Phoenix woke up that morning to the feeling of Lucy's hair brushing across her face. The younger girl was straddling Phoenix the way she did every Saturday morning.
"I just wanted to see if you were up!" Lucy said in an all too awake voice.
"I am now," Phoenix said in more of a moan. Saturday mornings were meant for chores according to the keepers. The dishes got cleaned, the laundry got folded, and the rest of house got cleaned from ceiling to floorboard. Luckily, the apartment was small so such cleaning only took about three hours in total. It was eight-thirty now; the same time Lucy woke Phoenix up every Saturday, so by one o'clock she would be ready when Connor picked her up for band practice.
Phoenix rolled from her bed in one motion and pointed towards Lucy's so the younger girl would strip the sheets of her own bed as Phoenix did the same. Saturdays were always the same. Lucy never started chores before Phoenix woke up and didn't step out of the room until the older girl was ready. Lucy had become Phoenix's shadow. Phoenix didn't mind, and was actually grateful to be given the opportunity to show her how to take care of the apartment and boys when she left. The girls began a pile of sheets and pillowcases at the end of the hallway where Mary had already put her own sheets before she left for work at five that morning. Phoenix then walked over to the door to the boys' room, knocking loudly as she opened the door.
"Goooodd Morrnningg Vieetttnamm!" she said as she swung the door open. The chorus of "hmphs" that followed confirmed that her greeting had woken both boys. Now she just had to get them out of bed. She began stripping the beds with the boys still in them in an attempt to surprise and disturb them.
"Lets go! Saturday!" she yelled as she pulled the pillow from under Toby's head.
"Time?" Jack said rolling out of his bed. The twelve year old had begun taking steps to be more of a leader figure for the younger ones knowing Phoenix would be leaving soon.
"Eight thirty-seven," Lucy said from the hallway.
"Nix, I'll grab the laundry while you get breakfast. Last week I didn't cook the eggs all the way through, Tobias wasn't too happy about that and I'm pretty sure that could kill someone."
"It was disgusting!" Toby said from the corner and Lucy nodded with wide eyes in the hallway.
"Well raw eggs wont kill you, maybe make you incredibly sick, but not kill. You'll do better next time, kid." Phoenix said ruffling the boy's hair. The week before Phoenix pulled a double shift at Tony's, the pizza joint she worked at. She came home late, exhausted, and smelling like burnt pepperoni. She was still dead to the world when Jack came in their room that morning to collect Lucy at eight forty-five. When she woke up at nine thirty she was more the pleasantly surprised to see the chores were almost half done with Jack as the ringleader. She had warm sense of pride toward all the kids, even if they couldn't cook.
By twelve thirty the chores were done, Tobias watered and feed, and Phoenix showered and waiting for the text that said Connor was down stairs.
"And where are you going?" Tobias asked from the couch as Phoenix walked by with one shoe in her hand.
"The same place I go every Saturday at one, band practice."
"Chores down?" He asked not bothering to look around to check himself.
"Aren't they always?" she said with obvious bitterness in her tone.
"Hey! Don't get all PMS-y with me! I give you food and shelter from the goodness of my heart!"
"And I am eternally grateful. Now where is my other boot." She said mostly to herself.
"It's not my fault your mommy didn't want ya'. And honestly I don't blame her you little punk."
"Don't you ever talk about my mother!" Phoenix yelled from across the living room. Now she was mad and she knew she was capable of inflicting bodily harm if he kept talking like this.
"Still thinking she gonna come back for ya' huh? Little orphan Annie." He said laughing to him self.
Phoenix was breathing deeply now and about ready to pounce as Nick would say. Phoenix did all she could not to throw a punch or two in Tobias's direction. She knew she would get in a lot of trouble if she ever did anything like that and Tobias was now able to press charges against her. One punch could lead to getting arrested and far worse. After learning all she knew about the Shadow World she had a newfound respect for her mother. And looking at Tobias laughing at her was like kicking a puppy when it was already down, but Phoenix was no puppy and she was about to kick right back when she felt her phone vibrating in her back pocket. "Downstairs" it said. Thank God Phoenix thought to herself.
