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!

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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.

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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.