pharaohs

patterns

Sitting up in my bed I sighed, another same old day. I threw the covers off of my legs and stepped on to the cold wood floor. Trudging out my bedroom door and down the stairs I hear the voices of my older brother and sister and mom.
Dane being 19 was never around the house much, he was mostly with his wife Sheila out at their home in london. Rian, my older sister was 17, almost an adult, but she spent a lot of time here anyway. We live in the country in a small town called wipile, only a few hours from London.
"Ay lil sis!" Dane called standing up.
Rolling my eyes I hugged him, " I'm really not that little anymore. " "you are 15, that's young enough to call you little" dane said smirking.
I pushed him away playfully. Rian smiled and continued eating a bowl of fruit loops. Sitting down at our table I made myself a bowl of Cheerios. Mom stood up, ruffled my hair, and walked out of the room.
"What brings you over today? How's Sheila?" I said through a mouthful of cereal.
" aw well I already broke the news to mum and Rian, 'suppose you should know too. " dane paused to take a bite of an apple, "how does aunt Tegan sound?" .
I dropped my spoon, my eyes wide, " I'm going to be an aunt?! "
Dane smiled and nodded. I jumped off my chair and danced around the kitchen. Wow a niece or nephew! I thought happily. Glancing at the clock on our stove I panicked. I was late for work. "Oh no" I muttered. Dashing upstairs I threw off my pyjamas and pulled on a t shirt and some shorts. I quickly brushed my hair and ran down the stairs skipping the last few steps. I sprinted through our kitchen and out the door into the chilly rain. I stepped in a puddle and face palmed. My shoes! I hurried back inside,slipped on a pair of tennis shoes and out the door again. I ran down the cobblestone path that lead into the village square and to the bakery where I worked.
"Right and Josh will take the-oh how thoughtful of you to show up to work Tegan." my boss and owner of the store kate said.
I waved sheepishly, "sorry dane was in town and I lost track of time..."
"Hm" kat e said scowling. "I think dishes and mopping will help remind you what is expected when you have a job."
Kate thrust a mop and bucket into my hands, splashing me with the soapy water inside, "next time you are late, you are out. It's a pattern everyday, late to work, excuse, dish duty. You'd think you'd learn."
I sighed and grabbed my apron off the hook.
"I'll get that for you" Josh said tying the apron behind my neck.
"Thanks josh" I smiled.
Josh was like a brother to me, we had been friends since forever. He had shaggy blonde hair that he hardly ever brushed and kind green eyes. If always been jealous of his eyes, but he always tells me my brown eyes are beautiful as well. Josh was also almost 6' where I was only around 5'2, but we were still the best of friends.
I tied my waist length brown hair into a ponytail and began mopping. Id done this several times, but it seemed so much harder today and the ground seemed dirtier. The floor was grimey and dusty, and there were several dead cockroaches along the baseboards. I wasn't one to be scared of bugs, but dead ones made me gag. After a grueling 2 hours, I finally finished mopping.
"Dishes!" Kate shouted from the storefront right after I sat down.
I blew the stray strands of hair out of face, and wiped my forehead that was beaded with sweat.
"Sure thing kate" I said sarcastically.
There weren't that many dishes so I finished in half an hour. Kate came around to inspect.
"Huh, I guess all those "patterns" of being late you made payed off for your chores" Kate said scoffing, "now, can you take care of the storefront? Or do you want more chores?"
" Storefront" I pleaded.
Kate nodded and pushed me out the employees only door and to the front counter and cash register, "you better not screw this up like last time tegan, last chance".
Kate slammed the door behind her. That's when I remembered what happened last time I worked the storefront. An elderly lady wanted a lot of powdered donuts. We ran out of donut boxes just a few minutes before, so I didn't have anywhere to put her 5 dozen donuts, and I still had to brew her a cup of coffee (we sell a bit of that too). So, I stacked up as many donuts as I could carry and walked to hand them to her, but I tripped. The donuts went flying and the old lady was covered in powder. I apologized profusely, and went back to grab her a free coffee. Now mind she was a short old lady and I didn't see her, so, in my way to hand get the coffee, I ran into her and spilled coffee on the both of us. She was furious and I haven't seen her since. I was nearly fired but Josh came to my rescue. The ring of the bell on our bakery door shook me from my thoughts. A kind looking old man walked in and up to the counter.
" what can I get for you sir? " I said politely.
