Next Day | After School | Elijah's POV
As promised, at the end of the school day, me, Leo, and Reira planned to meet at the front of the school to walk to the library and study for our exams. Problem is...it's just me and Leo at the moment...and it's been an hour since school ended.
"...You think something happened?" Leo asked.
"I don't know, and she hasn't replied to my messages either," I said.
There was silence between us.
"...Don't worry man she'll be here-"
"Hey guys! Sorry I'm late!" Reira said as she ran towards us.
"Told you she'd make it," Leo said grinning at me.
Once Reira got closer to us, she started explaining why she was late. "I'm really sorry I'm late. The teacher in charge of the art club was giving me a list of scholarships that would be accepted by Silverwood and some options on how I could possibly sell my art to help with my tuition or even put them in an exhibition."
"That's awesome Ray!" Leo yelled excited and shook Reira's shoulder. "With those realistic drawing of yours, I wouldn't be surprised if some rich person bought your paintings for $10,000, or even better, hired you to be their personal painter."
"Hahaha, I don't know about being a personal painter but being paid that amount of money for a painting that I can either love or hate...I don't know, feels kinda serial." Reira said scratching the back of her neck.
"Well, even if you don't like it, there's someone out there who thinks it looks amazing," I said.
Reira smiled and thanked me. As we started walking towards the library, Leo nudged my shoulder to get my attention. "Saying some sweet words to make her happy huh?" he said whispering to me so Reira wouldn't hear him.
I punched his arm but he dodged it, laughing at knowing the fact I got embarrassed.
.
.
A few minutes later, we came upon the library, only to find out that it closed early today due to electrical malfunctions, meaning the library was in total blackout.
"Oh no, now I feel really bad for running late with you guys," Reira said.
"Don't sweat it, we just have to find another place to study," Leo said.
"But where can we study that'll be quiet and keep us from being distracted."
"Hmmm...Oh!" Leo said and looked at me with a grin. "We can study at Elijah's place."
'Wait, what!'
"But wouldn't it be rude to go to his house unannounced?" Reira asked.
"I'm sure Mr. and Mrs. Kamski would be fine with it, but just in case," Leo then pointed his finger at me, "Elijah, call your parents!"
"You make it seem like this is already gonna happen," I said, taking out my phone and calling the house.
"Hello?"
"Hey mom. Is it ok if Leo and Reira come over to the house? I said I would help them study and the library closed early due to some issues."
"Oh of course! I'll prepare some snacks for the three of you."
"Thank you. I'll see you soon."
I then hung up and looked towards Leo and Reira, "My mom said it's ok."
"See, I knew everything would work out ok," Leo said confidently.
"You got lucky," I said as I started leading the way to my house.
.
.
"I'm home!" I announced once I stepped inside my house.
"Welcome home sweetie, and hello Leo, Reira." My mom said, smiling towards the guests. "I'm almost done with your snacks so you guys can go and start your little study group."
"Ok, we'll be in my room," I said as I started walking towards my room.
Once we got to my room, I set my bag down next to my bed while Leo sat on my bed and Reira sat on the ottoman next to my bed.
"So, how confident do you feel about your final for Social Studies?" I asked them.
"None whatsoever," They said at the same time and started jinxing each other.
I sighed and pulled out the notes and practice questions I made for them.
"I thought you two would say that, so I made some practice questions. Answer these questions and that should give me an idea of what you guys struggle with." I said.
"And this is why I asked you for help Elijah," Leo said grinning.
"Thanks Eli, you're the best," Reira said smiling. This made me blush.
"It's no problem," I said as I gave them the questions.
45 minutes later
After Leo and Reira finished the questions, I was able to figure out what they needed help with and gave them notes and helpful tips on how to remember the information.
"Ok Reira," I asked, "what year was the Homestead Act passed?"
"That was in...1862," she replied.
"Correct. Now Leo, this event happened in 1898. It was a conflict between the United States and Spain, in which the U.S. supported the Cubans' fight for independence. What is the name of this event?"
"That was...the Spanish American War," he replied.
"Correct. You guys are getting better at answering these questions."
Leo and Reira high fived each other and I put the flashcards down, stretching a bit.
"Let's take a break for now. Don't want your brains to overheat." I said.
"Haha, very funny Mr. IQ of 171," Leo said sarcastically and got up from the floor stretching, "I'm gonna use the bathroom, I'll be back soon. Don't do anything naughty little Elijah." he said before leaving the room, avoiding the shoe I was aiming at him.
Reira laughed at the little bit and started looking around the room.
"Your room is kinda what I imagine it to be like," she said.
"What were you expecting my room to look like?" I asked, curious to know what she thought of my room.
"Honestly, I thought I would see a lot of robotic parts. Like gears and little screws scattered around your room...and maybe a half-built mannequin like robot," she laughed after saying the last part.
I laughed along with her, surprised she thought my room would be some high tech laboratory.
"Plus," she added, "I thought the moment we enter your room, a voice would start speaking, welcoming you back. Kinda like your Athena in Overwatch."
Now this made me laugh to the point I was holding my stomach.
"Sorry to tell you Sunshine, but putting an AI in my room never crossed my mind."
"Whatever," she said pouting, "but I am right about one thing."
"And what would that be?"
"That you have a lot of books, as well as a lot of your Robotic competition trophies."
"That is true. Some of these books I've read at least three times."
"Ok, now you're just showing off that IQ of yours," she said grinning.
I just laughed and soon Leo came back holding a tray of snacks and 3 bottles of water.
