I don't know whether I should be worried or elated. We finally decided that it would be a good idea to tell Asiya the truth, though I'm only harboring the smallest hope that she'll believe us. It's probably stupid to have hope, because I doubt she'll believe us. She believes many of the same things we do, but this is too implausible for ordinary people. Asiya may not be an ordinary person, but she still isn't into this kind of thing.
Ariana: We need to talk to you about something...
Asiya: That doesn't sound good...
I let out a sigh. I had a feeling that both of them would say that. Really, Ariana, there are better ways to introduce the subject, but then again, who am I to talk? When we decided that Ariana would begin the conversation, neither Teagan nor I had any idea how she should.
Me: Actually, it is! =D
Teagan: Very good >:)
Asiya: What? o.o
Teagan: I'll let Ariana explain it like usual
Me: Good idea :)
Ariana: We...er...uhh...
Me: Forgot how to speak ;-;
Come on, sister, I urge her silently. We need to do this. Useless or not, its worth a try.
Asiya: I won't bite. :)
Ariana: Okay, so... We dimension jumped.
Asiya: What do you mean by that? 0.o
Ariana: We appeared in a different place.
Me: I mean like one moment we were in one place and the next moment we were somewhere else...
Asiya: ...And when did that happen?
Teagan: like a month ago
Asiya: Around the same time you learned telepathy?
Ariana: That was how we learned telepathy
Asiya: You must have very vivid dreams
I moan, resisting the urge to slam my head onto the desk. Of course, she has to respond like that. If she can't even entertain the thought that we're telling the truth, she'll never accept that we ended up in Star Wars. She's never been willing to agree that it's real in another dimension. I'm not surprised by her skepticism in the least, but I'm still frustrated that I can't share my current life with my little sister.
Me: I'm not dreaming! ;-;
Teagan: We weren't dreaming! U_U
Asiya: I suppose next you're going to tell me that you fell into Star Wars -_-
Ariana: We did.
Asiya: That's impossible -_-
Her reaction is so strong that I can feel her disbelief radiating through the Force. Ouch. Does she really think we would lie about something like this?
Ariana: If it's impossible, then tell me how it's possible that Anakin Skywalker is standing behind me right now... >:)
I snort. That is definitely a good way to make her believe us. Not. Oh well. It's not like I have any better ideas. She's doing the best she can, I suppose.
Asiya: They're characters in movies. You're just getting too attached to them. -.-
Anakin completely cracks up, and I can't help but join in. She has no idea what she's saying anymore, and I can't help but laugh at her expense.
Teagan: No! ;-;
Me: I'm insulted. ;_;
Ariana: I don't think it's possible to be too attached to Anakin...
I wince. Of course, she had to say that right in front of him. He knows how we feel – seeing the conversation we had with Evelyn a while back proved it – but I still feel weird that he knows how deeply I care for him even though we've only known each other a couple months. My eyebrows rise in confusion when I see Ariana typing a bunch of random letters.
A surprised and irritated exclamation from her draws my attention, and I glance over my shoulder to see her and Anakin fighting over the keyboard. Seriously? We went over this. We did. We really did. I burst into laughter again. They're technically adults, but they're literally squabbling like little children, and over a keyboard, no less.
Asiya: What's happening to Ariana's keyboard? O_o
Teagan: Oh dear, Ani and Ari got in a fight. :)
Anakin finally pulls the keyboard away, unfairly using the Force in the process and starts typing very, very slowly. "You don't have to believe them, but they are telling the truth."
"I thought we agreed that only the three of us would be talking to her," huffs Ariana, pulling her keyboard away from him. I roll my eyes before turning back to my own computer screen. They're ridiculous. Typical siblings.
Asiya: Stop impersonating him. -~-
Ariana: I guess we won't be able to tell you the story, but you won't believe us anyway
Me: I guess story time will have to wait for later... ;-;
Teagan: When you believe us >:)
Asiya: I might need to go soon.
Ariana: Well we need to go also to take tests...
Asiya: Bye! =D and I do hope that you give your brains a break and rest from Star Wars :)
Teagan: Never gonna happen
Me: Impossible
I'm not planning to ignore my own life, thank you very much. Not when I have more than I could ever have dreamed of. Asiya has no idea what she's suggesting. I do not envy her when she finds out the truth.
