The Taylor Residence
Wednesday, August 16th, 2017
06:30 (AM)
"Wakey-wakey!" Exclaimed Aunt Madeline, in her thick Tennessee-accent from downstairs in the kitchen.
"Get your bums up for breakfast, girls! And before it gets cold this time!" She added, as Sophia and Sydney had stayed up late two nights ago while Sophia face-timed with her friend, Eric Stevens, and had missed out on the next day's fresh breakfast of waffles. This morning, however, the entire house would fill with the aroma of freshly-cooked eggs, bacon, and biscuits in the wee morning hours as their Aunt Madeline was kind enough to wake up so early to cook them breakfast before school. Thus has been the morning routine for them since the month of May, when her nieces and nephew had moved in. Sophia was the first to meander her way down the stairs, her hair all bundled in a mess and her eyes still straining as she makes her way over to the coffee-maker.
"Good morning to you, Miss Little Sweet Sunshine." Madeline said with a grin on her face, standing over a white metallic stove, and glancing over as Sophia opened an overhead cabinet in search for a coffee mug to use. Sophia, after finding the one she normally uses, slowly looked over with a semi-sleepy facial expression, yawning, and nodding her head.
"Morning to you too... Aunt Madeline..." Sophia looked back toward the coffee-maker and was pleased to see Madeline had already filled the coffee pot for them. Madeline chuckled, and turned off the stove fire once she was finished probing the eggs to make sure they were all well-scrambled. Madeline made phenomenal eggs, which isn't a particular secret to anyone who knows her -- being she had once been a culinary arts student, yet is now just a housewife.
"Made with extra-love for you, as usual, sweetheart." Madeline said, grinning, as she untied her apron. She took particularly good care for all of them, ever since their father passed away from that deadly car accident which left them without a home -- taking them in and treated them as if they were all her own kids. Sophia smiled, as she poured out her coffee into her cup.
"Thank you so much, Aunt Madeline." Sophia's response this time was a bit more lively, as she had awoken a bit more in the second or two since her previous reply. After grabbing a sugar pack, opening it, dumping its' contents into her cup, and mixing it around with a spoon, Sophia walked over to grab from the stack of plates that was sitting next to the pan of eggs on the stove. Sophia had a slim figure, and a slightly small frame, yet one would be impressed with the amount of food she'd normally consume. This time, however, Sophia only took a small portion since she was the first one in-line, making sure to leave more than enough for Sydney. Sophia, after the eggs, laid a couple slices of bacon on her plate and then grabbed a couple of biscuits, some blueberries, and an apple before sitting down at the breakfast table to join her Aunt Madeline. Just as Sophia sat down, she looked up to see Sydney walk into the kitchen and wander around like a zombie as she also fixed her plates. Sophia and Madeline awaited while the final one took her time, slowly stacking her plates with a satisfactory quantity of nourishment, and moseyed her way over. Aunt Madeline lead them in a prayer of thanksgiving and blessing once the three of them were seated, and then they all consumed their meals in near complete silence. It would only take a cup of coffee, however, for their conversations to liven up. Sean had already woken up, and left early with Daniel for morning practice -- with Carl, the head coach of the football team, having left home even earlier for Coastal Daytona Academy. Sophia and Sydney finished their breakfast, went back upstairs, took turns showering, gotten dressed, and came back down to give their Aunt Madeline a hug before going off to school, first day of the year. Aunt Madeline made sure to tell the girls just how much she loved them, how proud she was, and reminded them that their parents would have been so proud too.
If only mom and dad were still around, though...Though, of course, this one was different. New school, new city, new people. Fortunately, Sophia happened to have made a new friend already, before even stepping a foot on CDA's campus for the first time. Though Sophia promises it to be a truly platonic friendship, and nothing more, Sydney suspected it to be the start of something a bit more from the beginning since they met at the nearby Volusia Mall in mid-June. Sophia was certainly quite excited to meet up with him again, but she was also trying to be as upbeat as possible and trying to be as positive and optimistic to the idea of a new school toward her younger sister, Sydney. The pair road to school in Sophia's orange International Scout, which was passed down to her following her father's premature demise -- and was a particularly prized possession of his. Sophia parked in the student parking lot, and she typed up a text to send to Eric, just as she stepped out of her car. Sydney stood just off to the side, shaking her head.
