Take Me Anywhere

"Psst."

"Psst."

"Pssssttttt!"

"Hey, wake up!"

Mia pried her eyes open and almost fell out of bed. Sidney's face was about three inches from hers, and his brown curly hair was faintly wet. She assumed that he had just taken a shower...he smelled like Old Spice.

"You're in my bedroom," she said matter-of-factly. "Why is this?"

"You were taking forever to wake up," he stated. "Your mom made brunch. Jordy and I have been up since seven."

"Seven?" she exclaimed, baffled. "Why didn't you just sleep in? It's not like you have practice..."

He just shrugged. "Internal alarm clock, I guess. Nice 'do." He pointed to her hair, which was a tangled mess from all the tossing and turning she did all night. Mia had never really been a sound sleeper.

"Don't judge me," she sighed, flattening out the tangles. "Where's Alice? And what time is it?"

"Noon," he answered. "Alice and Jordy went off somewhere. Probably downtown...and they took the rental car. Guess it's just you and me today."

"Sounds good," she yawned. "I can't believe I slept so long. I guess I just missed my bed..."

Sidney smiled. "I know the feeling. Nothing better than going home after you've been gone for a while and being able to just be a regular person instead of a celebrity."

Mia let out a laugh. "Yeah, it's true. I need you to get out of my room now so that I can get ready for the day. Go back downstairs and eat more food."

"I'm so stuffed though!" he protested.

"Go, eat," Mia insisted. "Don't offend my parents. Go on."

"Your dad's crazy, by the way," Sid called as he headed back downstairs. "I think he's going to sell my autograph on eBay."

Mia chuckled to herself and went to go get ready for the day. After her morning shower and face-washing routine, she got dressed in her typical clothes, traced her eyes with the tiniest hint of eyeliner and headed downstairs towards the aroma of food.

"Good afternoon, Mia," her mom called from the kitchen. "Eat."

Mia sat at the dining table across from Sidney and Irene placed a dish full of food in front of her daughter. Everything was piled so high that she could just barely see across the table.

"Mom?" Mia called as her mother washed dishes. "I don't know if I can eat all this."

"Don't waste," Irene hushed. "Less talking, more eating."

Mia stared at her pile of food and started picking at the french toast. "Want some?" she asked. He shook his head, patting his stomach.

"Full."

"Dear God..." Mia exhaled, taking a bite.

"So kids," Irene said, sitting down at the head of the table. "What are your plans for today?"

Before Mia could speak, Sidney piped up, "I want to go skating."

"Skating?" Mia repeated. "Skating? You're a hockey player, and in your leisure time, you want to go skating?"

"Yes," Sidney grinned. "It's fun."

"She's just sour 'cause she can't skate," Irene mused. Mia shrunk back into her chair.

"I'm not fond of the sport."

"You will be!" Sidney exclaimed. "I'll teach you how to skate. Don't worry about it."

"Great!" Irene smiled, clapping her hands. "You two will have so much fun. You can head out once Mia's finished her brunch."