Ajax and Shaula start their morning routines to get ready for school. Ajax’s room, located on the second floor of his home, has a personal bathroom so he can spend time in there without anyone interrupting him for their turn. At the beginning of this special exam day, Ajax takes care of his bowel movement first and then proceeded to take a shower.

Meanwhile, Shaula enters the second floor hallway bathroom and does the same. At Ajax's home, Shaula uses the guest room which is normally reserved for use by visitors such as Ajax's grandmother on her yearly visits. This guest room doesn't have a personal bathroom so Shaula uses the second floor hallway bathroom. Luckily, Ajax’s mom and sister use the master bathroom in the mornings so Shaula has the second floor hallway bathroom all to herself.

While taking her morning shower, Shaula performs her daily beauty treatment. Shaula doesn't use makeup because she never learned how to in her home environment growing up and hasn't tried learning since moving in with Ajax. Fortunately, her face is immaculate without spot, blemish or even freckle so such cosmetics were unnecessary for her. But, just to be safe, Shaula had started using a light moisturizer to keep her face reliably smooth and firm into the future.

Shaula also has thick, shoulder-length chestnut hair which she practiced managing while living at Ajax's home. While showering, Shaula proceeds to apply shampoo and conditioner with a brush, ensuring to comb the products into her hair thoroughly. She does this in a hurry however because of the time she spent looking at Ajax's sleeping face and helping him rise out of his nightmare. Subsequently, Shaula uses her hair dryer on a low heat setting to prevent drying it out as much as possible and then brushes her hair to ensure that it stays nice and straight throughout the day.

Shaula continues brushing her hair; she has to work extremely efficiently in order to not be late for the exam so she cuts the brushing time down to a mere 5 minutes. While hurriedly completing her brushing, she thinks to herself that she would love if Ajax would do this task for her in the mornings. Shaula loves spending time with Ajax in the mornings; so, what better way to spend time in his sweet presence than to have him brush her stunning but high-maintenance hair? His face would invigorate the tedious activity by an order of magnitude at minimum.

Though, Shaula knowing Ajax, he would do it so carefully and delicately, out of inexperience and caution, that the time wasted would extend the brushing process to at least 20 full minutes. While Shaula would love nothing more than to sit down next to Ajax while he softly and delicately brushes her hair, 20 minutes is a lot of time to waste on brushing hair in the morning.

Oh! What if I urge him to wake up a half hour earlier from tomorrow onwards? Then, when he wakes up early, I could persuade him to use that extra time to brush my hair!

Shaula thinks so with a devious expression on her face, the calculations running in her head on this newly formulated plan.

If this is going to work flawlessly, I'll have to attempt persuading him at lunch rather than now before this boring fucking exam.

Shaula, unlike Ajax, is both an extremely studious person and naturally gifted academically. Shaula can learn things with minimal studying. Even though her memory is near photographic, she nonetheless makes use of mnemonic devices, recitation and regular study and review to make information recall even faster for her. She can use such methods to remember things months after learning them the first time.

Furthermore, Shaula can put her academic education into practice very quickly after learning as if she were an expert in the subject. For Shaula, an english exam in the 12th grade is nothing to worry about for her, considering her natural academic talent and her several hours of review for this specific English exam. Rather, she’s so well versed in the material and concepts of her English class that it can only appear boring to her. It’s something she’d like to deal with quickly so she can get on with her day.

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After Ajax leaves the shower and dries himself off, he dons his school uniform and places his textbooks strewn out on his study table into his school bag. The English exam is right in the morning so afterwards he can spend his time studying for the exams he has next week, the exam week. He still has an AP Calculus exam that he's dreading. He's going to spend the rest of the day, including lunch and his other classes, reviewing his Calculus material.

Ajax heads downstairs to prepare his morning breakfast which, for today, will be a bagel with cream cheese, a banana, a store-bought poppyseed muffin and a cup of green tea. He has a belief that loading on carbs before the test will help his chances like how marathon runners carbo-load before their big race.

