Chapter 8
Liberty
There was something in Liberty's body that made him wake up before six o'clock. His watch told him it was precisely 5:15 A.M. He rolled over. Then he pushed his blue blanket downwards and sat up. He turned his head till he saw Amethyst's petite outline underneath her lavender sheets on the other side of the piece of wood that divided their sleeping spaces. He could hear her breathing. He shuffled sideways, climbed down the ladder, and stopped midway. Between the rungs he saw Honey's blond head and Zephyr's curly hair. He resumed his journey downward until his feet touched the floor. He walked over to the dresser and knelt. He opened all three of the blue drawers and plucked out various pieces of clothing. He gathered the clothes into one arm and used the other to close the drawers. He entered the bathroom. He pulled a towel from the rack and placed his clothes underneath it on the sink. He took a shower. When he was finished, he dried himself and dressed. He opened the door. A face he knew better than his own was waiting for him.
"Good mornin'," it said to him.
"Mornin'."
"Wanna go watch the sunrise?"
"Yeah."
"Okay." Honey spun around and pulled a sweatshirt from the largest of her three yellow drawers in the dresser. She pulled it over her head.
"Hair's messed up," he told her.
Her fist hit his arm. He felt the corner of his mouth twitch up. "It doesn't matter right now." She pulled her hood up, stuffed her hair under it, and pulled the strings tightly.
Liberty jerked his head towards the door. He led and held it open for her. She passed him and he glanced at the bunk bed. Amethyst and Zephyr were still there. He closed the door behind him. The twins walked to the roof in silence.
The concrete was cold, but Honey's warmth made it tolerable. Her hooded head made his shoulder uncomfortable. The dark blue of the night sky was pushed back with light blue, then purples, oranges, pinks, and yellows.
"The best part of the sunrise is all the colors," Honey said.
"No."
"No?"
"It's morning."
"Hmm… That's the third best thing for me."
"The second?"
"We're watching together."
The corners of Liberty's lips pulled up. He wrapped an arm around his sister and rested his head on hers. The sun crawled above the horizon. "Corduroy was working for someone."
"Who?"
"Won't say."
"Hmmm… Will they send a team to search for the mystery boss?"
"Dunno."
The sun rose higher.
"Lee?"
"Hm."
Sunrays peeked above the rooftops. "Don't worry."
"I worry."
"Worry too much and – "
"I know." She sounded sad.
"Then don't."
"Okay."
Liberty patted her shoulder and rubbed her arm. The sun slid upwards into a scene devoid of all color except the blue of the daytime sky. It climbed until it threatened to blind blue eyes.
"I'll see you inside," Honey said.
Liberty detached himself from her and listened to her footsteps fade away.