The Sun Dragon

The alarm starts buzzing on my bedside table. Reaching my hand out to smack the snooze button I miss completely. My hand hits the corner of the table, sending  a sharp pain through my body. The pain jolts me awake, causing me to roll off the bed and hit the floor with a thud! "Rebecca! Are you okay?" I hear my mother shout. Reaching up from the floor I smack the alarm clock,  turning the buzzing off. "Rebecca!" She shouts again. "I'm fine mother!" I return. Pulling myself off the floor, I head for my personal bathroom. Stripping off my clothes I climb in the shower and turn the water on, hot as it'll go. Yes I take scolding hot showers (So sue me!). Reaching down I grab my favorite shampoo - Axe Armor Shampoo. (Don't judge! I like the way it smells!) - And begin my shower routine.                                                                             20 minutes later   Wrapped in a towel sitting on my bed, I stare at the clothes in my closet. "Rebecca are you dressed?" Mother asks, from the other side of the door. "Not yet mother, Ill be down in a minute!" I respond. Walking into my closet I grab my favorite black, spaghetti strap, tank and my red, jean shorts with butterflies on the back pockets. "Come downstairs when you're ready honey, your father and I would like to talk to you about something." She says. Her steps disappear a few moments later. "That can only mean one thing...another excavation job." I mumble to myself . Grabbing my suitcase from the closet I toss in on my bed and begin throwing clothes along with my travel kit into the suitcase. Heading downstairs with my suitcase in hand I walk into the kitchen to find my parents at the kitchen table. Looking at my parents I realize they're dressed as though they're ready to start digging at a moments notice. "So where are we going this time? I ask, putting my suitcase down. Moms coffee cup was halfway to her lips when she stopped and gave me a strange look. "What?" I inquire. "You only need to talk when you're gonna tell me we're going on another trip. So where?" Walking further into the kitchen, I head for the cupboard. "Egypt." She says. "The archaeology group found some discoveries of what appear to be pieces of a lost civilization. So they called us in. It could be a long trip this time." She takes another sip of her coffee. "How long?" I ask. Reaching for my favorite black cup with the little kittens on it and pulling it from the cupboard and heading to the refrigerator to grab my creamer. (Coffee time! I really wanna try this new creamer!) "A month or two months, we're not quite sure. We'll assess the situation when we get there. But your father and I would like to discuss something with you." She says. Setting her cup down as father sets his paper down and they both look to me. Walking to the table, I take a seat and bring my cup to my lips. (Mhmm this creamer is amazing.) I let the coffee roll across my tongue and down my throat while I wait for one of them to talk. "Since you'll be sixteen in a few days and have shown quite a bit of maturity and responsibility, your father and I have decided if  you would like to stay home while we go, your Aunt Nicole says she wouldn't mind staying here with you." Contemplating for a second I almost decide to stay. "Go, and learn about yourself." then comes a voice inside my head. Learn about myself? What could I possibly learn that I don't already know? (Also...where the hell did that voice come from?) "No I'd like to go. I don't think there's any other way I would like to spend my birthday. I have a feeling this birthday is gonna be a good one." Taking another sip of my coffee.  Sitting here, I've realized father hasn't said one word. "If it is alright with you father?" I ask. "Yes dear, that's quite alright." He says and returns to his paper. "Good, we leave in two hours." Mom says and begins drinking her coffee again.