Chapter Text
My morning started off with a scream.
The scream of my little sister in her crib. I sighed, getting up out of my bed. I slipped off my nightgown and put on my knickers and a shirt I grabbed. I peaked out of my window when I was dressed, looking at the sun reflecting off the snow and ice through the curtains. I assumed it must’ve been a little before dawn, but being eight, I was probably wrong.
I crept out of my room, past my mother’s room, and into Adaline’s room, where she lied, crying. I scooped her up, shushing her as I did so. I took her out of her nightgown, and put her into her dress. I put a cap on her little head, and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
“Remington,” my mother called behind me. I stiffened slightly. “Yes, mum?”
She smiled at the baby, who cooed at the sight of my mother, and then looked back at me. “Don’t you have school?”
“Yes, mum. But school doesn’t start until nine. It mustn’t be later than six.”
She sighed, exasperated, then walked off, not before taking the baby, of course. I stood in my sister’s room for a second, glaring at her very expensive dolls she or I were never allowed to touch, before walking to my own room. I grabbed my rag doll, and headed downstairs.
“Are you dressed?” My mother asked.
I threw the rag doll onto the lounge as I walked past. “Yes,” I replied, sitting at the dining table. I smiled at little Adaline, who was sitting in her high chair. I reached over, tickling her stomach. I watched as she giggled, the high chair wobbling a bit from the movement. “Leave her alone, Remington,” my mother huffed, and I pulled back, frowning. She placed a bowl of porridge and a small plate of bacon in front of me. I nodded my thanks, beginning to eat. I watched as my mother fed my little sister her own meal of bottled milk.
My mother ended up walking out of the room with my sister, leaving me alone in the kitchen. I threw my plate in the sink, before heading down to the basement.
When I got down there, I stepped onto the cold pavement with my socked feet, shivering a little. The cold pricked my nose and cheeks, and I could see my breath. I threw coal into the boiler, before a spark hit me on the arm. I hissed, placing my cold hands on the burn. It didn’t help. I walked upstairs, nursing my burn. “Mum!”
I walked all the way upstairs, sighing. “Mum!”
“What?”
“I burned myself.”
“Okay? What do you want me to do about it?”
I looked at her for a second. I sighed once again, heading upstairs to finish getting dressed. I entered my room and put on my longer pants instead and my suspenders. I tugged on my jacket, folding up the ends of the sleeves.
“Get a hat on your head, it’s cold.” My mother grumbled as I walked downstairs.
I grabbed my hat off the rack and leaned over and kissed Adaline’s forehead. “Goodbye, Mum.” She just nodded, grumbling out a ‘yup’, before walking to the lounge.
I sat at my desk in the small schoolhouse, watching as the teacher droned on about reading and writing. I messed with my pencil, causing my teacher to stop. “Mr. Rhinelander, pay attention!”
“Sir, I already know this material. We went over this last week,” I quipped, crossing my feet under the desk. My peers giggled around me, and I looked down at my slate. “Remington! Don't talk back to me. I’M the adult, YOU are the child.”
“Are you an adult? Because you are acting quite like my little sister,” I paused for a second. I realized he had never met my little sister, “Who is four months old. By the way.”
My teacher stared at me for a second. I got sent to the corner, of course. I didn’t really care, it was worth it.
After suffering through the last few hours of our morning lessons, we were sent home for lunch. I walked home with Adam. We walked beside each other. He kicked an ice block the whole way down. “What was that all about?” He suddenly asked. I frowned. “I don’t know. I just already remember the material from last week.” Adam snorted, “I don’t. I think I’m just a foozler,” he giggled. I switched the topic of conversation. “What do you think your mum is going to give you for lunch?”
“Eh. I think all we could afford this week was dunfish. Gross.” I was quiet. My mom always afforded high quality food. I almost felt bad. I spoke up after I realized I was quiet for too long, “I can share my sandwich with you, Adam. If you want, of course.”
“Ooh, sure. Your mum always makes the best sandwiches.” He kicks the ice block into a snowbank. I watched the spray of snow that rose up, landing on Adam’s and my own face. “We should hurry up. We’re gonna be late,” I reminded him, grabbing his hand and pulling him along. He spluttered before following. We stopped at Adam’s house first, and I waited outside for him. He grabbed his lunch and then we walked to my house. “What did you end up getting?” I asked. He peeked inside the bag. “Bread, fish, and cheese,” he said, closing it up.
“Not bad. Do you still want to share with me?” I shrugged. He nodded. We continued on our way to my house. When we arrived, I went inside the house, bringing Adam in. My mother was silent, but when she saw Adam, she brightened up. “Adam! Hello, child. How’s your folks? Good?” He nodded, smiling. “Hi, Ms. Rhinelander. Yeah, they’re alright.” Adam and my mother chatted while I grabbed my lunch. “Adam, come eat with me.” I sat at the dining table and he sat next to me. I ripped my pork sandwich in half and handed a half to Adam, who nodded his thanks.
