It’s called a Labocania. Other kids would call it a T-rex but I know better. This thing is bigger, covered in feathers, and I’m guessing by how determined it is to get me, meaner. I can’t blame it though, I sort of have it coming after I ran over his mate. She deserved it though.
I’m sorry sis.
I can’t cry. I can’t think too much. I just have to keep going, keep running, until I figure out a way to make all of this right. For now though, the puzzle of how much force it takes to break through the front doors of a convenience store is the most important question. Is an animal with a twenty-foot body and a seven-foot wide head capable of busting through five-inch steel? It’s like some terrible math problem where if you're wrong you get eaten.
Steady, hide behind the nachos. Don’t think about eating them. Who knows how long they've been there. Just duck down, slow your breathing, and wait for the monster to stop sniffing outside. Think about the nine and a half years you’ve had on Earth. You’ve played a lot of video games. You have a great Dad, when he’s around, and your sister wasn’t that bad either, and Mom.
Mom.
Stop thinking. Don’t cry.
Too late.
I see his eyes focusing in on me through the front door. With curled lips it huffs. Yep, it definitely hates me.
The steel doesn’t hold.
Being the only girl left in the family has its perks. I get a whole bathroom to myself and no one touches my stuff. I get an unlimited amount of soaps and perfumes, so each day I can smell different. Sheldon prefers to use Dad’s bathroom, I don’t really know why. I think it might be because that’s about the only time he gets to spend alone with him. Fine by me, at my age I can’t afford to be seen too much with Dad.
That morning I will wake up just a hair earlier than usual. I will look out the window first thing and see what’s changed in the neighborhood. Los Angeles is strange when it comes to homes. They all look different and there’s a ton of it, yet somehow, no matter what changes, it all looks the same. The city is one giant evolving mess and I hate it. I can't wait to leave. As soon as I get my nursing degree I'm finding the farthest job away from this city and running there as fast as I can. I don’t care if I have to draw blood for nine hours a day, it will be worth it just to get away.
My brother will yell "breakfast Sarah" and I will close the blinds. Bless him, he loves to cook, it's just too bad no one will ever teach him how.
I will go downstairs and meet the smell of burning bacon.
“You have the heat on too high,” I will say as I cut the burner.
“I got it, don’t worry. Have a seat,” he will order. “Dad!” Sheldon yells, “Come on before it gets cold!”
Dad will run downstairs with his collar open and his tie loosely knotted and a crown of bed-head.
“You’re lucky your appearance doesn’t matter at work,” I will scold as I correct his tie.
“Today it does. Big meeting, lots of higher ups coming,” he will say.
“What’s happening?” Sheldon will ask as he puts two charcoal strips onto my plate.
“Just a meeting. That’s all."
“You have meetings all the time and you don’t get dressed up,” Sheldon will wonder.
“When I get home I’ll tell you all about it. I’ll babble numbers, charts, metrics, and goal posts until your eyes fall out of your head,” Dad will say as I finish dressing him.
“You know that’s not what I mean,” Sheldon will sigh.
“Do I look okay?” Dad will ask. He won't look like my father, but rather a husband. I know someday I will need therapy.
“Wonderful,” I will smile. “You need to eat something though.”
Dad will agree and try to eat some eggs at the same time he drinks his coffee. It will splatter all over his shirt.
He will curse and I will say "No one is going to notice."
"Did you see this, champ?" my dad will say as he throws down a newspaper on Sheldon's food.
Sheldon will skim the article and his eyes will go wide.
"No way, that's impossible!" Sheldon will shout.
"Inside voice, Sheldon," I will say. "What happened?"
"They found a dinosaur bone in Hell Creek that looks like it was carved," he will say.
"Carved?" I will ask. "Carved by what? What did they carve?"
"That's the million dollar question," my father will say as he pets Sheldon's hair.
"It says they have it at the Natural History Museum right now, can we go?" Sheldon will ask.
"I'm sure it's not going to be on display for a while," my father will say.
"Please..." Sheldon will say. "You told me you had connections."
My father will smile and slowly nod his head.
"I'll see if I can pull some strings."
