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Characters** Sidney O'Brian - 16 year old girl, amazing singer/guitarist, wants to be famous, have a record deal Denise O'Brian - 40, wants to be a good mom and have her family love her, however Sidney doesn't really like her. Jeff O'Brian - 48, diagnosed with cancer later in the story, Sidney doesn't really talk to him before he's diagnosed Skyler O'Brian - 6, "good child" wants to be a good child Steven O'Brian - 13, known as annoying by his sisters Mandy McGreen- 16, Sidney's friend that she vents to

I. Opening Paragraph/Hook - a. Starts with Sidney O'Brian fighting with parents
 * Title**

II. Section One a. Sidney doesn't appreciate her parents and their health b. She just focuses on her music,and doesn't want anything to do with her family. c. Disappointed that she can't get an agent or record deal

III. Section Two a. Discovers her father is diagnosed with cancer. b. Everything changes in her life, now everything revolves around her father and his health.

III. Section Three a. Scared about her fathers situation and also upset she can't focus on her music. b. Sidney has flashbacks of all the good times she had with her family when she was little. c. She wishes she didn't take her family for granted. d. Stops her guitar and singing and decides to focus on helping her mother take care of her father.

IV. Section Four a. Jeff O'Brian (father) realizes his heath is ruining his daughter's future b. Begs her to not worry about him, and instead focus on her career. c. Sidney realizes how much her father cares about her and wants her to succeed.

V. Section Five a. Jeff's condition worsens, Sidney is worried that he might not make it

VI. Section Six a. Sidney finally gets a record deal! b. Her success brings in money that pays for her father to go to a nicer treatment facility.

VII. Section Seven a. Sidney spends some of her time recording and pursuing her career. b. Spends the rest of her time helping her father as he continues his battle with cancer. c. Sidney realizes her family is just as important as her music.

Dallas, Texas House/school
 * Setting**

Nothing for Granted
"Mom, would you please stop yelling at me! I think I'm old enough to make my own choices!" I blurted. "You're not going to that party. End of story!" I rushed up to my room and jumped onto my bed. I was so tired of my mom making choices for me. I seriously thought I was old enough to decide what I wanted to do over the weekend. I grabbed my prized possession, my silver sparkled guitar. I started to write some lyrics in my soon-to-be-famous song book. If there was one thing that could take my mind of my problems, it was singing and playing guitar. Ever since I was a little girl, I've practiced and perfected my voice. I was then sixteen, and I still didn't have a record deal. As I got older, the chances that my singing career was going to succeed was getting slimmer. I knew that it was time to make myself known if I ever wanted to follow my dreams.

The door flew open and in rushed Steven. "Get out of my room!" I screamed. Steven ignored me, as usual, and continued to search for something. "Have you seen my lacrosse stick?" Steven asked. I told him to get out and slammed the door in his face. If there was one human being that bothered me the most, it was my teenage brother, Steven. It seemed that his favorite thing to do was ruin my life and make me miserable. It was not just Steven, it was my whole family! Everything they did was an attempt to mess up my life and my music. I heard my mom call for dinner. I wasn't going to eat with them tonight. I would have the leftovers later.

Steven came into the my room at 7:30 a.m. to wake me up for no reason. It's a Saturday. Atleast when he left I was able to get some sleep after a long week at school. I got up later and went over to Mandy's house. There, I could forget about everything except just having fun with my best friend. We made smoothies and sat on the couch watching re-runs of our favorite shows. I had brought my guitar over, of course, because Mandy played too. We sat down and started writing a song for fun. Mandy didn't want to be famous, but she was still a great guitarist. She said she just wanted to be along for the ride if I ever made it to the big times. I spent most of my time with Mandy, she was the most amazing person. We did everything together; we were practically sisters. When I finally returned home, my whole family was sitting on the couch watching tv. My brother, Steven, and my sister, Skyler, looked up at me, but then just went back to watching the tv. My parents, Denise and Jeff O'Brian, asked me to join them. I turned them down and continued up to my room. I didn't have time to watch tv, I had music to write.

The weekend ended quickly, and I woke up early and left for Dallas High School. I headed to Chemistry and at down next to Mandy. The day went by quickly, and it was almost three o'clock. I had almost made it through the day until my spanish teacher called me to the front. "Sidney O'Brian, I don't feel your recent project was your best work. Could you please redo it, and turn in the revised version this Friday," Mrs. Archipeligo requested. I couldn't believe it. I had spent hours on that project. I was furious and stormed out of the room when class was dismissed. My day had gone terrible so far, but I was not expecting a certain surprise that was awaiting me at home.

