Aeteanilise

January 4th, 2046
A Small House
Altadena California
8:00 a.m.

A woman walked up the rock pathway to the door. She raised her fair-skinned hand to the door and knocked four times. She then waited for the door to be answered like usual. She waited but, no answer came. She looked around. The car was still in the driveway and she was certain that it was the 4th of January. Today was Lilly’s first day back to school. The woman took out her phone and called Lilly’s home phone. The phone rang once. Twice. Three times. No answer. The woman pursed her lips. Lilly must have been running late. The woman pressed the doorbell and could hear its unusual ring from outside. A woman’s voice yelled, “LILLY! THE DOOR!” screamed throughout the house. After the ring, the woman could hear a young girl scream, “Oh Crap!” followed by a baby’s cry. “Oh, no!”

The woman sighed. She reached into her purse and grabbed the spare key. She did not like using the spare because even though Lilly had said it was okay to use whenever, she felt like she should always ask for an invitation. However, it seemed like she was right in assuming that Lilly was running late.

The woman slid the key into the door’s keyhole and unlocked it. She walked into the house and was greeted with a baby’s cry from the bedroom in the back. She could hear the frantic footsteps from Lilly and suddenly one of the bedroom’s two doors swung open to reveal a barely awoken Lilly. She wore one bright neon-orange sock on her left foot, short pajama shorts that were decorated with Betty Boop designs and a plain black spaghetti strap cami despite its being winter. The shirt was slightly off and a strap had fallen off Lilly’s shoulder and it wrinkled up so part of her stomach showed. Lilly’s hair was in a clip and had been put into a loose bun so curly hair stuck straight up as if gelled down, but the woman knew it was just how Lilly slept that it became like that.

“CLARE! I’m sorry! I’m running late! I need you to take care of The Pudge while I get in the shower!” Lilly then turned back into the bedroom and disappeared for half a moment. To the side of the room that Clare could not see through the open bedroom door. Clare took off her jacket and scarf and hung them behind the front door. She then took off her hat and tossed it to the side into the living room and it landed on the couch. She made her way to the bedroom and as she approached the door, Lilly ran by and into the bedroom’s shower room with a towel in her arms. Clare knew that it was not just a towel in Lilly’s arms though. Wrapped beneath the towel was Lilly’s clothes for school because Lilly never changed in the bedroom.

Lilly shut the door behind her and Clare could hear the water start from behind the door. Clare continued to the bed where a tiny baby lay screaming and crying from being awoken so abruptly by Lilly’s earlier outburst. Clare grabbed little “pudge-ball” as Lilly called him and began to rock him as she went to his dresser and began to make him a bottle.

Clare Swan was a single woman from Idaho. She had hazel droopy eyes and small lips. Her straight hair was dirty blonde and stopped right beneath her shoulders. She was not particularly thin or fat. She was just normal. When she was 36 and tired of her mother badgering her about getting married, Clare left her home for California. It was not that she did not wish to fall in love but, she did not want to marry just so a man could take care of her. The lifestyle her mother imagined was not what she wanted. But when she moved to California, Clare realized that she had neither the education nor skills needed to make it in California. The high paced life of California was much different than her small-town home in Idaho. Clare went through many types of jobs in her first few years in California before becoming a nanny for Lilly’s baby cousin, Kaden.

Clare shook the bottle in her hand to mix the formula. Kaden, The Pudge-Ball was still crying but he was not crying as hard as he had. Clare assumed it was because he could see the bottle in her hand. She walked over to Kaden’s crib and laid him down on his back. She pulled down one side of the crib so she could reach him better. She put the bottle in his tiny mouth and he ceased crying. She undid his blue pajamas and then began to take off his diaper. She glanced at the clock on the wall over the T.V.

“Lilly!” Clare called. “It’s 8:19!”

“Thanks, Clare!” Clare heard the water go off. Clare smiled and went back to changing Kaden’s diaper.

