Yakko was awoken by the blow of a silk throw pillow in the face. Bright pink with velvet-like fringe that tickled his snout each time the pillow made contact with his skin. Wiggling his nose, he made a series of unidentifiable noises before rolling over to the side of the sectional to shield himself from the ongoing attack.

His actions elicited a long groan from his youngest sibling, since her efforts had now been thwarted. "Yakko, come on." Dot relented. "I know you're awake."

"Barely." He said groggily before finally rolling over. He struggled to open his eyes, that were still heavy with exhaustion from the night before. The toon rubbed the sleep away from them. "What time is it anyways?"

"Just after 8, and I would have been gone already but I'm pretty sure you might be laying on my phone? So, could ya, move?"

Yakko shifted his body over on the cushions and sure enough, he was lying on something hard. Having fallen into slumber as soon as his head had hit the couch pillows last night, he had failed to notice it. He reached from underneath his behind and dropped it into Dot's hands. "Uh, sorry, here."

Grimacing, her mouth dropped open in disgust, and the phone nearly slipped from her fingertips. "Ugh, it's all warm! As if this was under your ass all night."

Yakko waved a white finger in Dot's face. "Tsk, tsk, Language Dot! I think you might need a swear jar."

"A swear, what?" She said with a puzzled expression.

Yakko found his thoughts returning to the night before, and of the cute girl he met. He was feeling too tired to explain, and he knew if his sister found out about her, she'd tease him incessantly.

"Um..never mind, I'll tell ya later sis." Slowly, Yakko rose and stretched out his scrawny arms, yawning. Over the years he had grown to be pretty tall, but still retained the lankiness from his younger years. His siblings were always picking on him since no matter what he ate, he never seemed to gain a pound either. Yakko would always tell them he couldn't help it since he was simply "drawn that way." "So dear sister, where are you off to today?"

"I got an audition for a shoe commercial!" Dot said excitedly, giving a quick twirl. "Do I look alright? God, I hope I didn't overdo it, I'm so nervous!"

"You look fantastic as always." Yakko reassured.

"And?"

He chuckled lightly, since he knew exactly where this was going. But he could never avoid the temptation to tease his sister.

"Cute."

Flashing her brother a big smile, Dot playfully noogied the top of his head. "And that is why I love you Yakko."

Why was his sister so nervous? Yakko couldn't understand it. As always, she looked fabulous in a pink sundress fitted with a white belt and adorned with polka-dots. Hell, she could make a paper bag look fashionable without even trying. Unlike her brothers, Dot was the only one that remained adamant on staying in show business. Primarily, she did commercials and some voice work now and again. She'd use the money she earned to pay for acting classes and cover the fees for her agent.

"If I can manage to score this part, the payout will be good, so if you wanted to Yakko, you could take some time off? You could use a break I think." There was a real sincerity in her eyes as she gazed at her brother. It wasn't hard to see how overworked he was.

Yakko could appreciate the fact his sister wanted to help. But it wasn't for her to worry about. He put a gloved hand on her shoulder. "Keep every penny Dot, and besides aren't you saving to move to New York?"

"Yeah, maybe in my dreams." She said with a touch of sarcasm in her voice. Getting to New York was her absolute end goal, since she could try out for a spot at Julliard. If she swung it, she'd be the first toon to get in.

"Well, keep dreaming because you're going to get there eventually sis, I know it."

"Oh Yakko," She said softly, wrapping her brothers head into a hug. "What would I do if you didn't believe in me?" A buzz from her phone broke her embrace. "Shit, it's Mike! She stammered. "I have to go, like now."

She hurriedly ran over to the front door, and swiped her purse off the table." Have a good day, eh, Yakko? I left some toast and fruit on the counter if you're hungry, and change your clothes! While you're at it, have a shower, too, for god's sake."

"Yes, Mom, and did you happen to see if Wakko is awake too?" Yakko remarked.

"Haha, very funny, and are you deaf? How can you not hear his snoring?" Dot said rolling her eyes. "I'll see you later, Yak! Love you!"

"Good luck! Not that you'll need it, though!"

Dot flashed her brother a quick thumbs up before she opened the door to leave. "I'll text you later!"