"Seriously? All your friends are right here, Sophia. And then there's me." Sydney said, cracking a wry grin.
"Sush you." Sophia said, not breaking her eyes off the screen, but certainly not able to help herself but to smirk after Sydney's snarky quip. Alas, she sent the text a second later, and the pair made their way toward the front office. Sophia glanced down at her phone, just as she was making her way toward the facade of the main building. The latest message still being the one Sophia sent mere seconds ago.
Hey dude, I'm on campus. Want to chill out somewhere?
The Main Lobby
Wednesday, August 16th, 2017
08:06 (AM)
Julia Winters shook her head as she was seated on the side, across from a pair of senior boys.
"No. Not a snowball's chance in hell." The pretty brunette senior crossed her arms, and did not allow her facial expression to betray her words -- keeping a stern face as she glared at her blonde friend, Madison Perkins. Madison looked over, her brown eyes meeting those of a couple of guys who were winking at the pair of them.
"What, suddenly not attracted to men anymore or something?" Madison asked back, returning with a smile of her own toward the flirtatious boys. Julia sighed, watching Madison encourage their sophomoric attempts at wooing them.
"I just have better taste." Madison didn't break from her sunny disposition in spite of her best friend's rather blatant dig.
"Ouch, at least say that about me when I'm not right next to you. Bitch." Madison maintained her grin, and kept her focus on the eye-candy in front of them.
"I mean, sure their personality is probably shit. Their looks aren't even that great. Probably dumb as fuck too. But, you can tell their bodies are going to be ten out of ten." Julia rolled her eyes and let out a sarcastic sigh. "
What?" Madison asked.
"You think I'll actually do something more than just wave and wink at them? Don't be so silly." Julia looked away, and just as she had done so had made eye-contact with Daniel Taylor. He maintained a neutral facial expression, but he quickly made his way over toward Julia and Madison, wearing his sweaty grey t-shirt and blue CDA gym shorts with a duffel bag hanging over a shoulder.
"Morning, ladies." Daniel said, adjusting the shoulder strap slightly before stopping just a couple of feet from their presence. Madison smirked, stealing a few looks over his figure while Daniel focused on Julia.
"I, um, I never heard back from you about Friday." Daniel remarked, finally letting out a smile.
"Oh, you mean the party?" Julia inquired.
"Yeah, wanna go?" Julia slowly turned to look at Madison, who simply glared back at Julia.
"Of course you're going, Miss Julia Winters." Madison then looked over toward Daniel.
"She's going." Julia shrugged her shoulders, laughed, and shook her head.
"I guess this is why I keep her around." Madison gave a wide, enthusiastic, and sarcastic smile as she leaned over to give Julia a big side-hug, practically a cuddle, and looked over toward Daniel.
"She's all mine! No boys allowed! Move along now!" Daniel chuckled, glancing out toward the front door, and then back toward the pair of girls before him.
"I'm actually here to see if my cousins stopped by yet, but glad to see you. I'll text you later tonight, okay Julia?" Julia smiled widely.
"Yeah, sure. Talk to you later, Danny." Daniel then walked over toward the front door, patiently waiting to greet his cousins into their new school, and Madison looked over toward Julia who was starting to blush.
"Yeah, I'd rather hold off for Danny too." Madison said, turning her head to glance at the previous pair of flirtatious boys, who were not looking at their phones. Julia shot out an elbow, playfully jabbing Madison's side.
"Shut up." Julia said, to which Madison doubled-over and chuckled loudly for nearly everyone to hear. "
Oh man, okay. Yeah. I, uh, I probably deserved that one." Julia looked back, giving Madison a wink.
"Damn right you do." Julia then looked back at Daniel, a guy she really started developing tremendous feelings for since he had asked her to Junior Prom last year -- and if the rumors are correct from certain sources within that locker-room, the feeling is rather mutual between them. She watched on as Daniel waved toward a pair of girls, and continued to do so as the three of them embraced after the girls walked in.
"Huh, must be his cousins..." Madison rolled her eyes.
"Alright, Sherlock, I'm going to see what's up with the cafeteria. I'm hungry. Wanna come?" Julia looked over toward Madison, and nodded her head in agreement.
"So, you go for Daniel Taylor, and I go for Eric Stevens. How's that for a game-plan?" Madison said, sticking her tongue out.
"Oh my God, Maddy, shut up about it already! Let's go!"