Chapter 17: Embarrassed Sibling
9 July 2017
Ice Pack Stealer’s eyes widened for a bit and our eyes met before he glanced away to Juliette.
“Oh hey,” he said in a calm voice.
“Where are you heading, Rome?” Juliette smiled.
“To the canteen,” he pointed. “But I need to give this to Julie first.” He turned to me.
I glimpsed at Juliette for a bit and noticed her disappointment.
“Here,” Ice Pack Stealer handed me a sheet of paper, “you just hurried off to lunch when Mr Downs was giving this out.”
Looking at the paper, I was wondering if he was pulling a prank on me at this moment. “What’s it about?” I raised my eyebrow.
“The school’s Foundation Day,” Ice Pack Stealer answered me.
Hearing him say that, I grabbed the sheet of paper and skimmed through it.
Kat nudged me and whispered, “I think you should say ‘thank you’.”
That was when I realised there was this awkward heavy air around the four of us.
I stopped reading and looked up at him. He just stood there staring at my sandwich. “Why are you looking at my lunch? Are you that hungry?”
“No,” he shook his head. “Is that apricot jam in there?”
I looked at my sandwich and then at him. “Yeah.”
Why does everyone knows that I have apricot jam in my sandwich? Am I that predictable?
Why does everyone knows that I have apricot jam in my sandwich? Am I that predictable?
He stood there silently for a few more moments before Juliette changed the subject, “What are you going to eat for lunch, Rome?”
“Probably a pie.”
“I’ll go with you then,” Juliette said. “One of the teachers on ground duty asked me to buy a salad for her,” she showed us the money in her hand.
“That’s fine with me.”
“Let’s go then,” Juliette started to take a few steps forward. But she stopped when she realised that Ice Pack Stealer wasn’t following her.
“I think someone still owes me something,” Ice Pack Stealer gazed over to my direction.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” I placed my hands on my hips.
Kat whispered to me, “I think he still wants his ‘thank you’.”
“Oh,” I replied. “Um, thanks.”
Satisfied, Ice Pack Stealer beamed at me. He had the kind of smile like he was looking at his dog, Hero. But I’m not his dog. Why is he smiling at me like that?
“See you two later then!” Juliette waved at us.
“Byes,” I waved back and realised that Ice Pack Stealer had finally left.
“Tell me,” Kat turned to my direction, “what’s going in your mind at the moment?”
“I’m starting to wonder why Ice Pack Stealer is acting strangely.”
Kat let out a giggle, “Can I just be frank with you?”
“Um, sure.”
Kat was about to open her mouth and answer me until someone called out to us.
“Hey Kat! Hey Julie! Where are you guys heading?”
I know that voice. It was Kadin’s. I turned around and saw him huffing and puffing as he stood in front of us, his hands on his knees.
“Hi Kadin, what’s up?”
“What made you ran a marathon, Kade?” Katrina blinked as she realised it was Kadin.
“Kade?” I questioned.
“Yeah,” Kat replied, blankly. “I used to have other nicknames for him when he was younger.”
Kadin finally caught his breath, “Kade is the only nickname I accept from you. So don’t start calling me with those other weird names okay, sis?”
Sis? What? Did Kadin just called Kat ‘sis’?
“You guys are siblings?” my forest green eyes widened.
Both of them nodded.
“I thought you’ve realised that by now,” Kat turned to me.
“You couldn’t tell?” Kadin asked.
I stopped all of my thoughts and did a quick scan at the both of them.
Both Katrina and Kadin had ruby red hair and both of them had emerald green eyes. Their facial structures were quite similar too. Kat’s face was slim and delicate while Kadin’s was also slim but a bit more angular because his jawline was more prominent. They’re also both quite tall for their age.
“Are you guys twins?” I finally said after coming down to a conclusion that answered the question why they’re both in the same grade.
“Yep,” Kadin smiled, popping the ‘p’.
“If only I wasn’t,” Kat sighed.
“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?”
Kat looked to somewhere else and answered, “If I told you all the reasons why, we’ll be standing here till next year.”
“So who’s older?” I asked.
“You wanna guess?” Kadin leant closer to me.
“You won’t get offended if I guessed to the wrong person?”
“I don’t mind,” Kat smiled at me. “People tend to get it right, anyway.”
“Okay,” I straightened my back, “I think…”
I paused to look at the both of them again. Kat was waiting patiently for my answer while Kadin was quietly tapping his foot. I knew that both of them were eager to hear my guess. It was as though they always had a competition to see if people could guess the correct older twin.
“I think…” I paused for dramatisation, “Kat’s older!”
“Geez, why do people always think like that?” Kadin mumbled, looking down at his feet.
“I don’t know. I just thought Kat looks more mature for some reason.”
“And I’m not?”
“Hey, she’s right you know?” Kat interjected. “You sometimes still make me wonder what your actual age is.”
“I’m the same age as you are, Kat,” Kadin replied with a voice that sounded quite offended. “And I’ll forever be like that.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Kat gave him a half-smile. “But I’m talking about the age in your mind.” She pointed to her head. “You stil—”
Kadin rapidly covered Kat’s mouth and glared at her. “Don’t you dare, not in front of Julie.”
Kat’s eyes were full of amusement. She then quickly took Kadin’s hands off her mouth and laughed at him. I weakly smiled at Kadin as he watched her with fury red hair sticking up into the air.
Once Kat was done laughing, she twirled to face her brother. “Next time, don’t put your dirty hands on my mouth. I don’t know how often you wash your hands.”
“I’m leaving,” Kadin turned around. “You’re just going to make me more embarrassed the longer I stay here. See you later, Julie.”
Kat and I watched Kadin leave our lockers and I started to wonder if he was going to be alright.
“Is he mad?”
“He’s just embarrassed,” Kat giggled. “He’ll get over it soon enough.”
“Why would he be embarrassed though? Was the thing you’re about to say really that embarrassing?”
“More or less,” Kat shrugged. “But more importantly, what are you planning to do on the school’s Foundation Day?”
“Oh yeah,” I glanced down at the notification in my hand. “We need to choose something before the teachers decide it for us. What are you planning to do, Kat?”
“I’m going to join the art group and help out with the gallery.”
“That’s a great idea!” I replied. “What made you want to choose the art group?”
“I thought that maybe I’ll learn a thing or two about photography.”
“You do photography?”
Kat nodded, “Yeah. It’s a hobby I picked up a few years ago.”
“Can I see some of your work?” I gave my widest smile.
Kat giggled, “Maybe. Anyway, do you have any idea which group you’re going to join?”
“At the moment, I’m not so sure.”
I wonder which group Ice Pack Stealer is going to join. Wait, why am I even thinking about him?
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