Lily Blank, Chapter 1

When Lily woke up, everything seemed normal. Her room was neat, but could have been neater. Her mirror was clean, but could have been cleaner.
And when she opened her dresser, all of her clothes were nicely folded, but could have been nicer.
But when she got dressed in her favorite bright pink pinafore, she realized that the dress barely fit her.
Ugh, she thought, I really liked that dress! I’ll just ask Mommy to buy me a new dress when I get downstairs. It fit when she got it for my birthday…
That’s when it clicked. Seriously, Lily? She berated herself as ran downstairs, where she could smell her mother and sister cooking (her favorite) blueberry pancakes.
As she rushed into the living room, she saw her father organizing a neat pile of presents.
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” exclaimed her family, realizing she had finally come downstairs. Today was Lily’s 9th birthday, but somehow she had forgotten!
“Come, Lily, we made your favorite!” Her mother called from the table “And Jacob, leave those presents alone. They look fine, and you’re fussing over them as if they’re getting their picture taken!”
As Lily munched on her breakfast, savoring the sweet treat, she thought about her presents. Lily knew her family wasn’t rich, but they could certainly get her something nice. Regardless, she was just happy that she got such a nice surprise first thing in the morning.
What could her sister have gotten her? Probably a glittery hair clip or some other pretty accessory.
Her mom? Maybe a chocolate collection, or some rainbow lollipops? Sometimes sweet and sugary, she thought, just like Mama.
And what about daddy? There was really no telling with him. He always got the best presents. Last year it was that LED toy octopus. The year before that it was a glow in the dark watercolor set.
Her best friend, Lucy Robbins also was awesome at picking exciting gifts, like a hair chalk set and brownie baking kit.
As she daydreamed about her gifts, she suddenly noticed her family gathering their dishes, then making their way to the living room. She quickly rinsed her plate, and hurried over to join them.
“I want Lily to open mine first!” whined Jill. “Calm down!” reprimanded her mother. “ There isn’t a child!”
“Mama, it’s ok. May I please open my present?” Lily pleaded. “Hooray!” exclaimed Jill, handing her one of the biggest presents.
“A sundress!” cried Lily, staring in amazement at the sunset yellow lace dress in her hands. “How much was it, and how did you afford it?!”
“Well, It was $35 dollars, and I babysat the Collins’s kids for a fortnight, and got $45 dollars. Do the math.”
“Thanks, Jill!” Lily gushed, rushing to hug her big sister. “Lily, you can open mine next.” said her mother, handing her a present wrapped in maroon wrapping paper.
“Candy!” cheered Lily, taking out a huge gift basket filled to the brim with a million different flavors of taffy.
“Next time you see Mr. Quinn, thank him for giving me a discount on these, ok?” “Yes, Mama.” said Lily, not taking her eyes off the sweets.
“Ok, Lily, time for mine!” said Lily’s father, coffee brown eyes twinkling. What’s it gonna be? What’s it gonna be? Lily thought.
“It’s…A book?” Lily flipped to the front cover, and read the title. “Wendy the Witch of the Woods”.
The book didn’t even look new, much less interesting. It had a battered leather cover, with a faded picture of a lady in a white sundress picking gardenias.
“It was an old childhood favorite of mine, read it more times than one could count!” Lily’s father smiled proudly, while Lily just stared at him in disbelief.
This old thing was supposed to be her birthday present? Lily couldn’t imagine the leather-bound novel being anything like her previous birthday presents from her father.
Nevertheless, she had promised herself she would be thankful, right? “Thanks, Dad.” she murmured half-heartedly.