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Sam HATED Mondays. He absolutely despised them as one despises their shoes caked in mud, the thick goo stuck onto the sides, seeping into the socks. He got up lazily, grabbed his phone and headed to the kitchen. He looked at the time, his screen up at max brightness, to see that it was only six in the morning. His eyes began to sting, a flurry of bright colors clouding his vision for a brief second. As quickly as it had come, it had vanished just as fast.

He walked ever so slowly towards the fridge in search of some food. Just as he grabbed it's handle, a small jolt of pain shot up his side. Much to his surprise, it was his twin sister, Taraya.

"You fall for it every time. When will you learn?" She asked, smiling for no apparent reason. "What are you doing up so early?" She asked. She hardly seemed tired.

"I just woke up early. I'm also hungry." Sam said as he fumbled through the fridge. Finally, he opened the freezer and settled on waffles. He grabbed the toaster and got out a plate and silverware.

"Did you sleep okay?" Taraya asked. "My sleep was pretty strange. I keep hearing those weird screeches and Dad keeps saying that it's the raccoons. Do you believe him?" She said. She sounded pretty concerned.

"If it's raccoons, it's raccoons. They're probably just going through the trash again." Sam said back. he didn't really care about them. Raccoons did what they had to do to survive. As long as they don't mess with him, he won't mess with them. They lived in a suburban neighborhood in California that always go raccoons and other nosy little animals like squirrels and rabbits, so they were used to this kind of thing.

But some part of him felt like his sister was right. The screeches that she had been talking about were not something in her imagination. He had heard them too and they weren't very settling. The first time he had heard them was in the middle of the night when he was about seven years old. He had gotten up to use the bathroom. As he walked into the hallway, he heard the trash outside get knocked over. As he walked to the door, he began to picture things he might see, like an elf or Santa Claus.

When he got to the window, he saw a large shadow slither swiftly into their hedge. It was dark and he couldn't tell for sure what it was, but he could tell it was not friendly. When he got closer to the glass, the slimy creature turned it's misshapen head towards him, its eyes glowing, teeth barred. It regarded him with hate and made a screech so loud, Sam couldn't cover his ears hard enough to block it out. He ran back to his bed and stayed awake or the rest of the night.

"Well I don't think it's raccoons. Raccoons can't be that loud." She said. She moved towards the cabinets and began to make her usual breakfast, cinnamon toast and a glass of orange juice.

After they finished their breakfast, they got dressed and headed out the door. The walk to school wasn't too long. It was only about a mile away from their home so it usually took about twenty minutes. On the way, they decided to meet up with their good friend, Erin.

Erin was the type of person that spoke her mind just as it was. She wasn't afraid to tell people the truth, even if it hurt them. She didn't like listening to people very well either. She did things on her own terms, but she was loyal to Taraya. She tolerated Sam only because he was Taraya's brother.

"Hey, Tay!" She said, with chittering excitement. "Sam." She said, regarding him with distaste, but tolerance.

"Nice to see you too." Sam replied with sarcasm in his tone. She waited patiently for Erin to walk down the steps. She moved slower almost as if she was trying to get on Sam's nerves but he didn't much care. The last day of school was the today so he had not a care in the world what happened throughout the day. After she approached them, Taraya gave her a heartfelt hug and they proceeded to school. On the way, Erin and Taraya started talking about the usual. The did what they called "spilling tea" for basically the entirety of the walk, which seemed to last an eternity to Sam.

"I think that Vanessa is cheating on Dylan." Taraya said. "I mean all the signs are there! Every time he's around, she gets awkward! And I bet it's with that exchange student, Marcos. She went to his house the other day to study." She said, adding as much emphasis as possible.

"Yikes. It's definitely a possibility. I mean if she is and Dylan finds out, I doubt that he's gonna stay with her." Erin said, pondering his sister's possibility that Vanessa was indeed cheating with the exchange student. "What do you think, Sam?" She asked, turning her head towards him.

"I mean I could care less. It's not like we're friends." He said, sort of monotone. He honestly didn't care too much for Vanessa. They hadn't really spoken to each other, and when they did, she was only trying to copy off of his homework or tests. She was kind of a burden but she didn't bother him too much.

"That's pretty..mean." Taraya said. She sounded almost hurt and Sam had no idea why. "Didn't you like her at one point?" She asked smiling strangely. Sam took this as an attack for some strange reason and it aggravated him.

"Not a chance. You already know I didn't." She shot back. Sam had never liked her and his sister already knew he didn't either. He had is eyes on someone else. She just enjoyed teasing him.

"Erin, do you have any gum?" Taraya asked her. She didn't even need to reply. In an instant, she pulled out a small pack of Extra gum. She handed Taraya a stick and offered one to Sam, which he declined.

The school day was going to be pretty long and he couldn't wait for it to be over