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She was the first one to open her eyes in the morning. Granted that she had slept only three hours, she blindly hit the close button on the alarm before stretching at an awkward angle. Amanda and Jason laid on the unfolded soft-bed, brother hogging both covers, his twin sprawled over him. She grinned at them, quickly disappearing to have a shower.
In the time it took for her to bathe and fix her hair, her siblings woke, various grunts and murmurs coming through the agape restroom door. The cupboards banging, accompanied by groans, either hunting for painkillers. The straightener switched off, and she retrieved a medicine bottle, proceeding to the living room.
She stepped in on Jason protecting his ears with the pillows, Amanda snooping through the kitchen drawers.
"I have what you long for." Raising her fist, she revealed the ibuprofen.
"Yes!" The male moaned, jumping up and over the low table. "She has been snapping everything open and slamming them closed for hours." He snatched the medication, elbow blocking the sunlight, swallowing a capsule right from the bottle.
"It has been less than three minutes, Jason."
He murmured how it felt like an eternity, and tossed the yellow half-empty cylinder to Amanda, hitting her in the chest. She gripped it with both hands and, with a curse at his horrible aim.
"I see the drinking from last night is catching up." Rose humored. She opened the far-right cabinet and pulled out the instant coffee stashed away for guests.
"Damn you for being so responsible." Ams whined, sitting down, cradling her thumbing forehead. "And why are the blinds not drawn?"
"You suffer the consequences of your actions. I left them open to get you up without having to throw a bucket of water over your heads. This is more... serene."
She didn't get a response. Amanda had laid her head on the table, eyes closed. Rose's shadow brought her comfort from the sunrays, falling back to sleep.
"How about you make some coffee?" Rose raised her voice. She prodded her side, almost driving her to drop off the chair, and shot up. "I need to get ready." Grabbing a pillow, she threw it on Jason's head, who lied too comfortably, laughing at their whines, and leaving them to prepare for her shift.
She put cream on her bruise that deepened in shade during the night, and dressed, looking for a jacket, calculating her options for the tricky weather. One was too thick, the sun was out and she would be a sweaty mess exiting the bus. The other was too short...
"Do you think she's still bothered with what went down yesterday?"
She almost didn't hear Jason's voice over the closed quarters. The rustling of the hangers halted.
"She's great at camouflaging her pain." Answered Amanda.
