Chapter Text
Chapter 1:
“Bye auntie! Love you! See you again…uhm..next rush I guess?” you call out to your aunt as you head for the door. She laughs warmly, “It’ll come sooner than you think. Be sure to get home safely. You did great today, love you!”
You wave goodbye and the bell rings as you step out the door and start mindlessly following the familiar directions home. It’s getting dark, you think to yourself, I’d better hurry…
You just finished helping your aunts restaurant kitchen during rush hour, as you’ve volunteered to do so when things got busy for the past…..what? 2? Maybe 3 years? Something like that. Things have definitely been tough, but you’ve never once regretted coming to help out.
You have always been interested in the culinary world, and this has been a great opportunity to let you learn to cook, pretty well nowadays, might I add, you think to yourself. Plus, you like helping your aunt.
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You turn the familiar corner to your street about 15 minutes later. Whew, just in the nick of time, you think, noticing how dark it’s gotten since you left.
You fumble with your keys for a moment, until you finally twist the key and let yourself in.
“I’m home,” you shout to nobody in particular, as you hang up your coat and bag.
“Do we have any Twinkies left?” you mutter, “I would totally die for one right n-“ you freeze when you see your parents arguing in the kitchen.
“There are other things to consider besides the salary increase! God, you can be so shallow sometimes!” your mom shouts, before your parents turn their heads to see you and freeze.
“….Whats going on?” you ask skeptically. Your mom blinks and tries to regain her composure, plastering on what looks like an attempt at a warm smile. “Oh.. it’s nothing of your concern, it’s just…work stuff. Don’t worry yourself.” Your parents give each other a worried look, both slightly red faced.
“Ahem, if you’ll excuse us…” your father clears his throat as he motions with a nod for your mother to follow him to their bedroom.
“Weird…” you murmur to yourself as you make your way up the stairs. You glance at the clock on the wall, reading 8:13. It’s pretty good timing, what with the time it took to clean up and considering they close at 7:30.
You grab some pajamas from your bedroom and start towards the bathroom, ready to begin your nightly routine. You hop in the shower, and finally let your mind wander.
Finals are coming up and it’s no joke. They’ve been creeping up on you and before you knew it they’re right around the corner. They’re in two weeks, and—contrary to your usual responsible tendencies—you’ve barely studied. I really need to up my study game…I’ve been procrastinating like crazy, you think to yourself, I’ll have to study after this…
Freshman year is finally almost over, which means summer is almost here, and thankfully so. This year has been awful. You don’t really have any friends, and none of your teachers are particularly fond of you. Not because of your grades or anything, you have pretty good grades actually, you just always seem to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Currently, one of the only things (other than the restaurant) that you have going for you is your boyfriend, Jay. Which, even that has been rocky lately too. Things were actually alright until a couple of months ago. It was gradual, but he’s been becoming distant and irate. He doesn’t reply to your messages consistently, or honestly, at all. He’s been snapping at you and glued to his phone. He’s always “busy” with family issues (which have suspiciously been happening quite often), or soccer—which he’s not even good at. He’s warming the bench for majority of the game, then goes on to brag in your ear for half an hour about either, their win, or complaining about his teammates “selling the game.”
By now you’re just about finished showering, so after you put in your leave-in conditioner you step out.
Once you’ve dried off and thrown on your pajamas, you start your skincare routine. You pull on a headband and start by washing your face. You cleanse, moisturize, and finish with your lash and brow oil. Finally, you brush your teeth and hair. Your slippers are waiting by the door, so you slip them on and leave the bathroom.
You stop by your room to plug in your phone, then head to your sister’s room.
You knock on her door a few times and wait for her to open the door. You check the clock on the wall again to read 9:06, Nice, you think, I’ll chat with Aria for a few then study until about 11… your train of thought gets interrupted when your 13 year old sister opens the door.
“Yes?” she inquires with a slightly irritated expression.
You say nothing as you enter her room, simply plopping down on her bean bag and gesture for her to sit. She rolls her eyes, but nonetheless shuts the door and sits down across from you with her legs crossed.
“So?” she says, elbows resting on her knees.
