The house was hot. Hotter than ever. Tally and Xandra were in the kitchen and the aroma of microwaveable noodles seeped into Cat's nose as she threw her backpack down on the carpet. She went to her tiny room and slammed the door shut just before hearing Xandra screech.

"Just because you think you own the house, does not mean you can just run around slamming doors, Cathrine!" Cat winced. She hated her full name. Her bed was made up neatly because she never got under the cheap, thin blanket. The blanket provided no warmth and she was never cold anyways. She was used to the cold that nipped at her each time she walked home from school. she was used to the frigid blast of icy wind that penetrated her each time her sister's car flew past.

The room was dull and bare. The carpet was lavender and the walls were pale yellow. Her dresser was two buckets with a blanket draped overtop and her clothing was strewn about the floor because there was no closet. This room was meant to be a walk-closet so her bed barely fit.

She heard Tally scream and sprint down the hall into her luxuriously large room. Cat folded a pillow over her ears attempting to muffle the sounds.

"You just don't understand, ma! Argh!" Tally yelled. Cat could imagine the funky purple mascara streaming down Tally's rosy cheeks.

"Honey, I can't send my baby to an unsupervised party!" Xandra whimpered. Cat heard a thump Xandra had slipped on the floor. Well, that's what she gets for wearing four-inch pumps. Cat thought to herself

"But, mom! Every popular teenager is going to be there! Mom, this is my chance! Don't deny me this opportunity!" squealed Tally. "Ugh! You suck!"

Cat stood and walked to the side of her bed. She bent her knees and looked underneath. Cat saw what she was looking for. She reached forward and pulled out a shoebox she placed it on the bed and flipped the lid.

The box contained a folded blue lace dress. She pulled the dress from the box. The waist was tight and the collar on was fringes with lacy curls. She pulled the dress over her frayed sweater. She stood and admired herself in the cracked mirror.

The phone rang sharply and she pulled off the dress and folded it nonchalantly before tossing back in its box. She grasped the wall phone by its neck and pressed the speaker to her ear.

"Congratulations!" A voice yelled into the phone. The loud voice made Cat's ear hurt. She held the phone away from her and flopped down on her bed. She knew that she should probably hang up. But instead she did not speak and waited for the voice to speak again.

"You have just won a trip to a mysterious paradise!" The voice rang out with false enthusiasm.

"I never entered a contest for a trip!" Commented Cat, just before realizing she was speaking to a machine. The artificial voice ignored her and continued.

"This contest is sponsored by Drake's Auto Repair, Wetlands Life Insurance, Georgia's Pizza and Lynn Ann's Northeast Children's hospital. To go, you must agree to our terms and conditions, these terms and cpnditions are listed on our website, MysteryParadise.com, I will repeat, MysteryParadise.com. Thank you for listening, go online to accept your free trip and enter the code BEACHBUMS to print your free FLIGHT A77B tickets! Head on now!" The voice stopped abruptly and the call hung up.

Without thinking Cat felt the keys below her fingers as she typed

"MysteryParadise.com"

The screen was colorful and welcoming as if it had been waiting for her. At the top there were seven options.

SEARCH

DESTINATIONS

CUSTOMER REVIEWS

CRUISE EXPERIENCE

LIVE WEBCAM

SPONSORS

ENTER A CODE

Cat rolled her mouse over the "LIVE WEBCAM" she clicked the tropical yellow button. The button took her to a page with a low pixel live video stream. The screen lagged as it showed a woman with long, dark, curly hair wearing a glittering, crimson, skin-tight dress dancing with a Hispanic man in a sharp white tuxedo. The picture lagged with each step the dancers took. They were in a large gold room with a crystal chandelier. In the upper right-hand corner, green letters read "MEXICO, HIDDEN MYSTERY PALACE"  below the video there was a button that read "Next Mystery Destination>>" hesitantly, Cat clicked the button.

A little girl and a little boy frolicked around on a large green hill. They both wore traditional outfits most commonly worn in the 1800s. The boy chased the girl and tagged her. In the background there were three condos peaking just over the hilltops. "IRELAND, MYSTERY DREAM HOME," Cat read.

She clicked through dozens of cameras and something was off about each one. They each seemed nearly fake. Cat ignored this fact and began entering her code. She sucked in a breath and hit enter.

Y O U  H A V E  W O N...

Mystery Island Cottage

Cat grinned but swallowed her happy surprise and looked around to make sure no one was watching as she hit Accept. This is were I begin. she thought as her finger rose from the key.