Jade

The days went by fast, and before I knew it, it was Friday morning. I’d gone to classes after skipping on Monday, but with the competition tomorrow, I was wondering if I could still skip. I woke early because I was a little too excited, and it wasn’t even the day of the competition, yet.

I went through my morning routine quickly, and by the time I arrived downstairs, it was to find that stepmom hadn’t even left yet, which meant I was really early.

“Good morning,” I called.

The nervous excitement in my stomach was almost enough to make me miss the awkward air in the room. Stepmom was standing by the cooker making breakfast with her back to the rest of the room. Dad was seated at the dining table with his paper held up. He didn’t look up at my voice, but Stepmom shot me a look over her shoulder. She smiled, even though it looked a bit strained.

“Morning, Jade. Please, sit down. I’ll have breakfast done in a minute.”

I was silent as I went to sit at the table, not looking at Dad even tho