Love, Revolution and Other Scary Stuff Watty Awards 2012

Chapter 2.1

"So um, yeah." Aminat said trying to break the awkward silence that seemed to spread out in the BETS. "How old is Tiffany?" She asked Ty.

"Tip is 17, even though she acts like she's older than me." Aminat let out a small laugh at the thought. Ty seemed so mature and put together, than his other siblings that she'd met. Even when they'd fought he kept calm. Aminat had to admire this about him. It's hard to imagine someone being more mature than Ty.

"She must go crazy having all those boys around. It was bad enough for me with Jay and Minat." Laila said giggling.

"I am NOT a boy!" She snapped in a half-hearted way, because she was smiling.

"Might as well be!" Laila said laughing even harder. Aminat laughed with her sister, even though she was making fun of her. Even before they went  underground Aminat was always a tomboy. She never wore dresses. 'They're restricting and stupid!' She'd say. Every doll her mother ever got her ended up headless and used as a device to be hurled at people with her slingshot. When she was 6 she even ran around shirtless for a summer because the boys did it.

"Now now, ladies calm down. Everyone with two eyes and a brain can clearly see that Aminat is a woman." Ty said. "Especially with her choice of clothes today."

Aminat looked down and noticed for the first time that she'd never changed out of the short nightgown she'd worn to bed. She groaned out loud when she realised that she didn't have time to stop and change it either. "Kill me now." She said making Ty and Laila giggle.

"Awww come on it's not that bad!" Laila said.

"Easy for you to say! You're not wearing a frilly pink silky thing that barely comes down to the middle of your thigh!" Aminat said in an exasperated tone.

"Thank god for that!" Ty said winking at Laila making her blush.

Aminat gagged which made both Ty and Laila laugh loudly.

"How does she do it though?" Aminat asked Ty before they could return to the lovey dovey state they were in before.

"Who, Tip?" Ty asks.

"Yeah." Aminat said.

"She's not the only girl there."

"How many are there?" Laila asks, suddenly curious.

"Only two. Tip and Chloë. Chloë is my brother Jonathan's girl."

"Oh." Laila said quietly and looking slightly relieved.

"So that makes what? 9 of you? Living together on a mountain?" Aminat asks.

"10." Ty says as if it's the most common thing in the world.

"Who else?" Aminat asked wearily.

"Lucas' friend Kai." Aminat groaned loudly in response.

"Is he anything like Lucas?" she asked. "Please say no because one is already more than enough. I might just have to kill myself dealing with two."

Ty laughed at this, his smile reaching his eyes and making the grey orbs sparkle. "No Kai is cool people. He's funny and really the opposite of Lucas when you think about it. I don't even see how they can be so different and so close." He said with a far away look on his face and a small quirk of his lips that looked suspiciously like a smile.

"Opposites attract." Laila said simply.

"You got that right." Ty said.

"So where are his parents or siblings or...?" Aminat trailed off.

"They didn't believe Dr. Hakeem." He said softly. They believed Daddy! Aminat thought happily. She almost smiled until she realised that not everyone in their family did.