It had been five years since Roxy had actually gotten a decent night's sleep. Five years in which she had been woken up at 5AM without fail. There wasn't some medical reason, or some deep psychological meaning behind it. It was just Thomas. The maddening six year old that she had to share a room with. The way in which she was woken up always differed, however. This morning, of all mornings, had to be jumping.
"You little-" the torture was cut short as she grabbed her brother, pulling him down into the bed next to her and attacking him with tickles. If it weren't for them being the only ones in the house, it would've sounded like someone was being murdered from the screaming she got out of the youngster. The pair lay in a fit of giggles for a little while, their laughter dying down into laboured breathing. Roxy broke the silence by clapping her hands abruptly.
"Right. I want you up and dressed in ten minutes, soldier." Ruffling his hair, she jumped up and out of bed - stopping for a second to grab the wall as all of the blood rushed to her head and she was momentarily blind. She knew that it would take him way longer to get his clothes on than ten minutes, but she wanted him to practice doing it on his own.
"Roxxxxyyyyyyyyy." The whining voice caused the pink-haired girl to roll her eyes as she fixed her brother's duvet, which somehow managed to end up tucked down the side of the bed. This must be what mothers feel like, having to answer every single whinge or moan. She pushed the thought out of her head abruptly. She was all that Thomas had, barring their father who was hardly ever home.
"What about breakfast?" The little boy, doing so out of years of practice, rolled out of her bed and started rearranging the mountain of covers and pillows as she did his. It was a little routine they had, and god forbid anything that interrupted it.
"I'll make your breakfast, silly. Come down once you're dressed." She poked him in the tummy as she passed, inspecting her own bed to make sure he had made it correctly. Perfect.
"Now hurry up or your cereal will go soggy." She smiled a soft, genuine smile as the words seemed to spring Thomas into action. How he could move so fast and so early in the morning she would never know, but it still managed to make her smile.
At quarter to seven, both Roxy and Thomas stood behind their front door. Roxy fussed over his jumper that he had somehow managed to already get dirty. Satisfied with her decent job of fading the stain, Roxy stood up straight and pointed downwards at a pair of bright red shoes with laces.
"Can you do my laces Roxy? Please please pleeeeeeease?" She couldn't resist. Those huge eyes that reminded her so much of Mum and his tiny hands clasped together. It was a moment of weakness. Sighing in exasperation, she bent down - earning her legs a few cracks - and deftly slipped the boy's shoes on, tying his laces in a double knot and tapping his foot once she was done.
"Why do you dress like that, Roxy? You look funny." The question asked by the high-pitched American voice earned a smirk from his older sister as she glanced down at herself.
"It's my aesthetic." She smiled at her own joke, ignoring the puzzled expression of Thomas and throwing open the front door, ushering him out. Closing the door behind her and locking it with a quick movement, she recognised the yellow bus crawling along the road towards them.
"Right, Tommo. You be good and show all those other kids that you're the best." Roxy lead her brother to the side of the street and wrapped him in a tight hug, much to the protests of him. Planting a big kiss on his cheek, she finally let him go as he scrambled up the steps of the bus and disappeared inside. She felt a familiar pull at her heart as he vanished from sight, but her worries melted away as his little face appeared at the window, waving frantically. Waving back, Roxy watched as the bus disappeared from view, wondering if all big sisters had to do this.
School. What a wonderful place. Long gone was Roxy's softness she felt only towards her brother, instead her face betrayed only mild contempt. Sauntering up the corridor, she offered only the odd smile to those she knew. Even then, it was barely genuine.
Homeroom seemed like a mismatched bunch of outcasts, in all honesty, and she kind of preferred it that way. She recognised a few faces, but made no attempt to start a conversation until she was seated next to Riley and some smiley girl she had never seen before. She smirked as Riley shot her a wink, tempted to make some comment about what he would be doing that night, but refrained from it. Instead, she turned to her left to listen in on the stranger girl's conversation with yet another stranger in from of her.
She watched with open curiosity as the boy smiled at her neighbor, but, as if only then remembering that she was there listening, letting the smile fade away. No. she would not be allowing that. One thing she hated more than anything has self-consciousness. May as well let her be comfortable around her, at least.
"Hi." She displayed her sweetest smile to the pair, rested her chin on her hand.
"I'm Roxy." She paused once more, her eyes tracing over the two of them, determining whether they were quite ready for her humour. She decided they must be.
"Punk, rebel, opinionated bitch with dazzling good looks." Her eyes sparked with challenge, not necessarily aimed at them - they just tended to be looking for a fight wherever she went. In fact, she didn't even want confrontation today. Not one bit.
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RosalineEleanor
