Sn0w Whit3

"Athena, wait!" My sister called. I turned around to see her running toward me. She dropped her math book, and I watched as it fell into a puddle. I coughed to hide a laugh, but I did it poorly, turning back to my car and getting in. The feeling of heat hit me as I turned it on and waited for the engine to cool down. Eryn climbed in on the other side of the car, wiping the muddy water from the pages of her book.

"You could have helped me, you know." She said. I rolled my eyes.

"I didn't hear you ask for help." I told her, smirking. She threw her book on the floor of the car and stared at me.

"God, Athena! Why do you do that? You can't be like any other big sister? You can't just help out your little sister, help me pick a freeking book out of a puddle or carry all of my stuff? You're the worst big sister ever." She sulked into the back of her seat.

"Don't throw your crap around in my car. Pick it up." I ordered her cooly, pushing my glasses farther up my face. "You know all of the things that I do for you, so don't even try me. We have to go pick up the twins and Dylan. Pick it up." She picked up her book, slamming it on her knees. I pulled out of the parking lot and took a left down the street toward the high way.

We didn't speak for several more minutes. I didn't mind. I was grateful for the silence. Eryn would sniffle every once in a while, still upset with me. I didn't care. We pulled into the elementary parking lot and pulled up to the door. I turned to Eryn.

"Go get them." She told me. "It's your turn." She pulled her phone out of her pocket and started texting. I rolled my eyes again, turning off the car and heading into the school.

The halls were colored brightly, displaying artwork of children who had no true potential, stick figures smiling at each other near houses and giant suns with sunglasses. Fliers for parents night smiled powder blue and electric yellow and faces drawn with broken crayons on paper plates jumped out at you, screaming "Look at all my talent!". I continued down to the end of the hallway, going into the last door on the left.

"Ah, Athena George." Mrs. Burns said. "Robyn and Jasmine are at the playground, and Dylan is in the bathroom. I'm sure he'll be back in a second." I nodded, picking up the three backpacks as Dylan walked in the room. He came over and gave me a hug.

"How was your day?" I asked, squatting down to match his height.

"We built a rocket today! It was so cool, Athena! You should have seen it, it was amazing!" He rambled. I smiled.

"Go get your coat, we have to go get Jasmine and Robyn, okay?" I said. He nodded and scrambled to his cubby, picking the bright nylon jacket up and forcing it over both arms. He zipped it up with some difficulty, and then pulled his black backpack over it. "Say thank you to Mrs. Burns, Dylan." I told him.

"Thank you, Mrs. Burns." He walked over and gave her a hug, and then returned to me like a faithful dog. I grabbed his little hand in mine and led him out, thanking Mrs. Burns as I went.

We walked around the back of the school to the playground where the twins were. Robyn hung upside-down on the monkey bars, her dark brown curls falling more than a foot toward the ground. Jasmine swung highly on a yellow swing, her open jacket flapping with each push and pull of her feet. She saw me and jumped off at the peak of her swing, falling in a mass of brown curls, and jumping up without injury, less than a second later.

"Athena!" She yelled as she ran toward me. I plucked the wood chips out of her hair and helped her with her backpack as Robyn came over to collect hers.

The four of us trudged back to the car as the twins rambled on about the bunny they were getting as a class pet, what they were going to feed it, and asking me whether or not bunnies ate turtles. I let them climb into my mini van.

The drive home was short, and the three of them came out of the van and chattered as they went into the house. A car pulled up behind me and Patrick came out, guitar case in hand. He gave me a hug and then went into the house as Eryn followed. I grabbed my own bag from the space between the front seats and headed into the house behind five of my seven siblings.

Mother groaned from the couch, an empty bottle in her hand. I helped her up and brought her into her room down the hall, allowing her to collapse on her bed as I took her shoes of and helped her slide under the covers.

I supposed that my mother was pretty at one point; her curly brown hair that all of us had inherited, her deep blue eyes, almost a navy color, and her tan skin. I pushed a curl out of her eyes and she groaned with the effort of keeping them open.

"Go to sleep," I whispered in her ear.

Mother had been in a drinking depression since our father died two years ago. I had been fifteen when he died, a car accident. No one could have seen it coming, and it wasn't her fault. Yet she blamed herself. I tucked her in, taking the empty bottles from her room into the kitchen before going in to check on the baby.

Mallory stepped in the door behind me, wearing a sports bra and shorts, having just come back from running. I picked up the baby, Genesis was nearly two years old now. She was blond, the only blond in the family, taking after dad. Her eyes were losing their baby blue, and turning into a light green color. She was tan, like mom, and her little fingers stretched out to greet me as I entered the nursery.

