[align=center]
[img width=500 height=400]http://data.whicdn.com/images/64683145/large.jpg[/img]
[img width=500 height=300]http://data.whicdn.com/images/…pq1qjfe1zo1_400_large.png[/img]
[size=17pt]>>vivian - isabel - day[/size]
[color=black][size=7pt]I must confess, 'normal' is not something I am particularly familiar with. It does not describe my life, my friends, my family, and definitely does not describe me. I'm that girl you stare at and whisper about. I'm that girl the people at school immediately avoid in a desperate attempt to become part of the popular crowd. I'm that girl you call weird, crazy, and lame. But I'm also that girl who makes life appear wonderful. Because even if most people think I'm strange, at least I'm having more fun than they are. While they stick to their 'normal' lives, I'm out living my amazingly strange one. But how is my life strange, you ask?
Well, to start off, I don't have a dad, and neither do any of my brothers and sisters. We were all adopted by my mom, who is an archaeologist. She's one of the people who go digging around for old bones, tombs, artifacts—all that historical junk. So, that means my family travels A LOT. More than I would like, really. I mean, everyone expects traveling around the world to be boat loads of fun. In some ways it is, I'm not denying that, but it can also get tiring. Sometimes I just want to stay somewhere for once—settle down in an actual house and make actual friends. Because when your constantly moving around....well, you don't have an opportunity to get to know kids your own age. I spend more than half my time around adults—adult scientists, adult archaeologists, my mom—and then the rest with my siblings who are all either younger or older than me. And whom I want nothing to do with, as they of course annoy me to death as all siblings should.
So, yeah, my life isn't exactly ordinary. And natrually, neither is my family. As I said, my mother is an archaeologist, but that's not the strangest thing about her. Here, let me explain. Her name is Yasmin Day, and besides being an archaeologist is mine and my sisters and brothers teacher, as she homeschools us. But she doesn't teach us normal things, such as Math or Language Arts. No, my mom teaches whatever strikes her fancy for the day. Somedays she'll lecture us on different religions—Taoism, Buddhism—and other days she'll instruct us on how to make oragmi. And she can speak more then 20 different languages, so she's taught us all Latin......or, at least tried. Not all of my family is brainy and nerdy like my mom, who is always excited when it comes to sciencey stuff.
For example, my older brother Tyson. Yeah, he's weird too, but in his own way. Unlike mom he doesn't have a thirst for knowledge and doesn't want to learn about Taoism or how to make a paper swan. His dream is to skateboard. He's your typical skater boy—mop of shaggy hair, skinny jeans, flat-billed hat. The only thing that makes his dream to skate odd is that he doesn't just skate in a skate parks. How could he? We travel so much, half the time we don't know what city were in, let alone if there's a skate park near by. So, instead, he'll take his skateboard everywhere we go and annoy the hell out of people by shredding in the middle of an archaeological site, a science lab, a hotel lobby. You name it, he's skateboarded in it. It's very funny, and I actually sometimes feel proud to be his sister. But don't you dare tell him that, or I'll kill you! Anyway, yeah, that's Tyson.
But the quadruplets—thats right quadruplets—Kaden, Liam, Freddy, and Sky are even more odd. For one, their quadruplets! My mom adopted them when they were 2 years old, and even back then they were inseparable. Right now their all 8 years old, and all mischevious as well as incredibly clever little demons. One time they pick-pocketed an old scientist mom was working with and then, just for fun, constructed an elaborate prank that ended in the guy getting a pie to the face. I swear their my mom's kids, considering how smart they are, just like her. But then again, mom would never have the slight-of-hand skills that these dudes have. Espically Liam. He's the fast hands, Kaden is the smooth talker, Freddy is the prankster, and Sky is the....well, I guess Sky is the quiet one. He doesn't talk a lot, but to my family, he says all he needs to. Somehow we all understand the little guy, even if he doesn't verbally say anything. He kinda has his own language, I guess. One only we can understand. So, yeah, that's the quads, for 'ya.
And then their's the twins, last but not least. Yeah, I have twins and quadruplets in my family—I told you we were not normal. Anyways, the twins are Grace and Lea. Mom found them in an orphanage in the Phillipeans one year, and the moment she laid eyes on the two of them...well, they were her's. They were 7 years old at the time and are now 13—full-fledged teenagers. And boy, do they act like it. Both sassy and girly, they are connected at the hip so much that they can complete each others sentences....which is sometimes creepy, truth be told. But I guess that's just a twin thing, part of their twin telepathy. I just wish they didn't have such a strong connection, because often they like the same boy—and when they find out about it..well, things get ugly. Often I have to be a mediator for the two, but they always make up. There Grace and Lea; they don't exist separately, they don't exist apart, the don't exist as opposites. In many ways they are one—and admittedly, sometimes I'm jealous. They have each other, but who do I have? I have no other half. I'm a half of a whole, and a rather bad half, if I do say so myself.
