Chapter 1: The Last Regular Day
Ivy woke up to the sound of meowing in her ear, followed by the strong cold breeze of winter. She rubbed her eyes, not being able to open them just yet, and felt around the bedside table for her glasses until she eventually found them. She slipped her glasses on, still keeping her head on the pillow.
I tink I left the window open...Something must've gotten in... She thought, and finally opened her eyes, and found her cat staring back at her with wide emerald green eyes. "Hey, Emerald," she muttered to her cat, who unsurprisingly stared back, and gave a tail swoosh.
Slow to rise, Ivy made her way down the stairs. The house was completely empty, something she had gotten used to seeing on winter days like these. Most of the house was already decorated for Christmas, giving her the subtle illusion that Ivy had a normal family like most other kids her age.
Her father had gone to work early, and her mother had been out ever since last night. Ivy had been left alone many times throughout her childhood, and had gotten used to having no one else but her cat by her side. She found it to be more calming than anything else.
Ivy opened the cabinet and took out a bag of cat food. Emerald came sprawling down the stairs after having heard the sound of the kibble move around in the bag, and began pawing at her ankle. Ivy giggled, "Alright, alright, just gimmie a second." She opened the bag, and carefully poured the kibble in a small silver bowl for Emerald, and set it on the ground next to the cat bed Emerald never used.
"There you go, bud." Ivy said, almost whispering. She got back up and checked the clock, 8:35AM, and it's not even a school day... She wondered if she'd get away with going out for a couple hours before her parents came home— assuming her parents wouldn't be okay with her leaving the house all alone. Well, I guess I'll only be gone so long...
Ivy made her way to the front door, grabbing gloves on her way out. "I'll be back, Emerald, I'm just going out for a bit!" She announced to her cat, who was so startled by her sudden announcement that he ended up leaping directly into his bowl half filled with cat food, causing most of the kibble to be launched all over the kitchen tile. Knowing Emerald, he'll eat it all up before mom and dad get home...