Elementals [Four Elements Personified]

Chapter 3~ Zen

                                                                   Zen [Allen]~ Chapter Three

Mother was ten minutes into a lecture, which I patiently bore. "Do you realize that you have responsibilities to attend to? You can't just go off with your girlfriend all of the time Zen."

I remained quiet, taking her spiel easily enough. It was mild compared to her regular ones. "Sorry." I apologized, sugarcoating sincerity into it without overdoing the remorse.

She sighed unhappily. "Don't let it happen again." She snapped.

The moment she left out the front door, my younger brother swaggered in. "Man is Mom pissed at you!" He sneered.

"Shut up." I said in a bored tone. "You're a punk."

Kaiser gasped in an obnoxiously twelve-year-old way. "I am so telling Mom."

I couldn't help but chuckle at his immaturity. "Go ahead. I could care less."

"You're just jealous because she likes me more."

I thought about countering his argument with the fact that I was closer to Dad than him, but decided to not stoop to his level. I shrugged. "Whatever. Have you done your chores?"

He spent the next few minutes creating an extremely long narrative about how he was going to clean his entire room, but had become fascinated with the Discovery Channel's newest mini series about the rare African Bird Snail.

"And then they-"

I gave him a quick cuff over the head. "There is no such thing as an African Bird Snail you dork. Now go clean your room or you will answer to Mom's wrath, not mine."

Over the next hour I prodded and goaded him into slowly cleaning his dirty room. He took forever and became easily distracted. I kept my inward agitation at bay, realizing that it really wasn't too much of a bother. I had better things to worry about than an annoyingly immature brother who possibly had ADHD. As he started vacuuming my phone went off. I stepped into the hall away from the noise.

Checking the screen I saw that it was my Aunt Marie. "Hello?"

"Hello Zen, how are you?" She asked.

"Can't complain."

"Well it is summer, try enjoying yourself for once honey."

I smiled at how much more Aunt Marie cared for me than my own Mother. It was truly a humorous thing. "Thanks, I'll try."

"I know something that will give you a fun little challenge."

"What kind of challenge?"

"You remember Lupe Nelson, right?" She asked hopefully.

I chuckled aloud, thinking back to the eccentric girl I had met last week. "Yes I remember Aunt Marie, who could forget a character like that?"

I swear I heard her giggle. "Oh good! I need you to make nice with her some more and show her around town. God knows she's an independent little thing, but I would feel better knowing a man is there to keep her safe."

I withheld a scoff. There Aunt Marie went again trying to set me up with someone.

"Yeah, I doubt she'd appreciate it, but I'll humor you. Where would you like me to meet her?".

"How about you come over to the apartment?"

The noise of vacuuming suspiciously ceased. I glanced behind me to see Kaiser busily trying to sneak behind me to get down the stairs. I grabbed the scruff of this black t-shirt and yanked him backwards. "Oh no you don't." I growled at him.