�Stephanie, are you cleaning your room?� calls my mom. I hear the plates clinking in the sink, and the trickle of the water from the faucet.
I jump and quickly insert the bookmark back into its rightful place. I rush over to my desk and put the book down, and begin picking up the clothes all over the floor. I throw a few of them in the hamper, and then pause. I don�t hear any footsteps coming down the hall.
I throw the clothes on the floor and snatch the book from the desk. I quickly open it once again to where I had left off and start reading. I suddenly hear footsteps coming down the hall, and I stuff the bookmark in and throw the book on the bed. I quickly bend down to pick up my clothes once again. Mom walks into the room and takes a quick glance around. She spots the book on my bed.
�You know, Stephanie, no one ever grounds their kid from books, but in your case, I don�t know. Clean your room!�
�I am, I am!� I say, sorting clothes in my hamper. �Go, go, I�m working on it!�
She sighs and walks out of the room. I continue stuffing clothes into my hamper until none are left. I look around the room, searching for anything that needs to be straightened. I push all the papers on my desk together in a somewhat neat pile and yank my sheets straight. Then I grab my book once more and begin to read.
As I sit reading, the rest of the world begins to fade away, and I picture everything going on in the book as if it is going on right next to me. I see Elrond explaining the story of the One Ring to the Council. I see the Fellowship head out of Rivendell, to their impending doom. I see wonderful images unfold before my eyes when all I�m really seeing is some ink and weird shapes on a piece of paper.
All sound disappears, besides that which I formulate in my mind. I see no more, only the words on the pages, and what I imagine. I can smell nothing but what I think I would smell if I was in Middle-Earth. I taste what the characters taste. I feel only what I should if I was with the Fellowship.
�Stephanie!�
I snap out of my imagination to find my father in the doorway of my room.
�You still need to work more in here. Stop reading and work on this pile over here.� He points to the pile of music and instrument cases next to my shelves.
I sigh, put down my book, and head over to the pile.
�Yes, Dad.