Tails of Memories

Chapter One: Tired Beginnings

   The sky was still dark when Gabriel's drifted from his dreamless sleep, the chill of night nipped at his toes. With a huff, Gabriel pulled the blanket over the tips of his long fox ears as he pulled his slender legs up to his chest. As he did this his toes receded back under his thin comforter were they were when he had first gone to sleep a couple hours ago.

The alarm he had set for 5:10 am the day before went off.

Gabriel groaned softly as he uncurled his legs and sat up. His pale arms stretched above his head as he yawned, his white fox ears folded back and three white fox tails stretched out of their resting position.

When Gabriel felt satisfied with his stretch he lowered his arms and pulled off his warm blanket, only to shiver at the cold morning air and pull the blanket back over himself wanting to go back to sleep.

The constant beeping from his phone alarm was still going off, making him groan in annoyance when he knew that he was going to have to get up and turn off the alarm.

Gabriel sat up again and shivered as he pushed off his warm comforter and swung his legs over the edge of his bed holding in his shivers.

He stood on his worn carpet and shuffled to his desk a few feet away from his bed. His head still murky with sleep.

As Gabriel picked up his phone to turn off his alarm, an audible bang came from the other room to his right.

The room next to his belonged to one of his friends named Finn.

"TURN THAT OFF BEFORE I COME OVER THERE AND TURN IT OFF FOR YOU!" Finn shouted through the wall.

Gabriel quickly turned the alarm off in fear of an angry, sleep-deprived Finn accompanying him throughout the entire Thursday.

His eyes caught the notifications that had collected as he had slept but he couldn't be bothered to open them right then. Setting down his phone while rubbing the rheum from the corner of his left eye.

He let out a huge yawn and rubbed his hands down his face. A couple seconds passed before he walked around his big drawer and shelf combination and clicked his light on.

Gabriel shuffled towards his sliding mirror closet doors and slid the right behind the left, exposing his three drawer dresser that had a wire rack resting on top of it. His hand reached for the first sweatshirt that was stacked on top of the wire rack, it was an older navy colored one that he had gotten from his father.

His hand reached down to the first drawer that held his undershirts, underwear, and socks. He grabbed a white shirt, black boxers, and a pair of his crew cut white and grey socks. He skipped his second drawer and pulled open his last drawer that held his pants. His hand immediately reached for his old pair of black denim baggy pants that he always wore.

With his clothes in hand, he turned slightly to grab the towel that was hanging on the hook that he stuck on to the surface of the mirror.

Smiling as he pulled away with his selected clothes and towel in hand, Gabriel turned back to his bed and laid out his clothes.

Sweatshirt first, shirt, pants, and his briefs last along with his socks.

Gabriel pulled his fox tails and ears as he let out another small yawn and walked out of his bedroom with his towel, walked down the short hall and into the upstairs bathroom.

He shut the door to the bathroom and hung the towel off the hook on the back of the door, then reached over to his toothbrush and floss. Grabbing both after undressing and climbed into his shower.

As Gabriel shut the bath curtains with one hand and set down his toothbrush and floss on top of the half-full tube of toothpaste that was sitting on the shower rack hanging on the shower head. The cold of the tub was just starting to get to him as he turned on the shower to his preferred warmth.