CHAPTER FIVE:
EARLY MORNINGS

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

THE SUNRISE WAS PARTICULARLY beautiful on Monday morning. Mae decided to get up for the day just as the sky began to fade from black to orange. She snuck out onto the porch with her favourite knitted blanket wrapped around her shoulders and a mug of hot chocolate cupped between her hands. The breeze was fresh on the bare skin of her legs but Mae didn't mind the feeling, eyes locked firmly on the horizon even when Lina came out to sit with her.

"You're up early," Mae noted after a moment of silence, gaze darting to the side of Lina's face over the rim of her mug. 

"Mum decided to wash her hair this morning," Lina grumbled as she leant back against the porch swing, the chair swaying underneath them. "The bloody hair dryer woke me up."

Mae began to giggle but stopped when Lina's hand swatted her arm. "Hey, at least you get to witness this beautiful sunrise. Isn't it stunning?"

"Oh, it's magnificent," Lina rolled her eyes. "Really life-changing."

"I don't appreciate the sarcasm," Mae scoffed. She finished the last of her drink, sighing at the now cold and empty cup. "We should head inside. Dad was starting breakfast when I came out here."

James was just about to stack freshly cooked toast onto a plate when the girls made their way into the kitchen. Mae deposited her mug into the cluttered sink before hopping up onto the bench beside her dad.

"Morning, father dearest."

"Good morning, second-favourite daughter of mine," he retorted. The once serious expression he wore on his face changed into a smirk as Mae's jaw dropped while holding a hand to her chest in shock. "You want eggs with your toast, drama queen?"

"Yes please," she said. Once James had filled her plate sky-high, Mae slid down from the counter, accepting the plate with wide eyes. "Oh my lord, I'm in food heaven."

She dropped into an empty seat across from Lina, who had a modest plate of buttered toast before her, eyes raking over a textbook she'd propped against their fruit bowl. Mae rolled her eyes but chose not to voice the snide remark in her head as she dug into her food, sighing through a mouth full of bread.

"It's official. This might just be the best food I've ever eaten."

"Mae, you say that every morning," Kira scoffed as she entered the room. In the midst of fixing her hoop earrings, she was dressed in her usual work attire; a charcoal grey pencil skirt over a pair of black stockings, a matching blazer and a white silk blouse she'd tucked in at the waist. "And don't speak with your mouth full."

"Yes ma'am," Mae made sure to say as she took an extra large bite of her toast, giggling to herself when Kira wrinkled her nose in distaste. 

"You want something to eat, love?" James asked, leaning over to kiss his wife on the temple before she shook her head at him. 

"I have to get going," she sighed. "Early client."

"We should be going too," James added with a glance over at Mae and Lina. Lina was finished with her food and was leaving the table to take her plate over to the sink, while Mae was hunched over scraping the last of her eggs into her mouth. "I have a cover this morning, can't afford to be late."

With that, the group dispersed from the kitchen. Mae and Lina hurried into their rooms to put on their shoes and grab their bags, meeting James by the door and waving as Kira's car backed out of the driveway. Once she was out of sight, James turned to them. "You both have everything?"

"I think so," Lina said and Mae just nodded. 

"Last one to the car has to sit in the back," she suddenly declared.

Before Lina could protest, Mae had sprinted over to the vehicle parked out by the road, leaving Lina to race after her in vain. "Hey, that's not fair!"

"I win!" Mae cheered as she reached the car, hand twisting around the handle of the passenger door. 

"You sat in the front last time!"

"It doesn't matter, Lina, I won!"

"Here's a thought; how about neither of you sit in the front?" James suggested as he followed after them. He unlocked the vehicle and gestured with a mocking hand to the back seat. 

With reluctance to accept defeat, they clambered into the back, eyes narrowed at each other as James continued to grin with triumph. He started up the car, taking a moment to switch the radio's channel from music to news, before he drove away from the curb and they were on their way. The streets leading further into La Push were cluttered with the typical string of morning traffic, residents of both Forks and La Push slowly but steadily starting their days.

Despite the busy streets, it didn't take them long to get to the high school, but they were cutting it close for James who still had a fair way to travel to the middle school. He paused in an empty spot close to the exit of the parking lot, turning around in his seat to give the girls a rushed goodbye. 

"Have a good day! Don't forget Kira is the one picking you up today."

"Got it," Mae nodded. She pressed a hasty kiss to her dad's cheek before following Lina outside, stepping back to watch as the car disappeared among the other vehicles out and about that morning. Once her dad was gone, Mae gave a woeful sigh, pouting at Lina's impatient stare and holding out her arm with great reluctance. "Lead the way to hell."