Ariana: I'll never give up what I have now for anything in the world. -_-
Asiya: Okay whatever o_o
Of course, she's confused. "She's interesting," remarks Anakin from behind us as he watches over Ariana's shoulder. I'm glad he's not doing that to me.
I smirk. "We wouldn't have someone boring for a sister."
All three of us: BYE! hugz
Asiya: hugz and puts chocolate in your hair
Teagan: wails and runs to wash it out T_T
Me: O_O
Ariana: takes out chocolate and gives it to Anakin to eat
Asiya: -_-
Teagan: I don't think he wants to eat chocolate that was in your hair. O.O
Ariana: I think not. O.o
Asiya: BYE!!!!
She closes off, and so do we. Much as I wish she'd believe us because I want to tell her everything, I don't blame her. I don't want to keep secrets from her since she won't believe the truth. I push the thought away, knowing better than to dwell on it. Once we meet again – whenever that'll happen – she'll meet Anakin and Obi-Wan herself.
"So, you have tests to do?" Anakin inquires, pulling me from my thoughts. Right. I almost forgot.
"Yes," Teagan confirms.
"Well, I'll be around here," he says, turning towards the doorway, clearing planning to go somewhere else, maybe downstairs.
"Don't get in trouble," I call after him, warningly. With all the Earthly technology laying around, I have a reason to be worried. I don't want to discover that he took something apart when we left him unattended in the house.
"Yes, mother," Anakin smirks, and we all burst out laughing.
Shaking my head, grin still on my face, I begin the test along with my sisters. I'm so engrossed in it, that I completely lose track of everything around me. A harrowing one hour later, we each submit our tests and receive an A. I want to leap for joy. This was an especially difficult test, and I was terrified I would get a bad score.
"Where's Anakin?" asks Ariana warily while I'm still mentally celebrating. I shrug. I think I heard him go downstairs, and now that I think of it, there's some very, very weird noises down there. I'm not sure I even want to know what's happening down there.
"He's around here somewhere," Teagan replies.
"Downstairs, I think," I state, standing up.
"The real question is what's he doing to make all those weird noises," Ariana mutters.
"Time to find out," Teagan comments cheerfully, heading for the staircase.
"I don't think I want to know," I murmur warily, following my sisters downstairs. This is the kind of thing I meant when I told him not to get in trouble, and it sounds like he did just that. I should have expected this to happen. Ariana leads us downstairs, as I secretly dread whatever disaster awaits us.
A glance in the living and dining rooms reveals that Anakin isn't there, so we approach the family room. Ariana freezes in the doorway, and I can feel her disbelief radiating into the Force. "Anakin... what in the name of planet Earth are you doing?" she asks in a voice altogether too calm for the situation. She steps into the room allowing Teagan and I to peer around her, something I quickly regret.
A machine which may or may not have once been our vacuum cleaner is laying in dozens – or possibly hundreds – of pieces all over the ledge in front of the fireplace. Anakin jumps slightly when she speaks, clearly too engrossed in what he was doing to hear us coming, through what he finds so fascinating about a vacuum cleaner is beyond me. I suppose, knowing Anakin, that since he hasn't seen – investigated, rather – much Earthly technology, it would be interesting. It's quite different from what he's used to.
"Looking at it," he replies, a note of innocence in his voice.
"By taking it apart?" Teagan and Ariana shriek in disbelief.
"I'll put it back together. Don't worry," he reassures us hastily, picking up a few parts and grabbing a nearby screw to reattach them.
"And how long will that take?" I question, raising an eyebrow.
"Less time than it took to take it apart," Anakin insists, looking far more confident than he sounds. I snort quietly. It took him an hour to get all these pieces here, and there must be at least a hundred pieces laying around. I imagine even a computer would be hard pressed to remember where each part belongs, so I sincerely doubt Anakin can.
"Well, you better," huffs Ariana, moving over to the couch and sitting down. "It had better work, or you'll be getting a new one and paying for it," she warns.
"I'm not sure how I'd pay for something on Earth," he retorts, glancing at us before turning his focus back to the parts in his lap. I think that was the point. Money isn't laying strewn all over the ground for him to find.
