Dawn paced around her apartment, mumbling to herself like someone practicing for a job interview she never applied for.
“Hey, how are you doing today?” she tried, then instantly cringed. “Ugh, no. He’d probably just stare at me like I said something stupid.”
She tried again. “Adam, I just wanted to—” She stopped, groaned, dragged her hand down her face. “Why am I even nervous? He’s just a guy. A very annoying, cold, confusing guy.”
Before she could attempt take three, footsteps sounded behind her. Her siblings came down the stairs with their school bags, all dressed and ready.
Dawn instantly switched moods like a light switch. She rushed to the kitchen, grabbed their food flasks, and handed them over one by one like she’d been doing it her whole life.
“Leslie,” Dawn said, pointing a w
