I moan loudly leaning over my bed trying to beat the snot out of the alarm clock. I smack my hand on the top trying to get the annoying beeping to shut up.
"Shhh," I mumble still hitting it. It doesn't stop beeping and continues to annoy me. Finally I hit the snooze button and it stops. I flop back on my bed stretching my legs under my messy covers. I rub my eyes and roll onto my stomach hugging my pillow. My bed is warm and comfortable making me want to sleep more. I begin to slip back to sleep but I hear my door open.

"Brook it's time to get up," I hear Mom say sweetly. I sigh loudly and lift my head sleepily to see her standing in the doorway. Her light brown hair is tied up in a messy ponytail and her big brown eyes are sleepy. She wears black yoga pants with a white v-neck t-shirt. Mom is skinny with a beautiful face. I'm very jealous of her, I just feel fat though I'm only 125 pounds at sixteen.

"I'm tired," I complain giving her a pleading look.

"Then you should go to bed earlier and stop reading till midnight," she teases playfully. I sigh not wanting to stop that little tradition. Then I frown at her, "But I never get time to read during the day," I moan wanting to go back to sleep.

"Yeah yeah now come on sleepy head. I made pancakes," she says brightly leaning against the doorway.

"Pancakes?" I ask hopefully. I sit up and slowly slide out of bed yawning widely.

"Yep," she says proudly and leaves my doorway. I walk out into the hall and smell the strong scent of Mom's heavenly mana called pancakes. Our house is pretty big for the three of us. We have a beautiful kitchen that Mom loves to cook in along with a giant plasma TV for Dad to watch hockey on. The house is decorated with dark wood and white leather furniture making it look elegant.

We have large glass windows that let in natural light along with a large deck in the back with a pool for the summer. We live two minutes out of town near the forest line that surrounds the town. The forest is part of the Canadian wilderness, we live in Alberta in a small town named Pine Rose. We live near the mountains, I can barely see them through the forest of our background but from town you can see them easily. It's beautiful here, we get a lot of tourists for skiing, canoeing, hiking, and a bunch of outdoor activities. It's pretty much our main purpose for being this far out in the woods.

Mom stands behind the island that has the griddle with batter on it. She flips them revealing their golden underside and I see a pile of pancakes on another plate. The smell floats around the room and I can practically taste them. They have tiny vapors rising from them showing that they are fresh off the griddle and perfect for eating.

"Where's Dad?" I ask looking around.

"He had to work early today," she says simply as she flips another pancake.

"How do you get called in early for being an accountant?" I ask confusedly walking over to the kitchen.

"Extra paperwork that he didn't get done last night," she points out, quickly glancing up at me.

"True," I say with a nod. The kitchen is large with double ovens and a large silver fridge. There's an island in the center of the kitchen with bar stools around one side. The kitchen opens up into the living room and dining room making it feel very open. Down the hall is my room, my parents' room, and a guest room. There are also two bathrooms along with a bonus room.

Our living room has a dark stone fireplace that actually burns wood. I've gotten to roast marshmallows with it and had s'mores. The house is very clean and free of all clutter. Pictures of us are hung on the walls showing off our little family of three. The dark wood floor cuts off when it reaches the living room and merges into pure white carpet. Also why we don't have pets. 

I've always wanted a dog but my parents told me no because they are so much work and will tear up everything. I argued that we can train it but they never budged about it. I start eating my pancakes and pour a little bit of syrup on it. Mom starts doing dishes humming quietly lost in her work. She loves being a stay at home mom, I wonder what she does all day.

I glance at the clock and realize I only have five minutes to get to the car. I eat faster and hear Mom's phone ding. She is busy washing the dishes and didn't seem to hear it. I look over at the message and see it's from Samuel.

Hey Hazel, Gabriel isn't picking up. We need more food at the house, could you go shopping? Also, when are you coming?

I frown at the phone not sure how to interpret this. Who is Samuel? Why does he know Mom and Dad? What house and who is we? Why is Mom going? Is she cheating on Dad? No, he asked Dad, Gabriel, first. Are they friends? Is Mom helping a poor family that needs food?

"Who is it?" Mom asks looking over her shoulder.

"Who is Samuel?" I ask leaning on the island. Her face changes to panic and she rushes over grabbing the phone. She checks it quickly and then lets out a relieved sigh.

"Just a friend of ours."