Ariana lets out a dramatic sigh. "I'm pretty sure this is what Ramona meant when she told you not to get in trouble."
"It is," I confirm. Unfortunately, I should have expected this. When does Anakin ever not get in trouble?
We spend the next thirty minutes watching him frantically attempt to reconstruct the machine and fail – judging from the number of times he puts pieces together and takes them back apart again, though he's doing his best to hide it. A familiar flash from the deck draws my attention. Obi-Wan just arrived, probably to collect Anakin from his babysitting duty. Teagan begins standing up to unlock the door, but Ariana waves her hand, unlocking it with the Force. I roll my eyes, deciding not to comment that the Force shouldn't be used for such simple things.
Obi-Wan steps inside, raising his eyebrows when he sees the mess all over the floor. "What's happening?" he sighs, sounding on the verge of facepalming.
"Anakin decided it would be an excellent idea to dissect the vacuum cleaner," I inform him, secretly grateful that he didn't decide to start taking apart a computer. That would have been exponentially worse.
"I'm almost done," Anakin insists. I eye the contraption formerly known as a vacuum cleaner. No, he's not. Something about it looks off, but I'm not sure what. I'm fairly certain Anakin has absolutely no idea what in the world he's doing. Please let us not have to purchase another.
"That looks really weird," Ariana finally voices my thoughts, "I wouldn't take the risk of turning it on within a mile of me." I burst out laughing. I have to agree, even if I doubt it would actually explode. It's still a possibility, I suppose.
"When you're done, we do have important matters which need our attention," Obi-Wan informs him after we calm down.
"I have to stay here until their father and grandmother come home," Anakin argues.
"When will that be?" Obi-Wan looks at us quizzically.
"After six," Teagan says.
"Six or six thirty, right before we have dinner," Ariana informs him.
"Perhaps we should prepare it for them," Obi-Wan suggests.
"Great idea!" I exclaim excitedly and jump off the couch, uncertain why I didn't consider that earlier. Why should we sit around when we have better things to do?
"Sure," agrees Teagan, rising.
"I don't know how to cook," protests Anakin, looking up. I snort. Of course not. He would never have the patience, though I would expect it would take far more patience to take apart a vacuum cleaner. Boys.
"That's fine," Ariana waves it off, turning to Obi-Wan.
"Do you know what you're going to cook?" he asks, "Because I know nothing about Earth food."
Ariana glances at us, and I shrug. I have no idea, and I frankly don't care as long as its edible. I rarely worry about what I'll be eating. "Maybe we can make the apple upside-down cake which I've wanted to make for a while."
"I always cheer over anything with apples," I remind her.
She accepts the answer. "The vacuum better be ready when they get back," she grumbles, eyeing the contraption.
"It needs to be assembled too," adds Teagan.
"Exactly, and that's why he can't help us until he finishes," Ariana agrees. "Motivation." She almost looks smug, and I can't help but agree with the decision. "The first to ruin the recipe will be the one who eats the disaster," she decides. I approve, unless it's me, of course, though I doubt that would happen since I have yet to majorly mess up when cooking.
"Okay, enough chit-chat," Teagan interrupts the conversation, "Let's get to work." My sentiments exactly. Ariana darts out of the room in search of the cookbook, and the rest of us walk into the kitchen.
About ten minutes later, Anakin finishes reassembling the vacuum and proves it works – something which shocks me immensely – before joining us. My sisters and I assign ourselves the duty of preparing the apples. Ariana and I peel them while Teagan chops.
"I'm gonna be ready for the next apple to cut soon," chirps Teagan happily, the knife moving faster than is probably safe. As long as she knows what she's doing, I'm fine. I'm glad she's doing the cutting. Lightsabers, blasters, guns, and even swords? Sure. Knives? No. Just no. I can't stand them, and I don't even know why.
"I need to move faster," I grumble under my breath, my frustration more obvious than I'd intended. "I keep zigzagging instead of peeling straight." Ariana has already peeled three times the number of apples I have, and I have no idea how. She mockingly lifts a long piece of skin which is almost half of what was on the apple.
"I need to improve," I sigh, looking back at my own pathetic progress. I can't peel a strand even half that length without breaking it.
