run of the mill.

37th

"Jamiarah Annabelle Carter wake up right now!" Beyonce yelled from the bathroom as she brushed her teeth. "I'm not playing with you!"

She heard Jamie groan and she went into the bedroom to see the four year old sitting up on the bed with her eyes closed. Her night shirt was riding up on her hips and she looked especially cute with her big nappy ponytail atop her head. "Jamie," Beyonce called. "Aren't you excited about your first day of school with all the other big kids?"

Jamie didn't open her eyes. She only nodded tiredly. "Don't you wanna get up and get in the bath so you can go meet your teachers and all your friends?"

Jamie nodded her head and blinked against the light of morning at seven thirty. "Yes," she said in a little voice. She had a high voice and Beyonce wondered if that was gonna change with puberty. She hoped not. Jamie sounded so cute to her. She supposed it was because she was her mother. Nevertheless, she never got tired of hearing the high pitched call of her own flesh and blood.

Jamie was eventually persuaded to get into the bath that Beyonce had drawn for her. She talked about her first day the whole time. "I'm gonna sit next to Ahmad. He's my best friend you know," she said going on and on as she washed up. Beyonce wrapped a towel around her and put lotion on her tiny little body. "I can get dressed by myself. I'm four now," she said holding up the fingers.

"Ok well excuse me," Beyonce said watching Jamie pull up her own True Religion jeans. As soon as it got to the buttoning zipping part, she looked at Beyonce.

"Mommy, I need help."

"Yeah, I thought so." Beyonce pulled her blue polo shirt over her head and tucked it into her jeans. Beyonce helped Jamie put on her belt and then helped her with her matching Pastry shoes.

"I like these mommy," she declared as Beyonce double knotted her shoe and stood up to inspect her work. "Can I take these off?" Jamie asked, pointing at her hair rollers. Beyonce nodded and they walked in the bathroom to redo Jamie's ponytail and take the rollers out of her curls. She looked so cute.

There was a boom and then they heard Shawn. "Did I miss it? Are ya'll here?"

He came around the corner and spotted the two of them in the bathroom. Jamie, since she was so short, was standing on the sink in front of Beyonce while she did her impossible hair. "Daddy! You're back!"

Shawn had been on the road doing his games but promised he would do his best to be back on Jamie's first day of school. His promises were starting to mean something because lately he'd been keeping them.

He swooped into the bathroom doorway and picked her up off the sink. "Yeah I'm back. Did you think I would miss this?"

Jamie looked at Shawn with adoration. "Did you fly again daddy?" she asked hopefully. Whenever Shawn was in a rush to do something and he barely made it, he would tell Jamie he jumped up and flew to her because she was his princess.

"Did I fly?" he asked like he couldn't believe she asked him that. "Of course I flew! Girl, I flew all the way from Bikini Bottom!"

"You went to Bikini Bottom?" Jamie asked in astonishment.

"Yeah, I had a game there," he said turning to Beyonce. She smirked and he winked at her. "As a matter a fact, SpongeBob was the referee."

"He was?!" Jamie asked.

"Yeah, but we had to end the game," he said a fake, yet amused sadness in his voice.

"Why?" Jamie asked, completely into his story. "Why did you end the game?"