Chapter Three

By the time the school year started I was no longer enrolled in our local elementary school.  Mom hold everyone, including Dad, that is was because of my crazy gymnastic schedule.  That was partially true, this year I was skipping a level at the gym  and my new hours were extensive. I loved every minute of my time at the gym,  but I was away a lot.  If we were homeschooling I could get my workouts done in the afternoon before the other kids could get out of school. Not to mention that I would have far less interaction with the other girls this way.  They were really not happy that I was skipping levels and getting one on one attention.  They had begun to say very mean thing when they thought I couldn't hear. I guess cats have excellent hearing because I heard them all. Needless to say, I was very excited about this homeschool development. 

Mom and I kept two sets of books.  Seconds grade books that I old show to my Dad, or the teacher the school sent out once a month to make sure I was doing my work.  Every four weeks, Mom and I would sit down with Mrs. Barnes and talk about what I had learned in that month.  She was so pleased that we actually did all our work and were organized when we turned it in she didn't know what to do.  Little did she know that it took me less than as day to do the month's worth of work.

Then there were my real books.  Mom said we could study anything that caught my interest and I was interested in everything!

I finished grade school math by Christmas so we moved on to algebra.  I also got to study real science. Chemistry was fun and anatomy was just memorizing. I couldn't get enough.  I added in Spanish and Latin on the internet.  School was finally fun.  Then one day, just after the new year started, a letter from Mom's long last family had finally arrived. 

Mom brought the letter into our makeshift school room up in the attic after everyone had left for thieir days. Dad, off to his job in town where he ran a think tank tasked by the government to try to figure out weather manipulation to end our constant drought status.  The boys, off to fifth grade, where the felt so big and important especially since I was obviously not ready to handle " Real School" in their eyes.

On the surface our school room looked like anything you would see in a traditional classrooom with bright posters on the wall in all the primary colors, children's books cleverly displayed and educational toys on the shelves. I hadn't played with toys since I was six. Mom had discreetly turned one corner of the attic into a hidden section, where one would find the books I was currently interested in.  Not exactly appropriate for a second grade classroom were books on physics and electricity, ancient history, and a story of battles from around the world that really had capture my attention lately. 

The letter from my relatives was written in a funny language I had never seen before, but somehow Mom could read!  She told me they were so happy to hear from her, but that they couldn't write anything of importance down in case it was intercepted. 

That sounded a little dramatic to me, but I stayed silent.

The letter went on to say that we would need to get together very soon as there was much they needed to share with us.  How quickly could we get there?

"Momma, where's there?" I questioned envisioning a long care ride.

"A little island off the coast of Egypt."  Mom said flatly, like of course I should know that. 

"Egypt? The country?" Now I was shocked, "Like in the movies? With all the sand storms and the Sphinxes?" I knew I hadn't heard her correctly. 

Mom looked over the letter a final time, then setting it down, she turned to me.  She smiled a coy smile, " I guess I never mentioned that my family comes from Egypt?"

Turns out these weren't distant relatives either, but aunts and uncles, and even some cousins. I even had grandparents!  Mom explained that this is where she had grown up.  She had not been on the island since she went off to school and hadn't talked to any of them in all that time. My mind was a whirlwind of thoughts and questions. There was so much more to Mom than her excellent peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. 

Internally I shouted, "Now that is how you keep a secret!"  But out loud I said, "I thought you were from Seattle?"

Mom laughed, she has a great laugh.  "That is what I wanted everyone to think, and I did go to shchool there.  That is where I met your father and fell in love." She cooed, obviously reliving some memory. 

"Ewwwww......just ewwww.... to all that mushy stuff!" I could still act eight. Mom just laughed.

There was so much to take in that I hadn't noticed that Mom was furiously typing an email.  Apparently, my "long lost" relatives didn't live in the stone ages after all.  Why did we have to wait months for a letter if they had email?

I sat quietly while she finished the email.  I figured Mom was use explaining to them that there was no way we could get to Egypt any time soon.  Maybe a big family vacation over the summer would be possible.

"We leave on Sunday" She said. "They're sending the family jet."

What a crazy week!  After digesting that Mom's family was filthy rich, I learned that even thought Mom may not have ever shifted, she could still make miracles happen.  I was proud that I kept a straight face as Mom made Dad think a "girls" trip was all his idea.  All that time working on controlling my reaction in the car paid off as I calmly watched him suggest that he take the boys camping and fishing for the weekend, as they had regular school on Monday, and that we should leave Sunday and take a whole week somewhere fabulous. 

He actually said, "What's the point of homeschooling if you don't go to the places you've been learning about?"

