• Everything is pitch black. I can’t see anything. All I hear are these voices that keep screaming at me. “Chloe! I’m so sorry!” “Please don’t leave me!” “Oh my gosh! What happened?!” I felt my body being lifted onto a comfortable mattress; many hands were grasping my body. “Please step back! She needs to get to the hospital!” I hear many doctors and cops screaming with agitation. “Hurry! She’s losing her pulse! Bring her to the vehicle!” Then, nothing. Silence. Emptiness. Mixed emotions. Questions keep flying at me, and I’m trying to collide them with an answer.
    • Why am I getting this type of fame when I didn’t want it to begin with?
    • If I’m so loved and cherished, how come no one jumped in to protect me?
    • After everything that had happened in my life, why did this guy decide to attack me now?
    Well….let’s start from the beginning.


    I was thirteen going on fourteen in about five months. My family and I lived in Denver, Colorado in a small, peaceful neighborhood. I had loving parents (Joe and Hailey Binds), an annoying, eight year old sister (Natalie Binds), and an eight month old brother (Kellan Binds). As for me, I’m Chloe Binds. I had long, brown hair that went up to my mid- back, dark, intense eyes, and light- coated skin. I was a short, pudgy girl that no guy would like or ever fall for...at then, I thought. My dream was to become an Olympic gymnast and win gold medals. This thought of going to the Olympics was soon crushed after my parent s thought pubic school was healthy for a teenager. I was only allowed to practice after school and on the weekends. My parents were right about sending me to public school because I soon began to rely on my best friend, Nate. We hung out with each other, always, in school and we told each other everything. That is when he had to move in the middle of the year because of his dad’s work. Today is the first day of summer break. Yes!! Three months off of school. That’s the break I needed, knowing that I’ve been lonely for half a year. And to tie it all off, my parents thought it would be nice to move into a smaller house. Okay. Maybe they were forced upon by my “thinking that I can have everything” attitude. Yes, my parents are rich but why not use it to get what I personally want and need. My father is the executive of a big corporation. He recently earned the position from another opposing dude that makes the big bucks and I guess my dad was lucky to win it. Mio Madre on the other hand is a nurse who works at an elderly place. Not that much of a big deal, but her paycheck is still higher then minimum wage.


    Getting back to the story, I’m walking to my new house and finally stop in front of it. I started examining it and thought; maybe this house isn’t so bad after all. I mean it still look beautiful in its own little tiny way. Shades of different red bricks and a dark brown roof to top it. A large glass window covered two fourths of the front of the house and there was a little white door next to it. As I looked at the lawn, there were large bricks that carried roses and wood chips at every corner of the front. The grass was freshly cut and I loved the smell of it.


