Prologue
Grandpa lay down and went to sleep for a long time. I thought that Grandpa was just taking a long nap. Verena thought so too. But now, Claire, Vanessa, and I know that he died. Verena took a little more time to grow up than the rest of us. Claire, the oldest, called herself ten years young. Me, the middle, wanted to stay four forever. Vanessa, the second middle sister, had made me sing happy birthday to her 100 times when she turned eight because she was still young. Verena, well, who knows?
Claire’s birthday came and passed by like a car on the highway. Then mine, then Verena’s, then Vanessa’s. We were all so close in age but we started to separate and separate and separate. What ages were we when Grandpa died? Claire was sixteen, I was twelve, Vanessa was ten, and Verena was eight. When I say we all separated, I mean that Claire went off to use some big study tubes and do her science smart stuff (I like to call it S.S.S.). I went to volleyball practice six times a week, and Vanessa went to hip hop team practice. Verena goes to an after school for kids, ages 8-10, who have trouble reading.
Volleyball was my life, and I never missed a game.
Except for Friday, October 13th 2013.
Chapter 1
“Riley, are you OK?” My best friend Sophie Moon said.
“Of course I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be fine? Are you fine? You’re not fine!” I said like Derek Jeter throwing a ball to first base. If you didn’t know, that meant I was zoom-talking.
“You know, tomorrow is Friday the 13th and it’s October. This is the third year that this has happened in our short lifetimes,” Sophie said.
“So?” I said.
“Haven’t you seen the movie? Friday the 13th? Well, it’s about… no wait. I’m not telling you.”
“Why?”
“You have to watch it yourself.”
“Is it scary?”
“Yes. Very.”
I got home and ran to my room. I typed my password into my computer. 675902. I searched Friday the 13th. It came up on my computer. A two-hour movie. I had three hours until volleyball.
Two hours later…
I’m scared for my life.
Volleyball was a flunk. We lost our game ten to zero. I was to nervous to hit the ball, so I just let it pass me every time. All I could think about was the movie. Tomorrow is going to be the worst day of my life.
Friday the 13th…
I walked into school looking like a mess. On my way to school, I had slipped on a banana peel, walked into a door, and fell on the back of my head.
“Make it stop! Make it stop!” I yelled at Sophie.
“So you saw the movie,” she said.
“Yep. Horrific and tragic,” I said.
“Totally,” she said.
First period was Science. I was making up random science mixtures when the class phone rang. Mr. Klein answered it.
“Of course. Mmhh. Yep, I’ll get her now. Oh, no problem. Were just reviewing things.” He hung up and stared at me.
“Riley, pack up and go down to the main office. You’re getting picked up early.”
“Ok?” I said confused. I was relieved because I had no clue what to do.
I walked down to the office and sat down on one of the uncomfortable seats. The main secretary, Mrs. Greenday, smiled at me.
“Sweetie, your mom should be here any minute.”
“Ok,” I said.
My mom walked into the school wearing a purple dress with blue flowers on it. She was holding a pink skirt with a white shirt for me to wear.
“Go to the bathroom and change,” she said.
I went to the bathroom and changed.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“Grandpa isn’t with us anymore.” She shoved the doors open.
“His funeral is today?” I said.
“Yes,” she said.
Hold the phone. Let’s recount what happened to me so far today? It’s now only 6:00 a.m and this is what happened: I slipped on a banana peel, fell on the back of my head, walked into a door, a volleyball hit my head, and my Grandpa just died.
When I got into the car I saw all my sisters already together. Claire was in the passenger’s seat, Verena was in the middle, Vanessa was on the right side, and I was on the left side.
“Move over!” Vanessa said.
“No you move over!” Verena said.
“You!”
“You!”
“You!”
“Fine, I will,” they said at the same time.
“I will!”
“I will!”
“I will!”
Could this day get any worse?
Chapter 2
We walked into the church and saw our Grandpa lying dead in a coffin. But then he woke up. As a ghost.
“Help me! Help me!” he yelled at Claire, Vanessa, Verena and I.
We all ran out to the graveyard. After a couple minutes we went inside. We found everyone… dead! Our mom was lying on the ground with her arm split in half. Aunt Alex was next to her and she had her eyes open, but she was dead too. It was quiet. The only person alive besides all of my sisters and I was my Uncle Mike.
“Girls! Thank God you’re alive. You guys are going to live with me now,” Uncle Mike said.
We got into his car and we drove to his house. We got to his house and we started to set up our new rooms. Claire and I slept in a room on the second floor. The wallpaper was white with leaves on it. Vanessa and Verena slept on the pull out couch on the first floor. Uncle Mike was a firefighter, so he knew what he was doing.
Verena ________________ October 23rd 2019
Why did Uncle Mike give Claire and Riley the better room? Because we’re better than you -R
And we are older! -C I agree with Claire and Riley -V______
Stop writing in my notebook! -other V____________________________
Back to what I was saying. We are going to have to go to a new school. This school goes from ages 8-18 and it’s called Kimberley Kingsdale High.______________________________ ______
We have to wear a denim skirt and a pink shirt with knee high socks.________
It’s a school for only girls. That’s a bad example for our outfit -R
Hey! -Other V_
Riley is right. -C Can we please get back to the story. I don’t like Verena’s Notebook! -V
Hey! -Other V
Ok fine! -R_____________________________________________________
Chapter 3
It was the first day of school. I got on my phone and started to text Sophie.
Me: Friday the 13th is over!
Sophie: Actually it lasts all weekend.
Me: What?
Sophie: Do you have school on the weekends?
Me: Yes.
Sophie: Good luck!
Me: Thanks! Can I text you all day?
Sophie: Sure.
I needed to get to school on time, so I stopped texting Sophie. I got dressed in our uniform and went downstairs to grab a granola bar and go.
“Hi, Uncle Mike!” I said.
“Hi, Chicken. What do you want for breakfast?” my uncle said.
“I got to go so I’m just going to get a chocolate chip granola bar,” I said.
I got the granola bar and went down stairs to the garage. I rode my scooter to school because the school was so close. I had a weird talent with the scooter. I could unwrap my granola bar and eat it while riding it.
I parked my scooter at the gate of our school. There was a password to our school. 1029. The gate opened and I walked in. I looked at my schedule and saw that the whole school had an assembly before first period. Before we walked into the big cafetorium, we got name tags. I walked over to a seat that was open and had no one next to it. I saw all my sisters had made friends already.
“Is this seat taken?” a girl asked, pointing at the seat next to me. She had long blond hair with blue eyes.
“No. No one is sitting there,” I said back.
She was the total opposite of me. I had brown hair with green eyes and freckles all over my face. Some people in my old school called me freckle face.
She sat down.
“What’s your name?” she said.
“My name is Riley Larson. What’s yours?” I said back. I had a little more confidence.
“My name is Rosie Rowan,” Rosie said.
Kimberley is our principal’s name. She walked into the cafetorium. She held a red megaphone. She talked into it.
“You little tiny peasants get on my nerves.”
“She’s mean,” I whispered to Rosie.
“This is my first year here,” she said.
“Me too,” I said.
***
Monday
Friday the 13th was finally over! It was Monday morning and everything was going perfectly! Even better than perfect. I did the password to the gate of our school and walked in. And then I slipped on a banana peel, bumped into a wall, and then the ghost took my soul. I drifted into the clouds.
The End