Adopted by Billie Eilish

6

"Brooke! Get out of bed and make us all breakfast!"

It's been two weeks since Ms. Williams passed. The new owner, Mr. Brown, is nice to everyone but me. It's like with Dad all over again. Forced to get up early and make breakfast. He's also slapped me and beaten me. If I burn breakfast even the slightest amount or run out of time, no food for the entire day. I'm getting even skinnier at this point. I'm not sure if I can make it another month without completely starving to death or even being a skeleton. 

I slide out of bed and quickly change into clean clothes and run down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Good morning, Mr. Brown," I say nervously. "What would you like me to make for everyone?"

"Bacon, eggs, toast, and orange juice. Like always, you have thirty minutes. Get to work!"

I've learned a strategy. I take out four pans and turn up the heat. While waiting for the pans to heat up, I pour thirty glasses of orange juice and begin setting them on the table, putting two ice cubes in each glass so they stay cold. I don't want the juice to be warm or I'll get punished. Then I rip open the bacon packet. It takes a total of five minutes each strip of bacon, and I only have half an hour. Every person requires two strips of bacon. It's not enough time, but I have to try. I can't deal with the punishments. Each pan is big enough to fit five strips of bacon. That means for two pans, there'll be ten strips going. Out of thirty minutes, it'll only take six rounds, a total of thirty minutes exactly, for me to cook all of the bacon. And then I have the handle the eggs at the same time. I begin laying down the bacon in the pan, wasting no time before hurrying to the fridge and taking out seven eggs and a large bowl. I crack the eggs and grab a whisk, beginning to stir it up as quickly as I possibly can, adding some salt, pepper, and a half cup of milk before setting the bowl to the side. I grab the tongs and flip the bacon over. None of them are burnt. Then I pour half of the egg mixture into one pan and the other half in the other. I wait until the eggs cook, remove the bacon from the pan, and stir the eggs so they become scrambled eggs. I repeat this process until everything is cooked. Thankfully, I have two minutes to spare since the bacon took a little bit less than five minutes. I begin circling the table, placing two pieces of bacon on each plate. When I finish, there's a minute left. I scoop the eggs onto the plates as well. Mr. Brown walks in just as I finish placing the last scoop of eggs.

"You got lucky, Brooke," he says. "I guess you can eat today. Anyways, there's a VIP guest coming later to adopt. Now listen here. I don't want you to ruin our reputation."

You mean your reputation, I think, internally rolling my eyes.

"Yes, Mr. Brown."

"Good. Now, what's the drill?"

"Go upstairs, stay upstairs, and don't make a sound until they leave. Then I can come downstairs."

"Good girl. Clean the dishes and you can have any leftovers on their plates when they finish. Understood?"

"Yes, Mr. Brown."

I immediately begin to scrub the pans under the water while all the girls come downstairs to eat.

I wish my life would be better than it currently is right now.