Music is a part of life, a part of who we are. You can go anywhere in the world and music will follow you. You can't escape it. Whenever you hear a song, it makes you wonder, is this song meant for me? Is this the song that represents who I am, shar...
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Grabbing my phone, I squint my eyes at the brightness to read the time: 06:54.
"Shit!"
I wasn't cursing myself. I was cursing for Ethan. He always got up at 06:30 if there was no training, claiming that a run in the morning always helped him feel better for the rest of the day. I couldn't argue with that. I had no proof to suggest otherwise.
I think back to how he was limping the day before and relax a little. There was no way he was planning on running with a bad knee, right?
I sat up on the couch, stretching out the kinks in my back and neck. Turning to Ethan, I almost didn't want to wake him. He looked so peaceful lying there wrapped in layers of blankets. His face was relaxed for once, not a trace of the worry he always seemed to carry around. The soft light streaming from a gap in the curtains made him look almost angelic. His hair, the same light shade of brown as mine, fell over his face slightly, the longer strands fluttering up and down with each exhale of his quiet snores.
I sometimes forget how lucky I am to have a brother like Ethan.
Gently, so as not to startle him too much, I shake his shoulder, calling his name in a whisper. It took a couple of tries (always a pain to wake up a heavy sleeper), but slowly his eyes start to flicker open, a hint of green showing through each peak.
"What time is it?" Ethan asks whilst rubbing the sleep from his eyes, his voice rough from sleeping.
"We need to get ready for school," I say whilst standing up, keeping a blanket wrapped around my body to protect me from the cold. "We should probably tidy up as well," I add, looking around at the mess we had made.
"You seem better this morning," he remarks as he watches me pick up loose wrappers from the floor.
"I had a good amount of sleep last night so I feel much better now."
He gives me a sleepy smile, lying back against the cushions. "I'm glad."
After throwing the rubbish I picked up into the bin, I jump back onto the couch, pulling Ethan into my arms and giving him a tight hug. "Thank you."
"For what?" he asks.
"For being here with me."
He gives me a soft smile. "I wouldn't be anywhere else."
***
School went far better than yesterday, even if I did have to suffer through a double of Advanced Higher Biology. Whoever said Biology is easy is a total liar. This stuff went in one ear and straight out the other.
Azura wasn't at lunch today (sadly) so I mostly just sat at the table quietly, observing everyone and listening in on their conversations. Rude, I know. The few times I was involved in the conversation, it was to shut down some ridiculous song Kyle had suggested we perform. I mean, come on! Who wants to perform the Gummy Bear song?
We stayed for the first period of double study after lunch, signing out early so we had more time to get ready for work.
Study was the highlight of my day. It involved me and Aiden speaking to each other in Spanish (it was a Spanish study period after all) and Ethan, Kyle and Matthew, who also had a study class at this time, trying to figure out what we were saying. Ethan was better than the others sine he had heard it from a young age, like me, thanks to Grandma Elaine. He just chose not to learn it, unlike me.
It was quiet at the Shell Bay café whilst I was working. This gave Naomi plenty of time to express her excitement for a date she was going on this coming Saturday night. A date that just happens to be with my brother.
"So we've been texting ever since I got his number, which was really sneaky of you by the way, but I appreciate it none the less. Anyway, we really hit it off and then a few days ago he asks if I want to go on a date with him, of course I said yes, and I'm really excited cause he's such a nice guy but I'm also really nervous and slightly freaking out, I mean, what if I mess up or do something weird or embarrassing and scare him off? This is a bad idea isn't it, maybe I should just text-"
"Don't you dare," I cut her off, making her eyes snap up to me.
"What?" She squeaks.
"Don't you dare cancel. I know for a fact that you're not going to do anything that will scare him off. He has to put up with me for crying out loud! Also, there's the small, slightly unimportant fact that he wouldn't have asked you out if he didn't really like you."
"Really?"
"Yes, really! You have nothing to worry about. If I know my brother, he's probably just as nervous, probably even more. It's not every day he gets to date a beautiful uni student."
"You think so?" she asks timidly, a shy smile making its way onto her blushing face.
"I'm almost one hundred percent sure."
I hear her let out a small sigh of relief, her shoulders finally relaxing. "Thank you."
"No problem. Although I am slightly pissed I'm only finding out about this now," I say with faked annoyance.
"He didn't tell you?" Naomi looks shocked by this.
"No, he didn't. I'm happy he did it though."
"Me too," Naomi says in a daze, wiping the same spot on the counter due to daydreaming.
"OK, Juliette," I say with a laugh. "I'm going to take my break now."
"OK."
Chucking my cloth into the basin, I push through the doors and into our back room. I grab my food and phone from my locker and sit on mu usual spot on the bench. Switching on my phone, I find a text waiting for me:
Mum: On our way home. Will be back in a couple of days.
Oh no.
This wasn't what I was expecting. Usually we have more time to get prepared.