Yakko gave her a small wave from his spot on the couch as she shut the door. Silence once more. The toon pondered for a moment. Now where had he stashed his phone? It certainly wasn't underneath him. He scanned the old linoleum floors, strewn with various articles of clothing. Yakko had put a hamper at the end of the hallway, but it was rarely used. The table was piled with a stack of unpaid bills and some empty mugs. Did anyone else in this house ever bother putting away anything? He scratched his head and sighed. At least now he had something to occupy his time with before work, and maybe then he'd fine his cell. Reluctant to get up and start the day, he finally wandered over to the only window in the main living area to let in some fresh air. He pulled up the blinds, shielding his eyes from the early morning sunshine. Opening the window was a pain though, since it had a bad tendency of getting stuck on the left side. Yakko braced his feet to the floor and did his best to jimmy it open. Yup, still crooked. He wondered if the handyman might ever make his way over to fix it along with everything else. Probably not. The brick building, they lived in was built in the 1920's and it didn't seem like anything had been replaced since then, not even the rusted fire escape sprawling down the side and blocking the view from their living room window. He had never dared to set foot on it.

But Yakko counted his blessings. It was better than the bachelor they all once shared in a shady area of the downtown area. And from here, you could see the faint outline of the shoreline. Every now and then, you'd even get a faint breeze from the ocean. And with 2 bedrooms, his younger siblings had their own rooms. A large closet with nothing but a tiny bed in it was what Yakko called his room. Which was probably why he slept on the couch so often. The dresser barely fit in at the end of the bed.

A sharp snore from across the apartment reminded him of his next task. It was no easy feat getting his brother out of bed. Most mornings, his brother even slept through his phone alarm. If Yakko and Dot didn't wake him diligently he would have missed over half the semester in school.

Snoring away, and tangled in a pile of pillows and blankets, Wakko lay sprawled over the end of the bed. A considerable amount of drool hung from his bottom lip. Wakko slept like the dead, and it took an incredible amount of effort to awake him.

Luckily for Yakko, though, he had developed a few tricks over the years for when his brother overslept. Carefully he tiptoed across the room until he reached the end of the bed. "Should I?" He thought. Puzzled, he decided he'd at least try to coax his brother awake first with a nudge to the shoulder.

"Earth to Wakko? You awake?" Yakko whispered into his brother's ear. An even louder snore was all he got in response.

Time for more drastic action. Yakko sighed in defeat and reached into his pant pocket, pulling out an airhorn. It's not like he hadn't tried, right? It was always good to keep one for emergency situations like this. He gave it a small shake and pressed down the handle, clenching his teeth in anticipation for the sound.

The sound emanating from the airhorn rang through the tiny room, the vibrations shaking the ancient heater in the corner. Wakko was so startled he rolled out the side of the bed and onto the floor.

The toon covered his eyes and shook his head. "Whyyyyyyyyy, ughh."

His little brother was never a morning person, and Yakko would be lying if he didn't feel a little guilty. He dropped down to the floor next to his brother. "And a good morning to you, bro!"

"There's nothing good about being woken up like that." Wakko groaned.

Yakko shook his head and patted his younger brother on the shoulder. "Uhhhh, well, stop sleeping through your alarm then?"

"I've been getting better!" Wakko pouted.

Yakko chuckled, and pondered for a moment, counting his fingers. "Umm, let's see 1? 2? Yeah...in the past week you've managed to get up twice for class on your own. If you get up now though, you'll be able to catch the next bus and be just in time."

Wakko yawned and pulled himself off the floor. "There's never enough time."

"If your looking for more thyme Wakko, there's some in the spice rack next to the oregano." Yakko grinned. "And actually, now that I think of it, I could use more thyme too!"

Just as he expected, Yakko got another pillow in the face, followed by a low grumble. That made for 2 blows this morning. Not a record by any means but Yakko still felt proud of the accomplishment. He pursed his lips to keep his snicker in. It was just too easy to get Wakko going.

"Come on, Yakko! it's way too early for that"

"Well, if you're too tired for them, get up earlier tomorrow! Then you won't have to sit around and listen to my hilarious jokes." Yakko teased. "Or be serenaded out of bed by the sweet tunes of an Acme airhorn!"

Now that Wakko was clearly awake, Yakko made his way back into the living room, plunking himself down on the couch. Suddenly, the ceiling vibrated, and some old photos on the walls shook. It happened every time the shower started. The hot water lasted for maybe 2 or 3 minutes before it started to cut out. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had one longer than that. Just another item on a long list of things that would never be fixed. The toon lazily threw his feet up on the coffee table and spied his phone underneath a pile of flyers. There it was. He grabbed it and swiped the screen open. There was 1 new msg.

Dear Abbey: Yakko can you come in for 4 instead of 6? A birthday party was booked at the last minute and I could really use the extra hands. Let me know.

