Erika Lewis had a long day at school, followed by volleyball practice, followed by her part-time job at the Grocery King. So by the time she made it home around ten, her feet were killing her. Her mom met her in the kitchen, "You hungry, Hon? I could reheat something."
"No thanks, Mom. I grabbed something at work. I'm fine." She kicked off her Nikes and left them by the door, feeling the coolness of the linoleum through her socks. It was soothing on her screaming soles.
"I'm just gonna run a bath, okay?"
"Packaged peanuts are not a meal, Erika!" Mom called after her as she passed into the living room, where her brother and father were both watching the game.
"Who's winning," she asked, but barely stuck around for the answer. Instead, she made her way up the stairs and pulled her socks off when she reached the carpeted hallway, wiggled her toes in the shag. She pulled her gray and red Grocery King shirt over her head and deposited that -- along with her socks -- into the hamper in the bathroom. She closed the door and stripped completely, leaving that in a pile on the floor. She sat and peed, looking longingly at the tub across from her, as though listening to it calling her name.
Her stomach rumbled, and she decided she would, in fact, enjoy some leftovers. But after Mom went to bed. Erika was 16, after all, and she was too old for Mommy to be preparing her meals. She could imagine her mother driving across the state when Erika started college, just to bring her food.
Erika smiled. Maybe she would have to attend university in Europe, far from her overprotective mother. She wiped and flushed, then ran the hot water while she washed her hands.
She checked her phone and discovered she had 11 texts from Jenna, plus 3 missed calls, also from Jenna. Erika let out o long puff of air and decided that was something that would have to wait until after her bath. She loved Jenna dearly, but that girl was the high maintenance poster child. Erika could not deal with her yet.
The tub was half-full, and she stepped into it. The hot water was a thrilling shock, but instead of crying out, she slid beneath the surface and felt her hair swim around her head. She remained submerged for a minute, then pushed herself back to a seated position with a sigh. A good bath can literally be the best thing in the world, she thought, and sunk down to her chin, her knees the only thing protruding from the water. All of her tensions, all of her soreness, oozed from her body under the caress of the hot water.
She waited for the water level to reach the overflow drain before turning off the water with her foot. She leaned back and actually groaned aloud with pleasure as the fatigue was replaced by rejuvenation.
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