I always thought that sisters were supposed to be close, you know, have each other's backs, talk about boys and share secrets. Boy, was I dead wrong. My sister, Cathy, is a jealous psycho! If it wasn’t for my boyfriend Anthony… ok ok I’m getting ahead of myself.

“Hey, Hillary, I heard Anthony was gossiping about what a rotten girlfriend you are to Jake and his popular goons.” 

Anthony and I looked up from the television and stared at Cathy. 

“Are you going to tell her Anthony or should I?” Cathy twirled her hair on her finger and smiled slyly. 

“Tell her what?” 

“That you were kissing Dalia, you know the pretty red headed cheerleader, behind the bleachers during lunch.” 

I close my eyes and try to block out Cathy and her lies. She always does this when Anthony comes over. If I ignore her, hopefully she’ll go away. But, Cathy decided to sit between Anthony and I. I scooted across and turned to her and smiled.

“So, Cathy, how is Kirk, your crush? Is he still hanging out with Dalia and Hailey? Is he too busy with them to notice that you are alive?” 

Cathy shot me an annoyed look before she got up from the sofa and went to her bedroom. I snuggled next to Anthony and we continued watching our movie. My sister is a selfish brat and it's sad to say my parents are to blame. When Cathy was younger she had a heart condition which led to her having a dozen surgeries. Mom and Dad, even though they received a clean bill of health from the doctors for Cathy, still treat her like a china doll.

Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Dude! Is that Chelsea Hartley with your dad?"

My best friend Alvin was scrolling through social media and he showed me a photo of my dad with Chelsea. 

"No way. What would he be doing with her? He's a security guard at a museum for God's sake. She's like the most awesome girl in the universe. Not to mention she's super rich!"

Just then my dad walked into our kitchen. He told us that he met Chelsea at the history museum he worked at. 

"What would she be doing in an old and creepy museum?"

"Careful. That old and creepy museum feeds your scrawny behind. Ms. Hartley was there for a private tour. She'll also be attending the exhibition this weekend. There will be all kinds of cool artifacts on display. A few are even for sale."

I zoned out at the mention of artifacts.

After dad left the kitchen, Alvin and I kept looking at photos of Chelsea. I idolized her. She was only a few years older than me and was already a billionaire. I'd kill to meet her. 

"You totally could. Just ask your dad to get you into the exhibition."

My dad's answer was a flat out no.

Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Hi Alex! What are you doing after school? A bunch of us are going to see the new movie, should we pick you up?"

My cousin Jasmine was standing over my desk in class.

"Sounds fun but I have soccer practice later. Raincheck? Or you could come watch us."

Jasmine gagged and shivered dramatically. 

"I'd rather watch paint dry. Sorry."

I laughed and pretended not to be offended by her comment. Jasmine didn't understand my fascination with soccer. 

I was the captain of the girl's soccer team at school. I couldn't imagine my life without playing, I was going to be a huge soccer star. 

After practice I got home to find my older brother Josh waiting for me. Josh was a police officer.

"I'm afraid I have some bad news. Few months ago I applied for a captain's position in another station. They called today. I got the job."

"Wow, congratulations Josh. How's that bad news?"

He couldn't look me in the eye. 

"Josh?"

"The job is out of state. We leave in a week."

Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The fire alarm rang and the students in the home room looked around nervously at each other. 

“Ok, class,” Mrs Benjamin looked over her glasses, “Please collect your belongings and walk outside to the carpark calmly.”

Mia and I looked at each other and, like the rest of the class, we followed Mrs. Benjamin calmly towards the car park. Once there we noticed that the science lab was on fire. The firefighters battled the fire for almost an hour before they got it under control. Mr. Haynes addressed the students and told us we were dismissed for the afternoon. The students cheered.

My adopted sister, Mia, and I have been best friends since we were five, same as our mothers.

When Mia’s mother got sick last year and then passed away a few months later, my parents stepped in and became her foster parents and immediately began working on her adoption papers. While it was sad that Mia lost her Mom, I was happy that we could spend time together. I always wanted a sister and now I had one. 

“Do you think we should call Mom to pick us up?”  Mia, asked. 

“It’s only fifteen minutes away, we’ll be fine.” I said as we walked out the school gates, “I’ll just call Mom to let her know we’re on our way home.”

I dialed Mom’s number but I didn’t get an answer. When we arrived home, Mia opened the kitchen door and stepped inside first, with me following closely on her heels. By the kitchen sink, Mom stood frantically trying to get red substance off her hands. Mom’s eyes widened when she saw us, the water from the tap splashing on her hands.

Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Just like most college students I struggled the first year as I tried to balance school work and football. In high school, being the best athlete at school came naturally to me but in college I needed to prove myself to everyone. I worked my butt off and in my second year Coach named me the team captain. 

Some guys like Nick, who were one year older than I was, didn’t like the idea that someone younger than them was the team captain. They thought they deserved the spot because they were there longer. Needless to say, he made my life a living hell for the first month until Coach said he would forfeit every game this season if we didn’t work together. 

Oh and one small detail I forgot to mention, I started dating Nick’s ex, Melissa, who was a cheerleader. Before I continue, don't forget to like this video, subscribe to our channel and tap that notification bell. In my defense I didn’t know that she was his ex until about two weeks after we started dating. 

As soon as I found out I ended the relationship. I told her that Nick and I already didn’t get along and dating her would make things harder for the team. I wanted to play professional football and I wasn’t about to let anyone, not even a pretty girl, get in the way of that. Melissa wasn’t too happy about that and we never really spoke again after that.

