Pursuit of the Whole

III. School Loser

I shrug, "I'll try my best."

Brian rushed towards the table, "Brenda! Brenda! Brenda!"

"What? What? What?"

"Gimme money."

Brenda's face turns ugly, "Give you money? What am I? A saint? I'll loan you some money."

"Okay. Fine. Lemme borrow some money."

"Why do you need more money? Mom gave us each fifty before we left."

"I used it all."

Brenda looks at her watch, "We've been here for twenty minutes."

"I'm borrowing your money. You're acting as if you'll never see it again."

Brenda rolls her eyes before she digs into her purse for a twenty. Brian snatched it from her hand and ran away. "I promise! I'll win all our money back!"

"Don't run!"

Brian was long gone.

"What are the two of them doing in the game room?" Brenda stood up, and so did I. Together, we headed towards the game room.

"You know you'll never see that twenty again," I said.

"Yeah."

Brenda isn't a pushover, but she does have a soft spot for the people she loves. The spot is even more delicate for her younger twin brother.

Anyone who looks outside may think it's simply an older sibling's job - despite her being only a few minutes older - to take care of their younger siblings.

That's still true.

But, from what I observe, other than love, Brenda feels guilt. The guilt of being a hunter. Brenda's genes snapped when she was eight. Everyone kept waiting for Brian's gene to switch on too.

They say most likely; if one twin has it, the other will too.

Brian's gene never switches on.

And the worst part of the journey?

When they were younger, Brenda and Brian thought it was a good idea for Brian to get into a dangerous situation for his gene to switch on.

Brian has a large wound on his left leg.

He may walk normally, but if you look closer, you can notice the limp. If he moves too long, it'll get painful. The pain increases on cold days, so we would see less of him during winter.

They say even if his gene does switch on, it's worthless.

Brian can never be an official hunter.

Brian and Eric were playing dance dance revolution. We watch until the winner is revealed.

Eric won.

"Fuck!" Brian hit the curvy metal behind him.

Eric lays out a hand, "Hand it over."

Brian gave him five dollars.

"Best four out of five."

"Deal!" Eric says.

"No deal!" Brenda intervenes. "This is how you lost all your money?" She turns toward Eric, "You're conning my brother out of his money?"

"Conning? He knows what he's getting into."

She turns towards Brian, "Eric has been practicing dance dance revolution at Natalie Jones's house."

Brian gasps, "Give me my money back!"