"Why is he asking for food?" I ask frowning.

"We help out with his family. I normally go over and watch his kid while they work. You've met him before," she says giving me a look like I should know this.

"Really?" I ask confusedly taking another bite of food.

She nods and puts down the phone, "Yes, him and his wife Erica with the little boy named Lukas? They have twins around your age?"

I strain my brain trying to remember this.

"We went to Lukas' birthday two years ago," she says trying to help me remember. I remember a vague birthday party with a little boy running around with a toy truck with blonde hair.

"Was the kid blonde?" I ask kicking my legs under the stool feeling bad I don't remember this.

She nods, "Yep, he's seven now." She looks up thinking about it, "He's a nice kid."

"Oh," I say feeling bad for judging too quickly.

"Now get dressed or you'll be late," she says quickly turning back to the sink. I jump up and run down the hallway. I rush to my closet and hunt for an outfit. I choose my blue flannel shirt and put a black tank top under it. I roll up the long sleeves and adjust the color. It's has fuzzy material that feels comfortable. I put on dark skinny jeans with my black fuzzy boots.

I rush out and into my bathroom grabbing my toothbrush. I brush my teeth then start brushing my raven black hair. It is thick and slightly wavy and goes to my mid-back. My skin is pale and looks almost white. My eyes are dark blue framed with long dark lashes. I don't wear makeup so my process for getting ready is almost done.

I grab my deodorant and suddenly my stomach cramps. I wince holding it waiting for it to pass. I close my eyes trying to shut out the aching pain in my stomach. It finally passes and fades away like nothing happened. Strange. I frown as I put on deodorant and rush out of the bathroom turning off the light. I grab my black jacket and backpack off the couch. Mom is picking up my dishes and cleaning up.

"Come home right away after school," she calls to me. 

I nod opening the door, "Okay, love you!"

"I love you too sweetheart!" she calls back. 

I smile and run out the door. I hop onto my bike putting my backpack on my back. I start pedaling as fast as I can so I won't be late. It's September so it's around 50 degrees out right now. The blizzards are brutal during the winter months because of how close we are to the mountains. Our temperature is pretty nice getting down to 8 degrees (no negatives) during the winter and up to 70 during the summer months.

The cold has never bothered me, neither has snow. It's pretty nice up here, it is a resort town after all. I pedal down our paved driveway and onto the private road that leads back towards town. Pine Rose is a town of 7,000 people, very small. We have the classic, small town charm with the beauty of a resort. I ride into the town and bike up on the sidewalk. The wind blows my hair back letting me smell the fresh mountain air.

I see the giant mountain that is near the town. There's a perfect view when you are downtown where it's set perfectly. The high school is near downtown as well so I'm almost there. I ride down the sidewalk of downtown passing the cute buildings with tourism shops and fancy breakfast places. I see the large snow capped mountain that is so big it looks like it's right next to the town. The bottom is covered with pine trees and it blends with the grey stone.

There are two roads that are separated when you go downtown with a streetlight in the middle. I see one car drive down the street and give me a friendly wave. I smile back and nod my head. Then I turn the corner and find myself at the tiny high school. It has flat roofs and a glass front seeing into a classroom along with a large window for the lobby on the side. It has two floors, barely. On the second floor is more classrooms. We have small lockers but we are able to carry around our backpacks.

Our school includes grades 7-12 and in all we are 335. In the 11th grade we have 42 students so our class is split up into two. We have a hockey team along with a music program (all band). I park my bike at the bike rack and lock it. I look up at the red and white Canadian flag with a red maple leaf in the center. I smile and stand up adjusting my backpack.

Suddenly my vision blurs and I stumble into the bike rack. My legs are like jello and wobble under me. I grip the metal bars tightly trying not to fall over. I take bow my head forward taking deep breaths and trying to refocus my vision. The cement under me tips to the side and my vision blurs again. The bike rack is the only stable thing around me, even the sky is tilting...

"Brooklyn!"

I look up and see a blurry person running towards me. I groan and lower my head again trying to fix my eyesight.

"Brook what's wrong?" she asks quickly. I look over to see my best friend Haven close at my side like the loyal friend she is.

"Just dizzy," I say blinking hard.

"You're pale as a ghost! Are you sick?" she asks sounding panicked, she puts her hand on my back trying to steady me.

"I'm always this pale," I joke smiling at her blurry figure.

