“Nine hundred ninety-nine, nine hundred ninety-eight, nine hundred ninety-
seven,” I softly counted. Somewhere after six hundred forty, I lost count and faded into a deep, dreamless slumber.
I woke to a small foot kicking my head. Looking out the window, I could see it
was still dark outside. I felt like I had just fallen asleep.
Pushing Meg's foot off me, I sat up and settled on the edge of the bed. Of course, my sister continued to sleep. There was no sign of my grandmother, but
there was a stack of my clothes on the fabric-covered trunk at the end of the bed.
Looks like I'm being dressed by my grandmother today, I thought with a smile.
I hopped off the bed and instantly regretted it. The wood floor was ice cold
and there was a chill in the air. Gathering up my assigned clothing, I entered the
bathroom to prepare for the day.
I moved quickly, hoping to warm up, and shed my nightwear. I pulled the
white shower curtain open before stepping into the white tiled enclosure.
Without thinking, I turned the water on and was blasted with a frigid burst of
water.
“Damn it,” I hissed.
Jumping back, I held my hand under the stream until it became lukewarm. I,
then, dared to slip under the running water again. When I did, I turned the silver
knob to the left, trying to make it even hotter.
The hotter the water, the better, I thought.
As I washed my hair, I realized I still had the bandage on. Holding my arm
out while trying to rinse the soap out of my hair was impossible. Therefore, I simply gave up.
By the time I was done, the bandage was starting to fall off, so I slowly unwrapped it. There wasn’t any pain, just a slight itching. I envisioned finding an oozing gash that would scar terribly. Instead, I found the long cut had already
scabbed over.
I gently rubbed the purplish paste and bits of dried blood off my arm. I sat
under the hot water spray, just letting it beat on my face. I must have been in the
shower for a while because the hot water began to cool.
Grabbing a towel from the hook, I wrapped it around myself and stepped out
onto the fuzzy, white bathmat. I stood under the heat lamp, just absorbing the warmth. Thoughts of the day ahead pushed me to hurry up and just get ready. I
finished drying off, and then looked through the clothes that Gram chose. Jean shorts, a black V-neck T-shirt, my favorite black bra, and white panties with a rainbow on the back.
“Funny, Gram,” I said, holding up the underwear to inspect them.
At least, she didn't buy the days of the week pack she had threatened to get
when she found them at the store. I had not seen this purchase. She must have
been saving them for a special occasion…the special occasion being the giggles
that would erupt from my little sister as the gift was given at the most inconvenient time. Knowing her, she probably intended it for one of my birthday
gifts, planning to have it opened in front of my friends.
I finished dressing after toweling off my hair. Grabbing my extra toothbrush
from the holder, I put the peppermint toothpaste on the brush and let the foam get to work. Once I looked appropriately rabid, and each tooth felt sparkly fresh,
I rinsed my mouth.
Next, I began to work on my hair. Not wanting to spend time trying to dry it,
I twisted it into a long braid. I took my bath towel and squeezed out all the extra
