Alice was awakened to a light knocking on her door. Her eyes immediately looked to her clock and saw that whoever was at her door obviously didn't know that the girl had, least a couple of hours left to sleep. The sun was out which meant that she should be asleep. Alice was a night owl. The canvas she worked on the previous night was proof. All of her art works took place during the night if there was a setting.
"Charlotte," Her mother called from behind the door. "I'm coming in." Astrid, Alice's mother walked in the room and her eyes immediately fell upon the artwork. Alice turned over in her bed and pulled the covers over her head.
"Mom, if you keep calling by that name, how will I ever get used to the one I have now? My name changed when you married David.""Oh, excuse me. I forgot. I'm still adjusting to it--your name I mean. So I'm guessing you worked on this piece all night?"
"Yup.""And I'm also guessing you're too tired to have my breakfast I made." Alice pulled the covers down off of her face to see her mom already looking right at her as if expecting the reaction.
"With the eggs, bacon, and pancakes to get me fat?" Her mother smiled.
"Just the way you love them. It'll be finished in about five minutes." Alice's mother stood and exited the room to get back to tending the food leaving Alice stuck between a rock and a hard place. Sleep or her mothers cooking? It was rare to receive any kind of food from her since Astrid was so busy with work. That fact alone made up Alice's mind.
As she entered the kitchen the area seemed quite busy. The television running, the food being made, and the conversation between Astrid and Alice's step-dad, David.
"Dear lord, Astrid, you didn't tell me you were practicing Necromancy and woke the dead." David said and Alice gave him a half asleep grin through her squinted eyes as they adjusted to the brightness of the room. Alice didn't think of David as a father but more as an older brother. When he and her mother first started dating they always got into fights. And they were the unfriendly kind of fights. But as time went on she realized that David truly loved her mother and she respected that. And he eventually, warmed up to Alice as well. Eventually, they got along really well. It was Astrid's only worry and she was very happy at the outcome.
"Hey, your phone went off, by the way." David spoke interrupting Alice's thoughts as she took a seat at the table. "You should do better to keep track of it. Or is your life so boring you could care less who looks at your password-less phone?"
"Bingo!" David handed Alice her cellphone and she looked to see what the notification on it was. There was a text message from Jane Thomas. The looker of Alice's small group of friends. Jane had tons of tattoos and several piercings. Alice thought she was the coolest person in Riverdale. Although Alice could never imagine getting tattoos or facial piercings, Jane made her wish she had the looks to pull them off.
~Group message sent at 13:25 p.m.~
-Hey everyone, if your not busy how about we all meet up at the diner? On me of course-
Astrid turned to her daughter, her brow furrowed.
"So no breakfast?"
"No, no. I'll eat here. The diner is just a place to meet up. I'll probably just have a drink or something. You really think I'd take food from there over the food my mom makes? This is about as rare as seeing a lunar eclipse." Alice's mother's smile returned.
"I'm glad you love my cooking so much. I was about to ask you about your friends. You should definitely visit them more often. I know you love your artwork and computer about as much as lion loves its cubs but sometimes you gotta step outside that comfort zone."
"Yeah. You've given me this speech several times. I'm going to see them so no need to worry about me so much. I'm not sure when I'll be back because I have no clue what Jane has planned.""Jane?" David asked. "Isn't that the tattoo girl?" Alice nodded her head. "I just hope she can find a job with all those body modifications. It looks cool not but not so much when you're out there searching for a job."
"Oh, my, god. David, you're not old enough to be concerned about others and trying to view their future. You have a full plate dealing with your own." After breakfast Alice was out the door and in her Mini Cooper after she grabbed her trademark satchel. Due to the town she lived in not being entirely too big it was a little more than a hop, skip, and a jump to get to the diner. Upon pulling into the driveway Alice saw that there were several other vehicles parked as well. She thought maybe it was someone's birthday celebration going on. When she entered the diner she almost froze at the door. Many of the 'A-listers' were there. Alice didn't particularly enjoy being in the same vicinity as them. Their personalities clashed way too much. To make matters worse she didn't see any of her friends.
A waitress came up and seated Alice, thankfully, at a booth a little ways from the others. Alice hoped that none of the others recognized her.
"Honey, what would you like?" The waitress spoke up to get Alice's attention.
"Oh, uh, I'll take a water for now. I'm actually waiting on others" The waitress nodded in understanding and went off to get Alice's drink. All the girl could do was pray Jane and the others showed up soon. Alice was used to being by herself but not in such a crowded place.
