《Redwood Pines》
Chapter One:
Six am, another morning in the condo. Jimena turned off her alarm and began to freshen up. She reached for the foundation on the bathroom counter with her name on it, but then put it down. No point in covering her scars, all of her roommates knew they were there, not to mention people in her classes and her internship didn¡¯t take her seriously without them.
After brushing her long, black, wavy hair and teeth, she walked downstairs to see who would be making breakfast this morning. In the kitchen, she saw May already had hash browns cooking in a pan. Judging by the carton to the left of the stove and the electric kettle to the right, it seemed there would be scrambled eggs and tea with them this morning. Not the most lavish or healthy breakfast, but it would serve her and her roommates well.
¡°Giving cooking another chance, May?¡± Jimena asked.
May turned around to find Jimena gathering her things. ¡°Yeah. I figured practicing in the kitchen would help me be a better artist. Of course, it helps when you don¡¯t walk away from the counter to take care of other things,¡± she replied, recalling all of the times she had done exactly that, causing the food to burn. After all, art required one¡¯s full undivided attention, and cooking was just another form of art, so she figured she should treat it as such.
¡°Do you want me to get started on the eggs for you?¡± Jimena asked, reaching for the frying pan.
¡°I think Maddie is the only other person up, and she¡¯s doing her morning cardio,¡± May replied. ¡°Besides, they will be cold by the time the hash browns are done if we start them now,¡± she added.
¡°Okay, let me know if you need help,¡± Jimena responded as she began to set the table. Just as she set the last fork down, the front door opened. Within seconds, Maddie had power-walked into the kitchen.
¡°How is breakfast coming along?¡± she asked, making her way to the sink to refill her sixty-four-ounce water bottle.
¡°It¡¯s looking good, and smelling good,¡± Jimena replied, looking over May¡¯s shoulder, just to make sure she was cooking the food correctly.
¡°Is there meat?¡± Maddie asked.
¡°Would you be okay with pieces of ham in your eggs?¡± May asked, not looking up from the stove. The sooner she got breakfast done, the sooner she could go back upstairs and plan her outfit, her makeup, and her jewelry. Her first class started at eight today, and all she had done was take a bath and brush her hair, which, being long enough to touch her calves, still wasn¡¯t even dry yet!
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¡°Yes, that sounds great. Now if you¡¯ll excuse me, I¡¯ll be in the basement making sure my sister actually slept last night,¡± Maddie answered, walking off to do so.
¡°Speaking of sisters, do you want me to go wake up April?¡± Jimena offered.
May turned to scoff at her roommate¡¯s stupid idea. ¡°No. She always gets on my nerves. I don¡¯t want to have her in here at the same time as I am. Besides, if she wants breakfast, she has to wake up on her own and get it before we eat it all,¡± she explained, cracking the eggs into a bowl without her usual grace.
¡°Everything okay in here?¡± asked Maddie¡¯s older sister Cleo.
¡°We¡¯re fine, just making breakfast,¡± Jimena assured her.
¡°Alright then,¡± Cleo replied as she sat down in her usual chair, breathing a sigh of relief now that she was no longer burdened by the strain of standing up. Why did walking have to be so hard? She was only twenty-one for crying out loud!
Around ten minutes passed and the food was being plated.
¡°Thank you for the breakfast May,¡± another roommate, Ellie, told her while adjusting her black fedora that she never went anywhere without.
¡°Yeah,¡± ¡°It looks delicious,¡± two more of them added. Of course, Grace and Beverly had the same sentiments, the two were basically the same person! May couldn¡¯t recall ever even seeing them wearing different outfits!
As everyone began to dish up, the last girl awake, as always, April muscled her way through to the food and took the lion¡¯s share for herself with a snide ¡°Gracias,¡±.
May rolled her eyes, but Jimena gave her a look before she could call out her selfish sister¡¯s antics. She had a lot of work to get done today, so the last thing she needed was to have to waste all of her energy and patience breaking up yet another argument between the Thomas sisters.
After breakfast, Jimena collected all of the dishes and took them to the sink to wash them. As much as May would like to stick around to make sure they were washed effectively enough, she had a lot to do to get ready, starting with a hairdryer, so she walked upstairs to do so.
Also going upstairs to get ready were Grace, Beverly, and Ellie. Maddie was already prepared for the day, so she decided to do some stretches in the living room before she had to leave, and Cleo went downstairs into the basement to gather her things.
All Jimena had to do was grab her keys.
April didn¡¯t have to be in class until two, so she walked into the backyard to start the hours-long process of tending to her garden.
Chapter Two:
After walking through one of many campus gates, May turned to the left toward the main art building for her first class of the day. She had signed up for an art history class as per her major requirement expecting to dabble in the arts of different eras.
Instead, it was mostly doing research and analysis of different art pieces throughout the ages. No offense to the professor, she was a very nice lady, but she couldn¡¯t care less about the meaning behind Leonardo Da Vinci¡¯s work, she came here to learn how they did the art in those eras, say, watercolors in ancient Japan.
