heliophile

complicated

I heard the sound I had been dreading to hear ever since my head hit the pillow. My alarm. I swung my hand and slapped the top of the annoying, beeping yellow clock. It fell off my nightstand and continued to beep under my bed. I groaned and sat up, slowly dragging myself up and off the mattress. My feet felt like they weighed a hundred pounds as I maneuvered myself under and searched for the clock. It continued to ring and ring until I finally got it to shut off. After banging my head on the underside of my bed, I fixed my twisted, bright green, silk romper and rubbed my eyes open. 

Sunlight was seeping through the windows, shining a little light in my colorful room. I opened my closet door and stared at it for about 20 minutes before grabbing my work uniform. It was a collared light blue dress with an frilly, white, lace apron attached. I walked to the bathroom to take out my curls and hung my uniform on the door. My brown hair poofed out after I fluffed it. I carefully crafted two small braids into the front strands of my hair and tied it all back with a blue, polka dotted ribbon.

I walked into the kitchen and grabbed a pot to make some oatmeal. Heather walked in soon after and appeared extremely confused and dreadfully tired. "Jeesh, it's 6 in the morning, what are you doing up so early?" she asked, sitting at the barstool in front of me.

"Um, we have work today Heather, remember? The diner? We have the same shifts now?"

Her eyes went wide, then bore into mine with a look of sympathy. "Well shoot. Please forgive me, I'm so sorry. I completely forgot to tell you."

My eyes narrowed. "What is it?" I said, though my teeth.

She slammed her hand against her forehead repeatedly. "God I'm such a spaz, I'm so sorry. I forgot to tell you that you're taking my shift with me, meaning you don't start till 9:00 and don't end till 5:00. I totally forgot your regular shifts are from 7:00 to 3:00. Please forgive me."

I sighed and set the pot down. "Aw geez Heather, so I got up early for nothing?"

Her lips pulled into a sly smile. "Well, no, not for nothing. You can go to the Happy Clap and pick me up some waffles for breakfast." I rolled my eyes. "Nope, I'm going back to bed." She quickly stood up and followed me as I walked back to my room. "Aw come on. Think of it as a celebration! Ya know, first day working with your bestie! Plus, you're hair is already done. Wouldn't wanna mess that up. Please? Pretty please? With a cherry on top? Ooo get cherries on the waffles too." she said, trying to push me back out of my bedroom. I sighed. There is no way I am going to win this battle. "Fine, just let me get dressed. Up your nose with a rubber hose." She squealed and jumped up and down. "I love you I love you I love you so much! You're my favorite person ever. I promise I'll make it up to you. Lemme choose your outfit! Gotta look cute for those boys, ya know?" I pulled her arm and yanked her out of my room. "Hey! Sit on it, don't make me change my mind." She stopped jumping and covered her mouth. "Shoot, sorry! Thank you so much! Love ya to the moon and back. Remember the cherries!" she said, and walked off to her room.

I took a deep breath and went back to my closet to pick out another outfit. If I'm going all the way to get her waffles, I'm at least gonna do it in style. I picked out a pair of high waisted yellow shorts and a tight, navy blue shirt and tucked it in. I finished it off with a bright red belt, daisy earrings, my pink sunglasses, and my white sneakers. I grabbed my teal colored penny board and shut the door behind me.

As I walked into the Happy Clap, the door rung and everyone looked at me. 

"Hi, um, can I get 2 orders of your waffle combo?" I asked, setting my board down in an empty booth. 

"Of course my dear, any toppings?"

"Yes, whipped cream, chocolate syrup and cherries. On both."