The house was locked and dark, which was weird. My mother worked at home, and Skyler and Steven usually got home before me. I wondered why nobody was there. I used my own key, and entered into the strange house. There was a note on the counter that read "CHECK YOUR PHONE!" I grabbed my backpack and pulled out my cell phone. There was one new text in my inbox from my mom. It read "We're at Parkland Hospital. Your father is undergoing some tests; we aren't really sure what's going on. Just please come down here immediately." I rode down to the hospital not knowing what to expect. I rushed in and found my mom, sister, and brother sitting on a couch in the waiting room. I ran over and asked what was going on. "Your dad felt a bump on the side of his neck and came here. They say he has a tumor, but they are not sure whether or not it is cancerous," my mom explained. There were no words in my head that could describe what I was feeling. It was a mix between depression and surprise that was beyond my thoughts. I waited with my family until it was very late. My mom told me to take my brother and sister home to go to bed, and she would stay and wait for my dad. We would have to wait until morning to find out anything. I didn't realize then and there, but that day was going to change my life.

The next morning, I woke up really late, because my mom let me sleep in. When I woke up, I went downstairs and found my mom, sister, and brother sitting at the table quietly. They were eating their breakfast without saying a word. I found it disturbing how quiet the whole house was. I grabbed a box of cereal and poured myself a bowl and sat down with them. "Honey, I'm sorry to tell you, but your dad has cancer," my mother exclaimed in a hushed voice. I stopped and looked at her, not knowing what to say. I walked out of the kitchen and went up to my room. I didn't want to be around everyone during that. How could my dad have cancer? What did he ever do? Nothing. I didn't know what else to do, so I started to cry. Thoughts raced through my mind. If he doesn't live, how am I going to live without a dad? I picked up my guitar and started playing. Everything I was feeling poured out through my singing. I played guitar and cried for multiple hours, until I finally gave up and fell asleep.

The next morning nothing had changed. I couldn't go back to school yet; it just wasn't right. I stayed home again and edited the song I wrote the night before. There was nothing I wanted to say to anyone. As I was playing my guitar, I wondered how my mom and siblings were taking this. My brother and sister had been with him for less time than me. My mom loved him dearly. How could she be feeling at a time like this? I decided to go talk to them and atleast get some things off my chest. I couldn't stay in this depression mode forever. I was going to start with my sister, because I thought she would be the easiest to talk to. I walked to her room and sat down on the bed next to her. She was drawing in her notebook. Whenever it seemed like something was wrong with her, that book was in her hands. "How are you Skyler?" I asked. "I'm ok," she replied. "I want daddy home". "Yeah we all do munchkin," I said in what was supposed to be a happy voice. She sighed and went back to drawing. I was glad that she was coping with the situation well. It's a really big deal for your dad to get cancer when your only six years old. I started asking her pointless questions like "How's school?" and "How's your soccer season going?" I didn't know what else to say, because talking about our dad just made us want to cry. We just sat there in silence. "Sidney, why did you come in here? I don't understand why you want to discuss dad when you've never cared about him before. Why do you seem to care now?" Skyler asked me in a quiet voice. I gave her a look and rushed out of the room. I didn't expect my six year old sister to tell me that. However, I knew I couldn't be mad at her. Everything she had said was true.

After my unsuccessful talk with my sister, I decided I would try to talk to my brother. Since my mom was usually at the hospital, I decided it was my job to take care of my younger siblings. Even though Steven was usually on my nerves, it seemed like I was obligated to be friends with him. He was really close with our father. They always sat and watched football or hockey on tv together, and they were always outside throwing the lacrosse ball around. It seemed like they were best friends. Since my father would be gone for awhile, I felt it was neccessary for me to step up and take care of my little brother. I walked over to his room and sat on his bed. He was in the middle of a video game, so of course he didn't even notice me enter the room. When he finished, I said "Hey Steven, whats up?" He looked at me like I was from another planet. He went straight to the point, and asked the question "Um, why are you in my room?" I wasn't going to rush out of the room like I had when I was with Skyler, I was going to answer him. I didn't know if he would care, but I knew it would mean something to me.

