In the Eyes of the Wolf

Chapter 6

I moved back to the living room and sat with Iris silently. She was reading one of her books, I knew better than to interrupt her when she was in the reading zone. It was peaceful with the grey curtains open, letting the orange sunlight in. We had a very small television in the living room, only about 21 inches, which never got switched on before noon, or Rowan's awakening. The coffee table which covered most of the floor was brown with four drawers, one on either side. A wooden table was next to me, in the far corner of the room. It held a lamp with a pink lightshade and a homemade coaster with a bold polka dot design, courtesy of Iris.

It took me a quarter of an hour to finish my breakfast. I reached for a sticky note from the coffee table and scribbled down the groceries I was going to buy at the supermarket when I finish. We had learnt it was more economic for us to know what others were buying, so we don't get the same thing more than once. That had happened before, it took us a week to get through three bags of oranges. We got pretty creative that week.

"Good luck with your studies," I told Iris as I picked up my bag.

"Have a good day at work, don't forget your jacket."

I sighed and smiled. I always tried to leave the house without my jacket, my boss wasn't at all swayed by any argument I made. It made me far too warm when exercising, but it was a part of my uniform.

"Aye, Aye boss." I saluted and grabbed my jacket from the coat hangers around the corner. I slipped my trainers on and headed out the door. There was a surprising breeze, which was extremely pleasant on a warm summer's morning. Another reason not to wear the jacket.

I jogged to the bus stop, which was just around the corner, it may have been a long corner, but it was a corner. I put my headphones in and leant against the pole for about ten minutes before my bus arrived. It nearly drove past but if it had, it may have taken my arm with it. I used my bus pass which I had gained from work, and stood near the back of the crowded vehicle.

I may have had my motivational podcast on the lowest volume, but it still did a fairly decent job of covering the sounds of the screaming child at the front of the bus. I didn't get a chance to sit at all through the twenty-minute ride, something I was used to by now. The morning rush was something you should never take your chances with if you go in unprepared.

I hopped off the bus and waved to my friend Kelsey. Her house was across the road from the bus stop. She always waited for me at her front door. I didn't know why; she'd done that since I got the job. Her blonde hair bounced as she jogged across the road.

"Good morning Far," she said in her bubbly voice. "Ready for work?"

I scoffed jokingly. "Am I ever ready for work?" She shook her head at me. I took my headphones out and wrapped them around my phone. That would do until I get to the locker room. "How's it going?"

"I've been at work all week." She groaned and tilted her head back to look at the sky for the sake of dramatics. "How do you think it's going?"

"Achy and annoyed?" I raised my eyebrow at her. "You're the one who wants next week off," I pointed out.

She sighed and shrugged. "It's not my fault that the hen-do was non-negotiable." Kelsey's sister was getting married soon. She had often asked me if I would be her date, I'd told her that she wasn't my type, which was fairly obvious in my opinion, and she was a little too old for it to be legal, as she was nineteen and I was sixteen. She told me I didn't look my age, I either looked younger or older. She would never tell which though. I didn't know if she meant it as a compliment either.

"What've you got today?" I always envied how scheduled her job was. I just had to deal with whoever found the motivation to drag themselves to the gym.

"I've got two spin classes, one pole dancing, three kid's gymnastics, and one Zumba." She counted the events on her fingers as she spoke. We were reaching the dreaded building. Its walls were made of glass, giving you a particularly unobstructed view of the white desk facing the door. The carpet was a boring grey, which matched the skirting board. The walls were all white, apart from irrelevant posters dotted here and there. Four hallways extended from the entryway, two leading to locker rooms, and two leading to the fun places.