But anyway, that's my family and my life, basically. Oh, and who am I? Well, I'm Vivian Day, or Vi for short. Music is my life, though like my mom I love science and things like that, and I play the piano, violin, electric bass, and guitar. I'm 17 years old, going to be a senior, and my dream is to become a professional musician. So why am I writing this? Well, this is a story about me finding my other half. And during the summer time, no less.
[hr]
[size=7pt][color=black]
I woke up on an airplane next to the twins, who at the moment were bickering about who would get to ask the cute boy two rows in front of us for directions to the bathroom. Typical of them, and probably neither of them would end up doing it anyway. Giving a yawn and stretching, I glanced around, my eyelids fluttering as I blinked the sleep out of my eyes. The plane we were on was like any other—rows of plush seats, overhead compartments for luggage, small walk-ways, little-to-no personal space—and was just as boring. Flight attendants rushed around like spooked birds, hussling to get this person's trail mix and fetch this person's ear plugs. Passengers were either sound asleep or on their electronic devices, and all I could hear was the sound of the plane engine. So, I slipped my headphones in my ears and cranked "Pompeii:" by Bastille up to full blast on my IPod.
Soon though, Grace was shaking my shoulder. Turning to her, I took out an earbud, wondering what was up. "Were–" Grace began, but Lea finished with "–landing." They said it with bright smiles on their faces, and I began to get excited. We were going to Orlando, Flordia after all, one of the funniest places in the U.S.. And I was just glad that for once we got to spend summer somewhere other than a dusty old dig-site. Finally, I heard the pilot come over the speaker, telling us to get seated because we were landing shortly and all that. Honestly I wasn't listening—I had heard the same speech before plenty of times. Airplanes were familar territory.
When we had landed the twins and I stood up. We grabbed our luggage from the over-head compartments and walked off the plane, buzzing with excitement. We would meet mom, the quads, and Tyson by the luggage claim and then head to a hotel. Mabey after that we could go to the beach, but it depended on everyone's mood. If we were all to tired, no way. I was secretly hoping though. I had always loved the beach; mom had said even when I was little I would swim for hours and make sandcastles tell dark. Smiling I led Grace and Lea to the luggage claim area. We grabbed a couple of bags—most of which were Mom's work stuff—and then waited for the 6 of them.
I saw mom first, and she was looking good as always, even after having spent 7 hours on a plane with 5 rowdy boys. I suppose I forgot to mention how beautiful she is, didn't I? Well, here's a guideline: she looks absolutely nothing like me. With a tall hourglass figure, fair skin, long blonde hair, and sky blue eyes, Yasmin Day was a genius super-model. Everyday I wished I could look more like her, but I was just always me; dark brown eyes, tan skin, long black hair, faintly Latino features, and average figure. The twins and mom always assure me I'm beautiful, but I'm pretty sure their just being nice. After all, I'm just plain me. Nothing special. The quads ran at me, all four of them giving me a tackle hug.
"Wow, hey!," I grunted, the combined weight of the four of them knocking a little of the wind out of me. "Vi, your so lucky," Tyson breathed, looking tired as he walked up. Rolling my eyes at him I smiled a little. He was always having to look after the quads because he was the older brother and all, and boy were they a handful. "Vi, did you and the girls have a nice flight?," Mom asked me, the last to approach. I smiled and nodded, excitement flaring up in me again. We were in Orlando!! "Mom, can we plllleeeaasssseee go to the beach today?," I asked, a pleading look in my eyes. She knew how much I loved the beach. The twins copied me, even putting on their puppy dog faces for added effect. Tyson rolled his eyes, but the quads started jumping up and down chanting "BEACH! BEACH! BEACH! BEACH!" I laughed a little at the sight of them, but my mom quickly hushed them as people were starting to look.
Giving a sigh and a smile, she nodded. "Alright then, guess we can. But first we have to get settled at the hotel and–" I didn't pay attention to the rest of what she was saying, instead thinking of how great this summer would be. No dusty dig-sites in Egypt or laboratories in Venice, just a normal summer vacation. Or, well, as normal as summer can be with my family.
[hr]
[color=black][size=7pt]
Wearing a plain black bikini I ran into the warm water, laughing as I splashed the twins and the quads. Tyson was skateboarding down the shore on the sand....or, at least trying to, and mom was sitting in a beach chair, watching us and reading a science magazine. After two hours of swimming and water fights though, I was famished. I got out, leaving the twins and the quads to swim, and dried off. Slipping on a tank top, jean shorts, and flip-flops, I told mom I was going to the snack-bar and then walked off. The snack-bar was swarming with people—just like the beach shore. I walked up to the counter after pushing my way through and then glanced at the menu. I ordered a bag a chips and a soda, then turned. Immediately I crashed into someone and stumbled a back a little. "Oh, wow, I'm so sorry. You okay?," I asked the person, glancing up. It was a very cute guy....just my luck. I knitted my eyebrows and grimaced apologetically, probably blushing by now.
[/fancypost]
