Sadie walked slowly down the creaking floorboards of the stairs, careful not to make too much noise. She looked into the living room. She turned her head toward the couch, trying to get an angle where she could tell if Taylor was sleeping there, because she couldn’t be sure in the darkness.
She didn’t see anything on the couch. The light in the kitchen came on, and Sadie quickly turned her head toward her. Taylor was at the sink, pouring water into a plastic cup she was holding. “Hi, Taylor,” Sadie whispered. Taylor looked at her and said quietly, but louder than Sadie, “Hey.”
Sadie walked toward the kitchen and got a pitcher of almond milk and poured some into it before getting herself a mug. “What are you doing so early?” Sadie asked. Taylor raised her eyebrows. “It’s 7 a.m., stupid, it’s dark outside. Besides, what do you think I’m doing?” Sadie rolled her eyes. “I’m just trying to start a conversation.” Taylor spat.
Sadie sighed and took a sip from her mug. She was silent for a moment before asking, “Would you like to help me hang Christmas decorations?” She smiled. Taylor replied, “No thanks. It’s boring.” She shrugged and put her mug in the kitchen sink. Sadie sighed. She thought about it for a moment, and after about thirty seconds of silence, she suggested, “What if I gave you $10 for this?” Taylor’s eyes lit up immediately, and she shouted, “Sure, then!” I smiled.
Sierra rubbed her eyes as she walked wearily down the stairs. It was around 7:30 in the morning, and she needed coffee to start her day. She hadn’t seen Sadie yet this morning, so she was looking for her too. She turned toward the kitchen and saw Sadie and Taylor dragging large plastic boxes through the storage room door. She knew immediately what they were doing.
“No, Sadie, it’s still November, just wait a few weeks.” She grumbled as she walked into the kitchen, grabbed a mug, and grabbed some coffee grounds from the cabinet. Sadie was smiling excitedly. "But the Christmas season starts in November! We have to put up the decorations! We can't wait until a few days before Christmas to put up the tree!" she gushed. She hadn't noticed it until now, but Kelly was there too, just leaning in the corner, sipping coffee.
Sierra shook her head. "No, it starts in December." Taylor said, her voice rising. "He gave me ten dollars to help, so we're doing this!" Sierra glared at the boy for a moment. Then an idea occurred to her.
"Okay," Sierra asked. "What if we put up the Christmas decorations, but don't put up the fall decorations until December?" Sadie thought for a moment, wondering if they looked good together. Then she decided, "Sure!"
While the two of them were solving the problem, Taylor had opened a box labeled "figurines" and was already placing decorations all over the kitchen. Most of the things she had put up so far were dusty glass and porcelain figures that Sierra's parents had had in a box before they stopped decorating for Christmas. Sadie opened another box and she and Sierra began to rummage through it.