New Beginnings

Chapter Two

        I was jerked awake by the thudding sound of base music. 

        I rolled over, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, to check the clock. 

        Two-twenty-one?! Are you fucking kidding? 

        I sat up and got out of bed, ignoring how cold my feet were on the hard wood floors. 

        Cracking the door open a little more to the girls room, I saw they were miraculously still asleep. Thank, God. I don't know what i would've done if they woke up. I would've had to go tell my neighbor to turn down their music, but I don't want my first impression to be the complaining neighbor. 

        The music was definetly coming from the apartment above me. I was on a corner space, and the woman next to me was a tiny Chinese woman who told me when I met her, 'as long as the fire-haired-girls don't scream too much, we will not have problems'. I don't think I can go ask her for sugar when we're out. 

        I went back to my bedroom and layed in bed for another two hours listening to the horrid pop music and footfalls above me before I was finally able to fall asleep again. 

****

        The harsh buzzing of my alarm woke me up for the second time at five-thirty in the morning. 

        I groaned and rolled out of bed, and into the kitchen. I was barely able to keep my eyes open while I made egg, spinach, and cheese sandwiches for myself and the girls. I ate mine in a few bites and packed the girls in brown paper bags with their lunch of left over lasagna and orange juice boxes. 

        If my neighbors have another party tonight I'm going to have to do something. I need as much sleep as possible and I'm not going to put up with that bullshit while I live here. Now that i'm awake an exhausted the desire to be the nice neighbor isn't as appealing. 

        I got dressed as quickly as I could into a pair of jeans and the pail green polo shirt that was the uniform for the bakers at Evette's Cupcakes & Cookies. The shirt had a big cupcake and cookie on the back with the name of the business wrapped around them in a fancy cursive font.

        Evette's wasn't my first pick of jobs, but it paid well and my boss is willing to work around my schedule. 

        After I was fully dressed and presentable I went to wake up the girls and get them ready for their first day. 

        Harley, my little scholar, woke up immediatly and was dressed and ready in no time. Avery on the other hand took a bit longer to coax out of the warm embrace of her sheets. But eventually both girls were in the back seat of my Ford Fusion with their backpacks next to them. 

        "Now you know you're going to be about an hour early for class, but that's okay because you'll be able to meet your teacher and eat your breakfast there." I reminded them. 

        "Uh-huh. You don't have to worry, Mommy. Avery and I will be okay." Harley said. 

        "Yeah! We'll be with each other, so you don't have to be scared." Avery added. 

        I glanced back at them through the rearview mirror and saw them looking out their respective windows and holding hands. I bit my lip to keep from crying. It was my little pixies first day of school. I never thought I would be an overly emotional parent, but it really did seem like just last week that I was taking them home from the hospital. 

        It only took ten minutes to get to the school, and I parked the car and went in with them, holding hands with both of them, not really wanting to let go.