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Jenna chewed her thumb nervously as she waited for either Jeremy or Elena to appear downstairs. It was their first day of school and their parents weren't here. Instead they were stuck with their mother's younger sister who had no clue about raising kids, let alone teenagers. Hell, she'd been Elena's age only 6 years ago.
When Elena appeared in the doorway, Jenna's heart began to pound harshly in her chest.
"Toast!" Jenna exclaimed suddenly. "I... I can make toast. Do you want toast?"
Elena nodded, smiling sweetly at her aunt. She could tell that Jenna was having an internal battle with herself as she placed the bread into the toaster.
In an attempt to distract her aunt Elena mimicked the movement of an old coffee grinder; she made a fist with both hands, placing the left on top of the right and moved it in a circular motion. ❛Coffee?❜
Jenna immediately smiled. Elena's friends and family had been learning American Sign Language ever since the accident. Elena knew that Jenna liked the sign for 'coffee' because of the action for it: the fist at the bottom would stay still while the fist of top would 'turn the crank' just like on an old fashioned coffee grinder.
Truth was, Elena wasn't even sure she liked coffee... but the sign always made her aunt smile so she always asked for it in the morning.
"You know," Jenna smiled, some of the worry draining from her face. "I still think that has to be one of my all time favourite signs we've learnt."
Elena smiled to herself, happy that she'd succeeded in stopping Jenna's inevitable guilt spiral... at least for the moment.
They were both interrupted by the sound of Jeremy Gilbert thumping down the stairs to join them in the kitchen.
"Coffee?" He asked tiredly, his hands automatically signing as he spoke, despite hardly being awake.
He quickly eyed the freshly poured coffee mug in Jenna's hands, reaching out and taking it from her, "Thanks."
Jenna huffed, "That was for your sister."
Jeremy looked up after taking a sip, "Oops."
Jenna rolled her eyes, "It's your first day of school and I'm totally unprepared... Do you guys need lunch money?"
Elena shook her head whilst Jeremy reached out and grabbed the money from Jenna's outstretched hand.
Jenna quickly glanced over him, mentally sighing in relief when she couldn't immediately smell the weed on him. His hoody on the other hand? That was another story. She made a mental note to remind him to do laundry when he got home.
"Anything else? A number two pencil?" Jenna joked, moving across the kitchen to place things in her bag. "What am I missing?"
Elena walked over to the toaster that had popped, tapping the calendar that was on the wall as she passed.
"Oh! Yes, I've got that meeting at... now. Crap!" Jenna groaned, quickly pulling the hair tie from her ponytail and letting her hair fall around her shoulders. "Are you guys gonna be okay?"
Both Gilberts nodded at their Aunt who shot them a relieved smile before disappearing from the room.
