+ The Odd Jem (Chapter 1) +

amazing :o

I was going to visit some crazy old aunt who I barely knew existed, who wrote with a quill, and wanted to send me to a summer school in the middle of nowhere! I tried to talk my dad out of it, because my mom, (after seeing there wasnt anything on her agenda for the next three months), had her mind made up and insisted we had to visit her step-sister.

Well, it didnt matter to me if they had made plans, because I had. I had it in my mind that my friends and I would have sleepover after sleepover, gossip, and eat so much candy that we wouldn't be able to move. I also had my own secret plan to talk to this boy everyone thought was cute. But now none of that would be done. And the worst part?

The last sentence was crossed out, which was odd because I could still see the thing she had written, and she hadnt even tried to erase it. When I showed the odd note to my mom, she smiled, almost forcibly, and explained that Aunt Jem couldnt erase it because she used a quill and ink. Talk about old fashioned! Mom said her and my dad needed to look at their schedule and make sure, but it seemed like a good way to spend the summer, and I had never been to the Nebraskin prairie.

''There is a really nice summer school down here where you could meet lots of nice girls your age and that would give you an excuse to see me every once in a while! I look forward to seeing you, Auntie Jem''

''Dear Ava, I always send you birthday cards, and your parents tell me all about you in the winter when they come to visit, but I have never actually met you. Since your summer break should be starting soon, I thought the yearly trip your parents take down here could happen earlier this year, and you could accompany them! I know this is very out of the blue but I hope you havent made any plans.''

What seemed like what would be a happy day took a turn for the worse when I opened the colorful envelope to see a handwritten note on a regular piece of notebook paper, wrinkled in the left hand corner of the page accompanied by what appeared to be a coffee stain. I could remember its curly calligraphy handwriting, and every word that my aunt had written. Dear Ava, it had started.