Months passed by and Nick and I buried the hatchet. It felt good not having to look over my shoulder. One evening after we won a game the team and I went by Kelly Ann, one of the cheerleader’s homes, for a celebration party. 

Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I loved college. I especially loved this college because it was hundreds of miles from my home. It's not that I hated my home or my parents, it's just that I never really experienced freedom until I went away to college. I was in my second year and I still couldn't believe this was my life. I could date as many girls as I wanted to. I could go to parties and stay out all night. My life was pretty much perfect at this point. What more could a guy my age ask for? Turns out, a lot more. This is a story of how the winds of good fortune blew my way but unfortunately blew away good sense on their way out. Stick around and find out how too much money, bad company and bad decisions almost cost me my parents. 

"I can't believe Lisa went home with Pete last night! She was giving me eyes all night."

My roommate Jake thought every girl on campus wanted him. 

"Next time ask her to give you her number, not just her eyes."

I stifled a yawn, advanced calculus was no way to start a Monday. An email notification pinged on my phone and I absent-mindedly opened it. 

"Dear Mr. Summers, we're delighted to inform you that you're the lucky winner of-"

I shot up from my seat and sent books flying across the floor. 

"Matt are you ok?"

"I...I gotta go."

Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Will you be my girlfriend, Steffanie?”

“Well… Uhm…” Steffanie stammered.

I took a deep breath and brought my hand up to my nose.

Steffanie’s face turned red. She knew what was about to happen. She knew I was about to sneeze, she shuddered and looked like she was going to burst into tears immediately.

I took another breath and readied myself, “ Ah...” I was almost sneezing.

“Wait! I’ll do it! I’ll be your girlfriend!”

I calmed down. I didn’t sneeze. And just like that, I had a new, pretty girlfriend.

Steffanie was not my first girlfriend, as a matter of fact, she was the fifth girl that I had dated this year. I got them to agree to be my girlfriends the same way I got them to agree to leave me whenever I wanted a new girlfriend.

The last girl I dated was Amanda and I broke up with her just yesterday, when I decided that Steffanie was going to be my new girlfriend.

“Amanda. It’s over between us”

“Wait. Why? Did I do something wrong? Why do you want to break up with me?”

Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“What do you mean I can’t date him? Why are you guys so mean to me?” I screamed at my parents.

“We are not being mean to you! Why are you teenagers just so difficult?” My dad hammered.

“Listen to your parents! We know everything that’s best for you and that high school dropout is definitely not one of them”.

I stormed out of the living room murmuring some very terrible words, I pushed my door open with all the strength I had in me and kicked it close with my foot. I felt an inexplicable pain, it was almost like my foot was leaving my body. What is happening …? I wondered.

The pain was so severe that I couldn’t stand on my feet anymore, so I gently sat on the floor. I caught sight of a tiny object a few feet away from me but I couldn’t go to find out what it was immediately because I couldn’t walk, and I was in too much pain to even think of crawling.

I grabbed my foot to figure out what the door had done to me and I was shocked well beyond my imagination. Once I saw my foot, I gained the energy to crawl over to the tiny object I had previously seen. I picked it up and was even more astounded, “Was that my smallest toe?”

I was beautiful, at least I thought I was, unfortunately people couldn’t see it because something was always covering it: acne. I had been plagued by acne since I knew the definition of beauty, they were huge, fat, yellow, ugly and absolutely irritating.

Whenever I went to the hair salon or just to hang out with friends, I would always get comments like “You would’ve been so beautiful but acne spoiled your face”, 

“I wish I had your face but without the acne”.

Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Push!”

“Ahhhh! This hurts too much!”

“Just push!”

“Keep going honey. It’s going to be alright.”

“Shut up! This is all your fault!”

My dad hugged me as we watched in horror. My mom was giving birth to my baby sister and I don’t know whose idea it was to let me in the delivery room but there I was – a seven year old girl who received a rude awakening because she seriously believed that babies grew in cabbage patches.

After some more screaming and hurling horrible expletives at my dad, my baby sister Mariam was born. She was covered in goo and yucky stuff but when they cleaned her up I thought she was the cutest person I’d ever seen in my life.

Before she was born, I was mommy and daddy’s little princess. I was an only child so the world revolved around me. They bought me the best clothes and toys and let me have almost everything I wanted. I went to the best schools and they tried to get me involved in almost every single extra-curricular activity.

When I was three years old I was enrolled in gymnastics, ballet and piano. I also had a private language tutor and a lady who’d come to teach me how to paint every Saturday.

Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Ok, hunni, I’m all done.” 

Mom smiled and handed me the mirror. I took it and grimaced at the person looking back. My face looked like a parade of colours not sure about which direction they needed to go. At this point, it was like looking at a totally different person. Mom was a top prosthetic makeup artist but when it came to normal makeup, she was terrible.

“Thanks, Mom,” I shot her a fake smile and grabbed my book for school.

“Don’t forget! Boys only want one thing from you and being an ugly girl is better than being a beautiful one!” Mom shouted as I walked out the front door. 

Hi, my name is Tammi.

Genevieve, my best friend giggled, at me when I walked up to her at the school gate, “So, your Mom, is at it again. Why don’t you just wash it off and reapply the makeup before leaving school?” Gen, looked at me and wiggled her eyebrows playfully.

“But, don’t you remember that one time when I did wash it off?”

“Yeahhh, and your mom grounded you for a week. The same week we had to go to the Jonas Brothers!”

“And, let’s not forget the threat of being homeschool and never seeing the light of day again if I ever removed this hideous makeup she painted on my face!” 

“Let’s meet in the cafeteria for lunch?” Gen smiled. 

Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.