“What, can’t a girl just miss her sister?” you scoff, feigning offense.
“Ugh, please. Be serious. State testing is almost here and you’ve interrupted my studying, so whatever you have to say, spit it out.”
“Gosh Ari, somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed….but you’re right. I should be studying since finals are coming up….Gosh where has the time gone?” you say. Of course she’s studying, you forget how many similarities you two share, looks and personality. “Anyway, did you hear mom and dad?”
“….No, what about them?” she asks, concern infecting her features
“Nothing too bad, so don’t freak out just yet,” you say, “But I walked in on them arguing earlier when I got home, and it was obvious it was a conversation for their ears only.”
“How so?” she leans in, you having finally caught her attention.
“Well, they both froze and got pretty red-faced when they saw me. They stammered a little, and mom basically told me it was none of my business when I asked what was going on.”
“Wow. Anything else? Did you hear what it was about? Was it work? I bet it was work…Wait, what if they’re divorcing?” her mouth had fallen slightly open, before she started chewing her nails—a habit you both struggled with.
“Jeez, Ari, calm down! They are not getting a divorce. I thought I told you not to freak out..” she huffs, and gestures for you to continue. “But yes, dad excused themselves immediately and practically scurried away. It was weird. Oh! Also, I heard mom say something about it not being all about a salary increase, and how shallow dad was, so it’s definitely about work. That’s all I got.”
She sighs. “Well, be sure to eavesdrop as much as you can these next couple days and tell each other what we hear..”
“Of course” you say with a yawn.
She stands up and stretches for a moment, then stands in front of her mirror and starts braiding her curly hair into a simple side braid for the night. You start skimming over some of the titles on her bookshelf, until she looks between you and the door expectantly and says, “You need to study. ‘Night.”
“Fine, ‘Night.”
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“I can’t do this anymore..” you mutter, exhausted. You update your studying time stamps on your phone, now reading, “Start time: 9:43 End time: 1:37 Elapsed time: 3 hours, 54 minutes” “Holy crap! That’s way past what I originally planned. Shit, I have to wake up at 6:30 for school tomorrow..” you say, slamming shut your chunky ass textbook and dropping your pen.
At least I got a solid study sesh, even if it means trading sleep… you trail off. You get in your fluffy bed, turning off your lamp. You don’t take your usual melatonin gummy, considering your exhaustion.
You fall asleep instantly anyway.
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Your alarm beeps at 6:30 the next morning, and you unwilling and groggily get out of bed and start getting ready.
You head to your shared bathroom and do your skincare, makeup, and hair beside Aria.
You throw on the outfit you came up with while you got ready and grab your bag.
Decent, you think as you scan yourself in the mirror. A dark wash jean skirt paired with a lightweight white sweater over a red cami. You have a substantial amount of silver jewelry on, and you have on some cute black Mary Jane’s you got the other day. You just straightened your hair due to lack of better ideas.
You and your sister head out the door and start walking to school. Your school is 6-12, so you guys walk together, her being at the end of 7th grade and you 9th.
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When you guys get home, your mother is cooking dinner in the crockpot for later while your dad watches hockey.
You immediately sense the tension and give your sister that look, knowing she feels it too. Something’s going to happen..
“Hey girls, how was your day? Aria, get dressed and get your stuff together for ballet. Your pointe shoes are by the couch, but they should be in your room. Put them away properly next time please. And before you ask, yes, you’re going.” your mom says sternly. Your sister huffs in annoyance, but goes to start getting ready.
You drop your bag and start to head upstairs before your mom can hound you. Once you reach your room, you change into comfy clothing and flop down on your bed to take a much needed nap.
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You wake up around 6pm to your sister pounding on your door.
“What?” you all but yell.
“Dinner.” She says simply and leaves.
You get up and head downstairs to set the table, afterwards finally eating.
Aria is still in her leotard, hair in a tight bun.
“How was practice?” your mom asks, trying to strike up a conversation.
“Fine.” your sister says before eating a bite of chili.
“Stock markets been thriving these past couple of days” your dad says.
The rest of dinner goes by silently.