Cousins

By Rachel Clausing

Table of Contents...

Chapter 1...................................pg 4

Chapter 2...................................pg 7

Chapter 3...................................pg 9

Chapter 4...................................pg 12

Chapter 5...................................pg 13

Chapter 6...................................pg 15

Chapter 7...................................pg 16

Chapter 8...................................pg 24

Chapter 9...................................pg 29

Chapter 10.................................pg 32

Chapter 11..................................pg 35

'Cock-a-doodle-doo!' The rooster crowed early Sunday morning. "Ugh! Be quiet, stupid chicken!" Allison Grace DaMik rolled over, covering her head of dirty blonde curls with a pillow. " Allison, Mr. Rooster isn't stupid, and it's not nice to say that!" Nathan, Allison's younger, 7-year-old brother barged in. "What," Allison removed the pillow and sat up," have I told you about knocking?!" "Nothing." Matthew, her other younger, 11-year-old brother stood in the doorway. She glared at them both. Nathan ran downstairs to tell his mom that 'Allison called Mr. Rooster a name.' "What do you want?" Allison asked Matthew, who was still in the doorway. " Just to tell

you to pack for the reunion week at Great Aunt Ann's house. Oh, and, your on milking duty." Matthew grinned and ran quickly down the steps. Allison groaned and got out of bed. She quickly donned on what she called armor, to protect her from anything the cow could do to her, and ran across the farmyard to the old, red barn.

CRREEAAKK! The big doors whined as Allison pushed them open. "Milky Way, where are ya' girl?" Allison stepped cautiously into the musty barn. She could make out the back wall and inched toward it. Suddenly, a great 'moo' emerged from the darkness, startling Allison and making her jump. She could hear Milky way

getting closer, stomping her hooves. Allison quickly turned around and closed the barn doors. There was no escape. Allison made her way to the back wall and flipped on a switch. She blinked in the sudden brightness. Milky Way, a beautiful, creamy white cow, stood in the center of the barn. "Nice cow," Allison soothed, inching toward the bucket. Milky Way tended to kick or charge when she was startled or mad. Allison quickly sat down by Milky Way, milked her, turned off the light, and bolted out the door. Allison sighed with relief and walked to her favorite spot on the farm to watch the sun rise. She breathed deeply and watched until the sky was purple and went inside for breakfast.

'HONNKK!!' The busy streets of NYC rose up to Rachel Elizabeth Cleusing's bedroom, waking her. "Ugh, can't cars be quieter for once?" She moaned, rolling over and covering her long, golden brown hair with the blanket. "Nope." Noah, Rachel's younger, 5-year-old brother popped up. "I told you to stay out of my room!" Rachel sat up. "When?" Joanna, Rachel's younger, 10-year-old sister stood behind Noah. Rachel glared at them. Noah ran down the hall to tell Mom 'Rachel kicked him out of her room.' "Why are you still here?" Rachel asked Joanna. "Umm, Mom said to pack for the family reunion. It's a week long, so pack for 7 days." Joanna ran to the kitchen.

"I know how long a week is," Rachel mumbled to herself, getting out of bed. She grabbed her customized suitcase and dragged it to her dresser. She took the shirt her mom had given her, specifically for the reunion, and looked at it, as if it was a bug under a microscope. And to her, it was a bug. It was tan in color, too dark to be off-white. The black,blocky letters spelled out her name and 'Family Reunion, 2017'. And to top it all off, smack-dab in the center, was a barn, with kids running around it. Rachel detested it, but knew her mom would check to see if she packed it, so she threw it in the bottom of the suitcase and covered it with a sweatshirt. I know most of our family live on

farms, but do they really have to make us wear a WORK shirt? Rachel thought as she packed the rest of her clothes and went to breakfast.

Allison's father was the pastor at the local church,in fact, the only church in their little farm community. Allison would not wear dresses. Her closet consisted of nice shirts and dress pants. She chose a dark blue top and looked at the reunion shirt her mom had given her. It's nice for work, but our cousins in the city... would they wear it? Allison thought about it as she brushed her hair. "Allison! We're going to church!"her dad

called up the stairs. "Coming!" Allison bounded down the steps.

