Sarah McMillan woke up instinctively early, no alarm necessary, and gingerly moved herself out from underneath the covers, without disturbing the form that shared her bed. Jocelynne. Her protege. It filled Sarah's heart just watching the rise and fall of her breathing in the dim glow that came just before the dawn.
Sarah had planned on going home after the two had finished their homework the night before, but Jocelynne's mom, Linda, asked her a question on the way out, Sarah couldn't even remember what the question had been, and it sparked a conversation that followed the two of them into the kitchen as Linda began preparing dinner. Sarah found herself helping and chatting, and the longer she spoke with Linda the more comfortable it felt. Like they were old friends.
When David Gibson came home and the mother of two greeted her husband, Sarah felt an emptiness. Like she should have a husband as well. But it was a fleeting feeling. Dinner was ready, and Sarah took the initiative to call Jocelynne and Zoe downstairs while Linda asked David about his day working at the bird sanctuary.
"It just seemed to fly by." Judging by Linda's expression, this was clearly not the first time he had made that joke.
Sarah couldn't remember ever actually being invited to stay for dinner, it was almost like she was supposed to be there the whole time. She and Linda continued to chat like this was how they spent every evening, and every so often Jocelynne or Zoe or David might manage to sneak in a word between bites of potatoes.
And Sarah had just kind of... organically stayed overnight. She'd magicked up matching pajamas for herself and Jocelynne, and she'd tucked the teenager into bed, and then she'd joined her there.
Now in the morning, Sarah walked over to Jocelynne's closet and started putting together an outfit. Something about the phrase "Jocelynne's first day of school" got her excited. Nothing too showy, but at the same time it had to look good. Ah, a classic for the first day of school: knee-length pleated skirt in a blue and green plaid pattern, white long-sleeve blouse, and black sweater vest. These she laid out on the spot of the bed that she'd only recently occupied, then began getting ready, herself.
It was as she was approaching the top of the staircase that she bumped into someone. "Oh!" they both cried in hushed voices so as not to wake anybody up. It was Linda-- it was Mrs. Gibson. What a coincidence that they were both headed to the kitchen at the same time.
"Oh, you were such a help last night, just sit there and let me take care of you," Linda gestured towards the kitchen table.
Linda focused on the girl as she began cutting some fruit. The night had certainly allowed her to refresh some of her own energy, but there was still a good amount of Linda's swirling around inside. It was nice to have "mom-Sarah" for an evening, but now it was time to start discouraging the mom behaviors and reinforcing the teenager behaviors.
So it was some relief that, when Jocelynne eventually descended the stairs and entered the kitchen, the two immediately started acting like sisters. Sarah was certainly acting like the big sister of the two, but it was a sharp, and necessary, turn from the night before when Sarah was hanging on Linda's every word.
And so the two girls went off to school, chatting like the friends they appeared to be, in Sarah's white Miata.
