After Dark

Chapter 7 - Into the Fray

Mabel awoke to pitch black. She tried to blink but it was too dark to see anything. Mabel looked over at her alarm clock. It read 4:37 am in large red digital blocks. Her alarm was not set till 7:00 am as she did not have to be at orientation till 3 pm. She rolled over on her side mulling her thoughts over in her half-awake stupor. She had planned on getting around the campus to check out locations and familiarize herself. She and Heather had planned that last night. But what was she doing up so early in the morning? She had no sooner thought this when she heard a sniffle come from across the room. She knew this was where Heather was sleeping, or at least had been sleeping. As she listened close she could hear soft crying.

Mabel forced herself to get up she walked silently towards the sound praying nothing was strewn on the floor she would nosedive over. When she got close to the bed she called out softly. "Heather?" There was a sharp intake of breath followed by silence. After a few seconds of quiet Heather answered, "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you. I'll go back to bed."

Mabel now sat down on the bed near her. "Not a chance Dormie," Mabel said with a grin now able to see Heather's face in the pale moonlight as it drifted in the window on her face now that she had sat up. Mabel put a soft hand on her shoulder. "I'm here for you. Whatever it is it's ok. I cry over the dumbest things so I won't judge you. Like one time I cried for the lobsters in the lobster tank at a seafood restaurant. I actually bought one just to save it. I brought it home since my other lobster had died just a few years back that I had when I was younger, so I already had everything I needed to take care of it. I named him Larry."

Heather smilled, "I miss my cat, Henry. He usually cuddles with me at night. Sometimes when I wake up and had a bad dream I would cuddle him and he would purr." Her tears now ran down her face. Mabel put her arms around the girl as she rested her chin on her shoulder. "That's a really cute name for a cat." Heather sniffed. "He would come running from anywhere in the house when he hears the can opener machine." Mabel laughed. Then the room grew silent as Heathers held her closer.

Mabel whispered softly, "I brought a waffle machine, and I'll make us chocolate chip waffles and omelets in the morning." Heather said, "You don't have to do that." Mabel shrugged her shoulders noncommittally and said. "Suit yourself...I'll just have to eat everything myself. Of course, when I'm a three hundred pound roommate I will definitely blame you." Heather laughed. "All right, all right I conceded." Mabel patted her back and then got up. "You going to be all right?" Mabel asked. Heather smilled kindly. "I am now...and thank you, Mabel." Mabel grinned. "It's just pancakes." Heather said, "for everything." Mabel said, "anytime, we're practically like sisters now anyway. We'll work on some stellar fab nicknames for each other tomorrow. Goodnight girl!" Heather laughed and said, "Goodnight Mabel."

No sooner had Mabel drifted back to sleep than she felt like her alarm clock was going off. She jumped out of bed feeling well-rested despite the early morning event before the sunrise. Mabel had gone to sleep at a decent time so it had all worked out. Mabel saw Heather had already gotten up and was making coffee. Mabel grabbed her clothes and headed for the bathroom to change. When she was ready for the day and looking fabulous she dashed out into the kitchen excited for life and bonding with her new best friend for life! Rather than greeting her Mabel just hugged her and smilled. Heather grinned and said, "Good morning Mabel. I made the coffee and set the table and got the skillet pan out for you so you didn't have to do everything."

Mabel dashed to the fridge grabbing the eggs and other refrigerated ingredients. "You're a doll," Mabel said as she dashed to the counter and mixed up the waffles. She got them going and set out a plate to place them on before she diced up the ham, green onions, tomatoes, and green peppers for the omelets. She whipped them up with the eggs pouring them into the pan. She expertly rolled the omelets with a practiced hand. Pacifica had been helping her cultivate her culinary skills.