I am woken up by Jennet jumping on me. I reach up and she collapses on to my stomach. I begin tickling her and she begs me to stop. We both look at each other in fits of laughter. Her blue eyes are pure. My grey eyes are fake.
She leads me down to the kitchen, where she clambers up on top of the side. Waffles, she shouts at me, waffles. Your wish is my command, I reply. I make a waffle batter, letting her mix it while I heat up the grill. Chocolate sauce is to be the topping, and a few minutes later she is eating her waffles. She looks pleased at me and says I'm the best big brother in the world. I wonder will she think that in a few years.
She wanders upstairs singing to get ready for school. Today is Monday, so I get a study day. Everyone gets a study day dependant on their focus. Mine is Math and Chemistry. It works well for me, as it means I get an extended weekend to do what I want. I collapse down on to the sofa and flick on the news. There is no good news anymore. Just death and destruction and the mess left in its path. We need just some good news, something to make life worth fighting for.
I see a girl stood in front of me. Compared to Jennet, I look awful. She has braided her hair and is dressed in a skirt and t-shirt, which match. I am still wearing yesterday's clothes, which I guess will have to do. I ask her has she got everything, to which she replies of course. I take a minute to remind myself that was a stupid question, as she is seven and any seven year old will always have their life pulled together better than me.
As I lock the house, I am reminded of Jae and that I am going to meet him later. Jennet is nearly half a block down the road, and I run after her to catch her up. Luckily, she waits for me. I'm not in the mood for chasing her today. It is about five blocks to her school, which in the grand scheme of things isn't that far. I see her go in and get on with my day.
My first stop is to get myself some breakfast. As much as I love waffles, I can't stand them when I make them myself. I enter a nearby Starbucks and order the nectar of life, coffee. I exit to see a large group of tourists walking down the street, phones out taking photos of every single building. This time they appear to be hipsters, looking at all the architecture. I have lived here for so long now I take it for granted, but I do wonder what it is like to see the city through new eyes.
I then head down in to the nearest Subway station. I journey down towards Macy's. I need to buy a birthday present for Mom and this is the only place I can think of to get it from. I head towards the household section and get her some nice bedcovers. What mom doesn't like bedcovers? Before I leave, I head down to menswear and get myself a new shirt. It's a gentle orange colour, softer than sunset and it has a nice cut.
I journey back to the other side of town and go home. I look over what I have to do for tomorrow. Math, Chemistry and English. I decide to finish the English first. More poetry. It doesn't ever speak to me, so I don't speak to it. The time soon passes though, and I have it done within an hour. The Chemistry sheet is just balancing equations, second nature to me now. It takes all but five minutes to do. It's relaxing, given my current sad state of affairs.
I meander down to the kitchen and look at what Dad was going to make us eat yesterday. Some form of chicken with pasta. I guess it'll do for my lunch. I put it into the microwave and while I'm waiting, get the mail. College acceptance letters are coming out now and I'm really nervous. I've applied to all the big names, as well as Oxford in England. I also applied to a really unheard of place as my security. Two have came through today - the unknown place and Oxford. I think I want to go to Oxford. It's in England after all, and it means I can escape everyone here. I can become new.
The microwave pings and I get my food. I sit down at the breakfast bar and look at the letters again. I love the sound of Oxford. Oxford, it just vocalises well. I eat and wash up. Turns out Dad isn't bad at picking food after all.
I voyage upstairs again and open my wardrobe. Shirts to one side, trousers to the other. I flick through them but nothing catches my eye, so I decide on the orange one from earlier. To go with it, a pair of cream chinos. I look at the time - 1:30. I hastily get dressed and walk down towards the diner. I've made this walk many times before, but something seems different tonight. I am half tempted to walk back, but I decide to stay and go on.
I enter the diner and go to the till. I settle my weekly tab and wander over to my booth. The waitress comes and pours me a cup of coffee, and I put my sugar and milk in. Now, I just sit and wait.
