A Tale of Platinum Spells

C H A P T E R 2

Monday mornings in the beautiful town of Porto Moniz were characterized by busy streets, mild traffic and people from various walks of life scurrying about their various activities. The clock told 8:45 in the morning and the Andersons were already up and about with the day's duties. Mr. Anderson had driven off to work some few minutes ago. He would take a public bus, but one with his sophisticated Porsche Cayenne would rather enjoy his daily ride through town. The twins were seated in the living room lamenting on the nearness of school resumption, while their mother made breakfast in the kitchen.

"School resumes in a week. How disturbing is that?" Alexa sighed. She waltzed into the living room—her oversized pyjamas dragging behind her—and plumped herself into the sofa by the bookshelf.

"Extremely disturbing." Louis replied, nodding in utter
disappointment. Why is there even school?! Who even made school?! Whoever it is, needs some lashes. He thought.

"Now you two show some enthusiasm towards your academics all right? In those day I-"

"Yes, yes we know you liked school a lot and you got all the good grades. Typical parenting speech. What parent would ever say they failed at school?" Alexa cut in. Her mother was about to give one of her glorious speeches of her impeccable high school days—how she had won almost all the awards for excellence for her class, graduating as the best student in her year.
Mrs. Anderson, being a graduate of Business Admistration, would always encourage her children with her stories of her supposed outstanding performances during her school days. "More importantly, I smell something nice cooking in the kitchen." Alexa sniffed. "What's for breakfast?"

"Chicken curry, with milk shake; and salad for dessert." Vivian replied.

"All you can smell is your nose." Louis laughed. Your plastered nose quite all right.

"At least my nose smells appealing, unlike yours." Alexa snapped back. Nice come back. A smirk played on her pink, finely glossed lips. "It probably smells like chicken excretion, mixed with rotten salad and ammonia solution."

"Haha." Louise replied in a sarcastic tone. "So, you've been going around smelling chicken poop. Nice confession! I never doubted your animalistic origin for a single day just so you know." He raised both hands in the air as though he hadn't just relegated Alexa to a demeaning place.

Breakfast was that moment that the twins always looked forward to. Whenever their mother accused them of eating a lot, they give the excuse of growing children needing food—Not guilty as charged.
"16 years old is your definition of a child?" she would ask, while making quotations in the air with her index fingers.

"Food is ready!" Mrs. Anderson alerted from the kitchen. "I know you both are starving. Steaming and spicing the chicken caused the drag."

"Phew." the twins said in unison, as they giggled in excitement. "It's about time."

"Alexa, set the table would you? Louis come over here and help me dish out in the kitchen." The dining table was made of marble, big enough to sit eight, even though they were just four in the family.

"Mum, can I skip dessert? I'm not sure I desire the taste of vegetables this morning, especially those ones that look like trees." Alexa whined as they sat at table to eat. She was not really a big fan of vegetables, very much unlike Louis, who could chew down an entire tropical forest at a go.

"You mean broccoli? Don't be such a cave man." Louis pointed out. He rolled his grey eyes at her ignorance, wondering how she had managed to utter such a beautiful rubbish.