"Are you going to answer my question?" Steven asked me. I realized we were sitting in dead silence while I was planning my response. "Steven, I was listening to the radio the other day when an amazing song came on. The lyrics were "Got the news today, doctor said I had to stay/A little bit longer and I'll be fine/But you don't know what you got until its gone/And you don't know what its like to feel so low/You don't even know." Steven continued to look at me, and it appeared he was actually listening. "I think those lyrics define what I'm feeling, and why I'm trying to help you, Skyler, and mom. I know It seems like I don't care about you guys, but I really do. It just took a catastrophe for me to realize. I'm sorry I've treated you so bad recently, but that's going to change. I love you Steven, I really do." Steven just looked up at me. "Thanks Sidney, I love you too," he said. There was nothing more to say. I left his room and decided to take a nap on the couch. Finally, I felt like I had done something right.

I was so happy that I had finally let out some feelings since the night I found out about my dad having cancer. I couldn't wait to go see and talk to him again. I was going to run in and give him the biggest hug ever. We went the next day at about lunch time to see our dad at the hospital. We walked into his room and everything seemed just as normal, except that our dad was in a hospital bed. He seemed calm and smiley just as usual. I was very happy to see him in this kind of mood. I was expecting him to be really tired and look sad but now that he's like this it kind of feels like back home. We all sat down around him and started talking to him about how its been. He told us that everyone there was really nice and that they were treating him greatly. It was great to hear that even if the times were rough, that he still was doing fine.

At one point, my mom and my siblings left to find the bathroom, and I was alone with my dad. So I had a chance to show him that I cared about him, even if I didn't show it."Dad," I took a deep breath,"I'm really sorry about how I acted when you were home. I know I never acted like I cared about you, but I really do. Ever since your diagnosis, I've been feeling terrible. I shouldn't have taken your love for granted, that was so stupid of me. I was so focused on my guitar and career that I forgot about what was most important to me - my family. So...," I paused, "I've decided to give up my guitar, so I can take good care of you." "Honey, why would you do that?" My dad asked. "Well, I just don't think I can take care of you and work on my career at the same time. Focusing on my guitar instead of focusing on you is what got me into this mess anyway," I replied. "But you love guitar. You always have, ever since you were little. Giving up your dreams would just make the matters worse. I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I knew I was slowing you down," he explained. "You really think so?" I said. He nodded. "Well, then I guess I'm not giving up on my guitar yet." "That's my girl," my dad exlaimed like he used to when I was younger. "Dad, your so strong. I promise we're going to make it threw this. Nothing is going to stop us. I'll keep playing guitar, and you'll keep battling your cancer. Deal?" I asked. "Deal!" He agreed. We continued to talk, as if we were picking up where we left off many years ago. It was like we were starting over, and it felt great. I finally knew I had someone supporting me, and my dad knew I was supporting him.

When we got back home, my mom asked what I had said to my father. I explained to her what happened, and she was so proud of the way I was acting. "Sidney, this whole cancer thing was crazy at first. I thought it was going to destroy our whole entire family. However, I think it has made us stronger. Most families are broken apart by a serious illness, but I think it has actually benefited us. It may have seemed like a disaster, but it might be a blessing in disguise. If we can support your father and help him recover, everything will be perfect. We'll be better off then we were before. But it's going to be a challenge, and we're going to have to be supportive," my mom declared. "Yeah, I know. And I think we can do it. Mom, you don't know how much it means when you say your proud of me. I've been trying so hard to fix the things I messed up," I exclaimed. "I can tell, Sid. I'm so proud of the team player you've become," my mom said. I went up to my room, and picked up my guitar again. I wrote a happy song for once, about how this disease has actually benefited my family. I stayed up forever perfecting it, because I was going to make a demo CD in the morning. I couldn't wait!

I drove down to the hospital before I headed to the recording studio. I played the new song I had written - //Nothing for Granted//. "Is that about me?" he asked. "Yeah it is. And about how much I love you," I replied. "But I have to get going. Don't wanna be late!" I said in a hurried voice. So I gave him a hug, and rushed out the door. When I arrived at the recording studio, I ran in and got started right away. I recorded for about an hour, because I wanted everything to be perfect. An employee of the studio helped me edit it and put it on a CD. "That was very impressive," the man announced, "It must be about someone very special." "Yeah, it is," I answered. In my heart, I knew exactly who that special someone was.