I Need Courage

Chapter Two- updated

Chapter Two

Dragon wakes me up in the morning, his pink tongue covering my face in slobber. I smile and turn off my alarm clock that I had once again slept through. When I wake up enough, we make our way down the hallway together and toward the kitchen. 

I sit at our broken down table and stare at the woman taking care of one of kittens despite the bakery downstairs she need to attend to. Despite her hectic schedule, mom always made time for me in the mornings. 

            "Do you have school today honey?" My mom asks placing the kitten back in the box. I nod and begin to set the table, just for the two of us. My dad was stationed six months ago in Afghanistan and thankfully we still receive our weekly letters.

            She drags me out of my state with a pastry she must have made early this morning. She gets up at five everyday to prepare for opening the bakery. Munching on it we each take a moment to prepare for another day.

            "Christina asked me to work after school today." I say, starting in on my soft bun.

            "Are you okay with that? You've been working a lot lately you can say no if it becomes too much." Mom says worried. She likes to worry, and while I don't want her to feel bad it's nice to feel cared for. And anyways, she says it's her job to worry about me. I take a mental note to help her out more downstairs.

            My job is to reassure her, and I do. "It's okay, I enjoy working there and I can usually get some of my homework done when the rush has died down." We continue to chat until breakfast is finished and I absolutely have to start getting ready for school or risk the possibility of looking even more homeless.

            I shower and dress in an engulfing sweater that turns my body into a circus tent, and black tights that are stuffed into fuzzy boots. I didn't want to wear a bun for the fifth day in a row so I left it down in its unruly glory with a couple bobby pins on the top to try and control the fly-aways. 

            I take the stairs to the ground floor where mom has gone back work. I wave at Ginny who my mom has recently hired to help. Dragon follows me to the door and I give him a farewell kiss on the top of the Newfoundland's head.

            Closing the shop door I cut off the sound of the tinkling bell from my ears and smile at the sights of the busy New York City streets. I cross 77th and make my way to the subway station a few blocks south.

            I have never been a genius at school, or even close to it. I'm a solid 'C' student, even though I try really hard, but we can't afford a tutor. It's thanks to Rose, my best friend, that I am passing all my classes. She gets on, at the buss's third stop.

Rose's hair is a light blonde that's cropped to her jaw line and held back with a headband. She's tall enough to be considered willowy and her bright brown eyes show her hunger for knowledge. She wears a light blue dress despite the breeze and smiles as she sits next to me. 

"Hey Kitty-kat," She says in her usual careful tone. 

"Rosey-posey," I answer and giggle at her crinkled nose, she hates my nickname for her. She attempts to tell me about Rosalind Franklin and how Rosy was used as a way to invalidate her work. I nod along and make a mental note to try and not call Rose 'Rosey'.

            We ride the Subway to the stop closest to school, and as we walk I tell her of the excitement that was last night.

            "You know Kit, it was most likely a dream. The voices and the men, that couldn't have been real... right?" She sounds skeptical, like she doesn't want to believe it and in reality, neither do I.