Traitor Blue

Chapter 1: Unpleasant Introductions

My favorite part of my entire day was by far the first thirty minutes.

There was something about the familiar routine of getting dressed with a groggy, uncaring mind and then dragging myself upstairs to the kitchen to prepare breakfast that held its own form of comfort.

My tired hand reached upward to the cabinet above the coffee maker and pulled out a mug. With little thought, I switched the coffee maker on and began filling the top with the grounds before pressing the worn start button. I leaned against the island and blankly stared into space as the coffee dripped into the pot and I considered what I wanted for breakfast. It didn't take long to decide as I once again came to life, making my way to the fridge, swinging the door open and grabbing the cream cheese out from the top shelf. Shutting the door, I turned to the toaster and pulled out a bagel from the bag next to it, easily pulling the bagel in two and popping it into the toaster.

A soft beeping from the coffee machine attracted my attention and I pulled the pot from the machine, pouring it into my mug and walking the cup over to my seat at the table. Within no time, I found myself sat at the table with my breakfast, going through my instagram feed and sending streaks as I sipped my coffee and took another bite of my bagel.

This was what made my morning so great, sitting by myself in the silence of the morning with a warm cup of coffee and getting time to do whatever I wanted before the responsibilities of the day came crashing down. Unfortunately, I didn't quite get the alone time this morning that I wanted, for ten minutes into my breakfast, fifteen minutes before everyone else would be entering the kitchen, little Callie shuffled into the kitchen.

Callie was the newest addition to the Walter Burton Children's home who had shown up with CPS a few days ago while she awaited a foster placement. The small girl was in second grade, to my knowledge loved the Barbie movies, and had the most aggressive resting bitch face that I had ever seen on a child.

I glanced over at her as she pulled herself up onto the bar stool that rested at the other side of the island and sighed on the inside, disappointed to be interrupted, but I would never let her know that. I knew what it was like to be somewhere so unfamiliar at that age, Callie needed a friend, not somebody annoyed at her. Pushing my chair back, I stood up and walked over to sit next to Callie. "Good morning," I told her, leaning on my elbows as I turned my torso to face her, "What got you up so early?"

"Quinn was snoring," she said with such annoyance that I couldn't help but smile.

"Gotcha," I replied before going into caretaker mode, "Are you hungry? Do you want breakfast right now?"

She nodded and I listed off her options, pulling out various breakfast foods for the other children in preparation for when they got up as I showed the foods to Callie. She ended up going with a bowl of lucky charms that I happily prepared for her before slowly, all the other kids showed up. The rest of the morning went by in a blur as I helped get breakfast for the little ones and pulled out their backpacks in preparation for school that morning. Around eight, Ms. Burton, the daughter of the founder of the children's home and current caretaker, appeared from the front hallway with a baby on her hip and tired eyes, putting on a smile as she started saying good morning to each child.

Walking into the room, she glanced over at the clock on the microwave and sudden turned to me. "Kailyn! You got to get going or you're going to miss the train," she chastised. "Thanks for all your help this morning, you're such a blessing."

"It's nothing," I brushed it off, heart warming slightly at the compliment and returned back to my forgotten breakfast, quickly downing the coffee and grabbing my bagel to eat on my commute. Quickly dropping my mug into the sink, I dashed through the doorway to the front hallway, pulling on a pair of sneakers and swinging my backpack on as I grabbed my duffle bag for practice after school. Opening the door, I paused as I heard my name called again and turned, seeing Ms. Burton standing in the hall.