𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐁𝐋𝐄

𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝟒

OCTOBER 25, 2021
HOUSTON TX
7:28 AM

                                            ★

"MY LORD. CAN WE BRING BACK SHAME?" Layla frowned in disgust as she scrolled through her Twitter feed, her eyes landing on a disgraceful 20 v 1 clip. The sight of it made her stomach churn, and just as she was about to scroll past, she heard her daughter whimpering from the backseat.

"What's wrong, fat girl?" Layla asked, glancing back at Clover, whose face was contorted into a pout.

"Juice," the two-year-old huffed, her small hands clenching the straps of her car seat.

"They're coming, girl," Layla chuckled, amused by her daughter's impatience as they waited in the drive-through lane for their breakfast. The restaurant worker had told her to pull over to the side, promising their food would be ready shortly.

"Are you excited for school today?" Layla asked, trying to engage her daughter and distract her from the wait.

"No," Clover replied plainly, her expression flat.

"Why not? I thought you liked your teachers," Layla inquired, furrowing her brows in concern.

"I want go by Gigi," Clover insisted, her voice small but firm.

"Gigi has to work today," Layla replied, trying to soften the blow as she noticed Clover's frown deepening. Her daughter loved her grandmother dearly, and Layla knew that if she said no, Gigi would probably say yes to anything Clover wanted.

Just as she was about to cheer her up, the restaurant worker approached the car with their food. Layla rolled down the window, reaching out to grab the bag while thanking the worker with a genuine smile.

"Here, stink," Layla said, handing Clover her orange juice and the mini hash browns.

"Eat your food, though," she added, referring to how Clover would fill her stomach with juice before even touching her food.

After making sure everything was situated, Layla checked the time on her phone. It was now 7:39 AM—just enough time to drop Clover off and still arrive early for her first client of the day at 8:15.

As she pulled away from the drive-through, she heard Clover's voice pipe up again. "Mikol Jack!" she shouted, attempting to say "Michael Jackson." He was currently her favorite artist, and she adored his music.

"Girl, I'm still trying to figure out where you learned about him," Layla laughed, her heart swelling with pride as she opened her phone to find one of his songs.

"School," Clover beamed, popping a mini hash brown into her mouth.

"School? Let me find out y'all in there gossiping about 'Billie Jean' instead of learning your ABCs," she joked, casting a sideways glance at her daughter.