Playing Criminal

9- Heat

I turned in my sleep and groaned as I covered my head with my pillow.

“Why is it so fricking early?”

Blindly, I reached along the bedside table until my hand found the alarm clock. I yanked the rectangular bit of plastic as hard as I could before tossing it towards the wall with a resounding smack.

I sighed, so much better, and closed my eyes for a few minutes, trying to take myself back to Hawaii’s scenic beaches before giving up on falling back to sleep altogether.

I rubbed my eyes sleepily and sat up, only to jump back across my bed in surprise when I found Kate hovering over my bed, a menacing expression planted on her face.

“Holy crap,” I yelled, wide eyed. “What the Hell are you doing?”

The corners of her eyes tightened and she slowly crossed her arms across her chest. “Is it possible for you to be any louder in the morning?” She spat out, her voice laced with verbal poison.

“Uhh…yes?”

She groaned in frustration and pulled at her hair, before taking me by the upper arm. “Get ready for your damn community service now,” she commanded. “I want you fucking out of here so I can get some damned sleep.”

“Geez, give me a second.” I mumbled as I tried to pick out some clothes from my dresser.

That’s when I felt a pillow hit me in the back of my head, followed by a paperback book. And before I knew it I was sprinting towards the bathroom just to avoid the projectiles of her wrath.

And I didn’t stop there. I whipped through my morning routine feverishly afraid Kate would find some way to break down the door if I didn’t hurry.

When I reentered the room, I felt windswept because I’d been rushing so much.

Kate was now looking much more relaxed with her face lying behind a copy of Vogue, but even so I could tell she was pissed. She looked me up and down critically over the edge of the magazine, pursing her lips all the while.

“You know you’re doing community service not church service, right?” She raised one eyebrow and I sighed, rolling my eyes.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure I got the memo.”

She huffed a sigh in response before getting up and going to her dresser. And before I knew what exactly was going on a pair of jeans hit me in the face.

“I thought you were done with all the throwing.” I groaned.

I heard Kate chuckle, “Just get changed, Idiot. The pants might be a bit baggy since you’re a stick, but they should work. ”

I pulled the pants off of my head in time for me to catch a small black piece of fabric – a tank top. “You’re letting me wear your clothes?”

Kate shrugged her shoulders, “You can’t pick up trash in a skirt and blouse.”

“Yeah…I didn’t really have anything else to wear. So…umm…thanks I guess.” I murmured, blushing.

She frowned as she took a few deliberate steps towards me. “Don’t think this means I’m going soft on you.” She glared as she poked a finger straight into my chest.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” I held up my hands in defense before turning around and quickly changing.

I squirmed when I saw my reflection in the mirror. The tank top was tight fitting even on me and showed off part of my midriff. The pants were baggy just like she’d warned and were ripped and torn in places.