"Happy birthday, Lee!" I said as I kissed my brother on the cheek.
Lee pushed me away playfully. "Ew! Come on sis!" He wined. "I'm too old for that!" He puffed up his chest. "I'm sixteen now, don't you remember why you are here?" He teased.
"Actually," I said as I hugged him, smushing his cheek to mine. "You aren't sixteen for another hour."
"I'm still too old for this," he grumbled.
"You'll never be to old for me, my little monkey."
Lee groaned and shoved me away from him again. He held a hand up to keep me from hugging him again. He swiped at his cheek.
"Aw! Lee! Do I have cooties?" I teased him.
"No," he grumped. "Your hair itches."
I slipped around the arm warding me away and playfully pinched his cheek. "Poor monkey! Aren't you so lucky that you have short hair? Well, shortish." I ruffled his slightly to long hair which elicited another growl from him.
"Don't do that!" He smoothed out his hair and glared up at me from where he sat. "And don't call me monkey!" He wined. "That was so long ago! I was seven!"
"Yeah," I laughed, "and you claimed a tree to save my kite," I put a finger to my chin and corrected my statement. "Actually, I'm pretty sure that was more for Bethany then me," I said thoughtfully.
"Hey! She was pretty!"
"You were seven, little monkey. You didn't know a girl from a pig at that age!"
He looked at me smugly, "Your kite is out of the tree, isn't it?"
I scrunched up my nose at him. "That's only because you love me," I sing-songed.
"Only because I love girls," he corrected.
"You do realize that you fell out of the tree, right? She laughed at you for a week straight."
He frowned at the memory. "Yeah, I did fall, didn't I? Oops," he paused, "she really laughed at me for a week?"
I ruffled his brown hair affectionately. "Yes she did! Poor monkey!"
Lee opened his mouth, probably to yell at me for touching his hair and for calling him monkey again, but a knock on the door cut him off.
Lee and I shared a knowing look and he started struggling to get out of the chair. I raced off towards the door shouting "I'll get it!"
I slammed into the door at full speed, barely reaching it before Lee. I stuck my tongue out at him as he skidded to a stop behind me.
"Haha, I beat you," I taunted, sticking out my tongue again.
"Then open the door," he retorted with a snort as he lightly pushed me out of the way.
The door opened, revealing a familiar chocolate eyed officer.
I glared at him. "We are trying to celebrate, go away."
The officer looked at me blankly for a few minutes before a smile slowly formed on his face.
"Oh! I see! You are the girl that I visited a while back too see if you were going to enter the Choosing. I'm actually here for Lee. Don't worry about it though Darling. You wouldn't be Chosen anyway," he said smugly.
I felt my jaw drop and quickly snapped it shut. "Oh," I replied. "Is that why you were practically begging me to enter?"
His eyes darkened and he returned my glare.
"I don't beg."
Lee was looking back and forth between the officer and I, trying to figure out how we knew each other.
"Okay. Keep believing that."
He scoffed at me. "If you are done now with your horrible insults, I need to talk to Lee. I'm sure he is more mature then you," the officer replied.
The Lee in question was now looking like he was debating on popping pop corn and sitting down to watch us.
"Hey! I'll have you know that I have good insults and am very mature! I'm just not wasting my insults on you when I'll end up using them on my brother one day. Can't have him already knowing my material."
The officer bent his knees and was suddenly eye-level with me. "I'm sure, little girl. Now if you don't mind, the adults are talking."
I looked back at him, "Are you sure you don't beg?" I asked with all the innocence of a little girl.
He nodded his head skeptically.
"Weird," I replied.
I watched his shoulders relax and he opened his mouth to talk, turning back to Lee.
I started back in before he could make a sound, "'Cause your breath smells like you beg. I think we have some breath freshening dog treats around here somewhere. If you roll over and beg real cutely, I might just give you one!" I bated my eyes at him as I finished.
