I took a hold of the doorknob and made my way out. A nearby noise startled me for a moment, only to have realized that it was Toby’s snoring. I had forgotten that he slept over yesterday after helping me with the final touches to the room. He actually turned out very excited toward my mention of finishing the paper work process. His enthusiasm toward such a subject seemed very unlike him, to which I teased about, much to his embarrassment. I slowly made my way down the set of stairs and headed toward my kitchen. The sharp taste of orange juice awoke me ever more from my sleepy state.
Just as I lifted the cup for another sip, my phone began to wildly buzz.
“Good morning Mr. Soel!” Amber chirped on the other line.
“Wow, interesting to hear you so cheerful at this hour.” I groggily replied.
“Well, coffee helps.” She chuckled. “You know, my main alarm has actually been a little munchkin named Lea. I have no idea where she got so much energy so early in the morning.” Amber added.
“That’s good to hear. I guess everything’s ready for the trip then?” I asked.
“Just about; need to recheck a couple of things, but otherwise we’re good to go.”
“Great; well I’m sure Lea will calm down soon enough. Don’t overdo it on the coffee though, ok?”
“No worries!” She said laughing.
“See ya in a bit Amber.”
“Bye.”
I closed my phone and ran my fingers through the messy bed hair as I heard Toby groaning loudly.
“Ugh, you woke me up!” He yelled as his feet trampled down my steps.
“Good morning to you too.” I casually replied.
“Who could be callin’ you at this hour?” Toby asked as he rubbed the sleep away from his eyes.
“Oh, that was just Amber.”
Toby stood staring at me, obviously puzzled at my response.
“Amber… Amber Smith? You’ve met her before right?”
He shrugged lazily and started turning back around, when he suddenly added:
“Wait! The Amber you like hooked up with last year that you say stole your watch?”
I reached up to slowly rub my temples.
“No, not that one; she works at the center where Lea lives, or should I say used to live.” I replied.
“Oh… she hot?” Toby bluntly asked.
“Dude, I’m kind of with Stephanie right now, seriously?” I snapped back.
Even if I didn’t admit it, Amber was a naturally beautiful person. Since she took care of the kids practically all day, she didn’t have time to spruce herself up with heavy make-ups. Her skin would practically glow under the sun and had hardly, if any, flaws to it. I jolted out of my trance and returned to look at Toby.
“What the hell does that mean; you can still tell if a girl’s hot or not, right?” He exclaimed.
“Yes…” I muttered.
“Well?”
“How about you see for yourself? Aren’t you coming to help me load up Lea’s stuff from the Orphanage?” I countered uncomfortably.
“Oh yeah… Okay then, I will!” Toby announced.
I laughed at the absurdity of the conversation and headed back to my fridge. The orange juice container fought vigorously for a spot among the milk cartons and after a moment of squirming around, a section was found.
“So we still have a couple of hours before its time to head over there. Wanna get a bite to eat?” I asked Toby who was now laid across my couch.
“Sure, where though?”
“Oh, we’ll find something.” I replied.
With each step I took, a squeak would arise from the stairs. I entered my room and began to look around for a decent outfit. Toby soon caught with me and launched himself at my door.
“Dude! I got it!” He exclaimed.
“What is it?!” I yelled back as my head pushed through an incorrect shirt hole.
Toby paused with an all-too-obvious attempt at suspense.
“Denny’s!” He finally said.
“…That was it?” I shot back, annoyed.
“Uh… yeah, why?”