Fly Away Girl

Chapter One

Chapter One

Emmy

***

Rosa's puke is taking forever to get out of these cheap linoleum tiles in our kitchen. I don't know what my baby sister ate, but it seems to be sinking into the floor. Disgusting. She's colicky again.

So here I am, on my hands and knees, scrubbing at the floor and trying to clean up the big ass mess that my sister just made. Where are my other five siblings? Nowhere in sight. Typical.

I've pretty much gotten the mess off of the floor when the twins come racing in from the back door, tracking mud everywhere. I've had it. For today, at least.

I stomp over to the staircase and yell for everyone to come downstairs.

The twins appear first. Four year olds Maria and Martin are still giggling as they sit on two kitchen chairs. Next is my brother Samuel, who is fourteen. He ruffles his dark curls and leans against the wall, glaring at us all like he has somewhere better to be. Lucas is after him. The eight year old bounces into the kitchen and hops onto the deep freezer. As eleven year old Sofia arrives, I pick up Baby Rosa from her ratty old high chair and bounce her on my hip.

"I have to be at work in half an hour," I begin. Samuel rolls his eyes. "I can't clean up all this while you guys are off doing who cares what."

"Where's Mama?" Sofia pipes up.

"Work." It's not an uncommon answer. "Sammy, you and the others clean up this mess. Please," I add when my brother glares at me.

I suddenly feel something chunky and warm on my shoulder, sliding down my back. I turn to see what it is.

Rosa has thrown up all over me.

***

The water pressure at our rental home sucks. I shower for no more than five minutes before growing tired of the lukewarm water and hurry into the girls room to get ready for work.

Sofia, Maria and I share a bedroom, while Samual, Lucas, and Martin share the other one. Mama and Rosa share the living room, but since Mama is hardly ever home by the time we fall asleep, Rosa typically sleeps with us.

My uniform for Harry's Diner is already laying on the bed that takes up most of the tiny room, most likely courtesy of Lucas. I slip it on, grab my shoes, and twist my curls into a bun and I'm ready for work.

I'm first to arrive for my shift. Probably because I speed walked the entire way for fear of being late.

"Emilia!" Alice calls to me. "I'm clocking out a little early. You on the next shift?"

"Yeah," I call back. "And you can call me Emmy, remember?"

Alice checks out and walks toward me. "Right, Emmy. Whatever. See ya. And thanks!"

"No problem," I toss over my shoulder. I sigh as I check in for my shift. My only female friend, Morgan, hasn't gotten here yet. Morgan is pretty much everything I'm not. Blonde, loud, and outgoing. A little bitchy, but she gets the whole "friend" job done.

"I'm not paying you to stand around, Ellie," Harry says as he comes out of his office.

"Emmy," I correct him. "And my shift hasn't even started."

"I didn't force you to get here early. Take tables one through eight."

I flip up my middle finger as soon as Harry's fat ass is turned away from me. I start with table four, since the first three are empty.

I regret my decision. Table four is the round table. Four guys and three girls sit around it. They look snobby.

"Hi, welcome to Harry's. I'm Emmy and I'll be your waitress today. Can I start you off with some drinks?"