I let out a small groan as I got up off of my bed. To be honest I wasn't really all that hungry to begin with, but I definitely didn't want to be rude either. I took a walk across my room and out into the hallway before making my way downstairs. Brandy was already sitting at the kitchen table with a couple plates. Looked like it was sausage and collard greens for dinner. It smelled great. I took a seat at the table, and we started to eat. The sausages were juicy and the greens were seasoned perfectly.
"This is delicious Brandy," I said after a few bites.
"Oh it's nothing much," she responded. We continued eating for a few more minutes before Brandy looked up at me again. "I wanted to talk to you about tomorrow," she said.
"Ugh...Monday," I lamented, already knowing what this would probably be about. I was joking of course. No one LIKES school, but I never hated it either. I'd always been indifferent. Brandy let out a chuckle and continued,
"I know, but it's important. Anyway, I wanted to figure out what you want to do. It's too late in the year to get bus service set up so there's two other options: I can drop you off or you can walk." I thought about this for a moment. The walk to school from home would be probably 50% longer than I was used to, but on the other hand it would serve pretty well as my morning exercise.
"I'm good with walking," I said to Brandy, "I like the exercise."
"Okay, that works!" she responded as she went back to her food. After another few minutes of eating she quickly looked up, "Oh! One more thing. I work the night shift on Fridays, so I've already arranged for either Chilli or Bandit to come pick you up from school. You'll spend the night with them and I'll come get you on Saturday," she said. I was a little surprised by this. I didn't mind it of course, but can a 16 year old not be trusted to spend the night along? I wanted to voice my opinion, but I decided not to. I'd only been there two days. I didn't want to accidentally spark a conflict. Despite this, Brandy seemed to read my mind.
"I want you to know this isn't because I don't trust you. It'd just be a load off of my mind knowing you're with family. Plus Bluey and Bingo adore you, and I think they'd appreciate more time with their cousin," she said. I hadn't even thought about that, but it made sense in hindsight.
"All good," I responded, "It sounds like a fun time!" Brandy smiled at me and went back to her food. Once finished I cleared the plates and went up to my room. I got into bed once again and did my nightly routine. I read my book for maybe an hour, set my alarm for the next morning, and then fell asleep listening to my music. Surprisingly I actually slept through the whole night, which was unlike me. I guess that could be attributed to my mood. I was finally beginning to relax in this new place. I woke up to the lovely sound of a blaring alarm clock, groaning as I got up out of bed. Just another day on the grind. I walked down the hall to the bathroom where I went through my morning routine. Once I was ready, I grabbed my backpack with all my school supplies and went downstairs to the kitchen. Brandy wasn't there, which I guess was to be expected considering where she works. She must've had an early shift that day. On the counter was a cereal box with a note taped to it which read,
"Milk is in the fridge. Have a great day at school!"
Well that didn't need any further instruction. I grabbed a bowl from the cupboard and poured a generous amount of the corn flake cereal into it. Then I added the milk on top (The correct way of doing it). I brought my bowl into the living room and turned on that morning's news. It was unbearably boring, but I liked to be in the loop. They were talking about something the Prime Minister did, which I honestly couldn't have cared less about. The only thing I really cared about in the news was the weather. It was projected to be a low of like 11C with a high of about 22C with cloudy skies. Once I finished my cereal I got up from the couch and went back to the kitchen where I cleaned my bowl and put everything away. By this point it was about time to get going, so I grabbed my backpack and set off.