    I saw my mom struggling to put up a curtain for the front window, so I ran into the house for her assistance. After we were through with that, I put my hand out in front of me to gesture my mother in paying me. “Can’t you just help me without getting paid?” she asked. I nodded no and she sighed. She gave me a penny and I just gave her a face. “Look the whole point of us moving here,” she stated,” was to start a new life without you getting spoiled by me or your daddy.” I whined and groaned. I know, I’m a thirteen year old who whines like a baby to get what little Miss Princess wants. But that’s how I play the game. She gave me five bucks and I skipped happily to my room. Just as I got in there, guess who I see? My little brat sister who decorated the room with pink paint and pink EVERYTHING! “What did you do to my room?!” She was jumping on her bed and smiling, “Mom said that I can have your room.” I went to the storage room to get a bucket of off- white paint and then stomped back into the room. As Natalie was jumping, I pulled her leg down so she could stop jumping. I pulled hard and pushed her off the bed and pushed her out. I slammed the door and started painting MY room back to the way it was. “MOMMYYYY!!!” Natalie screamed. Of course, she had to yell once my father stepped into the house. “Chloe April Binds!” I heard my dad yell, “get down here NOW!” I flinched as he said; now maybe expecting a beating from him. I stood right before him and my mom and they didn’t really look happy. “Who the hell do you think you are.” my dad commanded instead of asked. I wasn’t about to prove that I’m a weak subject so I went right ahead and answered it. “My name is Chloe,” I smiled, “What’s your name.” That did the trick because right then, he lifted his hand ready to slap me. Go mom for saving the day. “Honey...no,” she said firmly, “we will find other ways of punishment but this is NOT it.” She then turned to me,” Chloe go back to Natalie’s room and paint it the way it was.” “But that’s my room and I deserve it!” I yelled. “Do you see what you have done to your little sister...No you take her old room and keep that one.” My battle was apparently lost. I looked at Natalie. She had a nose bleed and some bruises on her arm. Ha-ha...Sucker that’s what you get. But whoops, I said that out loud. “All right,” my dad said, “if you are going to act like that, you’re grounded!” “But dad she deserved it… she took My room!” I yelled back instantly. I decided to run to my room before anything else happened. I sighed. I got my things out of the storage room and decided to unpack without causing any attention to my parents. I finished at around three in the morning and took a short nap before I went to gymnastics practice. I woke up at six in the morning and tried sneaking out to not wake anyone. As I opened the door, the light automatically turned on and I jumped. “Where do you think you’re going?” My father asked with my mother on his side. “I’m going to practice, where do you think I’m going?” They ignored my back talk and my mom went to take my practice clothes away from me. I tried pulling the bag back put it wouldn’t budge, so I gave up. My dad continued,” You’re not going to be practicing anymore,” he said putting up a finger for me to shut my mouth before I said anything,” We told your coach that we will let you go if you finish this camp we are going to send you to.” I was speechless. But I brought myself to fire back, “A CAMP! For what? And how long is this suicidal thing?” They gave me a pamphlet with all the information on it and told me to go pack. I went back upstairs and slammed the door as hard as I could. I jumped on my bed and apparently there’s a bus that’s going to pick me up at 12 this afternoon. Geez...They must want to get rid of me. I heard my mom knock on the door and refused to get up and get it. She decided to invite herself in and she sat next to me on my bed. “Honey,” she said rubbing my back, “I know you don’t think it’s fair but I think that it will be best for you to get out of the house.” “ You’re damn right I don’t think it’s fair..you know you are the worst mother anyone can ask for!” I continued, “ Why would you send me off to camp just for doing that to Natalie!”
    “ Honey! You have been treating me and your father with disrespect, that’s why we’ve moved here so we can prove to you that you don’t get everything you want!” she said harshly. I have never in my life felt this strong disapproval of my mom and I wasn’t going to take it. She started calming down and that wasn’t what I wanted. She stroked my hair and I pushed her away; I started throwing clothes from a packed box in a luggage. After I zipped up the bag, I headed for the door. My mom took me by the hand and turned me around. “ I’m sorry Chlo…but this is going to be good for you.” She tried giving me a kiss on the cheek but my reactions stopped her. I pushed her lightly (at least I thought I did), she fell to the ground, and with a couple last words, “I hate you”.


    I went to the meeting place and was picked up by the bus. I sat alone, thinking. How would this camp somehow make everything better for me? What would a get away from home do to improve my life? I fell asleep and before I knew it, someone was poking me in the face. I slapped the hand away and a bunch of giggly girls started laughing. I looked at them with aggravation and they stopped. Hmmm…Maybe I should give that look to everyone. I could totally tell that I was in the mountains but since its summer, there was no snow. Lucky me! I looked to my left and saw dozens of large cabins. In the middle of all of them, was the main cabin I’m guessing. “ Did you have a good nap on the bus?” a male voice said adjacent to me. I looked at him; he was gorgeous. He had sandy, blonde hair, dark- grey eyes, straight teeth, little bits of freckles every here and there, and he was about four inches taller than me.” I’m guessing you’re the one who kept poking me in the face,” I said a little annoyed by the girls around him. He chuckled and nodded, “You look extremely funny when you sleep with your mouth open.” The girls around him started giggling again. I just rolled my eyes and headed to the building that said orientation. “Ha-ha you’re so funny Forrest...” I heard many of the girls say in unison. Hmmm… Forrest? Never heard that name before but it fits his appearance.


