(Well Crystal has presents to give out and stuff, and no one seemed to care about the trip to the amazon rainforest like dudes. But it's fine. I'll start in on Breakfast.) She went to sleep in her lovers arms, but got very little sleep. The next morning she set to making waffles, with fresh berries, heavy whipped cream, and milk. By each plate was the usual line up of prescriptions next to their glass, every morning. Routine and clock work. She sang in french as she worked.
(What would we do if say our character didn't want to take their meds in front of everybody else?)
(Crystal wouldn't force you just lecture you to death about health benefits.)
(Lol okay)
(Like she's super understanding and stuff but she also understands that like y'all should take pills to be better.) She sighed,knowing the smell of her cinnamon waffles were enough to wake even the deepest of sleepers, as they slowly awoke and made their way to the kitchen, as she served them up with the whipped cream and fruit.
Sam woke up from a fitful sleep to her alarm. She sat up and looked around her room. The events of last night came flooding back to her. She rubbed her head. Wow. That was a lot. Her head also hurt. She hadn't expected to have a hangover. She took her meds from a bottle on her dresser. If she didn't take them now, she would totally forget. Luckily Des or Crystal kept her accountable but forgetting, in general, was bad. She had already forgotten to set her alarm early so there was no time for a run this morning. Whatever.
She got dressed, ran her fingers through her short hair and went downstairs. She ran straight through the dining room and went into the kitchen quickly, wanting to avoid seeing and talking to (most) people her age before she had truly woken up. There was Crystal, cooking and singing. At least she could count on that every morning. That was something. Sam sat on her stool and waited. Once enough people were in the dining room she would go in too.
Silas awoke on his floor, a dull pain running along his left shoulder blade, to the sickening sound of singing and the even more repulsive smell of waffles. Of course, he had forgotten that Crystal was home. Picking himself up from the floor he dragged himself across to the bathroom for a long needed shower. He needed to avoid Crystal at all costs, even her red hair made him shudder.
"Finally awake then." Gardenia yawned. "We have a busy day today."
"Don't remind me, I didn't even finish my biology."
"I'll get it done at break time, it won't take that long."
After he had finished in the shower, he made his way back to his room again and tried not to gag at the smell of the food downstairs. Such a retched woman…
"Gooood morning Sam! Breakfast is ready, make sure to take your pills before you eat!" She called, cheerful as ever, and set down a plate at the long dining room table. It was already preset. Now, no one would ever be able to tell that Crystal had struggling or currently was struggling internally. She was stressed, which was causing her mental breakdowns. So she gave more and more to what she considered her children. She was some mother hen who had adopted a bunch of baby ducklings. Sassy, mean, rude, tough fighter ducklings. But ducklings nonetheless. Which was why she had prepared such a grand breakfast. "Eat up, and make sure to remember everything you need for school today. Equipment,homework, the works." She smiled, her usual toothy foxy grin. But if one really knew her, they would know she had cried herself to sleep before Des walked in. That she hadn't slept well and that her cheeriness was just a little bit pushier than usual.
Eventually Silas gave in, he knew he needed to eat. Besides, he could just throw it up later if he didn't like it.
After getting dressed and ready for school, he took a deep breath and reluctantly left his room. Once downstairs he found Crystal and Sam, the older woman setting food onto the table while the girl sat on a stool and waited. She always waited for others to enter the room first.
From the stairs he had heard Crystal talking, her mother-like tone caused his blood to boil a little. But, for now, he would play nice(ish). He passed through the dining room, into the kitchen, and grabbed a glass from the cupboard. He filled it with water and passed it to Sam. "For the head." he whispered, leaving the kitchen, brushing past Crystal. "You know something? You should stop being so nice. We all know it's fake, so how about you take some time to get yourself back on track so you can be genuinely nice."
"Don't talk to me that way and go get ready for school. I have always been this motherly and always will be." (Tis true. It's really hard to ever notice anything is wrong with her, she's basically perfected the craft of Faking. I have a breaking moment for this, a pressure point where she shatters. Just give it time.) "Now, have some waffles." She sets the plate down. "And don't forget your meds." She says, strictly, and makes herself and Des a plate as well, setting them down.
Sam tried very hard not to smile as she took the glass from Silas. She started to drain it when Silas started talking. As soon as he left she stopped and looked at Crystal in shock. Was her happiness fake? Was Sam not as observant as she thought she was? Sam decided that wasn't her problem. Crystal was an adult, she could deal with that, or Des could help her. Almost everyone was in the dining room, and Sam very much wanted to sit by Silas right now, so she made a plate and went to the dining room to sit down next to him. "How'd you know I was hungover?" she whispered to him. "What if I drank a shit ton of water before going to sleep last night?"
"I am ready for school." he gestured to his jersey and jeans. "And, for the record, I don't take meds. Never have, never will."
