Anya stretched her arms out as far as they would go, and let out a huge yawn that bellowed across the brightening walls of her room. Ordinarily on a school day she'd spend another ten minutes with her stretching ritual, but this was not an ordinary day. Today was work experience day, where students had an opportunity to job-shadow a grown-up and learn about what careers they may be interested in. Most of Anya's friends had chosen to shadow one of their parents, either out of expectation or because it was the easiest option available. Anya certainly could have gone that route well. After all, her Ren was a world-famous musician, and her Mom practically pioneered the field of fashion engineering. Her friends didn't understand why she would instead choose to shadow a close family friend stomping around in mud fields all day. It was hard for her to explain, but this year Anya needed to do something different. Partly it was to try and shake off any pre-held expectations of her future, but also she was hoping that being out in nature would get her mind off of some troubling thoughts she'd been having lately.
Anya sat up and shut off the alarm. She went over the list one more time in her head. Boots, rubber gloves, water bottle. Oh right, and sunscreen. Wearily, she stood up, wiped a streak of drool off her cheek and tromped over to the closet. No need to think about coordinating an outfit today, just old clothes that can get dirty. She quickly threw on a hoodie and sweatpants, and headed downstairs. The house was quiet and the air was still. Like on most mornings, her Mom had already left for work an hour ago. Her Ren was still sleeping upstairs, recovering from another late night performance. They had brought home some leftover pizza for her, and had shoved it in a paper bag as a makeshift lunch. It wasn't fancy, but Anya appreciated the thought. Neither of her parents cooked, so most meals were more of a scavenging exercise.
Anya shoved a few mouthfuls of dry cereal in her mouth, grabbed her water bottle and walked over to the hallway closet. Let's see... boots, rubber gloves, sunscreen. She added them to her backpack, along with a sketchbook and pencils just in case she had free time later. She grabbed her backpack and hurried out the door.
Outside, the air smelled fresh with morning dew. The sun was barely over the horizon, and there were still pockets of crisp night air wafting around.
Anya stood by the curb and waited. Her ride would be here any minute now, but she should have time to finish the ritual. She stretched out her arms again as far as her bones would permit. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath in and slowly rotated her shoulders. In her mind she imagined a clear blue sky, and clouds passing beneath her feet. And weightlessness. These morning rituals gave her a sense of peace and tranquility, and also a sense of release, like she was scratching an itch that was hard to reach. Normally she'd be doing this in private. It was hard enough being the only pterosaurolophus in school, she didn't need to add more fuel to the fire by acting weird. Her eyes sprung open at the sound of a honking horn. She lowered her arms and walked over to the approaching car.
"Anya! 'Sup, my little wormie!"
"Hi Auntie Trish! Thanks for taking me along today."
"Hey, it's my pleasure! Trust me, you are going to have so. much. fun. today. It's mating season for marmorated stink bugs, so they're going to be out in force, doing their cool bug songs. Oh! Did you remember the rubber gloves?"
"Yeah I found a nice thick pair like you said. I think they were meant for working with high-voltage electonics, but they should do the trick."
"Awesome! Make sure you wear them. You do NOT want to get that smell on your hands. Stink bugs are friendly, but they really don't like it when you pick them up and tag 'em. Come on in the car, we gotta get moving!"
Anya opened the passenger-side door and slid in. Today was definitely going to be different, but in a good way. She could already feel her usual anxieties fading as they drove away from their house, and far away from school. Auntie Trish was always fun to hang out with, and was the perfect kind of distraction that she needed right now.
