Chapter One
I nudge my father with my foot as I head for the kitchen. "Dad, get up or you'll miss breakfast."
I can't help but feel sorry for him as he turns over and groans from the sudden movement. He came home about two o'clock this morning from one of his crazy parties and clonked down on the floor in front of the couch.
Poor thing, I'm sure he's suffering from another on of his hangovers.
Which reminds me, I better make some coffee or else he won't be able to go to work today.
Sometimes it really is hard taking care of my father.
I fix the coffee and set the table. It isn't long after that Dad drags himself into the kitchen and flops lazily into one of the wooden chairs.
"Hey, Hilary," he slurs.
I pour him a cup of coffee and place it in his hands. "How much did you drink last night, Dad? You look like crap."
He really does. His usually neat brown hair is sticking up in every direction and his eyes are all bloodshot. It use to creep me out when I was little, but I've gotten use to it now. Not that I like it or anything. I'm just use to it.
"I didn't drink much," he's telling me, "I only had a couple."
Meaning twenty or thirty. It's a miracle he got home last night. I'll have to check the car before he goes to work this morning. Make sure everything is okay with it.
Dad has his head laying down on the table. He's trying to go back to sleep.
"Drink your coffee, Dad. It will make you feel better. Besides, you can't miss work today. You have that really important meeting today, remember?"
He brought the coffee mug to his mouth, wincing the whole time, and took a sip. He scowled. "Why is this coffee black? You know I can't stand black coffee."
I sit across from him at the table. "Just drink it, Dad. Black coffee will help you get over your hangover faster. And make sure you eat breakfast too. That will help as well. You have to go to work today for the meeting."
He glared at me and brought the cup of coffee back to his mouth. I wonder if I'll have to watch him to make sure he drinks it all.
"I went to that party last night to forget about that meeting."
"Well," I replied coolly, "that is just to bad. You are going to work today. We need the money."
He narrowed his eyes at me. "Who do you think you're talking to? I'm the adult here. I get to make the decisions."
I cut my pancake and take a bite as I roll my eyes. "You may be the adult, but you are also the one with a hangover because you decided to be stupid and go to a party and get drunk. You are in no condition to make any decisions today, so I can and will make them for you. Now, eat and drink up because you are going to work, whether you want to or not. You don't have a choice."
He glared at me, and I glared right back. I won, naturally, because of his hangover. He has to go to work.
00000000
I am going to kill him! I am going to be late for school and it is all my father's fault!
Dad left for work late this morning because, not only did he have a hangover, he had barfed all over his good suit so I had to run down to the Laundromat to wash and dry it. That took an hour and thirty minutes. When I got home, Dad was asleep on the couch again. It took me ten minutes to wake him up and another to get him to put his suit on. Then, he lost his shoes. It took as fifteen minutes to find those, then another fifteen to get him out of the house and into the car.
So, not only is my father probably going to be late for work, I am going to be late for school.
I have never in my life been late for school. This is so going to mess up my perfect record.
"Hey, Hilary!"
I skid to a stop on my skates and turn around. Oh great, now I really know that I'm late. There's Tyson.
I lift my hand in greeting to one of my best friends and wait for him to catch up with me on his skateboard.
I wonder if he's ever fallen off of that thing.
He grins at me as he stops his skateboard beside me. "Hey, Hil. Why aren't you at school yet?"
I turn my back to him and resume skating towards school, he stays beside me. "I woke up late," I lie breezily. "Why aren't you at school?"
His grin widened. "For the same reason as everyday. I went back to sleep after I got dressed and forgot to set my alarm clock."
Note to self: remember to start waking up earlier and getting Dad to work earlier so that you can wake up Tyson and make sure he gets to school on time.
It seems my job never stops.
