And I think it's gonna be a long long time
'Till touch down brings me round again to find
I'm not the man they think I am at home
Oh no no no I'm a rocket man
Rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone

-Rocket Man; by Elton John

Remy laid on her bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. It was currently three in the morning, and she was too anxious to actually fall asleep. Tomorrow would be her first official day of high school, and she couldn't bring herself to actually believe it.* It felt like yesterday when Remy first started middle school, now she's going to be a freshman. It was so surreal. Letting out a heavy sigh, the fourteen year old rolled onto her side. She needed to fall asleep; even if it's just a few hours. She couldn't afford falling asleep in class. She wanted to make a decent first impression. Remy always prided herself in being alert, knowing what was going on in her surroundings. But it was also her first day of high school, which she considered a relatively big step. It's a big deal for her.

Closing her eyes, the fourteen year old nestled into her bedding, getting as comfortable as she possibly could. If she couldn't fall asleep under conventional means, she could at least try forcing herself to. Closing her eyes, Remy did her best to clear her mind and relax her body. She'd have to fall asleep eventually.

-8-

It was the obnoxious blare of Remy's alarm clock that woke her up, jolting her upright with shallow breaths. It scared her out of her dream — one she quickly forgot — and had her sitting in bed, confused, wondering what in the world was going on. Groaning in frustration, she slammed her hand on the clock, stopping the insistent beeping. It was a little after six-thirty in the morning, which gave Remy a good forty-five minutes to get ready and have breakfast before her stepfather drove her and her brothers to school. Shuffling out of bed, the teen went to her dresser and started pulling out whatever clothes she could find before heading to the bathroom. Thankfully, the bathroom was by her brothers' rooms, so she could wake them up on her way to getting ready.

Her brother Jordan's room was across from the bathroom itself, but the closest to hers. He was usually the easiest to wake up, more of a morning person and typically excited to get on with his day. Jessi, the youngest, had his room across from the staircase leading to the main floor. He was the exact opposite of his brother; he hated mornings, wanting nothing more than to sleep until one in the afternoon and then spend the remainder of his day playing video games. Oftentimes Remy had to remind herself that Jessi was only eight years old, and he had the attitude of someone who couldn't be bothered with the most basic of tasks.

He definitely gets that from Adrian, Remy thought, a hint of a scowl on her face. Adrian, her stepfather, was similar to Jessi in many ways. While he did have a job, Adrian wasn't particularly motivated; he'd rather stay at home and do nothing, letting everyone else handle his responsibilities while he did whatever he pleased. Remy honestly couldn't understand what her mother saw in someone like that, but then again, her mother had terrible taste in men. Remy's biological father was even worse than her stepfather, in her opinion. At least with Adrian, he had enough common sense to get a job in order to be financially stable. Remy's actual father felt he was too good for such things, so he'd steal from others, taking what he believed should be his and leaving everyone else to clean up after him. Then again, the teen had only known him until the age of six, when her parents divorced. Any memories she had on the man were fuzzy, and a lot of what she did know had been told to her by her mother.

Stepping into Jordan's room, Remy pulled his curtains open before yanking his blankets off, knowing the sudden change in temperature would wake him. The nine year old mumbled in his sleep before his bleary eyes opened, stuck in a state between consciousness and sleep. "Emy?" he grumbled, his brows furrowing.

"It's time to get up," she sighed. "Get dressed and make yourself some breakfast, okay?"

"Is dad up?" Jordan sat up, stretching his arms above his head as he did so.

"I haven't checked." Remy patted him on the back before turning to leave his room. "Go see if he is after you get dressed. I'm gonna wake Jess up."

With a mumbled confirmation, the teen went to go awaken her other brother. Jessi was harder to wake up. If he didn't want to do something, he'd make it his mission to be as difficult as possible; and waking up early was one thing he could not stand. For Remy, it was one thing she dreaded doing. To her, it seemed like Jessi took sick pleasure in being difficult. Walking up to his partially closed door, Remy knocked, waiting for some kind of response. When she didn't hear anything, she pushed the door open; Jessi was still in bed, tangled in his blankets with his mouth open slightly. Scowling slightly, Remy had a feeling it'd be a long morning.

(A/N):

Sorry for the wait on this chapter and for the abruptness of its end, but I'm hoping I could get some help from you guys. I'm hoping to get reviews with constructive criticism. So if you guys know how I can improve my writing, this story, whatever please let me know.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything in the DP fandom. All I own are my OCs and my subplots.

Thank you.

What We Do in the Shadows