"Just a blueberry muffin thank you" his gruffy voice reminded me of my grandfather who had passed
I smiled, "sure".
Don't screw this up this time. It's a muffin, just a muffin, don't screw up. I told my self as I walked into the back.
" 1 blueberry muffin please! " I shouted out.
"1 muffin right here!" Josh said handing me a warm blueberry muffin.
I skipped out the back and up front.
"1 muffin, that will be $2.50 please" I said carefully handing over the muffin.
"I only have pounds, no American dollars". He said sadly
" well how about this",i lowered my voice to a whisper, "I'll give it to you free this time, and maybe negotiate to let pounds be a payment ,since after all ,this is england" I winked.
"Oh thank you ma'am" he said and he scurried out the door.
"Tegan!" Kate's voice boomed out behind me.
My eyes widened and I swallowed hard, preparing for the worst.
"Free?!" She shouted " what kind of joint do you think we run? If our customers don't pay, WE don't get payed. I told you this was your last chance and you blew it! You are fired! Hand me your apron. " her face was red from screaming.
My 4th job and I got fired.again. I solemnly untied my apron and  put it in her outstretched hand. Josh had a look of sympathy, but there was nothing he could do this time.
"Out. now"Kate's tone suggested she wasn't asking.
All the workers watched as I walked out the bakery door. Not daring to look back at Kate's steaming face, I faced towards the street and shamefully walked down it. Great job tegan, you got fired, why did you do that, kate will never accept your forgiveness, you screwe- a beggar selling apples interrupted my thoughts.
" 1 apple, 1 American dollar, 10 apples, 10 American dollar. A beauty like you needs an apple a day so the doctor stays away" he said with a thick British accent. He winked and showed a toothless grin.
"No thanks" I said with a half smile.
I walked quickly away, Sometimes beggars get ruthless if you reject their items. His accent was thick, he was probably from london, which explains why he was here, he doesn't have much competition, London has lots. The people of wipile had a faint accent, our town was made by American explorers so that's why majority of our town uses American currency. But as this is england, an accent did come along to us. I regained my train of thoughts and realized what was I going to tell mom, dane, and rian? When I arrived home, dane and mom were sitting at the kitchen table talking. Rian was probably at work.
I knocked softly on the door frame as I walked in, " hi mom".
She had a confused look in her calm  grey eyes, " hello tegan, aren't you supposed to be working? ".
" Uhm... " I scratched the back of my neck, " I got fired".
The calmness in her eyes was quickly replaced with anger, turning a darker color.
She narrowed her eyes at me, " tegan I told you, if you get fired again, you are going to work at home and attend school again. "
"Please just one more try. I can continue working on school at home, please." I begged.
Mom shook her head sternly. Sinking to my knees, I put my head down in defeat.
"Please go take care of the dog then after supper you will go straight to bed." Mom said.
I stood and sighed loudly. Mother wasn't one to argue with. She was an older woman, with silvery hair, but her complexion looked no older than 30. She stood at a tall 5'11, and was beautiful. That's why dad FelL in love with her. But when he was drafted to the military, he fought long and hard, but with no avail. He passed away when I was merely 7, unable to comprehend he was truly gone.
Groaning I walked out the back door and towards our small farm. Our black golden retriever, dax, came running over, jumping up and giving me a puppy hug. A small smile creeped on my lips, I  hugged him back. Grabbing a frisbee I tossed it across the yard
, "Go fetch boy!" . Dax ran across our back yard and picked up the frisbee in his mouth. After dropping it at my feet I pet his head. "Here you go boy", I said as I poured food into his dog bowl. I looked over at the sunset, a golden color shimmered in the horizon, accented with pink and red, casting a orange color into the clouds.
" Tegan! Dinner! " mom shouted from the kitchen window.
"Bye dax" I said as I walked inside.
A sweet aroma of homemade bread filled my nose the second I stepped inside. Sitting down next to dane I buttered a slice and took a bite. The rich bread was warm and delicious. After another slice of bread and some milk from our goat, I headed to my room. Living in a small town, the homes were generally cottages or smaller homes. We have a cottage, but our small family fits perfectly. My room was nothing special, I had a small bed and a desk I built with my dad, I had a wall of pictures and a bookshelf in the corner. Pulling on a pair of basketball shorts and a t-shirt, I collapsed in my bed. I crawled under the thin blanket and rubbed my temples. Today was terrible. Now I have to start school tomorrow. Great going tegan. I closed my eyes and fell asleep to a restless night.