Alive ➳ Zach Mitchell

II

"Wake up, wake up, wake up!"

Eyes wide open, Adelaide almost leapt from her bed, saved only by the white sheets she'd gotten herself tangled in. She found herself facing Gray, who had previously been poking her arm. Zach was leaning in the doorway, his gaze pinned to the floorboards, arms folded at his chest. 

"Please don't ever do that again," she hissed, heart racing from the scare.

She swung her feet over the edge of the bed and stood. Behind her window, the sun was barely starting to rise, the darkness of the night still clinging to the forest. "What time is it?" Adelaide asked, yawning into her palm, regarding the boys who were already dressed to leave.

"Six twenty-three," Zach replied, looking both annoyed and apologetic. "I couldn't get him to sleep any longer."

"I'll fix you some breakfast in ten, alright?" Adelaide mumbled, still half-asleep, and the boys left as fast as they came.

She lied back onto the bed, hair in a caramel-toned halo around her head, her eyes slowly closing again. It was too early, even for her, who started her workdays at seven-thirty. Adelaide was on the brink of falling asleep once more when an unexpected knock at her door made her jolt awake.

"It's been eight minutes, I hope you're not still in your pyjamas," Gray laughed.

Adelaide shook her head, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. After a quick visit to the bathroom and an even quicker look inside her closet, Adelaide rushed downstairs, dressed in a pair of black jeans, a dark green tank-top, feet buried in her brown combat boots. Her clothes were not allowed to be flashy since the dinosaurs could be irritated by bright colours. When she stepped inside her kitchen, Gray and Zach were already seated at the glass table---the younger sibling was skimming through a dinosaur magazine, whereas the older one, of course, was tapping away on his phone.

Adelaide opened the fridge and was met by less options than she would've liked. "Any preferences, anybody?" 

"Cereal?" Zach peered over her shoulder, his voice hesitant.

Adelaide perked up. "Yeah, good idea," she said, opening the cabinet to her left. She turned to the boys with a box of organic, sugar-free cornflakes. "Miss Dearing, um, your aunt, I mean, made me go on quite a strict diet. She assumes that, since I'm a teenager, I. . ."

". . . eat junk food," Zach finished, looking as though he entirely understood, taking Adelaide by surprise. "Yeah, I know the feeling."

Meeting his gaze, Adelaide offered Zach a small smile, but then Gray cleared his throat and reminded her that they were still awaiting their first meal, probably famished---their dinner had consisted of sweets and popcorn. In a flash, the trio was seated around the table, munching on their warm cereal milk. Gray explained the plan he'd made for the day, aided by Adelaide's suggestions, while Zach decided not to get involved and simply partake to whatever they decided.

"We can go visit Owen," Adelaide proposed.

Zach's head shot up.

Gray cocked an eyebrow. "Who?"

"Owen Grady, the Raptor trainer. He's one of my good friends around here."

Gray wasn't stray too far from the dinosaur subject. "We can go to see the baby dinosaurs too, right? And the Pterodactyls!"