Chapter Text
"Just let me sleep 5 more minutes..."
"Now, now. It's already 10am. We need to get you ready for high school, alright? So get up and get ready so we can go supply shopping."
The girl rolled over, burying her head into the blanket next to her.
"Don't make me get your mother." The girl quickly rolled over, not wanting to deal with one of Darjeeling's analogies.
"Alright, I'm up. What now?"
"Take a shower and clean yourself off. We can get you lunch on the way into town."
The girl groaned, and slumped over. Groaning and complaining, she walked into her bathroom, turning the faucet on before returning to her room to get a clean pair of clothes.
Setting the clothes onto her bed, she returned to the bathroom, and stripped off her clothes. Stepping into the tub, she pulled up the diverted on the faucet, feeling the hot water softly beat against her body.
The girl hopped down the stairs, now in her new clothes, and her hair still damp. Darjeeling was at the stovetop, fixing what appeared to be a group of poached eggs while Kay sat at the island, sipping a cup of coffee and reading the newspaper.
"Sierra, would you like an egg for breakfast?"
Sierra. The first time her name had been used all morning. Kay and Darjeeling had always told her that the name was chosen as it reminded them of the area they lived in during university, but she was unconvinced.
"I thought you said we were just going to eat lunch on the way there?" Sierra ran her hand through her long, curly blonde hair.
"Well, the two of us waiting to have it with you, however you took a little too long for your mother's stomach." Darjeeling discreetly pointed at Kay with her spatula. Sierra giggled at the scene.
Sierra popped up next to Kay at the island, looking over at the sports page. An old photo of a man holding up a trophy took up most of the left hand page. At the bottom of the photo was a caption, stating that it was taken in the southern part of Florida.
Darjeeling set a plate down in front of Sierra, an English muffin with a poached egg and a buttery sauce.
"Look good?" Darjeeling asked. Sierra nodded, taking a bite with the fork on the plate.
"Back when we were younger, Darjeeling had some awful cooking," Kay teased. "Looks like all those cooking classes she took is finally making a difference."
Darjeeling playfully slapped Kay, before giving her a light kiss on the lips. Sierra rolled her eyes, returning back to the meal in front of her.
Sierra slumped over as the trio entered the supermarket, immediately greeted by a person she felt bad for, who was most likely being paid minimum wage just to wave and look happy to those entering the building. Usually when they came here, Sierra would beeline straight for the back of the store, and look at video games and other electronics until her parents finished shopping. This time however, she had to stay in the boring, long walks around the store. Full of waving at friends, getting uncomfortable when a mother would say how much she'd grown, and Kay making her embarrassed with each 'attempt' at sneaking a kiss with Darjeeling.
Even after all this time walking around and looking for groceries that seemingly had nothing to do with school supplies, they went towards the back of the store. A shelf to the left of the supplies soon made Sierra confused about what she'd need for this new year of school. 9th grade didn't have anything to do with needing a tricorn, or a long, old looking frock coat. Kay turned around with a faded blue tricorn, with brown accents. Setting it down on Sierra's head, she studied its overall fit with her daughter.
Darjeeling was slightly unamused, finding Kay's movements to be annoyingly sarcastic. Taking the hat from Kay's hands, she put it back upon the shelf, picking up one next to it with the same faded blue but now with gold-yellow accents. She set it down on Sierra's head, tilting it slightly upwards to show her face fully.
Sierra frowned, not wanting to deal with her parent's supposed style choices. However, she felt an odd comfort with the hat on her head. Darjeeling turned once more, looking down the isle towards a row of tattered frock coats. Sierra and Kay followed her as Darjeeling continued down the isle, stopping as a beaten and battered brown frock coat poked out at Sierra.
"Ouch," Sierra sarcastically complained. She reached out and ran her thumb over the antique stitching, it's softness against her skin.
Kay turned around, curious by her daughter's newfound sensation while Darjeeling continued walking, now excited by a tea display on the isle ends.
Sierra picked it up off the shelf, looking at it under the better lighting while Kay looked over her shoulder. The size was a bit large for her, but it wasn't so much that it would become a nuisance.
"Is that the one you want?" Kay asked.
Sierra nodded, pulling it to her chest and accidentally knocking her hat off. Turning round and picking it up, Sierra looked over at Darjeeling, still looking at tea flavors.
"She's never going to leave is she," Sierra joked. Kay snickered, before looking at the ceiling, seemingly reminiscing about something.
"It's why I love her. Always looking for something that she enjoys. Sometimes when you're in love with someone, you can change their view on something. Darjeeling never liked movies due to someone I won't talk about, but because of me she now enjoys them as much as I do..."
"It makes you happy. Just like how I make you happy."
"Sometimes you do, sometimes you don't." Kay bursted out laughing, before getting a playful slap from her daughter.
End of Chapter 1