"You're so dramatic," Lina rolled her eyes but wore a bright grin as she linked her arm through Mae's and declared, "Come on, you big baby, off to Math we go."

Much to Mae's surprise, Paul was already in the room when they arrived. The bell had only just gone, and contradicting what Mae had come to expect from the resident hothead, Paul was on time for once. It seemed to shock Mrs Sullivan too. The eccentric woman couldn't help beaming at him with pride while she prepared to start their lesson.

"Fancy seeing you here, Lahote," Mae chuckled as she dropped into the seat beside him, pushing the sleeves of her hoodie up to her elbows and sprawling her bag across her desk.

"I'm not always late," Paul glowered.

Neither had the chance to say anything else before Mrs Sullivan stood up from her desk, moving to the very front of the room as the last of her students arrived. "Good morning, everyone, how are we feeling today?" Despite receiving a few incoherent grumbles in response, her smile refused to falter. "Well, in that case, I'm sure it'll brighten your mood to know you have a new group project, and on our favourite topic too!"

The only person who seemed genuinely happy at the news was Lina, who wore a bright smile on her face while everyone else gave loud groans of disappointment. Mae's brain immediately tuned out Mrs Sullivan's explanation of the task, knowing Lina would give her a rundown after class was over anyway. Unlike her sister, Mae had always struggled with Math projects. Their current topic, finance, was easy enough to understand, but Mae always managed to find a way to mix up even the simplest of formulas. She pitied the person she ended up working with.

"Now before you get carried away, I've already chosen your partners for you," Mrs Sullivan announced before anyone could try to pair themselves up. "You better hope you and your desk buddy get along because you're about to spend a lot of time together."

Mae turned to look at Paul. He was leaning back in his chair with the same vacant expression she was sure she wore on her own face. His eyes met hers and he sent her a cheeky grin and an overenthusiastic thumbs up, before the two turned back to the front to at least pretend they were listening.

After class was over, Mae went off to find Paul, who couldn't get out of the room faster when the lesson finally ended. After swapping out her Math textbook for her English one, she found him standing next to his own locker with his friends. He had an arm curled around Maggie's shoulders while he and Jacob argued about something. 

Maggie was the first to notice Mae's arrival. "Hi, Mae! I love your hoodie. Back to the Future is a classic."

"Thanks," Mae said with a shy glance down at her oversized Back to the Future hoodie. She vaguely recognised it as one she'd stolen from Allison's wardrobe before she went away to college. "Sorry to interrupt, I'm just here to see Paul."

"Oh yeah? What can I do for you, Cooper?" Paul grinned down at the girl, shooting Embry a teasing look when the boy's attention snapped from his friends to Mae in a way that was obvious to everyone but Mae herself.

"We should figure out a time to meet up," Mae said, oblivious to the way that Embry's jaw dropped. "I know it might be a new thing for you, Lahote, but I'm not doing this project alone, so you better be ready to help me."

"Aunty Wren gave you a Math project?" Maggie winced in sympathy for them. Her attention was on Embry, who seemed to go through several emotions at once right before her eyes, her lips curling up in amusement.

"Yeah, a financial portfolio," Mae sighed. She turned back to Paul, who had turned to search through his locker in a weak attempt to escape Mae. "So when are you free, Lahote?"

"Can I get back to you on that?" he asked, genuine for once, knowing he'd have to check with Sam for when he had patrol.

"Sure, just as long as you do," she said and narrowed her eyes at him in warning.

"Don't worry, Mae, I'll make sure he does," Maggie assured her, erupting into giggles when Paul turned to gape at her in betrayal. "What? You can't just let her do it on her own, Paul."

"Yeah whatever," Paul grimaced. "I'll let you know tomorrow, Mae."

"Sounds good," Mae nodded. She knew Maggie would hold him to it. She glanced down at her watch, sighing as she noticed the time. "I should head to English. See you later?"

"Wait," Embry exclaimed before she could leave. He added with a grin and a gesture between himself and Jared, "We'll walk with you."

Mae gave a shy smile that was very unlike her usual flirty smirk. "If you want."

With one last goodbye to the others, the three set off down the corridor, Mae sandwiched between the two loud and boisterous boys. Jared was complaining to Embry about work later that day while Embry just rolled his eyes and teased him, occasionally sparing Mae a glance and a nudge to the side that Mae just as eagerly returned.

For the second time since she moved to La Push, Mae Cooper truly felt comfortable and included, like the adventure she'd wanted from Washington was just within her reach. She decided as her eyes met Embry's once again, as he stopped outside their classroom and held the door open for her, that she rather liked the feeling.