BerryBrook Highschool

A Morning in the Torres Household

Penelope groaned as her alarm rang. She slammed her fist onto the boxy noise maker, falling out of bed, wrapped up in her blankets. The only thing getting her up from bed was the smell of breakfast from downstairs. She let out a sigh and got up, going into her closet slowly.

She skimmed through her clothes before she found something she liked. Throwing on a pair of boot cut jeans and a pink t-shirt with a basic cat design on it. She stared at herself in the mirror, and let herself smile for a moment. Middle school took a toll on her, her self esteem mostly. But she was healthy again. Took some time and lots of talking, in fact, she's still trying to figure it out. But she didn't like to linger on those thoughts, or any negatives for that matter. She caught her breath for a moment and swiped her hair out of her face. Over the summer, Jaime had given her a haircut. Her thick brown hair hung just above her shoulders, her thin but spiky bangs matching with the spiky ends of her bob. He kinda messed it up so she had to do some touch ups, but overall she liked it. Even if the back was a little choppy. A reminder of him, an annoying one though.

She turned away from the mirror, feeling the fabric of her shirt between her fingers, making sure if it was light enough. She didn't check the weather for today, but luckily, the summer was pretty predictable. Hot and humid. Her cat Pedro barged into her room, meowing like a basketcase. She glanced back at the cat with a smile on her face, almost immediately getting out of her morning mood. She walked over to Pedro and pet him, repeating what he said.
“Miau! Meow!” She repeated. Her cat widened its eyes before dashing out of her room, some of its hairs falling behind and swaying in the air. She let out a chuckle. Pedro liked to pull little stunts like that. She looked over at the clock, it reading 5:49. She yawned and stretched her arms above her head before walking downstairs, noticing it was her younger brother making the food.
“David? You're cooking today? That's a surprise.” She said, looking over his shoulder. He groaned and looked back up at her.
“Don't you remember? Mama can't get up to cook this early. She has work. She doesn't have the energy anymore.” Oh yeah. Mama got an office job, working restless hours late into the night. She nodded subtly, feeling a lump of guilt in her throat. Thinking about her mothers health made her worry, she wasn't the same as 4 years ago. It's crazy what a few years can do to someone. Peppi tried to wash out those thoughts with the day ahead of her. Today, it was easier to change the subject. It was the first day of school.
“Well, hurry up with those pancakes. I'm starving.” She grumbled, grabbing the cat food from the pantry.
“And don't put salt on my goddamn pancakes again or I'll kill you!” She hissed through gritted teeth. She liked to put sugar on her pancakes instead of syrup, syrup was awfully sweet for her. And sugar looked pretty. Everyone has their weird tastes, I guess. David grinned, turning away to finish making the food for them.
“I can't promise anything!” Of course he couldn't. She let out a sigh and poured some of the cat kibble into the bowl for Pedro, watching him immediately shove his face into it, as if he had been locked away in a dungeon and starved. She stood up and watched him eat for a moment before going back to the pantry to put the kibble away.
David plated their food, wrapping their mothers in plastic wrap and putting it in the fridge. Peppi checked her phone for the weather and any messages.

TEMPERATURE
81°

Bummer. She’s gonna have to smell some guys BO first thing in the morning. Hopefully she won't vomit like she did last year. God, just wear some deodorant! She checked her groupchat, checking for any messages. None, she supposed everyone is getting ready for school too. She sat at the table and looked up at her brother.
“You gonna be okay today? You won't get into any fights, will you?”
“Nah, I'll be good. Unless someone throws punches first.”
But everyone knew David was the one who threw the first punches. Peppi rolled her eyes, sprinkling some sugar onto her pancakes, hoping by some miracle David would behave. Shoving a piece of pancake into her mouth, she asked “Are you still seeing Akkir?” Penelope said with a giggle, watching David's cheeks turn pink. “We're not seeing each other, we just hang out.” He grumbled, eating his own pancakes furiously. Akkir was Foster’s little sister. They both were in the same grade, they grew up with each other. “Yeah yeah, you can call it that.”
“This is why Jaime took so long to confess, he didn't wanna end up with a crazy nut like you.”
“Watch it, you little shit!” She hissed, throwing a sprinkle of sugar at David. He giggled and shook it out of his hair, standing up and wiping his clothes off. She checked the time, and it was nearly 6:30. She scrambled to grab her backpack, waving David goodbye.
“Tell mom I said have a good day!” She said, walking out the door, having to lightly kick Pedro back inside. She walked about 2 blocks to the bus stop and waited, deciding to send a message to her friends.

One outgoing message…
Whos showing up today?

She put her phone back into her pocket as the bus pulled up, quickly tapping her bus card and finding her seat. She sat at the back, where she can sit undisturbed without having to move. Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she went to check it.

One received message

Jensen: I am, for sure not excited tho

She knew that's right. She leaned against the bus seats, waiting until the bus got to her stop. A quiet 15 minutes later and she got off the bus, pulling her backpack up and walking towards the school. It was a 2 minute walk away from the bus stop, which was convenient. She pushed the doors open and walked inside.

Just get through this week. Then you'll have 39 more. Just 40 weeks ahead. You can do this.

This is what peppi looks like in this au :3 I might add more art, can't promise tho ;3