Of course, first he has to make a breakfast for his sister Rita. She comes to the kitchen where he is currently preparing ingredients, a big smile on her face and her school clothes already put on.

“Good morning, Ajax!”

“Morning, Rita, did you have a good sleep?”

“Yes, I had a good night's sleep! I had a dream about you but I can’t... really remember it...”

She tilts her head quizzically as if coming to terms with the fleeting nature of dreams for the first time. She is still a young 7 year old girl, after all. She had only come to terms with the concept of death earlier in the year so her immaturity was clear. Ajax moves the conversation forward,

“Really? Well, I had a dream about you as well! But a lot of the details are fuzzy. I don’t think it was a good dream...”

“Huh? Did I do something bad to you?”

Rita says this with a slightly worried, curious tone. Ajax looks down at her. Right now, she is as tall as his waist unlike the dream where she didn’t rise above his knee in height. Her face has a look of anxiety.

Since when did she get worry about dreams? Is she at an age where she thinks dreams are what people believe to be reality?

Ajax wondered if Rita was thinking too deeply about the meaning of dreams. Would she think that a dream where she behaved badly towards Ajax meant he thought she was a bad person while awake? Ajax stopped thinking about it one way or another and picked her up off the ground. In her arms, he spoke to her calmly,

“No, you didn’t do anything wrong in the dream, Rita. I think you were an angel who flew too far from me. It was something corny like that.”

“An angel? Did I have wings?”

“Two pairs.”

“Did I have a halo?”

“No, but... angels don’t always have those. Actually you looked more like the angel Cupid.”

“Huh...”

“Don’t worry about the details, you weren’t the reason the dream was bad. Actually, it became a nightmare because you left. Just don’t wander too far from me or mom and lose sight of us, alright?”

Ajax gave her a light kiss on the cheek and she gave him one in return.

“Alright, that’s it about the dream. Sit at the table, I’ll make you a grilled cheese.”

“Ok! Could I have some ketchup on the side?”

“Sure, no problem.”

“How about a can of cola?”

“Ask mom.”

“...fine, I’ll go without it...”

Ajax puts Rita down and she walked over to the breakfast table slightly frowning at the fact her mom wouldn’t let her drink soda in the mornings. She can see his face and actions in the kitchen from the table and gives him a slightly pouting expression. It is ineffective on his health conscious heart, however.

Ajax heats up a pan, butters four pieces of bread and makes two melted cheese sandwiches out of them. He then slices and cores a Granny Smith apple to give Rita her morning serving of fruit. He gives to Rita, who is sitting at the table, a large plate containing the apple and the one and a half sandwiches with a small spray of Ketchup. Ajax takes the remaining grilled cheese half to his mom, who is currently in the master bedroom upstairs talking to his dad over the phone.

“Oh, hi sweetie, I was just in the middle of a conversation with your father.”

“No problem, mom, I just came to see if you wanted a grilled cheese half.”

“Where’s the other half?”

“Gave it to Rita.”

“Fair enough. Sure, I will gladly partake your gracious offer.”

“What’s dad saying?”

“Oh, he just wanted to wish you good luck on your english exam. I don’t think you need luck though, you’ll do wonderful, Ajax. Well... good luck nonetheless”

“I hope I do alright...”

“No fear, you brat. You’ll ace this.”

Ajax’s mother gives him a thumbs-up; her gesture is a bit too awkward for Ajax to appreciate but he receives her encouragement nonetheless.

Huh... sometimes mom acts like Shaula nowadays. Is this Shaula’s influence on her?

Ajax had noticed his mother’s newer tough-love style of support which was very reminiscent of Shaula’s own brand of harsh affection.

Well, it didn’t seem like a big deal so let’s just forget about it.

Ajax’s mother had already put on her clothes for work before Ajax had brought her the grilled cheese half. Normally, Ajax’s mother would grab breakfast from the office cafeteria rather than waste time in the mornings making her own breakfast at home. In order to speed things up and leave enough time for herself in the morning to do things around the house, Ajax was the one put in charge of making Rita’s breakfast. Ajax's mother had prepared Rita's school lunch the night before so Ajax didn't need to spend time making that in the morning as well. Today, he would eat a meal at the school cafeteria so he didn't bother making a packed lunch for himself either. He wasn't being rushed during the mornings, he was moving at a comfortable pace, taking care of his own breakfast and his sister's as well without difficulty.