The church was small, but comfortable all the same. The 'pews' were cushioned folding chairs and benches. Allison, her brothers,and her mom sat in the first row, as her dad stood up front and started the service. She always thought it was calming to hear her father's voice talking about her savior. After the service, Allison helped disassemble the benches and chairs. She was still thinking about the cousins she never met, when Great Aunt Ann approached her. " Hey, Alli. Are y'all packed for the reunion?" Aunt Ann asked her. "Yes" Allison replied.

"I'm here to take you to the reunion early, before the rest of your cousins arrive." Aunt Ann smiled. "Oh. Okay. Wait, the rest of my cousins? Does that mean someone's already there?" Allison looked at her aunt cautiously. Aunt Ann grinned bigger, making her seem like a cheshire cat, Allison thought. "Yes. Well, sort of. One your cousins you haven't met before, from the city, is flying in tonight and I thought you should get acquainted before the others arrived." Aunt Ann grabbed the bag from Allison's dad. "Let's go, dear. We can't be late to the airport." Allison followed Aunt Ann to her car and thought excitedly about the 'new' cousin.

Rachel rolled her suitcase toward the airport, thinking only of the farms and dirt she was to encounter. Her parents had told her after church, while she was reading in her room. They had said that she was to go to her Aunt Ann's house in the country, before the rest of the family, to get to know her Cousin. Then, they shuffled her to the car and she watched as her city disappeared behind them. She looked at the plane she was to board, grabbed her backpack, and walked on with the other passengers, never looking back. She popped in her earbuds as soon as she found a seat and watched as they took off and New York became a dot of light.

Night fell as the plane descended to the farmlands of Texas. The airport was small, at least it was to Rachel. Rachel got off the plane and found an older woman, who, she assumed was Aunt Ann, with who could only be Rachel's cousin.

Allison saw the girl as she got off the plane and gasped. The girl was wearing an outfit that shunned Allison's best church outfit, but Allison quickly closed her mouth and smiled at the girl. "Hi. I'm Rachel. And you are Aunt Ann, are you not?"Rachel approached the older woman. Aunt Ann nodded and, gesturing to

Allison,said,"This is your cousin, Allison DaMik." Rachel stuck her hand out for a handshake. At the same time, Allison reached out to hug her. Rachel naturally recoiled and Allison shrunk back. " Nice to meet you." Rachel smiled, but Allison knew she wasn't that happy. "I'll take your bag, if you don't mind." Aunt Ann reached for Rachel's backpack. Aunt Ann's acting weird. Allison thought. "Thanks for allowing me to stay in your home and to meet my cousin." Rachel chatted with Aunt Ann for a time,then glanced at Allison as they neared Aunt Ann's car. She slowed her pace to match Allison's and glanced at her face. "I've

never been outside the city before and I stick out. I was wondering..." She hesitated. "Can you help me fit in?" Allison looked up at her in surprise and smiled. "Of course." Allison stuck her hand out for a handshake and Rachel hugged her. They both laughed and got in the car, side by side.

"So, how old are you?" Rachel asked Allison. They were in Aunt Ann's guest room, talking about just everything they could think of. "14. How 'bout you?" Allison replied. "13. What school do you go to?" "Robenson Middle School." "You're in 8th grade,

right?" Rachel guessed. Allison nodded. "What math class are you in? I'm in Geometry." "Wow! I'm in Pre-Algebra." Rachel replied, surprised. They chatted until Aunt Ann came in to tell them to go to bed. "'Night,cuz." Allison whispered. Rachel fell asleep smiling.