"'Thena! 'Thena!" She screeched in delight, clapping her little hands together. She pushed herself up against the edge of the crib, and I picked her up and held her on my hip.

"What's up Mallory?" I asked, wiping drool from the side of the baby's face.

"Just making sure someone was home with her, Mom doesn't look good today. I'm going to go shower though." She said. I nodded as she walked out and brought the baby to the changing table.

Our house used to be nice to look at; Dad had put a ton of effort into making every room painted to our liking. Everyone had their own room, and the twins shared. But after Dad died, with Genesis on the way, Mallory moved into my room and her room became the nursery. She was really good about it. It was hard on all of us when Genesis was born. Mom named her, breast fed her for three or four months, but only when we told her too. She didn't want any part of the baby that looked like her late husband. It was up to me now to keep these kids in line.

Patrick, having just graduated high school worked at a music store, selling CD's and guitars to help us out. He was good at it, and he made money doing it. Mallory worked nights at a 24 hour gym as a physical trainer. It suited her, we just needed more money. The welfare check with mine and Patrick's combined salaries wasn't enough, even with me working three jobs.

Our schedule each day was hectic, but we made it work. I got up at five every morning, took a shower, changed the baby's diaper and got mom to eat some food. Patrick woke up at six, took a shower and made breakfast for everyone while I got the rest of the kids up and dressed. We ate breakfast together and then I drove Mallory and Eryn to school while Patrick stayed home with the baby and the younger kids. I drove Mallory first, because her school started before Eryn's, then I dropped off Eryn. When I got home, Patrick left to go to work for the day and I took Jasmine, Robyn and Dylan to school. Mallory had already walked home from her only class by that point, and she stayed home and watched the baby for the rest of the day. I stayed at school with the twins and Dylan, working with Mrs. Burns as a teacher's assistant. Then I left, to go get Eryn, came back for the twins and Dylan, and went home.

I finished changing the baby and brought her out to play with the other kids in our playroom. Small toys littered the floor, and I set her down in the playpen and told Dylan and the twins to include her in their endeavors. I followed Patrick into the kitchen. He pulled out a check.

"It's a little more this week. They promoted me to floor manager and gave me a raise. I get to fix the guitars too." He handed me a check for three hundred dollars.

"Thanks Patrick. I'll go to the bank tomorrow." I ran my hand through my curly hair and pushed my glasses up my nose again. "Um, I have to go to work, and then I'll go food shopping. Have the twins do their homework, please. They need to be showered and in bed by eight, and Dylan showered and in bed at seven thirty. Tell Eryn to do her homework, but she won't so... whatever. What am I forgetting?"

"Nothing, Athena. Go. Mallory and I will take care of everything. Alright?" He asked, rubbing the sides of both of my arms with his hands. I nodded and gave him a hug, trudging down the hall to get ready for work.

Athena - The MC; oldest of the George family at 19. Long dark curly hair and dark blue eyes and glasses. She's about five foot six, and takes care of most of the family. She gave up going to college to make money and support the family by working three jobs; a waitress, director and assistant teacher during the day.

Patrick - Second oldest, just graduated high school (17), and works most of the day teaching guitar and working in a store that sells music and guitars. He's about six feet tall with dark hair and dark blue eyes, like all his brothers and sisters.

Mallory - The next oldest, with curly dark hair that she straightens to keep long. She's a senior in high school,16, but only takes two classes in the morning before Athena goes to work, then stays at home for most of the day with Genesis. She also works as a physical trainer at night in a gym.

Eryn - In middle school (13) and looks like her brothers and sisters, except that she's dyed her hair blonde to keep it from looking from the other girls. Her eyes are the same light color, and she's very athletic and plays soccer and lacrosse for her school year round. She's either running, at practice or texting.

Robyn - The more adventurous twin (9). She gets into trouble quite a bit, and can be a bit of a pain for the teachers in her school. She's got slightly bigger eyes than Jasmine does, but you can only tell them apart because Robyn wears glasses. They both have dark curly hair at the same length and dark blue eyes.

Jasmine - The shy twin (9). She always does her homework, and never wants to go on any of Robyn's "adventures". She enjoys reading and staying at home more than Robyn does. She doesn't wear glasses, but they sometimes switch to confuse teachers.

Dylan - The littlest boy of the family (6). He can be quite troublesome and likes to torment the twins and Eryn.

