Constellations

cassiopeia

"Arabella!"

My foot lands on the ground in front of me with a thud. So much for getting to school early for once.

"Your lunch."

I close the front door, shutting out the bitter chill that's apparently here to stay for the next two weeks. Much to my dismay, no longer will I be fighting the cold with chunky blankets and freshly-brewed coffee, rather the hope that all this running around in the mornings will keep my body temperature up.

I step into the kitchen, noticing my mom standing at the island right in the center, inching my lunch bag toward me. "You don't..." I begin to say, to which she immediately starts to shake her head at my overused excuse.

"No, I'm not going to let you eat fast food every day for the rest of the year. And no, I'm not going to let my baby girl starve." Her heels click against the marble as she moves to join me by my side. If only I were so graceful in heels. If they're any higher than two inches, my ankles would be considered broken from the moment I put them on.

Taking the bag with a reluctant exhale, I say, "Thank you. I can start making my own, you know."

Laughing softly, she shakes her head. "As long as you are under my roof, you're as much my baby as Irene. Plus, I'm already here packing lunch for everyone else, why wouldn't I do it for you?" Her hand comes up to my face, pinching my cheek ever so softly. "I don't baby you half as much as your dad, I ought to get some credit."

I mean, she isn't wrong.

The hectic sounds of others echo off every wall in the house. From the screams of one to the groaning of another I know it's my troupe of siblings finally making their way downstairs.

"Emrys, give me my bag!"

"Better hustle if you want it so bad."

"Mooom! I can't find my jacket!"

The twins and Irene appear first. Elara chasing down Emrys, attempting to get a grip on the back of his jacket rather than her bag for practice later on. Irene stomps over right behind them, pouting over the fourth uniform jackets she's lost. How she managed to lose her jacket for school during the weeks we haven't had school is beyond me.

My mom walks over to grab the spare from the hall closet, shaking her head to herself. "Honey, this is the fourth time you left your jacket at school."

"I was playing with the other girls. One of them probably took it," she makes an excuse. Knowing her, she left it in the schoolyard on some random bench to be tossed into the lost-and-found.

Knowing this, my mom gives her a stern look as she helps my sister put it on. "It has your name on it. You need to be more responsible."

Barely even registering what Mom tells her, she skips away, chirping behind her, "Bye, Mom!"