Part 2

Her clock sounded the alarm at exactly 7:00 Am. Blair had forgotten what day it was. It was Sunday; Church day. The rest of her family were strict Catholics, with a strong faith in God. They attended church every Sunday morning, and expected Blair to do the same. So, every Sunday at 8:00 AM she was dragged to the place she hated most. Not only did it go against what she believed, but churches in themselves made Blair highly uncomfortable. The stuffy, formal atmosphere, the paintings that hung on the wall, they disturbed her.
“Blair, get down here!” her dad Burt called from downstairs. She let out a sigh and got out of bed; she had been hoping to sleep in late. Those missing four hours of sleep would surely come back to haunt her later. After she had gotten dressed, she went down the stairs and lumbered over to the breakfast table. It was already almost time to leave, so Blair stuffed a large waffle into her mouth. She was then marched out of the house, and filed into the red minivan with the rest of her wretched family. Her parents did not worry about the fact that Blair loathed going to church, after all, who likes it?
While on their way there, Burt talked excitedly about his day at work. He worked as business man in a big cooperate office. But no one else in the car seemed as excited as he was, not even his own wife.
“Oh look, we’re here…” Blair’s mom said, in a desperate attempt to quiet her husband. They pulled into the gravel parking lot, rocks crackling under the tires. Without another word, they got out of the car. Not even Blair’s dad said anything.
As they approached the brightly painted church, Blair drew her black sweater even tighter around her body. She wanted to hide, to disappear. She felt like people were staring. It felt like they could see right through her, like see her secret. This wasn’t really like her; Blair McGinnis was usually a very happy and cheery girl. She was always smiling and laughing. No one could see the pain she had locked up inside her. Nor would anyone expect her to be a witch. On the outside, she appeared a bit odd, but still like everyone else. She fit in, she was accepted. Blair’s biggest fear was that, if everyone knew, she would be shunned. She knew she needed friends, and she couldn’t afford to lose them during hard times like these.
Very recently, Blair’s father had gotten sick with cancer. Every day, she was scared of waking up and seeing her lifeless father lying still in his bed. She knew there was nothing she could do to save him; no magic could ever help him heal. But he was going in for surgery in a week. Although the surgery was very risky, Blair tried to have complete faith in the doctors.
Every time she looked at her dad, Blair was reminded of how sick he was really was. He was turning yellow, and had lost so much weight that his skin hung off his frame.. His legs looked like toothpicks, and he had lost all the strength in his arms. Yet he still managed to be active. He rode his bike, went on hikes with his kids, and cared for his beautiful garden. Blair knew he’d make it out in the end… somehow.
Once they got inside, they sat themselves down in a pew, and waited for the service to begin.. Blair grunted. Why did they have to come so early? It just meant more time sitting on an uncomfortable bench and breathing in the musky, moldy church. The building was so old that it was starting to decay. The paint had worn off the pews, and roaches were the new full-time residents.
After what seemed like an eternity, the service started. The priest began by giving some words of inspiration, and let them in song. Then he talked, for a long, long time, during which Blair had dozed off. Usually, Blair had the strength to stay awake during these incredibly long sermons, but her lack of sleep was definitely a factor.
Blair awoke to the sound of her mother’s voice. “Sweetie,” her mother cooed. “church is over. It’s time to go.”
“Mmmpphh… Finally.” Blair grumbled as she rose out of her seat. They were the only family left. Apparently her parents didn’t want to wake her, and hoped that she would get up on her own. It was now 9:30 AM. Maybe now she could go home and take a nice, long nap. But no, her parents wanted go to their favorite restaurant for lunch. So Blair was trapped in the car for another half hour, where it was impossible to sleep because of her whining brother. When they got to the restaurant, Blair wasn’t particularly hungry, so after eating only half her food, she lay her head down on the table and fell asleep again. Oh, how she dreaded Sundays. Always some formal occasion, whether it be church or a nice brunch. She couldn’t stand it.
Another unfortunate thing about Sundays was that the following day was a Monday. If it weren’t for all her friends, Blair would have hated school almost as much as she hated church.
So, the next morning, she was shipped off to her high school in a large yellow school bus. It was early October, so the school year had only recently begun. But by now Blair knew the drill; anyways, she was a sophomore. When she got to school, she was greeted by all her friends gathered in the cafeteria.
“HI BLAIR!” her friend Christine shouted as Blair walked through the double doors.
“Hey Chrissie.” Blair said with a smile. Christine was always full of energy, which matched Blair. They were almost like twins. Not only did they look somewhat alike with their firey red hair, but they also acted alike. Although, they didn’t act the same outside of school, Blair tended to be more calm and sensitive.
As Blair was practically swallowed by her large group of friends, she turned around, scanning the other side of the cafeteria. “Where is he?” she breathed.