Avelina's eyes opened slightly before she closed them back, feeling groggy, the morning light peeked through the thin curtain by the front window, shining directly on her face.
She sat up and immediately jolted awake—she had almost forgotten that today was payment day. At the counter sat Roxie, who seemed to be doing her makeup.
Avelina stood just as Roxie turned, applying lip gloss to her lips as she looked at her.
"Oh, congratulations, the elephant is awake," she said, and Avelina rolled her eyes lazily.
"Why didn't you wake me up?" Avelina asked, scratching her hair slightly as she tried to get her bearings before putting on her flip-flops.
"No thank you," Roxie said as she shut the lip gloss. Then she added, "The last time I woke you up, my boyfriend thought I'd gotten into a fight — thanks to you, I had a perfect bruise on my left eye. So it's just better to let the prince kiss Sleeping Beauty."