We ate in relative silence. Adam spoke up after a bit, “Thank you, Remi.” I wrinkled my nose. “Don’t call me that.”
He just grinned at me, “Why, Remi?”
“Adam..”
“Remi..”
“You are insufferable.”
He clicked his tongue, swinging his feet under the table. “Yet, you still consider me a friend, yeah?” I hummed, silent, and he giggled, taking my answer as a yes. We ate and talked for about an hour, before my mother told us we had to leave. I grabbed Adam’s hat, throwing it at him, before we both headed out.
We sat through our afternoon classes before parting ways, just after dark. “Bye, Remi!” He called. I just waved, tired, and walked home. When I walked in the door, I was met with the smell of dinner and my mother thrusting the baby into my hands. “Get undressed. You’re watching Adaline for me.” I was confused initially, but nodded. I carried Adaline upstairs with me. I placed her on my bed.
“Careful, Addy. You sit right there, don’t fall,” I said to her, and she babbled at me, as if she was answering. I got undressed, putting on my more comfortable pants and my long shirt. I scooped Adaline back up, who was sucking on her cap she had managed to take off her head. “No, no.. We don’t eat fabric,” I lightly scolded, prying it out of her grasp with little effort. She huffed at me, and I chuckled a bit at the act of defiance. I carried her downstairs, walking past my mother and into the lounge. I grabbed the book I made for her off of the shelf, and sat on the sofa. I placed Adaline on my lap and started reading the picture book aloud to her, pointing at each of the little pictures. I wanted her to be as intelligent as me, so I read to her frequently, and made her many books. She leaned into my chest, fisting the fabric of my shirt in her little hand. I smiled, patting the top of her head. “You have no idea what I’m saying, huh?” She babbled at me and smacked my face with her free hand. I kissed the top of her head.
“Remington!” My mother yelled, “Supper!”
I placed the book down on the side table, hoisting Adaline onto my hip, and walked her to the dining room. My mother grinned at Adaline, scooping her out of my arms. I sat down. I waited for my plate. My mother placed a bowl of soup in front of me. I mumbled out a ‘thank you’ and placed my napkin on my lap and began to eat. “After supper,” my mother began, “you’ll clean up the kitchen and lounge. Put Adaline to bed, as well.” I nodded. I ate quickly, my mother beside me. When I had finished, I scooped Adaline up and walked to the lounge to start on my chores. I put the book back on the shelf and I placed the rag doll into the baby’s arms, hoping she’d hold it until we got upstairs. She started chewing on it. I let her chew on it; I didn’t really mind. I continued cleaning the lounge, setting Adaline on the sofa. I wasn’t worried. Sofas have little armrests and backs to them, so I supposed she was safe. I listened to her babbles as I worked.
Eventually, I was done with the lounge. I peeked outside the window. It was dark, and I could see the stars. I held Adaline up to the window, showing her the stars. She smacked the glass, squealing. “I should put you to bed.. shouldn’t I?” I asked her, smiling down at her. She clinged to me tighter, so I took it as a no. That’s fine, she can keep me company for the rest of the night, I supposed. I drew the curtains shut and began in the kitchen, placing her in the highchair. She squirmed a bit and whined, throwing the rag doll onto the floor. I ignored her struggles. I knew she didn’t like the high chair that much. I heard the tap of the uneven legs of the chair against the floor as I wiped the counter tops down. “Stop squirming, Addy. You’re going to fall. That chair is uneven.”
She just huffs at me. I heard her whines get louder, and I just sighed. I have stuff to do. I can't focus on her right now, I thought. I washed the dishes in the sink and wiped the counter tops down once again. Adaline’s whines grew louder, the tapping against the floor starting to get on my nerves. “Adaline, stop squirming.” She didn’t stop.
Then there was a crash, and her whines suddenly stopped. I dropped the dish I was holding, my heart dropping to my stomach, turning around and rushing over to the broken high chair. “Oh my goodness—“ I picked her off the floor with shaking hands. She was whimpering softly, but other than that she was silent. I checked her over once again and she was breathing. Being young and not knowing much, I decided she was fine. “You’re only quiet because you learned your lesson, right?..” I hugged her close to my chest and brought her upstairs. I kissed her little forehead, and laid her down in the crib. She stared up at me in the crib. The glassiness of her eyes should’ve worried me, but I didn't seem to notice at the time. “You’re okay, Addy. It’s just a little bump, yeah?”
I walked back downstairs, willing my hands to stop shaking. My hands didn’t stop shaking until multiple hours after. I made my way over to the kitchen, examining the floor. The high chair was totally broken, that uneven leg snapped right off. I grabbed the two parts of the high chair and threw them into the cellar. I thought I could fix it for her, maybe. I continued with my chores for about an hour more. Eventually, I got too tired and made my way upstairs. I undressed and got into my nightgown, climbing in my bed.
I couldn’t sleep for hours, my mind clouded with worry. I shoved it all down and fell into a dream-filled sleep.