Hidden Burdens (working title)

Chapter Seventeen

Kimmy stood there, listening for a moment. She never considered college. In fact, as soon as she was old enough to make her own decisions, Kimmy never wanted to go to school ever again. Maybe she could become a YouTuber or a Twitch streamer and play video games all day? That sounded like a better idea than sitting in a classroom, listening to a boring teacher teach math and other boring subjects all day. Then again, even that involved talking. A lot of the appeal of watching others play video games was what they say while playing.

She turned around and opened the top drawer to grab a pair of socks. She sat on the foot of her bed to put them on.

"Let's go, girls!" they heard Ben from downstairs.

Claudia was applying that eye stuff she wore a lot. "He really needs to learn to chill."

Kimmy grabbed one of her basketball shoes and shoved her foot inside without untying the laces. It took a fight and smashing her pointer finger before her heel finally slipped inside the shoe and repeated the process.

"Do you like him?" Claudia asked, wiping what looked like a sponge over her face until her freckles couldn't be seen. It was any wonder why she covered them when Kimmy always thought having freckles looked cool. Dean from Supernatural had them, and he was a badass! In a good way, anyway.

Kimmy stared at the floor, wrestling with the other shoe. The question made her think about yesterday. She still thought he was okay in her book. Goofy, maybe? But she didn't understand why he had taken residence in her mind or why she couldn't help watch him.

"It's okay if you do," she heard Claudia say. "Like I said the other day, he's got the right intentions. If you ever need a day off from school, tell him. He'll let ya. Might even take ya to the movies."

Kimmy looked over at her roommate at that moment. Really?

"It can't be all the time, though. So, if you're planning on using it today, it probably won't work."

She looked away in disappointment.

"With probable cause, he'll allow it. I didn't even know until I needed it." Claudia finished up with her makeup with that lip stuff.

Kimmy lingered there on the bed, anxiously anticipating the day's events while Claudia packed up her blue and black sport backpack, which surprisingly did not look girly at all.

When she was ready, it was Claudia who broke Kimmy out of her anxious thoughts. "Ready?" She motioned towards the door with her thumb and offered to head downstairs together.

Kimmy stared at her for a moment before pushing herself to her feet. Grabbing her own backpack, she followed the older girl downstairs to the kitchen, where Mary and Miguel were each finishing up a bowl of cereal.

Claudia asked what cereal Kimmy wanted from the pantry and passed it to her, along with a bowl from one of the cupboards, before getting her own. She also offered to pour the milk, asking if that was good enough.

Ben came in from the front yard. "Everyone ready?"

"Not yet," Claudia said, taking her bowl over to the table while Kimmy climbed up to her spot.

Kimmy caught him sigh, what he thought was under his breath, and turned to Kimmy, making sure she had everything she needed for school. Foster kids automatically were eligible for free lunch at school. Ben had asked if Kimmy still wanted to pack her lunch or if she wanted to eat what the school served. She didn't mind what school usually served, so they didn't bother getting her a lunchbox. He also checked in regarding what had happened last night. Kimmy nodded, a confirmation everything was okay.