Living

Chapter 24: A Month Before

Davey woke up at the same time as Miss Medda Larkin.

He's never gotten to actually talk to Miss Medda. Sure, he's said hello, and she's said hey, but nothing ever beyond that. He kind of felt bad about it.

She saw him walk into the kitchen. "Morning", she sent him a contagious smile.

"Hello", he says, smiling back. "You wake up very early."

"I'd say this is pretty late for me", she responded, looking at time on her laptop. "I usually wake up earlier."

"Why?"

"It's just how I was raised."

Davey nodded, deciding not to ask anymore questions. Miss Medda was a pretty open person, but even she had to close her share circle. Davey knew that.

"You gonna stand there all mornin' or are you gonna sit down?" Davey's eyes widened as Medda chuckled. He went to sit next to her at the island, sitting a bit awkwardly.

"You're a little awkward around the edges, ain't you?" Medda looked at Davey, chuckling when she saw him try to relax. "Calm down, honey. I'm not gonna eat you."

Davey chuckled. "I know. It's just- you're a huge part of their lives, and I feel like we haven't...talked as much as we should have."

"Well, it's not a duty to talk to me."

"I disagree. I think you're a very important person to them, and me. I want to treat you as such."

Medda smiled, bumping her shoulder with Davey's. "You're quite the smooth talker, huh?"

Davey chuckled, shrugging his shoulders. "I have my moments."

Elmer walked into the room, yawning. "What time is it?"

Medda looked at the clock on her computer screen. "7:58."

"So, 8 o'clock", Elmer nodded, yawning again. He looked back at the living room. "We have two to three hours before everyone is fully awake. You guys up for the challenge?"

Davey and Medda looked at each other, small smiles on their faces. "Hell yeah."

—————

Davey, Medda, and Elmer—who were eventually joined by Crutchie, Mike, and Spot at 9:00–stood around the island, pounds of food in front of them.

It was hard work, but with six people and three hours to spare, they did it.

"I'm kind of scared to eat it", Crutchie admits. "Just because we spent so long on it. It feels wrong."

Everyone laughed and stared at the pile of toast, tower of pancakes, mountain of eggs, mound of bacon, and heap of sausage. Crutchie was right: it did look too good to eat.

Jack trudged into the kitchen, a blanket around his head and shoulders. He yawned and searched for Davey quietly, smiling when he found him.

Davey smiled at Jack and watched him walk his way over to him, where he eventually placed his head on his shoulder and closed his eyes. "Good morning."

"Mornin'", Jack mumbled, opening his eyes again. "What the hell happened here?"

"We made food", Medda answered, smiling at them. Jack's eyes widened in surprise when he saw her.

"H-hey, Miss Medda."

"Jackson."

Jack groaned in annoyance, lifting his head off of Davey's shoulder. "Is there some kind of runnin' joke I don't know about?"