Now if only today weren't an exam day...

Ajax makes his own breakfast. Ajax ate his morning banana while he toasts his bagel, smears it with cream cheese and brews his tea. He then sits down on the breakfast table and eats his bagel slices as Rita is eating her remaining grilled cheese half. While Ajax starts drinking his Green Tea, his sister finishes eating her breakfast and places her plate in the dishwasher. She grabs the lunch her mom had made for her from the fridge. She gives Ajax another kiss on the cheek in gratitude for the delicious meal he had made for her and then leaves to brush her teeth.

Meanwhile, Shaula concludes her morning ritual by arriving downstairs to make her breakfast; her long hair is tied into a ponytail with a velvet scrunchy and she has changed into her school uniform. She makes herself a bowl of oatmeal, which is prepared with quick oats, milk, vanilla extract, a blended banana, cinnamon and topped with peeled apple slices and cut strawberries. Her efficiency at making this meal sees it fully ready within 5 minutes of her entering the kitchen.

Ajax, with a wide smile on his face, watches her gracefully use kitchen utensils and a small cooking pot to whip up this delectably healthy meal.

"What?"

"You always look so cool making that."

Ajax admired her dexterity at making that healthy breakfast faultlessly. Her hands holding the utensils, her ability to multitask with the stove, the chopping, slicing and mixing at break-neck speeds, her general finesse.

"Mmmm? Of course, my love. You should know by now I'm a descended goddess, right? Since when did you start denying my divinity?"

"Although I never acknowledged it, I've never denied it either..."

Shaula sticks out her tongue at him. She soon brings her completed meal over to the table to eat with him while he sits at the table in comfort, simply continuing to drinking his warm Green Tea. Ajax's mother, Mary, comes back to the dining table with Rita who's fully ready for her school day. Rita says to Ajax before heading out the door,

"Have a good day at school, Ajax! Good luck on your test!"

"Have a good day at school too, Rita! I love you!"

"I love you too, Ajax! Bye, Shaula!"

"Bye, Rita!"

"Godspeed, sweetie! You too, Shaula dear! Ajax, remember to pray before the test, ok? Your dad told me to tell you that specifically."

Ajax's dad was a slightly devout Christian and he wanted Ajax to have just a little boost before the test. If it can help, then Ajax should do it, was his reasoning.

"Ok, mom, I’ll pray! I'll be sure to score achieve top marks today! Have a good day at work, mom! I love you!"

Ajax says this in confidence, trying to wipe away the nerves and uncertainty he was showing to his mom earlier. Mary smiles at his upgraded attitude.

"I will, dear and I love you, too!"

"Have a nice day at work, Mrs. Leonid!"

"Thank you, Shaula! Happy hunting to you as well, Shaula honey, I know you'll do great! Alright Rita, time to head out now."

"Bye, Shaula, good luck!"

Ajax's mom Mary Leonid heads to her silver-grey minivan with Rita and drives off to Rita's elementary school. After Mary drops off Rita to the care of Rita's morning teacher, she drives her car to her own 9-to-5 job. Mary works in a customer service position at a telecom company, dealing with clients and troubleshooting connectivity issues over the phone and by email.

She waits nervously for the day her job is outsourced to another country or replaced by an advanced enough AI but right now, she makes enough money with her husband Adam Leonid to send Ajax and Rita to any college of their choosing for whatever career path they wish. She and her husband can give Ajax and Rita nice lives in the suburbs as well. So long as Ajax and Rita are happy at home and have options for their future, the time spent working isn't wasted time to Mary.

However, she doesn't know. She doesn't know that she will never see Ajax again. She will never be able to forget today's innocuous morning. The morning before Ajax vanishes from the surface of this world.