When they were finished with breakfast, Kodi and Mikal loaded the dishwasher and cleaned the kitchen. Jalen had a bit of homework she needed to finish and figured she could get it done while she left her sisters to their own devices for a while.
She had been doing her homework for a little over an hour when there was a knock at the door. She was about to get up when Kodi came down the hallway, stating that she would get it since it was more than likely for her.
A few seconds later, Jalen watched as a teenager walked into their living room. She had seen her once before, but she didn’t remember her name. She assumed the girl was there for Kodi to do her hair. The young girl greeted Jalen, who smiled and responded before her little sister led her into the dining room and pulled out a chair.
When she finished her homework, she looked over and found that Kodi was a third of the way finished with the other teenager’s hair. It seemed as if she was simply braiding it with extra hair added in.
Taking her schoolwork back down the hall to her bedroom to put it away, she stopped and checked on the twins, who were playing school with their stuffed animals. When she walked into her bedroom, she found Mikal lying across her bed on her stomach, reading a comic book.
“The twins being too noisy for you?” she questioned, putting her books away.
“No,” Mikal responded, turning the page. “I was acting out in class, so they sent me to the principal’s office.”
Jalen laughed, knowing that her little sister had purposely “acted out in class” so she wouldn’t be forced to play with their youngest siblings.
Going over to the bed, Jalen tucked her feet beneath her. “What comic are you reading?”
“Umbrella Academy,” Mikal responded. “You want to read it with me? I don’t mind starting over.”
“Sure,” Jalen responded, patting the spot next to her.
Mikal moved over and handed Jalen the comic book. She was sure that when her sister asked her if she wanted to read it withher, she meant read it to her. Though Mikal was ten, she still enjoyed Jalen reading to her, and often listened to the bedtime stories she read to the twins.
Jalen flipped back to the front of the book as Mikal lifted Jalen’s left arm to shimmy underneath it and lay her head on her shoulder.
“Don’t forget to do the voices,” Mikal told her, and Jalen nodded as she began reading the comic.
????????????
Rohan watched his mother pace back and forth in his living room. She had shown up five minutes ago, and he could immediately tell that something was bothering her. That she was currently pacing meant that whatever it was had her stressed for some apparent reason.
He mildly wondered how he’d gotten so lucky as to be the one she was going to use to rant to. The only conclusion he came to was that he lived closer than his older brother did. Bringing a handful of the popcorn he’d been eating during the movie he had been watching to his mouth, he tossed it inside. The sound of him chewing the snack must have brought her out of her haze because she swung around to look at him.
“I’m having a crisis, and you’re eating popcorn,” his mother stated incredulously.
Rohan lifted a brow at her, swallowing the kernels. “Well, considering I have no idea what said crisis is, since you didn’t tell me when you walked in, I’m not sure how you expect me to help.”
His mother gave him a look as if he should have been able to read her mind, but it soon deflated. He assumed she realized how ridiculous and unrealistic that seemed.
“You remember Howard, my neighbor, right?” his mother questioned, and he nodded as he ate another mouthful of popcorn. “Well, somehow, I have a date with him tonight.”
“What do you mean ‘somehow’? You either agreed to a date or you didn’t.”
“I was on the phone when he asked me while I was coming out of my house. I answered yes to the person I was talking to, and he took that as me saying yes to him.”
“Then why didn’t you just tell him you were on the phone and weren’t answering him?” Rohan questioned.
“Because,” his mother groaned out, and it was in times like these that he wondered if he was actually the parent. “He looked so happy when he thought I was talking to him.”
He rolled his eyes, placing his bowl of popcorn down. “Then it looks like you’re going on a date.”
“But I don’t want to,” she told him, sitting down on the couch beside him and picking up the discarded bowl of popcorn.
“You act like he’s a terrible guy? What’s the harm in going out with him once? You could probably use a night out.”
“First of all, just because you’re dating right now doesn’t mean that everyone else aspires to follow in your footsteps.” She placed a handful of popcorn in her mouth. “Second, he’s my neighbor, which means if the date is bad, I won’t be able to just avoid him,” she stated around her mouthful.
“And what if the date goes well?”