    “ Welcome everyone to our summer camp!” I found an old lady speaking into a microphone in the main cabin. There were four people- two male and two female- standing next to her. “ These are your group leaders who will be guiding you every step of the way!” Everyone cheered and clapped. “ This summer you will experience the exciting world of fame! For all you singers and actors out there, this is the perfect place to be!” All great. Not only did my parents send me here to get away from home, but for me to persue THEIR dream. My mother always wanted me to be a singer and musician. She bought me my first real guitar when I was only three. I always refused to play for her even though I was amazingly talented. I preferred playing the keyboard but she refused to listen to any other instrument besides the guitar. My father raised me to look more model material to get people’s attention. He wanted me to look like this, so it looked like I was born to be an actress. As for me, I still want to stick with my Olympic dream.


    I saw Forrest enter the door and sit next to someone familiar. My mouth plopped open, “Nate?!” As soon as he heard his name, he looked up directly at me and smiled. He waved and then turned to talk to Forrest. Nate tried using sign language to tell me that he would meet me at the front door after the orientation speeches. I quickly understood and gave him a thumbs up. The old lady speaking began listing the people for each group leader to watch over. “ Okay. We seemed to have made a mistake grouping each individual.” Everyone moaned and started protesting that they should stay with the group that they were already set up in. “ Alright, alright, you guys can stay in your groups,” everyone screamed happily, “ Emily, Joe? Do you guys mind having only four people with you in your cabins?” A tall blonde female and a dark- haired bulk male nodded. They seemed to love the idea of not having that much responsibility. Emily jogged up to me and started introducing herself. “ Hello my name is Emily,” she said enthusiastically. She was practically a foot taller than me, skinny, had blue eyes, and a dark pair of glasses. I said a quiet hi and she led me to the male she was with just a moment ago. Joe was talking to Forrest, Nate, and some other girl, who intimidated me with her beauty. She was a blonde also with green eyes, a nice figure, had a pinkish tan to her, and she wore a summer dress up to half her thigh. I would never be able to pull that off, even if I tried. Emily started talking again, “so what’s your name?” She looked at me and I began responding, “Chloe.”
    “Cool! How do you like it here so far?”
    “Umm… not to be rude but shouldn’t you ask for everyone else’s name first?” Everyone chuckled and Joe spoke up, “Sorry, but you’re the only freshman in this group.” I blushed and looked away. “Okay guys. Do you want to see your awesome dorms this year?” Emily said excitedly. Everyone was siked and we started after Emily jogging toward our cabin. Nate walked beside me and put an arm around my shoulders, “ How have you been doing?”
    “Not so great. I’m the only odd one out right now.”
    “Don’t worry. You’ll blend in; you were born to be a rock star.”
    I smiled and he nudged me playfully the rest of the way. As I was walking, I noticed the things that have changed about Nate. He was finally taller than me, his hair was cut short and thin, and he lost all his baby fat. I honestly didn’t think he could lose that much fat…no offense to him or anything. I saw Emily walk into a large cabin near a lake. The lake had scenery which looked like it belonged in a movie instead of nature itself. Next to the lake was a bunch of log benches around a fire site. Yay! Smores! It’s a good thing the fire place is twenty feet from our cabin. Before walking in with the rest of the gang, I turned to look how far we have hiked. Our cabin was up a hill spaced way out from the other cabins. I liked how I was lucky enough to have peace and quiet when I sleep, knowing that I would’ve been bothered y my neighbors if I was down there. I dragged my luggage to the front door; I didn’t realize how heavy it was. Geez! Forrest saw me struggling and laughed at me loudly from the door. I growled at him and he jumped pretending to be frightened. I hope he came to camp to be a musician because his career wouldn’t last if he was acting. He jogged to my luggage and brought it to the porch. “You do know that this has wheels don’t you?” Okay its official, this guy makes me look stupid.