Strip

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Molly? Molly, wake up!"

I slowly opened my eyes, squinting against the light streaming through my window. I balled my covers up in my fists, wanting nothing more than to bury my head under my pillow. But as my eyes focused, I realize there was a little boy with messy brown hair standing in front of me. He was wearing fire-truck pajamas, and clutching a toy monkey to his chest, his face full of fear.

I shot out of bed, kneeling next to my brother. "What's wrong James?" I asked frantically, my heart rate starting to accelerate. 

The scenarios started running through my head. Broken arm. Internal bleeding. Violent flash backs. (I honestly didn't really know what this one entailed, but it sounded scary)

James wiped his nose on his sleeve. "James?" I asked again.

"I had a nightmare." James said quietly, hugging the monkey closer to his chest..

"Oh no!" I said, pulling him into a hug. Secretly I was relieved- nightmares seemed quite a bit better than snapped limbs. "What was it?"

"Dinosaurs."

I sighed. Sadly, unlike most 6-year-old boys, instead of still thinking of dinosaurs as cool, or interesting, or even just Barney, James was terrified of them. I  had a theory of there being a connection between his fear and the time Mrs. Copper was baby-sitting him, parked him in front of the tv as "Jurassic Park" started to play while she went to gossip with her friends from bingo.

"It's ok James," I said. "Dinosaurs aren't alive anymore."

"But what if they come back!" James said.

"Highly unlikely," I said, standing up. "Do you want some breakfast? I think we have some ceria-"

My heart stopped as I saw my alarm clock. "Fuck." I whispered. 

"What's wro-"

"James go get dressed!" I commanded, as I ran for my own closet. I had over slept 30 minutes. This gave me about 10 minutes to get dressed, drop off games, and get to work. As I pulled on the leggings I had worn the day before, and a shirt that I had worn 4 days in a row, I looked in the mirror.

And cringed. I looked as if I hadn't brushed my hair in months, forming a giant blond main around my head.. I considered taking trying to pull a brush through my horrific tangles, but finally, just pulled it all back into a clip, and force it under a baseball cap.

I grabbed my bag from it's spot next to my door and ran into the kitchen. James stood there, dressed in a blue shirt and jeans, his hair combed out. I grabbed 2 granola bars, and handed them both to him (I could eat at work, but Mrs. Copper didn't usually offer food, and James didn't ask for it.) Gripping James's hand, I threw open the door, practically fell down the stairs, and knocked on Mrs. Copper's door. 

"Please don't be dead, please don't be dead," I mumbled as we waited for her to answer. 

Mrs. Copper was at least 90, couldn't go 5 minutes without taking some pill for her heart, or liver. She wasn't exactly the best person to be watching a 6-year-old, but she was my only option.

The door finally creaked open, a Mrs. Copper standing there in her trademark scowl. I threw James through the doorway, and took off running again. 

"Thanks Mrs. Copper!" I yelled over my shoulder. I burst out of my building, and ran the 8 blocks, my purse flying behind me.

When I reached McDonald's, I slowed to a stop, and walked in like I hadn't just woken up 10 minutes ago. I glanced at the clock. I was only 7 minutes late, which was honestly pretty good for myself. I grabbed my apron from the hook where it spent it's nights, and tied it around my waist as I headed for the cash register.

I'm late because... I struggled to put together an excuse. 

My alarm clock broke. I had used that one twice before.

My brother had violent flashbacks. I didn't have enough knowledge to fake that one.

Family emergency. There was no way I could get away with such a vague answer.

"You're late," Cath said without looking up from the order she was punching in.

"Sorry, I overslept."

"It's not professional," Cath stated, shooting me a look out of the corner of her eye.

Cath treated her job as a cashier at McDonald's like she was the president. She arrived earlier than the manager, triple checked her orders, and could get exact change with her hands tied behind her back. The most irritating part of it was she was a year younger than me, yet looked at me as if I was the child.

"Chill Cath," Ally said from the fryer. Ally was the opisite of Cath- She may have never gotten an order right, she always burned at least one burger, and she frequently snuck into the back alley to make-out with her boyfriend, Arnold (Who spent quite a bit of his time hanging around the kitchen and getting in everyone's way) If Cath had the authority, Ally would had been fired months ago. 

Cath rolled her eyes. "Ally, those fries are smoking! God, can't you do ANYTHING?"

Ally shrugged a gave me a wink. "Only 6 hours left, right?"

I gritted my teeth as I turned to the cash register. "Only 6 hours left."

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Hello Everybody!

This is just the first chapter. I hope you like it! The next chapter will have more drama, and start getting into romance. Please vote, comment, all that, it would mean the world to me! If people like this, I'm going to be posting as much as I can.

Thanks so much for reading!

XOX

Edit 2015: I actually cringed so hard while reading through this.

BUT I EDITED IT THE BEST I CAN.

Sorry if some thing's don't fit up with everything else now, idk EDITING IS HARD GUYS.

Ok thanks.

XOX (again)