"Girls! Levantanse, ahora mismo!" Their mother yelled as she banged on the bedroom door. Upon opening she saw both her daughters still snuggled in their beds. She sighed, shaking her mane of brown hair and left. Moments later she came in with two large McDonald's cups filled with ice cold water. "My final warning."
"Five more minutes." Her eldest, Xiomara said, pulling the blankets over her head. The mother of two shrugged and dumped the water on her head, then walked over to her second daughter, Rosalinda, on the other side of the room and mimicked the action. The effect was immediate.
"Holy crap Mami!" Xiomara jumped from her bed.
"You're late." She pointed at the clock which read 7:30 am.
"Mom!" The girl whined. "Why didn't you wake us up sooner?" She didn't wait for an answer as she sped to the bathroom.
Xio paused as she noticed a rather large bruise on her stomach. She poked the bluish purple spot but it didn't hurt.
"Cinco minutos!" Her mom yelled from the door. Xiomara shook her head and pulled down her t-shirt. Quickly, and quiet messily, she pulled her hair into two pigtails. She ran down the stairs, almost tripping with her sagging socks. Their mom stood at the door, like its gate keeper, her arms crossed as she glared at her daughters. Her frown melted into a smile as she handed them their bagged lunches, "Mucho cuidado." The girls nodded and rushed out the door.
A block away from the school, the first bell rang. The principal and vice-principals stood watch at the school gate, clipboards ready to dish out detentions. "Crap." Xio whispered as they snuck around back. The eight-foot gate encircled the entire school, but back here by the maintenance sheds, the security was non-existent. As per routine, Rosa bent over with her fingers tightly laced together. Xio placed her foot in her palms. They counted mentally to three and with Rosalinda's boost, Xio grasped the top of the fence. She heaved herself over and turned to catch the backpacks Rosa tossed over. Xio squated down and slipped her hands through the fence to give Rosalinda her boost. Now, safely on the other side they made their way to their first class P.E.
Towards the back of the gym, Rosa gave Xiomara another boost but into an open window. At the top, she scanned the hallway then jumped down. She turned to her right and opened the back door for Rosalinda. From this point on, it was easy to assimilate into the crowd of girls in the locker room. "There you two are. Late again?" Iris, a girl with bright orange hair tied in a loose braid asked giggling. She was already changed into her P.E. gear.
"You know us, Iris." Xio said as she tossed of her clothes. She noticed Iris frowning at her then at Rosa.
"Why are you two covered in bruises?"
"Huh?" Xiomara glanced down at her body. This morning she only had one bruise, now she had several on her arms and legs. "Uh, must have been from climbing the gate."
"Let's move it ladies!" The coach yelled. Xio pushed the matter out of her head and finished dressing.