Judith Grimes , a love story

School days over

The sweet smell of porridge tempts me to get up. I know it's Michonne's breakfast , and she gets up horridly early , but all the same, I climb out of bed . Gracie has wrapped her legs around my waist in her sleep , but doesn't stir when I untangle myself. She is definitely not an early riser.

Dressing myself in some denim shorts and a shirt , I slip my feet into my combat boots and head for the bathroom. The taps don't work great , but we have man-made wells that connect to the lake , meaning the water must be tested regularly to insure it isn't contaminated , Fred , who worked in a lab does that , but he's old so Herschel is learning. After a couple seconds the tap works , and i splash my face quickly then wet my toothbrush , making sure to turn the tap off a.s.a.p. , preservation is a big deal around here. Toothpaste is not a luxury we have any more, but we do have baking soda, which works fine.Once I brush my hair and pull the top layer back into a half up half down look, I'm ready to go.

Michonne is sitting at the kitchen counter top , shovelling her porridge in as quickly as possible , it's her turn on guard so she likes to relieve  the person on night duty quickly. " Morning Judie , Your'e up too  early ." She informs me , giving me a smile and patting the seat next to her. " Your breakfast tempted me too much , anyway today is officially my last day of school , I want to be nice and early for the big exam." I inform her , getting a bowl from the press and spooning the still warm porridge in a saucepan into it, then sitting down next to her.

Michonne gives me her knowing look. She knows i don't care about the exam , just being done with classes five days a week. Carol teaches in the church for a few hours during the week ( or what we think is the week ,who knows) as well as a few other women , and once you turn 16 ( if you have the pleasure of knowing your age of course, we think I'm about 16 anyway) you can do an exam the teachers make between themselves when the school years over , if you pass , your'e done . Once you've gotten your need-to-know education you start working on Safe Island. 

I have no idea what job I want yet, there's actually a good variety. I could farm on the fields, or breed and kill the squirrels and rabbits , then there's the goats of course, but I don't want that, those things are grumpy from over milking. I could teach , but the older lady's usually do that once they get too old for their original job , plus I don't know much outside of what I was taught in class, being born after the end of the world and all. Sarah Monroe's offered to take me on in manufacturing , I'm not too bad at sewing , but I'd hate to land a job like making toilet paper , boring, plus it's supposedly a hard job, involves lots of heating up water. Being on guard is for people who like the quiet, like Michonne , lot's of people who suffer PTSD work on it , as long as they've a good aim , which everyone does these days , the job isn't too hard. There's a big bell incase anything big happens like a herd approaching the water , in that case everyone helps out. I think training might be for me really , with the little one's . I'd also like to start educating the little one's on survival skills , Carol does her best in memory of her little girl , but I think they need to learn what to do incase they're alone like Sophia was.

Michonne bids me goodbye, snapping me out of my trance. I start cleaning my bowl up as Gracie walks downstairs , her feet dragging in a walker like way and her eyes drooping sleepily. She doesn't speak, just grabs some dried berries from the counter , picks up her shoulder bag and drags herself outside , heading for the church. I giggle and follow suit, catching up with my little sister and making fun of her attractive bed head and lovable morning mood.

Four hours later I'm  leaving the church , no school for good! The exam was a breeze , and the older ones are heading to Sam's house to celebrate , as his dad is extremely good at making hooch , which he wont notice is missing a bottle from the full press in their basement. Gracie , annoying as ever, tries to catch up , but gives up when she receives the mother of all glares. She shuffles away , head hanging , so I catch up , guilt getting the better of me. " Hey you " I say , putting an arm around her shoulder and trying to catch her eye. " I promise I'll get some for you to try this time , although you are FAR to young . But it is the last day , I suppose you should celebrate too "I tell her ,making a mental note to dilute the drink with lot's of water , Gracie's too young to be able to hide drunkness from our dad , anyway she really is too young.  She looks up at me , a smile spreading across her face " thank's Judie , you're so thoughtful " she tells me , pleased that I've thought of her. " Hey Judith!" Sam yells from a few feet away, the others have gone ahead but he's waiting for me , " You coming? " he asks , giving Gracie and I a smile. I give Grace a swift kiss on the cheek and catch up with him , not wanting to miss out on the fun.

Hey guys! Thank's to anyone who's read this far, I know the stories taking awhile to kick off , but i want my story to make sense and because of the huge time jump , lot's needs to be told!  I'm considering making Sam the love interest , but am strongly considering making him a close friend , nothing more ,his character will definitely develop no matter what . I have a good idea for the love interest being a completely new and interesting character in Judith's life who she can learn alot from, there's also something in the comics that hasn't happened in the show yet, but I am not very happy with AMC at the moment ,anyone who's caught up with season 8 will know why :(( I won't be changing my story to fit in with any changes in the show, except maybe the occasional new character that I think could add to the story. Please let me know in the comments who you all would like to be Judiths love interest and any other ideas , credit will be given of course, and maybe I'll name a character after you ! Lot's of love!!