The long walk home was exhausting on his already tired feet. He also felt his back protest that he hadn't had a decent rest break in nearly half the day. He was starving, since he couldn't afford anything from the deli at the grocery store. His last meal was school lunch, which thankfully he didn't have to pay for. That was one thing he could count on to be free for him and his siblings, and a guaranteed meal throughout the day. That is when the school processed his and his sisters' lunch program information and got around to approving it.
Thinking about food just made his stomach rumble, but he would have to see if there was anything left to eat when he got home. His younger siblings needed more food than he, so he often could and would go without eating anything at home so that they had food to eat. That made him wonder what he was going to do for food once he graduated, or at the very least was done with school. He honestly had no idea if he had enough credits to graduate, let alone, walk across the stage this year. He didn't even know what school he would be attending by then either. It could be this one, or it could be an entirely new school somewhere far away.
Finally reaching home, Erik entered the quiet trailer with only a single light on in the entire place. His mom was in the kitchen with Tyler, who seemed a little fussy. He looked hopefully toward the stove to see if there was anything left on top of it that he could eat but was disappointed to see not even a pan was left out.
"Sorry, Erik, it seems Heather and Kirsten are going through a growth phase and are eating a little more than usual. Between the two of them, they managed to eat what I had set aside for you, before I realized it." His mom explained as she tried to soothe his baby brother.
"It's okay, Mom. As long as they are getting enough food, I'm okay waiting until tomorrow to eat at work. If I'm lucky, the coffee shop will let me have day-old bagels or return orders of coffee!" Erik tried to sound cheerful, even if his stomach wasn't.
"There might be a little bread left in the cabinet, but I was planning on using that in the meatloaf for dinner tomorrow, since the bread-tie went missing after Emily helped herself to a piece earlier in the week. I swear, I turn around for a second and she's getting into everything. I don't know what I'm going to do when I start my job next week, Erik. You're already working three jobs, and I haven't been able to find a part-time job that doesn't interfere with my current job's hours." His mom sounded so defeated as she said these things.
"It's going to be okay, Mom. Kylee and Nikki will trade off days staying home to watch Emily and Tyler. If I could skip a day or two at school each week, I could pick up another job by fibbing my age a little, but then they would want proof of graduation or my GED." Erik mused.
"No. You're already pulling too many hours as it is, Erik. I need you in school. If a truancy officer were to come sniffing around, that could mean that our family is split up and you won't see any of your siblings again since they will take them away from me. They will also likely look closer at you and your record and find your minor infractions and make a big deal about that. As it is, the schools think that Nikki and Kylee are ill and expect them to be absent a lot for treatment. I never thought I'd be using my nursing knowledge to fake my children's illnesses to keep the schools from looking too closely at us." Erik listened to the defeated tone of his mom's voice as she went on.
"I just wish that I could afford to go to actual nursing school and get a nursing degree and pull in that vital income. I heard that nurses working at a high-end clinic in this city or in the obstetrics ward at the big hospital, get the best hours and pay. Supposedly there is a famous doctor that practices medicine in this city and is an obstetrician who treats her nursing staff like family." His mom sounded wistful as she described the ideal working conditions for any nurse.
Yawning as the fatigue finally hit him, it was past midnight and he needed to be up in four hours to leave for work. Saturdays were his longest days so he couldn't afford to be tired.
"Get some sleep. I'll wake you in the morning so that you get the first shower while I prepare breakfast. I'll be up a little longer with Tyler since he doesn't want to sleep yet." His mom shooed him out of the kitchen.
He didn't argue, he felt like he would pass out as soon as his head hit the pillow. And just like that, he did as soon as he crawled, exhausted, into bed. The next thing he knew was his mom was quietly rousing him. There was a strong smell of coffee wafting under his nose that helped rouse his tired mind from sleep.
"Here, drink this and then get a shower. It's not much, but I'll have a fried egg and a piece of toast for you when you get done." Erik heard his mom say as he blearily cracked his eyes open before he rose up from the top bunk where he had been sleeping and made his way down. It was predawn and still dark, but his eyes were already adjusted to the dark as he was handed a luxury. His mom was giving him her precious coffee this morning. That meant that his mom wasn't having any since she rationed this luxury whenever they could afford it, very tightly.
"Thanks." He mumbled between sips of the hot substance. It was a little watered down, but it still had enough kick to help chase the rest of sleep from his mind. This was how they did things in this house. They reused things as much as possible, nothing went to waste when it could be repurposed. Coffee grounds were no exception to this rule.
As soon as the last sip of coffee was finished, Erik grabbed a quick and thankfully hot shower. Being the first up, next to his mom, meant that he could have actual hot water. He didn't linger in the shower, though, he didn't have the time. He quickly got out and brushed his teeth for the day. He noted that the tube of toothpaste was on its last legs, but it still had just enough for a few more of his siblings to use, if carefully managed.
Looking at the time, Erik had to hurry. Work started in a couple of hours so that meant that he had to get a move-on and walk quickly. He grabbed the egg and plain toast from his mom and thanked her as he headed out the door. Eating the dry toast with nothing but the egg on it was like heaven for his empty stomach. It filled him up and would give him the energy to make the long walk to the coffee shop where he worked.
By the time he got to work, the sun was just barely peeking up over the horizon. So, as he clocked in for the day, he quickly tied his work apron around his waist and dove right in taking the orders for drive thru customers. This particular coffee shop was close to a fancy school, so on weekdays he would get the odd order for special coffees that weren't on the written menu, but all the barista's honored and taught him how to make. He liked working here, since it was a fun environment and there was always great music playing.
Later in the morning he took one order that wasn't on the menu. He didn't think anything of it since it was a common off-menu item that was requested from time to time from the highschoolers. Making the triple-shot cortado espresso, double shot tuxedo mocha and quad shot breve espresso, was no real challenge, but he had to wonder about the amount of caffeine that some of these people consumed. He finished making the drinks and prepared a biodegradable carrier before handing them out the window as one of his coworkers took the payment. They worked well as a team, so he had no fear of the tips not being divided up equally at the end of the work shift.
To his surprise, there again before him, was the girl from the park and the grocery store. That made three times now that they had met. But she wasn't alone, she had the two other girls with her in her car and was excitedly laughing and chatting with them before she looked up at him as he was handing out the drinks.
"Wow! I'm beginning to think it's a small world! I keep seeing you everywhere!" The rich girl smiled up at him as she accepted the drinks, which he nearly dropped in surprise when she barely grazed his hand. There was a brief spark of electricity between them as they touched. He kept telling himself that it was just static, and it didn't mean anything.