A few moments later Lilly burst out the shower room and roughly was drying her hair. She was wearing a pair of dark wash boot cut jeans and black boots that had a thick heel. She wore a white spaghetti strap shirt that flowed past her waist under a black hoodie. She wore only eyeliner for make-up and was putting on some chapstick before she darted past Clare to reach her backpack and began to shove papers and books into it. Clare picked up the now clean and happy Kaden and fed him in her arms.

“Are you okay, Miss Lilly?” she asked.

“Perfectly fine,” Lilly smiled and she grabbed a nearby scrunchie. She put it in her hair without even looking at the color. It bothered Clare that it was a bright red scrunchie and did not even match Lilly’s clothes but she knew Lilly did not care. Lilly quickly brushed out the tangles in her ponytail before taking off back into the bathroom to gel it down.

“Time!” Clare knew it was a question but it came as a command. Not that she took it personally. Lilly was just a stressed kid. “8:27,” she answered.

“CRAP!”

Clare smirked. “I’ll put your things in the car, Miss Lilly?” she said it like a question but began to pick up Lilly’s things anyway because she knew Lilly’s response would be, “Sure, sure, THANKS!”

Clare walked out the house to Lilly’s tiny car. It was a 2043 silver Toyota Yaris. Lilly had told Clare once that, there was no need for a large car in a family of 2. It made sense to have a small car.

Clare looked at Kaden. He was almost done with his bottle. His little cheeks were now covered in drool. Clare chuckled at his cute face as she made her way back into the house. She stepped into the house and Lilly was now in the kitchen getting water.

“Miss Lilly,” Clare used her threatening tone. “Are you going to get breakfast?”

Lilly smiled bashfully. “Nooo,” she dragged. “But Ms. Clare! I have a legitimate excuse! I’m late!” She looked at Clare who raised her eyebrows. “Oh, FINE!” Lilly turned and reached into her rather large refrigerator freezer. She pulled out a frozen batch of Sour Punch Straws and a bag of now frozen Dried Cranberries.

“Ta-da!” Lilly smirked and ran to Clare. “Now I gotta go!” She gave Clare a hug and kissed her baby cousin.

“Be nice today, Pudgers!” she told him. He stopped sucking his bottle for only half a moment to smile at her.

Lilly touched his cheeks. “Aww you’re just so cute!” she said in her baby talk voice. She then threw on her coat, grabbed her keys, and was gone.

Clare looked at the Pudgers in her arms. “Well, I think it’s time to go play. Don’t you agree?” Kaden just looked at her.

“I knew you’d agree.”

January 4th, 2046
Altadena ECHS
Altadena California
8:57 a.m.

I turned off my car engine and just sat in the seat for a bit. I had a major headache. I had been having them ever since I got back from the hospital but now they were more frequent and harsher. I figured it was a mental thing since they did release me but still, it was annoying.

I took a deep breath and released it slowly. Maybe I’d feel better if I took some asprin. Well, I don’t use asprin. I just get NightQuil and hope for the best. Technically it does have acetaminophen and that helps. Mainly, I like just being a half-sleep state. It makes things easier when I’m tired.

I reached behind the passenger seat and grabbed the Fatty. I took out 2 packs of NightQuil pills packets which is four blue pills altogether. I pulled out my water bottle from the Fatty and took the pills. The Fatty is what I call my backpack. I have called all my backpacks “the Fatty” since about 9th grade when I realized just how fat my backpacks were compared to other students.

I closed my bottle and got out my car taking The Fatty with me.

I looked at the sky. Ah thank God. It looked like it was going to rain. I hoped so. I felt so hot. Which was incredibly weird since it was winter and if I breathed hard enough, I could see my breath.

I began making my way to school passing by the conversation circles of many age groups and friends that were waiting until about 8:58 to head to class. I however, liked being to class just a bit early out of habit.

I didn’t speak to anyone as I went to class and stopped only to put things in and get things out of my locker. I went to my first period class, sat down at a desk in the middle and died. Okay, maybe not “died” but I did shut down. I put down my books, folded my arms over them and put my head down. I felt miserable. My headache was now gone but now I felt like I was on fire. I had to think about each breath and tried to take each one in deep and slow. I felt like I really was going to die. What a great way to start the New Year.