Thank you for waiting.

Chapter Seventeen

An alarm went off.

She took a deep breath, sitting up.

There she was, in her bed, her eyes sore and her body more so. It was the Nicholson house, and this was his spare bedroom. A small alarm was blaring from next to her atop a stack of boxes. She leaned in and turned it off, immediately wanting to go back to sleep.

That's when she remembered that she couldn't. Didn't she have to go to that place and serve food every day?

She stared at her toes for a little while. Having to wake up like this every day was not what she considered when she joined their team. She didn't feel relaxed. She didn't feel rested. The biggest part of her wanted to go back to the mall with Beryl and Eloise.

She hoped they were okay. They promised they'd wait for her.

Most of her next steps were instinct. She didn't have any memories tied to a morning routine, so she did what felt right. She changed into one of the outfits she had picked out from Will's catalog; a crimson skirt with sat above her waist, a white blouse with long, bellowing sleeves and a cuff around her neck that seemed to hug it, together with the same shoes she wore yesterday. She never thought to bring extra socks, and she didn't take off her socks when she went to sleep. She frowned. They didn't quite feel like something she'd want to walk on all day. Hoping to make the most, she smiled at herself a mirror, leaning against a stack of boxes. Her exhaustion was written on her face, but at least she felt cute.

The next steps were a bit of a blur. Their house was still a mystery to her. She found a toothbrush still in the package and used it. Their shower was pleasant enough, although she was sad about not being able to take a good, long soak in their bathtub.

She considered Kiki's makeup. She found some when she was looking through the drawers for a toothbrush. It wasn't quite for her skin tone, and she had no idea how to apply it – nor had she taken off the makeup from yesterday – but then again, it wasn't quite her face. There wasn't enough time for experimentation, though, so she gave up considering it.

Downstairs, the family was sitting around the breakfast table, all except for Will. The father was cooking something on the stovetop, but his plate was full of half-eaten pancakes and sausage, so she assumed that his absence from the table must have been recent.

Ali and Kiki almost immediately noticed her. "Hey!" shouted Ali, "Welcome down!"

"Saved you a seat!" said Kiki, patting the chair next to her.

Flor blushed a little, pulling out the chair and sitting in it. Right across the table was their mother, who had her hands folded under her chin.

"So?" she asked.

Flor raised her eyebrows.

"How was your sleep?"

"I.. feel rested."

"Good. So you've got an accordion?"

"Yes, Mrs. Nicholson."

"Interesting.." She turned to Kiki. "You finished your speech, correct?"

"Uh-huh!"

"You.. getting to speak Quercasian, or are they making you speak their language?"

"Oh, I get to use Quercasian. They'll take points off, but.."

The mother stared at Flor. "You're translating for Wallace, right? How about you translate her paper?"

"I..." Flor thought for a moment. "What time is it?"

"Six forty-five!" answered Mr. Nicholson.