Claurice rolled over in bed and groaned. The light sneaking through the gaps in the curtains was piercing. Grumbling, she pulled the silky sheets on her bed up over her head and closed her eyes tightly. Perhaps she had just a few more minutes...
"Claurice!" A voice rang up the stairs. An annoying voice... a loud voice... and getting louder... "CLAURICE!"
Claurice burrowed into her blankets and tried to lie still. Maybe if Jason thought she was fast asleep, he'd let her be for a bit. No such luck.
"Claurice, come on, get up!" Jason yelled, barging straight into her room with a bang of the door. The tall nineteen-year-old moved over to the bed, grabbed the blankets, and tore them off her.
"Hey!" Claurice protested, sitting up in bed and pulling her nightgown down over her knees. Her brown hair was disheveled and frizzing out in all directions, and her normally hazel eyes were red and squinting. "I'm barely decent!"
"Your nightgown is more decent than the clothes you normally wear," he retorted. "Now come on, get up!" He turned towards the curtains.
"NO!" Claurice yelled as he threw them open, letting bright sunshine into the room. "Arrrgg!!" Claurice cried, covering her eyes and wincing in pain. "I'm blind!"
"Yeah, yeah..." Jason said, opening the window to allow a cool spring breeze into the room. "It's late... nearly past brunch. Get up, get dressed, and get downstairs. Mother and Father will be back from Iceland soon, and if they find you in bed, there'll be trouble."
In response, Claurice snarled and grabbed a plastic bottle of body lotion from her nightstand. She heaved it at Jason's head with a vengeance.
"Oy!" He yelled as it bounced off his up-thrown arm. "Just trying to keep you out of trouble. Keep this up and they're bound to notice that you never seem to get a decent night's sleep..."
"Sod off!" Claurice demanded, grabbing a heavy box of costume jewelry and brandishing it over her head. Jason glared and quickly scuttled out of the room sideways, keeping an eye on her as he went.
"Remember, I tried to warn you..." He said from behind the door to her room. Claurice stormed over and slammed it shut behind him. Growling, she turned to the mirror and picked up a hair brush.
Background from Absolute Background Textures Archive. Storyline and characters created by and copyright © Rachel "Indyana" Gratis, 2001-2004. Dragon from Veniam Mactare.