Ugggggggghhhhh.....why....not today....please not today....
GOOD MORNING!!!!!
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I could practically hear Claudia's thoughts groan as my yell awakened her and her bad mood. Now, I may have or have not gotten hyped on twenty-five Reeses Jumbo Cups beforehand....but what did that matter? I mean ifitweretruenotatall!!!
"You're such a ditz Caitlin!!!" She yelled on the floor after her arrival with it.
I didn't mind her calling me a ditz. I was a bit clumsy now and then and I knew that. She just expressed it verbally!
"Awww...you wouldn't skin me on my birthday would you? Not for the cake? Not for the booze? Not for.....Jasper?"
I watched her eyes for the reaction and sure enough, her eyes lightened up with every mention of party necessities...and Jasper.
Claudia was a bit...bossy. To everyone. I mean EVERYONE. Jasper made her...not bossy? She liked his laid-back attitude and his perpetual green striped turtleneck obsession. Windblown, black, ear-length hair, green eyes, and nice personality. I'd arranged for him to come to the party weeks ago for my friend here.
"Whatever." She said, trying to push it off. "Stay out of the bathroom. I get first dibs, and today is my birthday too."
I ran up to her and hugged her and squeed all the while. "Oooh I knew you'd come around! It's at 6 at Skysparks Bar! See you there! Oh wait, you're not leaving yet..."
She sighed and went down the hallway to our only bathroom. I stayed and made breakfast. Pancakes and muffins for her and I respectively. Muffins...why muffins...hmmm...
While the griddle was warming up and the banana batter was baking in the oven, Claudia exited the bathroom. Her black curly hair was teased to look longer that it was. It was perfectly complemented with her orange t-shirt and jeans. Nonchalant, but still buisness-like.
"Caitlin, email from Baltimore! Someone named 'Crystal Isling'? What? Roses not growing properly or whatever. Be back in a few hours!"
I nodded to her. She was a gardener, a great one at that. I could grow stuff, but paled in comparison. I did odd jobs. Today was helping a friend out with sorting some adoption papers. A little advanced, but she was going to pay me for the trouble. I was her intern so to speak.
Claudia downed a cup of Oj and grabbed a few pancakes, dry, and left with her bag of gardening tools. I took my time with a cup of tea and banana muffins with butter. Wow. 25. A whole quarter of my life. This party is going to go down in history! I have a jumpy track for my train of thought.
I finished and put the dishes in the sink for later and went inside the bathroom to dress. My straight brown hair was shoulder-length and just hung. I put it up into a bun and threw on a grey shirt with a few make-up touch-ups to my face. My pants were solid navy in color with the number 12 embroidered on them.
I grabbed my backpack with the right papers in them, and careful to lock the door, went out. I walked everywhere and knew the town like the back of my hand. I loved Boston.
The walk to Sarah's house was nice. I was alone to my thoughts and got to enjoy the semi-cloudy day. Both Sarah and her twin sister Savannah lived there. Sucessful violist, community assistant, and awesome friend, Sarah was a great person. Savannah ran Skysparks bar. She was...unpredictable to say the least.
It wasn't long before I showed up at Sarah's door. I knocked a few times before I heard some movement inside.
"Come on in! Kathryn, right? Sarah is waiting for you upstairs!" Oh great. Savannah was here too? I opened the door to come face to face with Sarah's sister.
"Octy is upstairs. I gotta get back to the bar though! See you at 6!" And rushed out the door without another word.
I dismissed the entire conversation with the bar owner and headed up the stairs to Sarah's room. The entire floor was covered with music notes on paper and random children pictures. Sarah stood up from her desk and started briefing me.
Papers had to be stacked by age, race and gender. If not done correctly, well...the wrong child would go to another parent than they should.
Needless to say, we got to work.
Sarah wasn't much of a conversationalist. We did this in silence. Hours passed. I did this automatically until my eyes fell on a single paper.
"Hello there? What is this?" I picked up the paper. " 'Audrey Tisis', girl, about 6, lost her father and mother in accident. We have a lot in common...exept for that last one. Do you think I could adopt her?"
Octavia stared at me. "You want to care for a 6 year old based on an impulse decision? No!"
I took the papers anyway and dropped them in my backpack. Too much of a chance to pass up. And plus, her birthday was today too!
Sarah sighed and put the last one in a pile. She got out her wallet and pulled out 50 dollars. I started to refuse, but she stopped me.
"Birthday money combined with pay. Go have fun and don't give Vinyl a hard time."
Were Vinyl and Octy nicknames? I didn't bring them to attention though. She was uncomfortable talking anyway. I waved goodbye and headed home.
I fumbled with the keys in the door and walked in. Claudia was already there and watching some TV. Some news story about alien body snatching ponies. Claudia turned it to a different station before the details showed up.
"I need to get dressed and then can we go?" I said startling her.
"Yeah. Need to get an early start." She got up and went in her bedroom. I went in mine and picked a silver minidress with long sleeves and went into the bathroom to curl my hair. Was my hair a bit longer? Nah. Probably just the mirror. But I could have sworn...
Claudia came out with a baggy yellow-orange shirt over a tight striped longsleeve red-orange one. Purple bell bottom jeans brought out her brown eyes. She looked ready to party and I was pumped too.
We left the complex talking about our days. Turns out Crystal Isling lived on the outskirts of Baltimore and had a huge garden that covered the whole outside. She called over her teal roses that didn't bloom on time. Claudia pricked her finger on a black thorn and a few minutes later the bud was open. What was even creepier were the kids. Every one of them had sunglasses and short cut black hair. You couldn't even tell how many there were. They never spoke and were strangely obediant. Crystal was creepy too. Teal hair and sharp, but not long, canines, and a black veiled dress that had circular cut holes in them. When she spoke it sounded like two were talking. We both agreed to keep it between us.
When we got to the bar, the party was already going on. Sarah and Savannah were there talking to each other near the dj table. Random partyers and friends from really everywhere were here. A beat was pumping and many were dancing. The cake I ordered was here. Chocolate double layer with peanut butter inbetween the two. I made sure that both of us liked reeses before ordering it. We quickly joined in. Claudia quickly found Jasper and danced over to him. They had a good conversation from the looks of it. Good for her. Now onto more...urgent matters....
I remember when I got the last shot of whisky and beat Claudia at a drinking battle, and also when I started to sing "I'm the One Who's Cool" by the Guild for the crowd for karaoke, and even when I had driven home because Reeses Cake had given me a stomachache.
"I regret nothing!!!" I screamed while being laid in the back seat of Sarah's car.
~~~
The next morning I woke up with a headache to rival Zeus's. When I could think coherently again I found I was in the bathtub. I stood up wobbly and took off the dress. I turned on the water and stepped in. I quickly noticed a few marks on my hip. Wait...
What?
Are these bubbles?
How did I get a tattoo?
Who did this?
Why?
This changes a few things...