"You should say that about everything instead of just saying 'I'm dumb'," mumbles Teagan. I glare at her, even though she does have a point, but then again, after meeting everyone in Star Wars, I changed a lot. I don't have as negative opinion of myself, and I know the same is true for my sisters, though they'd probably never admit it.
"Exactly!" exclaims Ariana.
"But –" I begin.
"No excuses," chides Ariana, pointing her finger at me.
"I have a good one, but you won't let me say it," I huff in response, not in the mood to tell them why I've changed so much at this particular moment.
"What?"
"It doesn't take brain power to peel an apple."
"Yes, it does!" cries Ariana, "Otherwise you'd be peeling every which way and gouging the whole thing up –"
"I do!" I sing out, smiling.
"No, you don't," groans Ariana and practically facepalms. I finish the next apple and hand it to Teagan to be sliced. Ariana clearly never looks at the apples I peel which is a good thing, or I'd never hear the end of it.
"Is there a small bowl I can use?" Ariana asks a few minutes later as she prepares to mix the ingredients for the apples.
Smirking, Teagan points across the kitchen, but I don't bother looking. Actually, I've been ignoring almost everything going on around me, though now that I'm listening, I think Anakin and Obi-Wan are arguing about something incredibly stupid.
"You want garlic in the cake?!" yells Ariana, eyes widening in horror. Oh, so that's what was in it. Teagan nods, grinning evilly. They are clearly insane, but Teagan especially. "Ew!" shrieks Ariana. Rolling her eyes, Teagan grabs another empty bowl for our sister using the Force.
"You underestimate my flour!" protests Anakin loud enough to draw our attention. I give him a weird look. Not him too now. I'm in a houseful of crazies, and I'm sure Asiya would love to join. What a shame we can't tell her the story.
"I'll never do it again!" Obi-Wan says placatingly, struggling not to laugh.
"You'd better not," he warns. Is he seriously sulking?
"Why not?" wonders Teagan, lips twitching into a grin.
"Um..." I look at them all warily. I don't think I want to know what they're discussing.
"Because," Anakin replies
"Because why?" I question.
"Because..."
"Is that all you can say?" Obi-Wan queries.
"Why are we having this conversation?" Ariana demands, giving everyone strange looks.
"I didn't start it!" offers Teagan.
"It's not my fault! Anakin started it!" protests Obi-Wan. As our grandmother always says, who said anything about fault?
"And how did this happen again?" Ariana seems exasperated by now.
"I was trying to bake something, and Obi-Wan said that it would be a spectacular failure –" Ah. That explains the argument since Anakin was supposed to be mixing up the batter for the cake.
"Oh! You mean like the last time you –."
"Be quiet!" snaps Anakin.
"Well it's true! You failed!" argues Obi-Wan.
"Like I said before... you underestimate my flour!" Anakin insists.
"I'm sorry!" exclaims Ariana, "I didn't realize the question would create this big... argument... debate. Whatever you want to call it." Yay. Someone is finally trying to end the argument so we can keep working on the cake.
I watch as Ariana starts layering the apples atop the caramel in the pan. "Anakin!" Obi-Wan's appalled tone draws my attention, and I turn to see Anakin – is he trying to climb onto the counter? "Don't try it!"
Anakin looks like he might be pouting. "Why not?"
"Because if you do, they I will force you to clean the counter," threatens Ariana.
"I can't wait to eat that," Teagan interrupts what it certain to be another argument as she stares at the cake while I pour the batter into the pan.
"I'm shocked," I reply, dryly.
"Why? Because you thought I was so anti-sugar?"
"Yes." Good to know that changed. I cringe when Ariana turns on the fan as she goes over to the stove to finish the preparations for dinner. That thing makes so much unnecessary noise.
"Appearances are deceiving," Teagan smirks.
"You're seething?" I frown. Maybe I'm intentionally trying not to hear her, but the fan's racket is driving me completely insane.
"I'm seeding?" repeats Teagan, confused.
"Seething!" I exclaim, annoyed.
That draws Ariana's attention, and she glances over her shoulder from where she's stirring a pot, looking at me like I'm insane. "She's teething?!" she cries in horror.
Anakin cracks up – he probably heard every word we said using the Force – while Obi-Wan seems torn between amusement and exasperation. "How about we save the conversation until after we're done in here?" he suggests, dryly. We all agree.