"Your mom gave us snacks so we can say energized while studying,"
Reira cheered and grabbed the water bottle from Leo. After we had a short snack break and talked for a little while, we went back to studying.
25 minutes later
After a few more sessions of flashcards and quizzes, we called it a day on studying. Leo and Reira started to pack up their stuff and I walked them to the front door of my house.
"Oh, are you two getting ready to leave?" my mom asked, coming out from the living room, my dad following behind.
"Yeah, Elijah was a lot of help," Leo said.
"Thank you again for letting us come to your house on such short notice," Reira said to my parents.
"It's no trouble at all, but Reira, are you going to be ok walking home by yourself?" my mom asked.
"Yeah, it's starting to get dark out." My dad pointed out.
"I should be fine, I don't live far from your house."
"Hmmm...if you say so sweetie." my mom said, still a little bit concerned.
"If it's ok, I'll walk her home so she'll get back safe," I said.
"Wonderful! You're such a dear Elijah. I raised you well," my mom said while giving me a tight bear hug.
Reira and Leo started giggling and I just stared at them. After grabbing my keys and putting on my shoes, I left the house with Leo and Reira. We soon said bye to Leo once he made it back to his house. It was just me and Reira walking to her house now and it's been a quiet walk back. I've always seen where Reira comes from when I meet her halfway on the walk to school, but this will be my first time seeing her house.
'I'll probably see her sister for the first time too,' I thought as we continued walking.
"Now that I think about, you might get to see my sister," Reira said.
I stopped walking, surprised by what she said. Is she a mind reader?
"You've never seen her before but she knows of you since my parents mentioned you before."
'Oh, that's why.' I thought, letting out a sigh of relief. "Lyra was her name right?"
"Yup, I'm sure she'll be excited to meet you."
"Why do you say that?"
"You'll see soon. We're here."
As she said that, I noticed that we've arrived at her house.
Reira's POV
"I'm home!" I said as I entered the house.
Just when I said that I saw Lyra come out of the living room and hug me.
"Hello, my little sister! You're pretty late coming home. Did the art club last long... who's the boy behind you?" Lyra asked when she finally noticed Eli was behind me.
"This is Elijah Kam-"
"So you're the boy my little sis helped out years ago. I'm glad you're doing ok." Lyra said interrupting me. "Oh, I should introduce myself. My name is Lyra Vinet and as you probably already know, I'm Reira's older sister."
"Yes, she has mentioned you before. It's nice to meet you." Eli said sticking out his hand.
Lyra shook his hand and smiled. "...Sooooo..."
'Oh no.'
"How do you feel about my little sis?"
'There it is.'
"Ummmm...excuse me?" Eli asked, confused by Lyra's question.
Lyra let go on Eli's hand and came behind me putting her hands on my shoulders, "What do you think of her? She's a cutie isn't she?"
"Ummm..."
"Ok, that's enough with the questions. You're making him uncomfortable." I said.
"Awww, but I wanted to know if I'll be having a future brother-in-law."
"LYRA!"
"What? It could happen."
"I didn't do this to you when you brought Jason over!"
"You totally did! You interrogated him!"
"I did not!"
"Yes you did!"
"I did not!"
"Yes you did!"
"No, I didn't!"
"Yes!"
"No!"
"YES!"
"NO!"
"GIRLS, STOP YELLING AT EACH OTHER!"
Me and Lyra stopped yelling when we heard our mom yell and came from the living room.
"What are you girls yelling-Oh, hello Elijah."
I turned around and saw Eli's face looked a bit red.
"Hey, are you ok?" I asked him.
He looked towards me and gave a nervous laugh, "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just a little surprised. I guess this is what they call a sibling quarrel."
"Oh, you have no idea Elijah." My mom said as she came towards us, "These two will find a way to argue about anything until me or my husband have to quiet them down."
I just crossed my arms and Lyra stuck her tongue out at me.
"If Reira ever gets loud like that in the future you can cover her mouth." Mom said as she demonstrated, covering my mouth with her hand.
I tried to pry her hand off me but it was no use so I just gave up.
"I told Lyra's boyfriend, Jason, the same thing cause these girls can be a handful but I love them nonetheless." She said as she let go of my mouth and hugged me and Lyra.
Eli gave a small laugh and said he would try to remember that. After this whole fiasco, I said goodbye to Eli and told him to text me when he got back home since it was now dark outside.
I went up to my room and put my bag down, getting my pajamas and going to the bathroom to take a shower.
Once I was done, I went back to my room and laid down on my bed to rest. A few minutes later, I heard my phone go off notifying me that I got a message. When I checked my phone, I saw it was from Eli.
Eli | 7:15
Hey, I made it back home.
Reira | 7:15
That's good, glad you're safe. Sorry if Lyra made you uncomfortable.
Eli | 7:16
Haha no, it's fine. I was surprised by her question, but I guess her asking me that was worth it to see you two argue. That was funny to watch.
Reira | 7:18
Urggh
Eli | 7:18
If it makes you feel better, Leo can be like that too. We've known each other long enough to be like brothers to each other.
Reira | 7:20
I can imagine that 😄😄😄 so yes, that makes me feel better.
Eli | 7:21
Glad to be of service Sunshine
I giggled a little when I saw the nickname he gave me.
'It really is a cute nickname.'
I texted Eli back, saying bye and that I'll see him tomorrow. He texted back his reply and I got up from my bed to go down to the kitchen and eat what my mom made for dinner.
I'm an only child but I do have a cousin who I have these kind of silly arguments with. Plus I have friends who have younger or older siblings, so I've seen my fair share of sibling quarrels.