Still, even though there were some not-fun details about her classes, she sat down at her desk in the back corner and pulled out her notebook, ready to write down anything important. If she was going to be running the best design industry in town¨Cbecause, of course she was!¨C she had to get good marks in all her classes! Sure, Cs got degrees, but they didn¡¯t give you a credible reputation.
Once her notebook was set up, she set her plushies free from the confines of her bag and placed them on the edge of her desk, facing the whiteboard. If she was getting an education, so were they. Of course, it would be too impractical and chaotic to bring all twenty of them, so she brought five at a time, switching them out day by day so they would all get a turn to go to class. Afterward, she would gather them all in the library to compare notes with the other plushies while she did her homework. Sure, they received weird looks from time to time, but having the plushies around made working more fun and more bearable.
Unfortunately, most of the professors didn¡¯t care for the plushies. If they weren¡¯t viewed as a distraction, they were seen as a barrier between May and her human classmates. Was it really her fault that plushies were nicer to her and more helpful in completing assignments than people?
Before she could dwell on that subject any longer, the professor began the lecture. Thankfully, this one wasn¡¯t too hard to take notes on, and today¡¯s subject was actually kind of interesting.
Half an hour later, the professor instructed everyone to discuss the topic in groups. While everyone else turned to the students in the adjacent seats, May simply turned her plushies around to talk to them. The other desks around hers were empty anyway.
But before she could even ask her plushies for their thoughts, the professor directed her toward a group of students in the front of the classroom. ¡°B¡ I already have a group,¡± she explained, gesturing to her animal friends.
¡°May, we have been over this, plushies can only tell you things that you already know,¡± the professor sighed.
Any further argument would just waste valuable time, so May simply rolled her eyes and got up to reluctantly join the group in the front. Lucky for her, the available spot had her desk right in her line of sight, so she could keep an eye on them while she listened to her human classmates discuss the topic and acted like she could pick up any important information from them.
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Twenty minutes passed before the professor called off the discussions. Finally, May could move back to her desk so she could compliment Georgie the pygmy goat and Orion the owl on their ability to help Yusef the yak, Marble the narwhal, and Joey the jaguar understand the material they were going over today.
After a full day of classes, and a quick stop at the condo to pick up the rest of her plushies, May walked into the library and claimed a desk to work at on the sixth floor. She couldn¡¯t help but smile at the antics of her plushies. Georgie was just two seconds out of the bag and she was already eagerly recounting the events of the day.
While the plushies had their meeting, May tackled her pile of assignments.
Once May had two of her smaller assignments completed and out of the way, she noticed something off about the plushie conference. Normally, the conversations were boisterous and lively, but now only hushed whispers could be heard.
¡°Guys¡ what¡¯s going on?...¡± she asked, but they didn¡¯t tell her, as if they were trying to keep a secret from her. Why? They were her faithful companions, what could they possibly not trust her with? ¡°Squishy?¡± she turned to the grey and white husky, the leader of the plushies, and her lifelong companion.
She wasn¡¯t certain the response she got answered her question, but the pup did alert her about nearby humans. She turned to her left and saw a group of students working on an assignment together. The project at their table seemed interesting, but May was more drawn to their outfits. Pastel pinks, purples, blues, yellows, and greens covered them, all in complex patterns, complete with matching makeup and accessories! Their bodies were works of art, just like May strived for.
Seeing what seemed like perfect friend material, she approached them. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m May. I love your outfits. You all look so colorful,¡± she told them with a smile.
¡°Thanks. You look very nice too,¡± the girl with blue and lavender hair in braids replied. ¡°My name is Denise, nice to meet you. This is Katy and Sharon,¡± she continued, gesturing to the girl with pink and green hair in a ponytail and the girl with short yellow and blue hair respectively.
¡°Even your names are pretty. Are you guys Art and Design majors too?¡± May asked, unable to believe how much progress she was making already! Hell, she actually got past introducing herself this time!
One of them chuckled, Sharon, right? ¡°Close, I¡¯m a graphic design major,¡±
¡°Animation,¡± Denise flicked her hand up.
¡°And I¡¯m a Programming major,¡± Katy concluded.
¡°Wow, that is cool. One of my roommates is a programming major too. I¡¯ll have to introduce you sometime. Oh, and speaking of introductions¡¡± May turned back to the table where her plushies continued their meeting. ¡°These are my¡ª Hey! Where are you going?!¡± She asked them as they started packing up their things.
¡°It was nice to meet you May. We¡¯d love to talk more, but we have to get going,¡± Denise explained.
¡°Oh¡ okay¡ I¡¯ll¡ see you later then¡ bye¡¡± May frowned as she watched them leave. She should¡¯ve known she wouldn¡¯t be able to befriend any humans. That¡¯s okay¡ she had her plushies¡ no reason for blues¡
It was a real shame that they left. It was going so well! ¡°What am I doing wrong?¡± She asked the plushies, but instead of answering, they redirected her to her nearly finished homework.