He snorted an made a made a shooing gesture. "Go away little pest. Some people here have actual business to attend too."
I narrowed my eyes at him. "I am not a bothersome fly. You can't just wave your wand and poof me away," I snapped at him.
A wounded expression came across his face but his eyes were still twinkling with humor.
"I'm wounded. I really am," he said dramatically, placing a hand on his chest.
Lee looked back and fourth between the officer and I, whipping his head back and fourth like this was some sort of tennis match.
"You see, Miss Belle," he emphasized the name and I glowered further at him. "I don't have a wand. I have a fly swatter. I don't put up with flys by just waving them away," he flashed me a toothy grin as he finished, no doubt thinking he had won.
I snorted in the most un-ladylike fashion. "Right. Your wand is only for when you play dress up."
He frowned at me and turned to my brother who was still looking back and fourth between the officer and I like we were the most entertaining thing he had seen all year.
"Is she always this rude?" He questioned.
Lee nodded his head and muttered, "You have no idea."
I stuck my tongue out at him and crossed my arms.
The officer laughed at me and looked back at Lee.
"I'm officer Ben, short for Bennett. You're Lee, right?"
Bennett? That's an awful name. I was trying to come up with an insult but Lee started talking before I could say anything.
"Yeah," Lee said with a slight questioning look on his face.
Bennett stuck out his hand and Lee took it in his own, shaking it awkwardly.
"I was sent here today as I have been notified that you are sixteen and now able to get a job," he continued, "I was hoping-"
I tuned him out and got lost in my own thoughts.
Is this new? I wonder why they sent him of all people? He's not the only officer in Terrence. It's quite a big coincidence that he was at my house and is now at my family's. An officer didn't come to my house when I turned sixteen to tell me that I was able to work. I bet this is new. He's probably doing a survey or some other lame thing that a lowlife-
"Bella. Earth to Bella."
I snapped out of my thoughts, seeing Lee's hand waving in front of my face.
"Huh?" I said intelligently. I nearly slapped myself upside the head for that comment. Luckily, Lee ignored the chance to make fun of me and continued.
"He wants me to become an officer!" Lee said, practically bouncing up and down with excitement.
I looked at Bennett who was looking back at me smugly, knowing that I didn't want Lee to be an officer, especially if it involved him.
"Yay!" Happiness flooded my voice. I pulled Lee into a hug and resisted the urge to glare at Bennett. He just wanted to make me mad and I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of knowing that he succeeded.
"So you will do it?" Lee asked me, his question slightly muffled because his head was pressed into my hair.
"Of course I will!" I released Lee from my bear hug as I spoke. "What is it I am agreeing to, exactly?" I added as an afterthought.
Bennett smirked at me and handed me a slip of paper.
"Congratulations," he said, still smirking, "you are now participating in the Choosing."
Bennett turned and stalked out of my parents house. I slammed the door behind him and glared at Lee.
"You couldn't have told me?"
"I thought you were still listening then!" He answered defensively. "It was only the second sentence he said!"
"Your lucky I love you," I told him as I walked off and slammed my old bedroom door behind me.
I looked around my old room. I hadn't lived here since I turned seventeen, when Larissa decided I would take over her job.
I walked around the room that didn't feel like my own anymore. I stopped and looked at an older photo of my dad and I.
I was about ten in that photo. I smiled and picked up the picture, remembering that day.
My dad had gave me a piggyback ride and had started spinning around in circle. I remember my mom laughing as she took the picture, something she didn't do often then – even less now that my dad was gone.
I wiped away the tear that had snuck down my face and walked out the front door, the picture still in my hand.
Luckily, no one was in my path, I just kept walking until I reached the medical center.
I walked right past Miss Larissa and her calls for dinner and went straight into my room. I fell onto my bed face first, clutching the photo to my chest.
I had a bad feeling about the Choosing.
I felt like these were my last normal weeks, as though after the few weeks I had were over, I would never come back.
And if I did, it would all be different.