Both girls rose with the sun on Monday morning. The rest of the family was arriving that afternoon, so the girls wanted to spend as much time together,to get to know each other. Allison led Rachel to Aunt Ann's big barn and took her to the side door. "When I was here

earlier, I built a fort... out of hay bales." Allison blushed slightly. "Whoa! Cool!" Rachel stared in awe at the massive structure as Allison opened the door. The hay bales were all stacked to look like a cube, slightly smaller than the barn itself. Allison pointed at some hay bales stacked like a staircase on the side facing them. "The entrance is up there. Follow me and stay close-you could get lost." Allison started up the 'stairs' and Rachel followed, gulping at the height. "Here we are. I'll go in first. Watch out, it's a slight dip at first." Allison crawled into the small, dark hole in the staircase. As soon as Rachel crawled in, she knew why

she had to stay close. It was a giant maze, with sudden turns and drops. At one point, she thought she was never going to see daylight again, when Allison disappeared. Rachel stopped and called her name. Allison replied from somewhere below her."The entrance is down here, just move forward a little. It's a drop, but you'll land on some old pillows. Rachel moved forward and looked down the hole. She could see the pillows and Allison on the other side of them. She took a deep breath, shut her eyes, and crawled until she felt air rush by her and pillows under her knees. Opening her eyes, she saw the exit down a small passageway

and Allison waiting for her. "You made it!" Allison smiled at her. "Aunt Ann made apple cider and biscuits for us. She said that my family is coming soon after lunch, so we should do as many things together as we can." The girls headed toward the house for their snack. "Did you have fun?" Aunt Ann asked, serving them the steaming mugs and plates of warm, golden brown biscuits. "Yes, thank you. You have a beautiful barn.?" Rachel said it as though she wasn't sure. Allison laughed, almost choking on her biscuit. "I'm guessing that's not what you say here." Rachel smiled at her mistake. Aunt Ann grinned at her and went to

get more cider. "So. I've shown you what I like to do for fun. Now it's your turn. What do you like to do with your friends?" Allison asked, stirring her cider. "Well, we'll need more people. We can do it when all our cousins arrive. That should be perfect." Rachel thought aloud. "For what?" Allison scooted her chair closer. "A movie." Rachel's lips turned into a big grin, moving her arms in a flourish,'ta da!' movement. Allison gasped and clapped her hands. Then, a questioning look settled on her pretty face, wrinkling her forehead and staring at Rachel. "How would we do that?" she asked Rachel, cocking her head like a begging puppy. "You have laptop, right?" Allison nodded. "Have you ever used

movie maker on it?" Allison's eyes widened and,to Rachel's delight and surprise, she nodded again. "I used it to make a video for my dad's church a long while ago." "Great. You can film and help me put it together. You can also be a character, if you want," Rachel said, blushing as she realized her bossiness. Allison didn't seem to notice, ecstatic about the concept of making a movie with almost all her cousins. "What cousins do you know are coming?" Rachel asked, searching for paper and a pen. "I know of the Illinois DaMiks, but the Nevada ones aren't coming." Allison recited. "Just out of curiosity, how many cousins in

each of those households?" Rachel asked, scribbling madly on the notepad. "Three boys, one girl in the Illinois home and one boy, two girls in the Nevada household. One uncle is an engineer and the other is a pastor. The Nevada cousins are probably the youngest on the DaMik side. Andrew, the oldest of the Illinois boys, is exactly your age. In fact, his birthday is...six days after yours." Allison stopped to think."Yep, that's right. Is that enough descriptions?" Allison glanced at Rachel, who had stopped writing and was staring at her. "What? Do I have something on my face?" Allison's hand flew to her nose. "No,no. It's just... I've

never even known I had that many cousins, let alone ones my age. My parents never even mentioned you or the others once, even if I brought it up to their attention. But, now that I think about it, I remember,as a child, playing with a young boy who was a dirty blonde, like you, and was always fun to play with. Does that sound like.. Andrew?" Rachel asked. Even she was surprised she remembered that. "Yeah. So, what should we call the movie? And what should it be about?" Allison asked, getting back on topic. "I think we should wait for the rest of the cast to get here to decide. We'll have a meeting to get to know each other