I know at that moment just how good Mom was at this thought transfer business.  I wonder how many times she had used it on my brothers and me? To eat our vegetables, clean our room, or take a bath....  I actually heard her voice telling me what to say next this time. 

"We've been studying Egypt all year. Can we go there?" I said, the face of innocence.

Dad actually paled a little. The expense of an international trip was probably past the budget he was thinking of.  Most likely he was thinking of a trip to the California Missions or maybe to the Grand Canyon. 

"I loved studying all the Pyramids and ruins this year, can we go see them?" I added, really laying it on. 

His next words even surprised him, "Well, it's a good thing that we got you kids passports a few years ago then wasn't it?"

He looked around to see who had actually spoken those words.  I don't know who was more surprised, all of us just sat there looking at each other, the room silent. 

"Wow! Ok then, I'd better get packing then!" Mom jumped up.  She wasted no time in getting out of there before he could come to his senses.

Before I could catch up with my own thought on this, we werre headed to the airport. We veered away from the commercial flights and instead went to a gated area for private planes. It was cold out and I could see my breath as I stepped out of the car. The dress and coat I wore did not protect my legs and I shivered in the cold.  The "family jet" was enourmous.  Hopefully it would be warm.

Apparently in January it isn't that cold where we were going, so a shopping trip had been in order. She told me that her family was pretty conservative and my collections of jeans and tank tops wouldn't suffice.  I now had a suitcase full of dresses and pretty shoes. "How was I going to survive in these hideous dresses for a weeek?  How do you climb trees in a dress?  Wait a minute," I thought, "Do they even have trees?"

After the longest day known to modern man we arrived in Egypt.  Tha family jet was in all actuality a flying apartment.  It had everything!  There were so many buttons to push and gadgets to try that I am sure I missed a few.  There was even a mini washer/dryer.  When I got bored with the technology in the back with Mom, I went forward to meet the pilot and hang out in the cockpit for a bit. I asked if I could try flying the plane, he declined. I asked if I could wear his headset, he just gave me the side eye.  I tried to manipulate the pilots' thoughts to let me check out the technology up here but I wasn't strong enough yet. He didnt budge!

After a while of just watching him fly, it got boring too, and I felt trapped.  I went back to the bedroom area and fell fast asleep under a pre-heated electric blanket.  I definitely needed one of these! 

At some point Mom joined me, for when I woke up she was lying curled up next to me. I didn't move for I was afraid I would wake her and just enjoyed her arm draped over me keeping me close. I thought back to the week we had just survived.  We had raced all over town preparing for this journey.  Mom had been super quiet about it all.  She hadn't welcomed my millions of questions with anything more than a "you'll see."  Could she be that nervous about seeing her family again?

I could feel the plane descending and fear washed over me, "who would pick us up? What would we eat? Where would we stay? What would they tell us that couldn't be written down?  Why wouldn't Mom tell me anything?"  I had so many questions and absolutely no answers. 

I looked at Mom, she was now awake and straightening her hair and make up.  She looked so confident that I tried to be brave.  All I really wanted was to go home.  Suddenly I missed my teammates, my Dad, and even my brothers.  Everything in me was screaming, "RUN!"

We were met by a nice man in a white shirt and black slacks. He was super tall and really muscular.  He had a sign that read "Kundam." I was walking past him when Mom put out her hand and said, " Amon, it's been so long!"

Was that the family name then?  I found it strange that I didn't know this fact.  I watched as he gathered our things and giggled when he winked at me, I chuckled more when he crossed his eyes at the weight of Mom's suitcase.  Sadly, he herded us into the waiting car. After being cooped up for so long I was hoping to run and jump, just let out some of this pent up energy. I was so happy to be out of the sky I took a deep breath and jumped in the car.  We drove for over an hour before I dozed off.  When I awoke we were on a boat.....in our car!

Mom said it was called a ferry boat and it was the only way onto the family island.

"Did she just say family island?" I thought. "That didn't compute, what is a family island?"  Thoughts began to whirl away in my mind again.  This adventure kept growing and we really hadn't even begun.  

As the ferry got near land agian I could see lots of tall palm trees just past the sand. I could also see a large crowd on the beach were we would dock. Seeing as we were the only people on the ferry I was guessing they were all out to greet us.  The butterflies in my stomach started warming up their acrobatics. 

I tried to hide behind Mom as we got out of the car but my curiousity wouldn't keep me hidden for long.  As I stepped around her skirts to get a closer look, the people all stared back at me with wide eyed wonder. I heard a few gasps.  Suddenly they all dropped to their knees and put their heads on the sand.