"You know what I mean. Do you need the nurse or to go home...?" she asks.

I shake my head as my vision returns to normal. I stand up normally rubbing my eyes, "I'm okay now."

"You didn't look so good," she says worriedly.

"I'm fine Haven. It was probably nothing," I say shrugging.

"Okay... but tell me if you feel sick," she says nodding.

"I promise. I would never keep anything from you. We're best friends aren't we?" I say nudging her. 

She smiles and nods, "Of course."

Haven's blonde hair is tied back in a French braid and her blue eyes are framed with her glasses. Her backpack hangs on her one shoulder wearing jeans with her dark purple jacket.

"Let's go, we're going to be late," I say starting to walk. She nods and catches up to me and we walk inside the school. We go straight to Chemistry and sit down before the bell rings. I see the boys sitting on the desks throwing paper balls at each other laughing. I sit next to Haven and take out my notebook.

"So how are you?" I ask her curiously

"Pretty good, last night my dad made steak," she replies smiling as she plays with her pen.

"Lucky, but I got pancakes this morning," I say proudly folding my arms on the desk leaning forward.

"Nice," she pauses, "Did you get math done?" she asks with a grimace.

"Yeah, I hate starting the school year knowing nothing," I say tiredly remembering last night's brutal math assignment. We just started two weeks ago at the beginning of September.

"Me too," she groans rubbing her face.

The teacher walks in and tells us to get out our books to begin. I sigh and dig into my backpack for my book. Suddenly my stomach cramps again and I force myself to remain expressionless trying to ignore it. I grab my stomach feeling miserable. It seems to twist in a weird way and my hands start shaking. I shift uncomfortably in my spot trying to shut out the pain.

"You okay?" Haven whispers to me.

"Just cramps," I say tell her quietly.

"Your hands are shaking," she points out with worried eyes.

"I'm fine," I insist giving her a look.

"Is there a problem back there?" the teacher asks in a taunting tone, just wanting to embarrass us for talking.

"She may need the nurse," Haven tells him glancing over at me. 

I shoot her a glare before looking up at the teacher, "I'm fine. Just hurts."

"Are you sure?" he asks worriedly, he tenses up. Everyone is staring at me with interested or worried eyes. Or they just look bored.

"I'm okay," I say putting my hand up.

Suddenly I feel acid rising up my throat. My eyes widen and I cover my mouth feeling the blood drain from my face.

"Go," he says sharply. I bolt from my desk and run out the door towards the washroom. I feel the bile fill up my mouth and more coming up as I race down the hall. My stomach twists as I whip open the door. Just when my mouth begins to overflow I make it to the toilet dropping down next to it and throwing up.

Haven stayed by my side and held my hair up while I threw up. Thankfully she isn't bothered by it like some people. My entire body is shaking from fatigue and my head spins dizzily. I groan and lean against the wall feeling very sick. Haven sits at my side asking if I'm okay to stand up but I shake my head. I grip my stomach feeling absolutely miserable. I close my eyes bending over and dropping onto the tile floor. My face touches the cool ground and I don't care that it's a school bathroom floor.

"No Brook you can't lay down, the floor is disgusting," Haven says sounding sympathetic. I moan curling up on the ground, "It feels better now..." It's true, my stomach seemed to settle down for now. The cool floor feels good on my burning face. I am shaking violently and I close my eyes wishing for it all to go away.

"I should call your mom," she says pulling out her phone.

I nod wrapping my arms around my stomach hoping pressure would make it better.

"Hello Mrs. Lupine?" Haven asks into the phone, "Hi this is Haven."

Silence.

"Well... Brook is sick. She's throwing up, I'm in the washroom with her right now," she explains aimlessly gesturing to me.

Silence.

"She stopped and seems stable... do you want to talk to her?" She looks at me as she listens on the phone.

Silence.

"Okay, here she is," Haven says as puts the phone on speaker.

"Mom?" I croak feeling very weak.

"Oh good gracious you sound so sick. Don't worry honey I'll be there to pick you up in one minute. How are you feeling?" Mom says sounding extremely worried and panicked.

"Um," I cough feeling a piece of puke stuck in my throat, "my stomach I think settled down. I probably have food poisoning or something."

"Oh right. Uh just hold on okay? Do you feel anything else?" she asks.

"Everything was blurry earlier and cramps. I'm shaking now but that's from throwing up," I explain. I stop and think about it, "And now I feel dizzy and tingly."