Genesis - Baby (1) with blonde hair and what will be green eyes. She looks nothing like her siblings, and resembles her father.

Janine - The mother of the entire family. After her husbands tragic death a week after Genesis was born, she stopped eating, and fell deep into being drunk. She doesn't take care of the kids, and doesn't care what happens to anyone anymore.

This was flipping amazing, Keri! I LOVED it! I can't wait to read more! (:

Dude, Keri, this is good. And you should know that I mean that, because I rarely ever post in the stories section unless a story is particularly incredible. XD

Thank you Amanda.

Thanks, Ave.

Love it so far!

Thank you, Ratty.

This looks good! :3 I'm looking forward to reading more.

Ooooh, Keri, they were right. :3 This is good. I'm looking forward to reading more!

Arianna wrote:This looks good! :3 I'm looking forward to reading more.

shadowsowner888 wrote:Ooooh, Keri, they were right. :3 This is good. I'm looking forward to reading more!

These two posts were eerily similar. o.O
Thank you both. ^^

*meep* Not my fault! I swear! My post came from the heart.

xD Swelcome.

Chapt3r 2:

“Good evening, welcome to Opal. My name is Athena, and I’ll be your server this evening. Can I get you started with something to drink?” I smiled at the customers. They scrounged over menus, the four of them. A large man who resembled a walrus with a moustache spoke first.

“I will take a glass of Merlot, and my wife will have the same. The kids will both have water.” He practically threw his drink menu at me. My eyes narrowed as I took the other menus from him and headed back into the kitchen.

Pots and pans screamed from the force they struck the stove and oven. Fumes of grilled vegetables and steak and potatoes came rushing into my nose. Chefs barked orders at each other; “I need that steak medium-rare”, “Where are my scallops?”, “Five minutes on the vegetables.” I focused on the wine glasses in front of me, grabbing the tray and heading back out to the table.

I almost slammed the wine in front of the walrus man. He coughed, a deep fleshy cough and then took a long swig of his wine. He spoke before I could ask what they wanted to order.

“I would like a steak, well done, with a baked potato and sour cream, skip the vegetables and bring me a bit of mashed potatoes as well. My wife will have the Caesar salad, no chicken with only vinegar as the dressing. The kids will have the tilapia platter, with plenty of lemon and vegetables.” He pushed the remaining menus into my hands and I walked back into the kitchen and put in the order, before going to start another table that had just arrived for me.

“Hello, welcome to Opal, my name is Athena and I’ll be your server. Can I start you off with something to drink?” I passed the drink menus around the table of five. Teenagers before prom, figured. I felt guilty that Mallory wasn’t with them.

They gave me their drink orders, and I went back to the table with the walrus. “How is your meal so far? Is there anything I can get you?”

“Everything is fine.” The walrus said. I scoffed and headed back into the kitchen.

“Athena, calm down, you look like you’re going to punch table fifteen.” Nora said. She was a good friend of mine, older than me, with bright blue eyes and a smile that could kill any guys hope of dating her.

“I know, he’s just so irritating. I hate when people come here just to throw their money away on fancy food. God, I wish I was like that. Money? Able to just order whatever I wanted off of the menu? I’ve never even eaten at a place like this. I think the highest end restaurant I’ve been to is McDonalds.” I threw the ice into the glasses.

“What about when your dad was alive?”

“We didn’t have much money back then either, our family is just too big.”

Nora nodded. She knew too; having grown up with two younger siblings and parents who were criminals. “At least you’ve adjusted to meet the needs of your family. How’s your mom doing?”
“Still drinking.” I answered honestly. My phone vibrated in my pocket. It was Patrick.

Everything is fine here. Genesis is asleep, and so are the twins and Dylan. Eryn is actually doing her homework. Mom is asleep too. I think I’m going to go to bed. Tell me if you want me to go get Mallory later.

I replied quickly. It’s okay, I can pick Mallory up. I have to go grocery shopping anyway.
It was just after eight. My shift ended right after these two tables. I brought the drinks out to the table, and took their dinner order. Then I really looked at them. There were five of them, three girls and two guys, one of which looked really uncomfortable. He looked slightly older than the others. His hair was a medium brown color, and he had dark, forest green eyes, and a smile that made my heart melt.

I quickly turned away, sure that he was younger than he seemed to be. I returned to the table with the walrus and gave them the check, taking their dinner plates back into the kitchen.

Production of food had slowed a lot. Most of the chefs were standing outside smoking, and some were eating bowls of cereal and left over dinner. Nora and the other waiters were counting the tips. I grabbed the dinner for the table and brought it out, making eye contact with the older boy, but once again looking away.

