Booksmarts

chapter 014

I TOSS AND TURN ON THE CUSHION. WE'VE been working up until 4:00am so we ultimately decided it was best for me to stay over. Of course, like the gentleman Mason was, he made me sleep on his couch while he went upstairs to bed. I yank the blankets closer to me and roll over so I'm sandwiched in the blankets–or burritoed? I turn again once more and fall straight off the couch, hitting my head against the glass coffee table.

"FINALLY!" A familiar female voice calls from the kitchen, "Look, I always knew you were a heavy sleeper but I didn't know it got this bad!" A slender hand reaches out to me, but since I'm consumed by the amounts of blankets I've rolled in, I'm stuck. She steps closer and I start to realize who she was. Kacey Monica Cantley– found me sleeping over on her son's couch. "You're stuck aren't you?" She sighs and unwraps me out of the blankets, "Long time no see, Alinna." Her hand grabs mine and lifts me up.

"Yeah it's been awhile Moni" I blush knowing it's been years since I've properly come over to their house and this is how they find me. I call her Moni because when I was in the first grade I thought that Moni and 'mommy' were the same. And since she was always over at my house I confused her with my mom and her. Now it's just a habit. Moni never went by Kacey anyways because of "aliteration purposes." Her family's names (middle or first) all started with an 'M'. It went; Mark Cantley–his father, Monica Cantley, Briar Melissa Cantley, and then Mason Cantley. Everyone in the family thinks it's the most embarrassing and cheesiest thing ever, but I think it's cute. It's a bit random but it's also kind of sweet how they're kind of bound together by their names.

"So...It takes you falling off my son's couch and hitting your head against a table to wake you up–noted" she teases. I've seen little glimpses of her here and there. Like at country clubs or at town events that my mom drags me to. But other than that, it's been almost three-ish years since I've really talked to Moni. Her hair used to be shorter, and darker. Now it's at a light-ashy blonde color, down to her ribs, chopped in layers. I'm assuming it's to hide her newly grown grey hairs that she always complained about. She looks over and points to the numerous amounts of cups and popcorn kernels we left last night. "Studying with Mason?"

"Yeah..." I awkwardly scratch my head, not willing to make excuses for the mess. I start picking up the mess and hustle to the sink to wash the dishes. Mason stumbles downstairs with his hair ruffled and his clothes wrinkled.

"Hey Lin–Oh..." His eyes widen when he realizes his mom got home before he could clean up the mess. He scratches his head, "I better go clean that up." As he's picking up the remaining cups he towards the couch. "Has Lina left? Man, she used to sleep until the afternoon." He starts looking around the house, "I swear, nothing could wake that girl up."

"Hey... I woke up! What are you on about?" I argue. His head whips towards me, his face heating up and his eyes widen even more.

"Yeah, after you fell and hit your head against a table" Moni retorts. I glower at her for siding with Mason.

"There it is" He quipped. My silence says it all. It was true I was a heavy sleeper since birth. Alarms, phone calls, yelling, literally nothing could wake me up. I blame it on my father. He sleeps through anything and snores way too loud. Mom must be glad that he's out of the house now, she's always hated his snoring. Mom used to always tell me I was really my father's daughter–from my eyebrows, down to my crooked toenails. Okay, I mean no girl wants to be told that they seriously look like their father, I mean I spend all of my days grooming myself, and to be told I look like a man would actually crush my self-esteem. But I understand it, I really am just like my father. Not sure if that's a blessing or a curse.

"Whatever." I continue to wash down the cups and place them inside the cupboards. We all carry on talking for a while more before Moni interrupts.

"Oh my gosh how could I forget? I made you both breakfast." She shoos us away from the sink and forces us to sit down at the kitchen countertop table. "You know breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Also, Mason take your meds okay? Be careful when you swal-" Moni continues to ramble on and on about the dangers of swallowing pills incorrectly and gives him the daily reminder (that he absolutely dreads) that he needs to take his vitamins. Moni was a sweet mother but she never knew when it was time to stop coddling her son. Sometimes when he doesn't eat fast enough, she'll spoon feed it to him before it gets cold. Or whenever he shows any signs of discomfort she'll put him on bed rest for days.