Chon-Ji and Sparkles

Ch. 9: Sparkles are Everything!

"Vic," I say again and he merely grunts before swerving into my driveway causing me to slam back against the seat. 

"Oof, are you ok?" Zahir asks as he turns in his seat to look at me. I glare at Vic before climbing out the car, angrily, "What is your issue?"

"Nothing." Vic shrugs before pulling out the driveway seamlessly and zooming off before any of us could say anything else. I grumble under my breath before heading inside, but not before looking around my front lawn. I had an eerie feeling that something was off.

"Lilly?" I call out and no answer was given. Odd. I walk throughout the house and find no trace of my sister. Maybe she was in her studio. Shrugging, I grab some water from the mini fridge in the gameroom before heading to my room. I take out my planner and make notes on what I will need to be working on for the week. Just as I finish my math homework, I hear the doorbell go off. 

"Yes?" I say as I open the door and see Serena standing in front of my door with a bucket full of crafts tools. Letting her in, she squeals, "Your house has changed so much!"

"Yeah, my parents definitely renovated it a lot." I say as I follow her upstairs. Apparently she knew exactly where to go even though it had been years since the little girl with pigtails had skipped through this house. 

"Do you want anything to drink?" I offer as I move to go to the kitchen.

"A Capri-Sun, please!"

I shake my head at her. Being seventeen years old, she still hasn't changed her drink choice. I remember when Austin made fun of her for liking it. That girl would have Capri-Sun like people drink water. I'm surprised her kidneys are still alright. Grabbing her favorite one, the grape one, I run upstairs.

"Thank you!" She chirps as she smiles at the flavor, "You remembered?"

"We had some from when my sister and I hosted a TaeKwon Do get together last month." I shrug as she smiles softly, "I bet no one had any of the grape ones, huh?"

"It's not exactly a popular flavor."

"Exactly why I like it. It's underrated. It needs love, too." Serena sips it happily before spotting my uniform. I stare at her as she flips it around, admiring the material. This girl had so much more in her than she showed. 

"You should really add some pizzazz to your uniform. It's so plain." Serena frowns at my white clothes. 

Rolling my eyes, I mumble, "Like what?"

"Like sparkles!"

"You want me to add sparkles to my Taekwon Do uniform?" I take back what I said about there being more to her than meets the eye. There is definitely less.

"Sparkles make everything better." Serena says as if it were the most common thing in the world. However given the world she lived in, it probably was. 

"Okay, then."

Serena and I start working on breaking down the next puzzle in the journal. 

"You know, I know you guys think I'm a complete imbecile." She suddenly says and I glance up at her from my spot on the floor. She brings her sock-covered feet up before she sighs, "It's not that I don't know or can't tell. I just choose to block it out. Austin used to be so mean to me. I know what he used to say, and I understood his comebacks. Yet, I still liked him. He was my first crush, you know? It didn't help with my parents at home. Always fighting, always calling each other names. I thought that's how people showed love. By saying mean things to each other."