The walrus family was gone when I returned to their table, with a bountiful tip left for me. I pocketed it and headed back into the kitchen. I had made seventy dollars in tips tonight; the benefits of working in a higher end restaurant.

I stayed in there for fifteen minutes, eating my own dinner from what was left over, before going back out. They had left enough money to cover the check, plus a bit of a tip for me. The older boy was still sitting there.

“Did you want something else?” I asked. He shook his head and smiled.

“Please sit.” He motioned with his hand. I hesitated, before finally sinking into the booth across from him. He looked me over with his green eyes, searching my face for something. “How old are you?”

“Nineteen.” I answered.

“You’re not in college?”

I shook my head. “No time.” I looked down at my fingers, which were nervously grasping at the seat beneath me.

“I’m twenty one.” He said. I looked back up, confused.

“My sister’s friend wanted to take me to prom. I said I’d go to dinner, but not the dance. I always aim to keep my promises.” He smiled at me.

“Are you in college?” I asked.

“No. College isn’t for me. I’m finished with school for now. Though I’ll probably go back in a year or so just to take some classes. I think that would be enjoyable, don’t you.”

“I’d love to go to college.” I answered honestly. I bit my lip. I really didn’t want him to ask me about my family, but I felt that was where the conversation was headed.

“Are you an only child?” He asked. I swore under my breath, inaudible to him.

“Not even close.” I scoffed. His eyebrows raised, encouraging me to go on. “I have seven younger siblings, and a drunk mother. I take care of all of them.”

“That’s brave of you. I don’t think I’d ever be able to do that.”

“You don’t have to.” I laughed. “No one should, really.” I stopped. “Why am I telling you this? You should go to the prom, you’d have more fun.”

“I disagree.” He said simply. “I’m having quite a good time listening to you.”

“And what makes me so interesting?” I inquired.

“I don’t know.” He put his elbows on the table and leaned in toward me. “There’s just something different about you. I just don’t quite know what it is.” He searched my face again, as if looking for what was different about me.

“Well, what about your family? I’m sure you have an interesting past too.”

“Quite the opposite, my family is very boring. Two kids, me and my younger sister. Upper middle class, we’re fairly typical. Nothing interesting at all about me.”

“I disagree.” I whispered. He heard it. His eyes lit up.

“Do you want to go somewhere? We can get something to eat or something, you look like you could use a decent meal.” He asked. His tone was genuine. I checked the time. It was nearly nine.

“Can I get a rain check? I have to pick up my sister from work and go grocery shopping.” I told him.
“I’ll come with you.” He answered with a smile.

“You’re wearing a tux; do you really want to go food shopping?”

“Sure, why not? Wouldn’t be the first time.” He laughed. I raised my eyebrows. “I’m kidding. Come on, let’s go.”

“Alright.” I answered. “I’m driving.”

“Good, because I don’t have my car with me.” I rolled my eyes and went back into the kitchen to get my stuff. Nora gave me an inquisitive look. I smiled and told her I’d tell her tomorrow and then went to meet him outside. We got into my car and left the parking lot and headed toward the gym where Mallory worked.

“I’m Ryker by the way.”

“I’m Athena.”

“I know.”

:3 It's a nommy guy! Yay!

Those last sentences were so cool. XD "I'm Athena." "I know."

Haha, right?

That was my favorite part of the whole chapter.

But how does he know? Stalker! o.0

Oh wait. She said her name when she started serving them. xD Never miiiiiind.

Anyway, loved it!

I love it!
I can't wait for the next chapter. I think it's really good!

Thank you.

This was so totally awesome! I usually don't come to Original Works, but this story is so totally worth it.

I'm glad my story is worthy of Amanda.

Yayyy!

I think he knows because she was like "I'm Athena and I'll be your server" when she first went to the group at the table.

Kinda... There's more to it than that, however.

Sounds good! Not my type 'o' story, buuut, still VEDDY nice.

Akeria wrote: I'm glad my story is worthy of Amanda.

Eh, Amanda's approval's not hard to get. xD

Thank you, Libby

Yeah, okay, Amanda. xD I value your opinion!

Well, that's not necessarily true. Like, usually I agree with stuff right away, but I'm a strong critic on writing. I will tell you every litle detail that you failed at. So, basically, my totally agreeing opinion on someone's writing is rare- I like to give constructuve criticism, and there are some aspects of published books I don't like. Anyway...

I really can't think of anything bad to say about your story. Congrats. xD