4R

Part 2

The next morning she woke up to the pleasing aroma of her mom's cooking. She loved when her mom cooked breakfast in the morning, although it was rare these days. Her mother had finished studying and got her license to be a nurse. She worked at a hospital and would even travel all over to visit her clients. Her job kept her away from home a lot. She could be gone for a couple of days to an entire week, or even more. Rayne didn't like not having her mom around but she enjoyed her job and she finally was doing something she loved. She headed down the stairs breathing in the sweet scent. "Ah, mom what are you making?" she asked, leaning in next to her. Mother smiled "French toast, strawberry pancakes, fruit salad, bacon, and your favorite peaches and cream cheese crepes." she explained. Rayne grinned and bounced around like a child. Mom had made her favorite things, she was more than happy to eat and enjoy the food. Rayne went to grab the dishes to fix up the dining table, noticing her dad, and greeted him "Good morning papa." He rubbed her back as he passed by her "Morning Cereza." he warmly replied.

Cereza was a little nickname Rayne's dad called her. It was Spanish for Cherry, which was short for Cherry blossom. From a young age, Rayne had an obsession with cherry blossoms. They even have a Cherry Blossom tree in their backyard. Rayne's dad planted it four years ago, for her 12th birthday. It was her favorite birthday by far. Zyair wandered into the kitchen and bumped into Rayne, on purpose. "Whoop's, my bad." He smirked. "You bumped into me on purpose." she glanced at him, unamused. "Did I? I'm sorry, you're so short I didn't even notice you." he teased as he walked away to greet their mother with a hug. She and her brother didn't get along pretty well, at given times. He's older than her by 6 years, which makes him currently 25 years old. He is also taller than her, she's 5'0 and he's 6'4. He enjoys taunting Rayne about her height.

The moment breakfast was ready they all rushed to the table. Rayne always looked forward to her mother's cooking. Nothing can ever beat a good home-cooked meal. She also looked forward to these moments for the interactions with the family. These past few years have been different, her mother is constantly working, her father is also always away for work, and Zyair has been busy with college. Everyone is always busy so they hardly have any time to interact with one another. Rayne used to look forward to Sundays too,  it was always family day. Even though she didn't care about going to church, she still went because they went as a family. Afterward, she and her mother would either cook a big meal or they all would go out to eat and just have fun. They don't even do that anymore, she kinda misses it, well, she misses it a lot. The simplicity of spending quality time together.

"Rayne, dear, how is school going?" Mom asked glancing at her. "Um... well..." Rayne hesitated to answer, she had been struggling a lot this past month. The fact she didn't give her mom an answer made her mother gaze at her even more. "I'm doing okay in the majority of my classes. My grades have dropped a bit." She soon said.  Her mother and father gave her worrisome expressions. "Why are your grades dropping?" Father questioned. Rayne truly didn't want to tell them why her grades were slipping. She felt they may be disappointed in her. But she wasn't a fan of lying to her parents. She usually told them everything, when it came to school anyway. Anything else she kept to herself. Rayne took a bite of her pancakes before looking at them "I'm not sure."  she quickly answered. She had no idea why her grades were slipping, she always did well in school. However something changed, maybe it was her motivation. She wasn't as motivated to do anything.

Dad gazed at her, his expression blank. She couldn't determine what he was thinking or what he was going to say. "There's a reason your grades are suffering. Now, what is it?" He expressed sternly. She knew her father was right, it wasn't as if her grades magically dropped by themselves. "I don't know... I don't seem as motivated," she answered. As much as she liked her family eating together, this breakfast was slowly turning into something she didn't want to deal with. Usually, the bad news always came from her brother, she'd make fun of him and everything would go back to kindhearted moments. Sadly, it wasn't that this time. Her parents seemed disappointed in her, her brother seemed just as shocked too. Honestly, her family had been so busy with work or school, no one paid as much attention to anything anymore. The only reason her grades or anything was good was that mom, dad, and Zyair were always breathing down her neck. Rayne was always afraid to let them down, but at the same time, she never actually wanted to do those things. It always seemed as if she was living for them and not for herself. Even though she was nineteen, she still had a mind of her own.