Josie (Part 2)
Josie glanced at her watch. 12:20 AM. She jumped to her feet with a start, dimly acknowledging the fact that the rabbits had left. Turning, she ran home, having completely forgotten her mother was drunk evough anyway to not notice how late she was. She burst into the apartment building and rushed up the stairs. Quietly she opened the door. Abigail was still lying on the couch, fast asleep. Josie walked over to her, tucked a blanket around her, and picked up the beer bottles around the couch. She counted twelve. With disgust, she threw them into the recycling bin, then washed her hands and got a glass of water. A last look at Abigail, sleeping, and Josie went to bed.
The next morning Josie woke to find Abigail still asleep. She made herself a small breakfast, scrambled eggs and a bagel, and sat down on the leather chair across from the sofa where Abigail was still sleeping. Josie checked her watch. It was only eight o' clock. Abigail wouldn't wake up for another hour or so. Still, she sat there, in her chair, and ate her breakfast, not taking her eyes off of her sleeping mother. When the bagel was gone and the eggs were finished, she got up and washed the plate before getting a heating pad and water to sit down on the table next to the couch. Abigail would need it when she woke up. Josie took another twenty from her mom's wallet and left the apartment.
She went to the grocery store and bought a newspaper. Nothing interesting in the front page. She opened it and immersed herself in the article on bald eagles, completely forgetting that she was still walking. It was only when she almost got run over by a bus("Watch where you're going!" the driver yelled out the window) that she came back to her senses. She sat down on a bench and kept reading. A bird landed on her shoulder.
You see, Josie loves birds, and for some reason they like her just as much. She looked up at this particular bird, a robin, and cheeped at it. She didn't notice the strange looks people were giving her. The bird cheeped back, and hopped onto her arm, then her lap. She stroked it for a moment, then returned to her article. The bird pecked her hand, so she petted it while she read. She finished the article, mostly because the bird attacked the newspaper and ripped off the last paragraph. She laughed, then stood up slowly, and the bird flew to the top of her head. Luckily, there were no cats running around. She didn't like cats. She trotted home, whistling a song while the bird sang along.
When she got back to teh apartment building, the bird flew away and she rushed inside. Abigail was laying on the couch, a heating pad on her head and drinking the water.
"Hi, Abigail," she said.
"THERE'S NO NEED TO SHOUT. I'M RIGHT HERE." Abigail yelled. Josie choked back a laugh and gave her mom the news. Abigail grabbed it, wincing at the noise the crackling of the paper made, and started reading without another word. Josie went to her room, holding back another laugh as Abigail yelled after her to please not stomp so loud.
