*Kat's POV*
"Bitch, get up."
I grabbed on tighter to my pillow that I had smooshed against my face and groaned as I heard Kristen above me.
"Go away," I mumbled out.
Then, she literally kicked my ass.
"Ow! What the fuck is wrong with you?" I asked, lifting my head to her.
"Today's your first day of work and Haley's first day of school, get up!"
"What time is it?"
"Six."
I frowned at her. "Haley doesn't need to be at school until eight-thirty and I don't have to be at work until nine, calm the fuck down."
"Kat, be serious," she told me as she took a seat at the edge of my bed. I sighed and sat up to listen. "It's your first day, you have to be prepared and make a good impression. You said it yourself, you don't wanna live off of Derick and I forever; here's your chance to make that happen. I don't want you blowing it."
I brought my hands up to my head and ran my fingers through my hair as I yawned. "Make me a cup of coffee and I'll start getting ready now. But regardless, I'm not leaving this bed until 6:30."
"Deal," she said with a smile, quickly getting off of my bed rushing out. As she did, I did a quick cat-stretch, right before flopping back down onto my bed and waiting.
***
I downed my second cup of coffee in the last thirty minutes, then looked at the mirror in front of me: Mydark hair flowed down my shoulders, straight and non frizzy due to my shampoo. I had a white button up long sleeved shirt on, along with black dress pants and black dress shoes. I grabbed a Hawaiian perfume Kristen and I both got and sprayed a bit on, then smiled in the mirror.
"I look like a fucking star," I said with a smirk.
"Hey, Kat," I heard Derick say out in the hallway. With my empty coffee cup in hand, I made my way out there and saw an uneased Derick.
"What's up?" I asked him.
"We have a slight problem," he told me.
"What kind of problem?" I asked him, becoming a bit worried myself.
"Come take a look," he said, leading me down the hall to Haley's room.
As he opened the door, I looked and saw that Haley was in her blue Cinderella dress we got her for Halloween last year, along with other jewelry. I smiled as it reminded me of back when she was in pre-k and kindergarden and her teachers would send me pictures of her playing dress up; she always wanted to dress up as a princess, always.
Then, I snapped out of it and realized she was six and going to First Grade, and they don't do dress-up there. I took a step into her room and cleared my throat to grab her attention.
"Morning, Hales. Whatcha wearing?" I asked her.
"I'm wearing my Princess dress to school!" she told me with a huge smile. I gave a knowing look to Derick- this was gonna be a battle.
"Honey, you can't wear your princess dress to school," I told her. Her face completely fell, like I just killed an animal right in front of her.
"Why not?" she asked me.
When it came to parenting, I knew I had to be tough. However, there's a time and place to be tough and firm; I've seen a parent treating their kid tough and the kid ending up awful too many times, I'm not letting that happen to Haley. I know when I need to be flat out tough and firm- this isn't one of those times.
"If you wear your princess dress to school, all your classmates will know that you're a princess!" I told her.
"What's wrong with them knowing the truth?" she asked.
"Well, if they know you're a princess, they could get jealous of you."
"They can?"
"Yep, and it could be hard to make friends when people are jealous of you."
Haley was silent and looking down at her feet for a moment, then back towards Derick and I. "So, I shouldn't wear my princess dress so I can make friends?"
"Exactly," I told her. She then shrugged her shoulders.
"Okay! Can you help me pick out a new outfit please?" she asked me. I gave her smile.
"Of course, love," I told her, before turning to Derick, who was extremely surprised.
"How did you-" he began.
"Once you and Kristen have a kid, you'll get it," I told him, then handing him my empty coffee cup.
"All right then," he said with a half smile. "I'll go help Kristen with breakfast. See you soon."
As he left, I went over and help Haley pick out a brand new outfit: jean shorts, a purple t-shirt with hearts, stars and peace signs all over the front and light up sketchers; she even got me to put her hair in a bun for her. Looking at her, I couldn't believe how grown up she looked, though I kept that to myself.
"Ready for breakfast?" I asked her.
"Yes!!!!" she said with a huge smile as she grabbed my hand so we could go down to the kitchen, being greeted by her Aunt and Uncle along with lots of pancakes.
"Morning, sunshine," Kristen said with a smile.
"Morning," I told her.
"I was talking to my niece," she harshly told me; I just rolled my eyes.
"Aunt Krissie, I LOVE pancakes!" Haley said as she looked at the table covered in pancakes.