Yakko hesitated a moment, his fingers hovering over the msg box. Should he? It was only two hours, and birthday parties were usually accompanied by a continuous flow of alcohol. And in turn, the customers were sure to tip much generously than normal. Last time Yakko checked, their power bill was running dangerously high so it was too tempting to pass up the chance to pay down the balance. No matter how hectic parties could be. Even if he was so tired of the bullshit.

Yakko: Count me in!

But on a brighter note, maybe that cute waitress from the night before would be back? Yakko would be lying to himself if he said he wasn't curious to learn more about her. "I could always stroll over there on my break? He contemplated. "But I might see her on a break too." After mulling over his options he decided his best option was to just wait and see when she came around next. Then maybe he could get her number at least, and not seem like he was desperate or something.

'Hey Yak, you here?"

"Huh? What?" Yakko muttered, snapping his head up. Wakko was standing in front of him with his backpack slung over his shoulder His undried hair dripped down the sides of his white face from beneath his red beanie.

"Are you alright?"

"What?" Yeah, I'm fine, Wak."

Wakko looked puzzled by his brother's response. "You look exhausted, Yakko. You know it wouldn't hurt if you took a day off now and again, right? Dot and I can pitch in, if you'd only let us."

Yakko could see the genuine look in his brother's eyes. He was worried over nothing. It was nothing he couldn't handle. "The only thing you and Dot need to focus on is finishing up school, and that's expensive enough with your student loans and whatnot…and besides..." Yakko paused with a grin, "my adoring crowd awaits me." Yakko could see the doubt in his younger brother's face. He knew Wakko didn't buy his remark. Not even a tiny bit.

"I dunno how you put up with that job." Wakko grimaced.

"Well gotta pay the bills somehow right?' Yakko reminded him in a more serious tone. "That job puts a roof over your head and buys you groceries after all."" Wakko didn't respond at first and an awkward silence filled the room. "I'm sorry." Yakko apologized quietly. "I didn't sleep much last night."

"It's all good, Yakko," His brother muttered. "But honestly! Take a break sometime and don't work yourself dead." Wakko hoisted his bookbag further up his shoulder. "I got to get going, but try and have a good day?"

"I solemnly swear, to try my best.'

Wakko laughed. "At least you still got your sense of humour bro." He patted Yakko's shoulder. "What time are you off?

"11"

"So you'll be home just before 12 on that scooter of yours, I'll still be up by then."

"You know Wak, you can borrow the vespy anytime." Yakko said with a snicker. "I just got a pretty sweet new helmet too! Always impresses the babes, trust me."

Wakko laughed again, in that voice that had failed to change over the years. "I wouldn't be caught dead on that bike, no offence."

That bike was an old red vespa Yakko had purchased for a few hundred dollars off craiglist. Even though it was extremely loud and slow, it was cheaper than the bus and faster than walking. Any way Yakko could save a few bucks in his books was a win. His dream was too eventually replace it with a real bike. There was a vintage Yamaha he had been eyeing on auto trader for sometime now. A toon could dream, right?

"Alrighty then bro, I'll catch ya later." Wakko gave his brother a lazy wave before heading towards the front door. 'Have a good shift eh?"

"I'll certainly try" Yakko replied. " Have fun at class!"

"We are learning how to make eclairs today, here's hoping I don't, eat all the filling." Wakko patted his growling stomach. "Wish I would have been up for breakfast."

"I believe in you little brother!' Yakko cheered. "I'm sure you can avoid the sweet creamy rich texture of whipping crème and what it has too offer!"

Wakko's stomach growled hungrily in reply. "You're not helping."

"Well from the sounds of it, I think your tummy would disagree." Yakko laughed, but it was promptly muffled with another pillow to the face. That made for 3. Not bad for an hour, he thought.

His brother joined in with the laughter "True, True., but oh man! I got like 5 minutes to catch the next bus now. He scrambled to the front door. "It's bye for real now! BYE!"

The door slammed behind him, leaving Yakko in the now quiet apartment. He was always the last toon to leave. It was moments like this he wished he'd have asked for more day shifts. Unfortunately, though, the money was just not there. Business was slow during the day. Even though Yakko would have loved to have more time with his siblings it wasn't financially possible. It's just how things were.

Yakko threw his head back on the sectional, glancing up at the fan running relentlessly in a circular motion, staring at it until the motion made him sick. He buried his face in his hands for a moment, but then sprang up from the couch with a look up determination on his face.

Today was going to be a good day. And he wasn't going to let anyone, or any negative thoughts he might have been harbouring let him down.