CHAPTER 3: TRIP TO CALIFORNIA

Meanwhile, somewhere in Capital Q

Little Anne, a girl of about eleven years, her hair was packed in a ponytail crowning the top of her head, she was standing in front of the wardrobe filled with clothes in a room that she shares with her elder sister, Abigail.

Her blue eyes were so focused on the task in front of her, that she stooped down and arranged her clothes in an orderly manner and backpacked into black luggage, the wardrobe was shared by her and her elder sister, and the clothes were much that she was having difficulty in packing them, most of the clothes belongs to her elder sister who was two years older than her and was already in junior high, she was trying to separate her sister's clothes from hers.

Her family was going to California to visit her mom's sister who was getting married to a rich man; this coming Saturday and also they were going to go to Disneyland from there, and he was excited to go. It had been so long since he set eyes on her favorite aunt, Aunty Felicia, and also, they were going to visit one of the most talked about places in the world.

Abigail walked into the room and saw her sister bent low in the front of the wardrobe, her mother told her to call Anne from the room, the car was ready and everyone had entered the family minivan remaining Anne who was still packing her clothes, "Anne, what are you still packing? Everyone is ready to leave and you are delaying everyone," she walked to where Anne was standing to help her pack up.

Together they packed Anne's clothes and arranged them in the black luggage, the two sisters with their both pairs of blue eyes and thick blonde hair, stared at each other, one with gratitude as she was too slow in packing her clothes and delaying others by taking time and the other with a small scowl on her face to show her displeasure, she wanted to reach California as soon as possible.

They both walked out of the room, Anne was carrying her luggage and trying to meet up with her sister's fast strides but with the heavy luggage in her hands, she could only walk slowly not to overturn the luggage.

Their mother, a woman with dark hair and brown eyes was already in a re-worn-output minivan with her husband, a man with his head full of blond curls and blue eyes staring at the house, he was in the driver's side, and their eldest child and Abigail's twin brother Fredrick, a photocopy of his wife, they were waiting for the two sisters to come out, Fredrick was pressing his phone while he was waiting for his sisters, "girls and their wicked ways of wasting someone precious time," he muttered beneath his breath while pressing his phone.

Their mother brought out her head from the window of the car, "you girls should walk faster," she urged them both, Abigail quickly entered the car while Anne was still struggling to pull her luggage.

Their father had to come down from the car to assist Anne with her luggage, he took the luggage from Anne, he ned the boot of the car and dumped the luggage there, the luggage fell with a stump in the boot.

Father and daughter entered the minivan and now, the family of five were ready for the journey to the airport and from the airport to land in California.

They arrived safely in California after going through the hurdles of the airport, the standard procedures, and the air flight, they were tired and jet-lagged.

Aunt Felicia had already sent a car to pick up her sister and her family from the airport, it was a slick black latest Lexus jeep, it was comfortable and gave off a luxurious feeling.

They arrived at the mansion where the wedding would also be taking place, the mansion was painted white like most houses in the area, and palm trees were planted around it, contrasting with the white walls, it gave the house a chill aura.

Aunt Felicia ran out of the house to greet the family, she was beautiful and wore elegance as a cloak around her shoulders, she was in her late forties, older than her sister but had a youthful look, and her silky brown hair was braided in an elegant knot creating a remarkable halo on her head, she looked radiant.

"Hello Charlotte, Hello Nathan," she said to her sister and the husband, then faced the children and called their names one after the other but Fredrick didn't respond as he was busy on his phone playing video games, she tapped him and he greeted her as he gave her an awkward smile.

She was so happy to see her sister and the family that she saw Fredrick's actions as cute and charming, she fondly rubbed his hair, Even though Fredrick was a thirteen years old boy, he loved it when his aunt rubbed his head, he felt at ease in her presence.

"Where are my manners? You all can come in, let me show you your rooms so you guys can freshen up and relax," she showed them into the mansion and the children looked around in amazement as everywhere was spotless and looked beautiful, there was a big fireplace in the living room and a big frame of the couple was placed over it on the wall, painting of various types were hanged over the walls, their aunt was a big fan of artworks and loves to collect them.

She showed her sister and her husband to one room and showed the children their rooms, a room allocated to each of them, they were happy because they got to have separate rooms.

Anne entered her room and jumped on the big bed in the middle of the room and gave out a big laugh when the bed bounced under her feet and she bounced up and down on the bed with glee.

Back home, they don't have a bed like this and Abigail wasn't the best roommate, she sleeps in a very sluggish manner, one time she hit Anne on the face while she was sleeping, and another time she kicked Anne in the stomach, Anne had to call for help in the middle of the night. Since then, she has slept on the floor with a duvet and bedsheets to avoid Abigail's hands and legs from damaging her body.

She stopped bouncing and laid down on the bed when her body started feeling heavy and fatigue enveloped her, she closed her eyes and slept away.