Chapter 1
“Happy Birthday, Benjamin!” Mr. Blake and Mrs. Blake cheer. “Happy Birthday, Benji Boo!” I wrap my arms around his neck and jump up onto his back. “Thanks guys.” He walks to the table to eat his breakfast. “Kara, you know, in order for me to actually sit and eat my breakfast you have to get off my back, right?” I nod, “mhmm.” “So, are you gonna get off?” “Nope.” He sighs in defeat. Just as I let my guard down, he reaches behind him and tickles my sides, causing me to shriek and jump off his back. It’s February fourth, which means Ben turns eighteen today. It also makes him two years older than me, but not for long.
“Kara came over early and made pancakes for you, Benjamin.” His mom sets down our plates in front of us. He slowly turns his head to look at me. “What did you do to them?” “Nothing.” I say as innocently as possible. He eyes me suspiciously as he takes a bite of the pancake. “I sneezed in the pancake batter!” I burst into giggles as his eyes widen and he spits out the pancake into a napkin. “I’m kidding! I’m kidding!” He playfully glares at me and punches me in the arm gently. “Owie.” I look at him with a sad face. He rolls his eyes and kisses the spot on my arm where he had punched. “You’re lucky I love you.” He mumbles. “Thankies!” I kiss him on the cheek and eat my own breakfast.
“So, what are we doing today?” I ask Ben as we finish our food and help his parents clear off the table. “I dunno. I heard that you had something planned...?” I look at the dish I started washing and mumble, “I just made cake...” I dry the dishes and put them in the cabinet. “Awe, Kara Bear! You didn’t have to do that for me!” Ben attaches himself to me as I walk over to the couch, well try to. I try to walk forward but he won’t let me. I sigh and lower myself to the ground. He picks me up and walks over to the couch. “You’re so small... it’s adorable!” See, I’m only 5′2 and Ben is 6′2. It’s not fair. “No, you’re just super tall.” “Whatever you say, Beautiful.”
Since Ben just wanted to spend time with his parents and me, we decided to have a Wizard movie marathon. We run down to the basement movie room and get everything set up. “Benji! Get blankets!” I yell as I start to make the popcorn. “Okay! You’re so bossy.” He mumbles under his breath. “I heard that!” I call after him in a sing-song voice. He comes back down with 2 big, fluffy blankets and puts them on the love seats. His mom and dad come down and I hand them a bowl of popcorn. I take a bowl for Ben and me before turning off the light, popping in the first DVD and curling up into Ben’s side. Halfway through the marathon, we stop to eat dinner and cake. I give Benji his gift and watch his face light up. “Kara! I always wanted dog tags! They’re engraved and everything!” He smiles, putting them on and proudly showing them off. “Thank you, Kara Bear.” He pulls me into his side and places a kiss on my lips. “No problem, Benji!”
His parents give him the keys to his dad’s car. “If you crash it, I’ll kill you.” His dad laughs as he claps his son’s shoulder. Ben laughs, “I won’t but Kara might.” “Hey! It was one time!” When I went out after I got my G1, I accidentally ran into a mailbox. You can guess what happened when my dad saw. “Uh-huh, you keep telling yourself that, Beautiful.” “Benjamin Blake. I swear, one of these days...” I get cut off by his dad. “C’mon kids! Let’s go finish this movie marathon!” He charges down to the basement with his wife chuckling behind him. Ben looks at me and I look back at him. We burst out in laughter as we hear his dad shout once more, “Get your muggle butts down here!” “Coming, Dad!” Ben picks me up and throws me over his shoulder. “I’ve caught a witch!” He yells running to the basement. I laugh and we all settle back down into our spots, finishing the Wizard marathon.
