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"Good morning, sweetie."
"Morning, mom."
"Your plate's on the table already. I wasn't sure if you wanted orange juice or water so I didn't fix you anything to drink."
"It's okay. Thank you for breakfast."
My mom shut the stove off, grabbing her plate and sitting in front of me. "Are you ready for your first day of junior year at a new school?"
"I'm as ready as I'll ever be. I was freaking out about it in the shower and my conditioner flew off the shelf." I chuckled.
"Dad's telling you not to stress yourself out about it."
"I know. I've been trying to calm myself down, but I woke up this morning really nervous."
"That's normal, sweetie. You're starting at a brand new school, but I think it'll be fine. Either you'll fit in or you won't care enough to even try to do so."
"That's true. My main focus is really just getting through these next two years and graduating."
Looking up from my plate, I caught my mom staring at me with wet eyes and a smile on her face.
"What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Nothing." She sighed. "I'm just really proud of how well you'be been handling everything. You haven't let it throw you off track."
"I learn from you, mom. You're the strongest woman I know and I'm grateful to have somebody like you as a mom and as a mentor."
She patted under her eyes. "I wasn't expecting to cry today." She chuckled. "I'm going to go re-freshen up and then we can go because it's about to be seven. You have to be at school by seven-twenty and I have to be to work at eight so we have to get a move on."
"Okay, I'll clean up. Go freshen up and I'll be done in here by the time you finish."
She scooted back from the table, leaving the dining room and going upstairs towards the back of the house to where the rooms are.
I finished off my bacon and orange juice before taking our plates, rinsing them off in the sink and then loading them in the dishwasher. I picked my phone up from the table and grabbed my book bag.
My phone vibrated in my hand and Kenz's contact name popped up.
"Good morning, Dri."
"Good morning, Kenz."
"Are you excited about today?"
"I was, but I'm a little nervous now. Are you excited about going back to school without me?"
