Athena slept fitfully and hardly at all that night. The next day's shame, Miss Fine's doings, not to mention there being nothing between her skin and the cold night air; it all kept her up long into the morning. Still, she did her best to get what rest she could; god knew she'd need it in the days ahead.
When her alarm finally did start to scream at her to start off the next day, Athena felt as if she had only just fallen asleep, and angrily slammed snooze once pulled from the doze she'd fruitlessly sought all night. She lay motionlessly for a few more minutes, before the alarm screeched again.
"ATHENA!" her mother yelled from another room once she heard the alarm sound again. "Don't snooze, young lady, you have chores to do!"
"Yes Ma'am, I'll get right on them!" At the order, Athena bolted upright, turned off the alarm, and was halfway into the shower before she abruptly stopped to ask herself aloud "What the fuck am I doing?" So eager to please and obey... her stint in that so-called "Old Maid's" outfit had changed her more deeply than she had thought, and the realization unsettled her deeply. And the worst part was, now that her mom had pointed out that there were still chores that needed doing, it just itched at her that she hadn't done them yet...
