad I couldn’t see, my bike swerved and I hit a rock and I flipped. And, as my luck today would have it I landed on my butt in a mud puddle, I was about to yell out in frustration when lightening drowned me out. I hate lightening. It scares me to death. I jumped up and grabbed my bike; no way was I just leaving it out here. I jumped on it and wiped the water out of my face, pushing forward a little at a time but trying to ride at a good pace so I wouldn’t be out in the rain much longer.

    "Damn it...” I cursed to myself, I wiped the rain out of my eyes for the hundredth time and smiled, I was at the Barton Gates! I rushed through the gates and parked my bike under a nice thick tree and locked it up, when I looked into my basket I realized that my favorite black Jenny's Secretive Open Toed Shoes must have fallen out of my basket when I flipped, the only reason my lock didn’t was because it had been wrapped around the bike where the basket was connected. I swore and reset the lock as I looked around, I wanted to get out of the rain as quickly as possible and I knew Ian would be the only one not to laugh at me for me being wet.

    I took off running under the canopies of the stories, at least...those who had one. I can’t tell you how many times I slipped and fell before I finally saw the windmill top of the boutique. I smiled and ran up to the door but when i reached it I just wanted to cry. There was a sign on the door in Ian's writing that said:

    Gone to Gambino Island, will be back tomorrow~ Ian & Rufus.

    So much for my good day