"Oh God," she says in a scared tone.

"Mom?" I ask worriedly, "What's wrong?"

"Uh nothing. Just hold on for a little while longer. I'm in the car with Dad. Everything is going to be alright Brookie. We're almost there," she says quickly.

"Mom...?"

"Yes sweetie?" she asks quickly. I groan feeling more throw up rise, "Hold on," I croak and quickly lean over the toilet throwing up again. Haven rubs my back while holding up my hair. Throw up comes out of my nose making me unable to breathe. I gag and throw up more feeling so terrible. I moan when I finish and Haven hands me a bundle of toilet paper. I blow my nose and throw it in flushing the toilet.

"She threw up again," Haven reports to Mom.

"Go faster Gabriel," Mom says sharply to Dad.

"I know," I hear his faint voice reply.

"Is she okay?" she asks quickly. I lay back down on the floor clutching my stomach, "Fine now," I croak into the phone.

"We're here now, which washroom are you in?" she asks. I hear the car door opening and shutting.

"The one next to the Chemistry room. I'll stand outside," Haven says standing up. I nod at her and close my eyes again. Haven opens the door and pokes her head out the door. I wait staying completely still hoping stillness will help in some way. Then the door opens and Haven comes in with my mom. She drops down next to me with a panicked look, her hair's a mess like always.

She changed clothes though. She wears jeans with a nice white chiffon shirt with a golden necklace. I see Dad trying to peek into the girl's bathroom trying to see me. I sit up slowly and Mom touches my forehead.

"You're burning up," she tells me quickly. She touches my cheek with a sympathetic look, "I'm so sorry Brookie."

"It's alright," I croak feeling very weak. My hands are shaking and I feel strange sensations all over my body.

"Gabe get in here and be a man," Mom says sharply. He frowns, "Sorry for trying to follow the rules," he replies putting his hands up in surrender.

"Rules don't apply to parents," she says simply slightly lifting her head.

He laughs, "And that's why I love you." He walks in and kneels down next to me, "You okay?" he asks me.

I shake my head, "I'm throwing up."

"Right," he says with a wry smile. I have Dad's looks, I have his raven black hair and dark blue eyes. He's handsome with muscled arms and a trusting smile. My parents are a classic trophy couple that are respected in our small town. We're practically famous because of our big house "out in the country". My parents are also very likable and everyone wants to be their friends.

They are really nice people and awesome parents. They listen to me and we don't even argue like normal teenage and parent. I don't even want to rebel in the first place. What's the point? They already listen to me and I don't like breaking rules. They aren't strict, they let me do things on my own with Haven like go hiking or bowling. I don't have a curfew and I can have sleepovers on weekdays.

They aren't controlling or let me go crazy doing whatever I want. They have logical rules that I'm fine with following. They are also protective, they just don't want to see me get hurt. I'm completely fine with that, less pain for later on.

"Let's get you home," Dad says stroking my hair back. I blow my nose again, the back of my throat and inside my nose burns from puking. I nod shortly and wrap my arms around his neck. He scoops me up like a little kid and stands up easily.

"Is she going to be alright?" Haven asks standing up too.

"Yes, she probably has the flu," Dad answers smoothly holding me close.

"But she looks so sick. It's like she has some kind of disease," she says slowly playing with her hands.

"Haven I know you are worried about Brook. But everything is okay. You are very loyal to her and I understand your worry, but she will be okay after rest and some medicine," Dad answers kindly. Haven nods still watching me. We've been best friends since the beginning of our lives. Even when we were in the nursery at church we played together. And from that moment on we were the best of friends.

"But she may be gone tomorrow," Mom adds getting off the floor.

I wince as another cramp seized my stomach. Dad flashes an urgent look at Mom.

"Let's go," Dad says sharply carrying me to the door.

Mom opens the door for us and we walk out into the hall. Haven follows close behind, "Call me when you are feeling better," she calls out to us as we walk down the hall. I peek past my dad and smile at her and nod. I'll be okay tomorrow, this probably is some 24-hour flu. I'll be fine tomorrow and be able to come back to school. No big deal.

NOTE: This town is based off of a real town named Banff, Alberta in Canada. You can look it up, it's really a beautiful town. The school and city is exactly like it so if you want to see it for yourself you can just Google it. Please comment and vote! I love feedback so please feel free to tell me!