He sat down beside Sam, propping his elbows up on the table so he could lean on his hands. His eyes drifted to her, a warm, tired smile curled up on his lips. "I just know sweetheart." he shot her a wink. In all honesty, he was just assuming, based on the closing of her door, that Sam hadn't left her room for the remainder of the night. Besides, of all the times he had woken up during the night, he would have heard her had she been moving around. She might be good at missing the creaks, but feet still make noise.
Cleo breezed into the room, blonde hair piled up into a messy bun on the top of her head. Her usual bright outfit was replaced by a giant grey sweater and comfy looking black leggings. She yawned as she plopped into her seat across from Silas and Sam. "Morning." She mumbled, reaching for what she assumed was a glass of juice. Too tired to care, she knocked it back, swallowing the contents in a couple of long gulps.
Crystal smiled a knowing smile at the two, and sighed as she shook her head and went back to cooking. (Guys cause some chaos to get Crystal to break. Just an fyi) She sighed as she turned off the stove, went upstairs, and knocked on doors. "Cmon darlings, up and attem. Time to start the day!"
Sam's hands immediately curled into fists under the table. She tugged her hoodie's sleeves down over her hands. her back straightened. "Hey Cleo," she muttered, staring intently at the table next to Silas's face. She refused to look at him. "Silas," she said in a low voice. "What are you doing?" She stole a quick glance at the dining room's archway. Her feet pushed against the floor, ready to stand up in an instant.
She came back. "Silas, go get your backpack, and any missing assignments you may have done, cause trouble later. It's to early in the morning for this." She sighed and set a plate down in front of Cleo. "Good morning Cleo, good to see a happy face on such a beautiful autumns day. Oh!" She went to her room and came back with a small bag of flower bulbs. "Here Cleo, I brought you back some flowers right from the rainforest, to grow in our own little backyard. I did research and made sure they would grow." She then took a lighter out of her pocket and handed it too Silas. It had skulls carved out of animal bone on it. "And your present as well. All of you have something."
Ellie had basically cried herself to sleep last night after she shut herself in the room. She did wake up during the possible fight but despite being curious, she just covered her head with the pillow and tried to fall back asleep… Which took a lot longer then she hoped.
She groaned as she heard a new voice knocking at the doors and made herself roll out of bed. She grabbed a clean set of clothes and headed to the bathroom to shower.
(Ps. Ellie is the brand new girl in the house so Crystal wouldn't know her yet.)
(Alright. I read her character sheet so she would at least know her name.) She sighed as she ate, humming to herself. She took care of her own. She didn't need children telling her what to do. She always had to hold her own, always been self reliant she couldn't be seen as weak. She kept her soft smile as she ate, happy with how well they had turned out.
Cleo absently took the bulbs, blinking drowsily and mumbling out something that sounded along the lines of 'thank you', but she couldn't be too sure. She put the bag into the chair beside her and immediately forgot about them as she attacked her waffles with a gumption that was surprising for someone that seemed to be nothing but a zombie in the morning. Cleo ignored the meds by her drink on purpose, still riding that high of freedom she had gotten the night before when she had decided to stop taking them. Sure violent thoughts fluttered on the edge on her consciousness, but she seemed to have them under control. For now.
The blonde gave a warm smile to both Sam and Silas as she ate. Her eyes clearing of exhaustion the more she lingered at the table.
"Cleo, I know you've stopped taking your pills." She gets an empty pill bottle and puts them in there. "At least take them with school to you, in case things go south. Alright?" She smiled, patter her head, and finished her food as she cleared the plates and washed the dishes, returning to her french singing.
Nathaniel slipped into the room, sitting as far away from Silas as possible while clutching his notebook to his chest. His notebook was patched up, having a sticker of a yellow rose plastered on top of some clear tape to hide the seams. He didn't say anything as he went to sit down, only downing his meds and water while leaving the food untouched. Des rushed into the dining room, looking flushed but ready to go. "I'm sorry, emergency at the restaurant, have to go. Love you all, bye kiddos." They rambled, grabbing a waffle and giving their wife a quick peck on the cheek.
(cleo only decided to stop taking her pills the night before, but…….okay….)
The grumpy blonde flinched at the contact and obvious warmth in Crystals words. She didn't like it. Nope not one bit. Reminded her of– "Gah." Cleo placed a hand to her temple as if she could push out the violence that seemed to be getting louder and louder in her head. She had almost forgotten how loud and how angry it could all be. "Mood stabilizers make me bland." Cleo said to the waffle before her, the bite in her voice enough to deter anyone from speaking about it further. No Sunny Cleo today.
(Oh sorry. I figured-I should pay attention more) She smiled at the kiss. "Good luck love!" She waved and then sighed. She kept working away. Yet another worry to the list. That meant she had to get everyone ready and out the door by herself. "Alright all of you to your rooms, change clothes. Wouldn't want my kids going to school looking improper. Go on."