Behind the Barricades

Morning of the Funeral

KAY: 23 years old

I wake up in my bed to the smell of bacon cooking. I go out to our kitchen to see my mother frying some up on the stove.

I hear a door close behind me. I turn around and Enjolras walks in and wraps his arms around me and kisses the top of my head.

He slept in Courfeyrac's room last night on the floor because he refused the bed. I don't know what happened at his own house last night and I'm too afraid to ask.

He came to the cafe last night just as Courf and I were locking up and I could tell he had been crying. He wouldn't say what happened just that he couldn't go back home. He was planning on sleeping in the cafe but Courf insisted that we take him back to our house.

"How did you sleep?" I ask him.

He shrugs his shoulders and tries to force a smile.

"You should've taken the bed," I tell him but he holds up his hand and shakes his head.

Courfeyrac comes out of his room and snitches a piece a bacon off mum's plate and pops it in his mouth. He immediately regrets it after the burning hot bacon grease touches his tongue.

"Oy! That's what you get for putting your dirty hands on my bacon," she tells him while handing him a cup of water to cool off his mouth.

Enjolras puts on his boots and goes to head out the door.

"Oy where do you think you're going?" I ask him as I follow him to the door.

"The funeral is in less than 2 hours. I have to get to the cafe," he responds.

"Not without your breakfast you aren't. Oh I almost forgot. I made this for you," my mum says to him while she runs into the other room.

She comes out with a red jacket and gives it to him. Enjolras's eyes widen and light up when he looks at it and holds it in his hands.

"Madeleine...I don't know what to say. It's perfect," he says as he puts it on.

"I thought you could wear it to the funeral. Red is a symbol of power. It's the colour of the blood of angry men," she tells him as she adjusts the collar of the jacket, straightening it.

The blood of angry men. I like that. Enjolras smiles and kisses my mum on the cheek before hugging her.

"Merci, Madeleine," he tells her.

He grabs a piece of bacon and runs out the door. I go back to my room to get dressed. I think I want to wear a dress. Everyone is going to be wearing pants and I want to show clearly to everyone from a distance that a girl can fight.

I put on my dress and walk out into the kitchen.

"You look nice but you don't look revolutionary. You're missing the broach. Also it might be chilly later so you should take one of my jackets," Courfeyrac tells me while going back to his toast.

This kid can eat for ages. I walk into his room and grab just a plain black jacket and put it on. It's quite big on me but I kind of like it. I grab a broach from his dresser and pin it to my dress as I walk back out.

"How do I look?" I ask him again.

He looks up at me from his food and examines my appearance.

"Like me in a dress," he responds with a goofy smile.

All of a sudden our front door opens and Millicent comes in limping and out of breath. Her eyes dart around the room looking for something.

"Is Enjolras here? Quick it's an emergency," she says in a panic.