Academy Everlasting

Breakfast Time

I wake with a gasp, the nightmare that haunted me vanishing before I can grasp what it was about. That happens to me a lot. I have bad nightmares but I can never seem to remember the details. It almost makes them more scary to not know exactly what they are about.

With a sigh, I stumble out of bed and head to the bathroom. I notice there is a brand new toothbrush, toothpaste, and hair brush in the top drawer. These guys are so thoughtful. After taking care of my morning needs, I grab a pair of the draw string pajama pants the guys gave me last night and put them on. I had to laugh at the fact that I could wrap the tie around my waist like a belt AND tie it with ease. I had to roll the waist up about 6 times before I could walk without falling flat on my face.

That settled how I would spend my morning, while I waited for the guys to wake up. It was still dark outside, so I assumed they would still be asleep. Grabbing my wet clothes from last night, I snuck out of my room and down to the first floor. I don't hear any noises throughout the house, so I assume everyone is still sleeping. I make my way to the kitchen and see the clock says 4am. I have plenty of time to get some laundry done. I go straight to the laundry room and take another look around. What a mess! It makes me very happy to be able to pay them back for their kindness, even if it is in such a small way.

With a small grin on my face, I set my dirty clothes in top of the first washer and start to sort through the large pile. I put it into multiple categories. First I make a pile for darks, adding all of the blacks, dark blues, and dark greys. Then a pile for only towels. Then one for only whites, and one for bright colors. One for gentle wash items, an one for dry clean only. I make a mental note to ask where the closest dry cleaners is. Finally a pile for jeans only.

It takes me close to an hour to get all of the clothes into designated piles. I grab my clothing and toss it into the first washer. It is just a pair of back cotton shorts and a dark grey cotton top so it can go in with the darks. I finish filling the washer with some of the boys' darks and add soap. After starting it, I head to the next washer and fill it with hot water and a bit of bleach. After adding a load of whites, I head to the third washer. The fourth washer gets filled with more whites. The final washer gets the last load of whites. I feel accomplished, getting one full pile into the washers.

Looking at the time, I see it is only 5:30pm. I wonder what time the guys usually wake up? Maybe I can make them breakfast! I rush to the kitchen and look around the pantry and fridge for ideas. Seeing a few loaves of French bread and a bunch of eggs I get the idea for French Toast Casserole. I grab the bread, eggs, milk, and everything else I will need to make them breakfast. After preheating the oven, I assemble the casserole. It doesn't take too long to put together, but it takes 40 minutes to bake.

I throw it in the oven and head back to the laundry room. It is perfect timing because the washers have just stopped. I switch everything to the dryers and start four more loads, finishing off the pile of darks. I still have about twenty minutes before breakfast is ready so I take my time setting the table. I grab the cartons of orange juice and milk out of the fridge and add them to the table as well. Having a few extra minutes, I grab some fresh fruit and make a large fruit salad to go with the casserole.

Just as the timer goes off, I hear a few of the guys running down the stairs.

"Aggele?!" Silas yells. Why does he sound worried?

I pull the casserole from the oven and turn it off. Before I can even make my way to the kitchen door, it bursts open and North and Silas rush into the room looking around frantically. Silas is first to spot me and he comes running over. He wraps his arms just under my bum and picks me up off the floor in a tight hug. I wrap my arms around his neck and hold onto him.