My Dreams Aren't Nice

Summer Is Over

Derek always had trouble sleeping, but for some reason, he felt well rested and his body decided not to keep him up to an ungodly hour. Elle came into his room and woke him up gently, as Marlene used to wake all the kids up with a firehose, spraying them all with it at five in the morning. "Time to get up", Elle said in her softest voice as Derek stirred awake. It was a fresh start for everyone; Derek, Lila, and Mckenzie would be starting a new school. Derek got out his nice warm bed and headed down the stairs to get some breakfast. The little kids weren't up yet, so Derek had first dibs on the cereal and seat. He chose some rice crispies and sat in the chair opposite the TV as Gary had the news on. "Morning kiddo", Gary said in a chipper tone, "First day back to school, whoop whoop". Derek smiled, taking a mouthful of rice crispies into his mouth. The news was covering some tragic oil spill in the ocean but quickly went back to talking about Marlene Ocean. Gary reached for the remote muttering, "We don't want to see that bitch", before switching it over. Derek appreciated Gary and Elle's efforts, he really loved them. His train of thought was interrupted when Mckenzie came down and hugged his leg. Derek looked down at Mckenzie who was smiling. "Are you excited for your first day of kindergarten?", he asked, smiling back at the five-year-old. Mckenzie nodded. Elle came down the stairs with the other kids and started getting bowls out. Derek looked at the black-haired, blue-eyed, glass wearing Elle and smiled. Gary had gotten up, he had grey hair, which he hid with a New York Giants snapback. "You kids better be excited for the first day of school", Gary said to the younger kids, "Their the best days of your lives". It was a normal school morning Derek had dreamed about.

On the driveway, Gary and Elle took the first day of school pictures of the younger kids. Derek stood on the sidelines, he didn't like his picture getting taken and decided not to participate with the younger kids. "Alright", Gary said, snapping the last picture on his Samsung, "Let's get going". Mckenzie got strapped into her car seat in the back next to Angel and Lila. Derek sat up the front with Gary in the blue Volkswagen minivan. "Remember children", Gary said, turning out the driveway, "Everybody is cool on the first day of school".