"It's your first day, you need a good breakfast," Kristen told her with a smile.
Haley quickly grabbed the Maple Syrup and began squirting it all over her pancakes; Derick laughed.
"Thanks, Kristen, so nutritious," I said with an eye roll.
"So Hales, you excited for your first day of grade school?" Derick asked her; she quickly nodded her head, with her mouth full of pancakes.
After she finished, the four of us headed outside and were about to pile into Derick's black SUV, but I remembered something before I got Haley into her carseat.
"Wait!" I quickly shouted. "Hales, we have to get a picture of you for Aunt Jammy." Jamila had an early session with a new client, so she wasn't able to make it today but I promised her pictures.
"Okay!" Haley said, as she ran over to the front door with her backpack on.
"Make a pose," I said as I turned my phone camera on. She put her hands on her hips, with a sassy smile on her face. "Beautiful," I told her.
"Duh," she told me as she ran back over to the car.
After getting her into her seat, the four of us began the five minute drive to the school- Kennedy Elementary School. As we pulled next to a curb, we saw two playgrounds; according to the letter the school sent, the one by the front entrance was for kindergardeners through second grade, while the one near to east entrance was for the third through fifth graders. Backpacks were lined up on pavements while kids were playing before school started. Derick and Kristen said their goodbyes and good luck wishes to Haley in the car so I could take her up by myself.
"All right," I told her as I let go of her hand at the pavement. "It says that this is the line for Mr. Shivley's class."
"I have a guy for my teacher!?" Haley asked me. "I thought only women could be teachers?"
"No, men can be teachers, too," I told her. "As long as you're happy, you can be almost whatever you wanna be."
"What do you mean almost?"
"I'll tell you the jobs I'm not allowing you to do when you're older."
Haley went over and put her backpack down at the end of the pile, then ran back over to me.
"Are you picking me up from school?" she asked me. I put my hands on her shoulders softly.
"Of course," I told her. She smiled and moved closer to me and hugged me. I held on for about five seconds before I leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "I love you."
"I love you too, mommy," she told me.
"All right, go over and play," I told her, "I see some swings over there."
"Yes!" she shouted with smile before taking off running.
I began my walk back to the SUV, a few tears streaming down my face. Derick and Kristen were talking, but once they saw me fill up the backseat, they stopped.
"Everything okay?" Kristen asked.
I put my seat buckle on, then wiped away some tears, "Yeah. Let's go to work."
****
"All right," Derick told me as we got out of the car. "So, you'll be working-"
"I don't want my brother in law and older sister like, babysitting me or giving me special treatment," I told them. "Let me find my way around on my own, please?"
"Fine, I gotta go meet my boss," Kristen said as she took off. She's a sports writer, so once Derick was traded, she applied for a job at the Tribune and got assigned to be a writer on the Blackhawks; her job is writing about how her husband and his teammates are playing.
"Just call me if you need anything," Derick told me. I nodded, and we both went our separate ways.
I walked down the hall of the United Center with my phone in hand, sending pictures of Haley to Jammy. I wasn't paying attention, though, and I walked into someone.
"Shit!" I immediately said. Then, I looked up at him. "Sorry."
The guy was tall, with short blonde curly hair and sparkly bright eyes. He had a smile on his face as he looked down at me. "No problem, at least you ran into me and not one of the walls."
"I'm new here, so I don't really know my way around. Again, I'm so sorry," I told him.
"Oh, don't worry about it, it's completely fine," he told me, then extended his hand. "Patrick Kane, I play for the Hawks."
"Kat Stevens, the newest member of the Public Relations team," I said as I shook his hand.
"Well welcome aboard," he said. Then, his eyes began squinting. "Is there any chance we've met before or something?"
"Possibly, my brother in laws Derick Brassard," I told him. "Maybe you've seen me around at Madison Square Garden for games."
"Possibly," Patrick said with a shoulder shrug. "Well, I don't wanna keep you too long. Have a great first day, and I'll look forward to seeing all the great stuff you do as a member of the PR team. It was nice meeting you, Kat."
"Nice meeting you too, Patrick," I said with a smile, before we went our separate ways. Immediately after walking ahead, I pulled my phone back up and started texting Jammy.
"You won't believe this: I just met one of Derick's teammates! Patrick Kane...so yummy ;) i would totally do him...if you get what i mean."
