Centum Malediction

Chapter 1-6

Friday, September 17th. 2010

"There you are Michael." Michael heard a familiar voice as he crept into his home. It took a moment for him to recognize it as his sister's voice. The tone was similar to the sarcastic patronizing tone Visceria had used. A rush of guilt ran over him as he recalled his father's words asking him to make sure he was home after school.

"Abigail." Michael said, stepping into the living room. She was on the couch watching television, some kind of cartoon involving several hippos competing in a race. Abigail was short, even for a fifth grader. The doctors insisted her height had nothing to do with her bone condition. Her features were quite similar to Michael's, allowing even the most unobservant person to pin them as brother and sister. She kept her long dark hair in a braided ponytail and usually wore pink or purple clothes. Today it was a pink shirt with one of the hippos from the cartoon she was watching. The Hippo Friends were all the rage with girls her age.

"That's my name." She responded dully, "I've been wondering when you would show up. Dad said you'd be here after school, but that was a promise you just couldn't keep."

"I never promised anything." Michael grunted. "Besides, I'm here now. What do you want to eat?"

"Who says I didn't already eat?" Abigail asked. Michael knew better. While Abigail probably could cook even with her condition, she wouldn't. She was far too entitled. Abigail's bones were so weak she could not lift heavy things. She also had to use a wheelchair to get around. She could stand, just not for long intervals. Because of her condition she had to ride the smaller bus to school, as it was the only one with a wheelchair mechanism. The other kids often made fun of her for this reason.

"I know better. You're a lazy bum." Michael laughed. Abigail just cast him a dark glare. Michael usually called her a lazy bum. It was his pet name for her. Needless to say, she hated it, as most people would.

"Dad told you to stop calling me that!" She whined.

"Dad's not here, is he?" Michael shrugged. He made his way to the kitchen ignoring his sister's usual whining. He just assumed she'd shut up once he was out of earshot.

Dinner wouldn't be anything special, just the usual cup of noodles. It was their meal of choice, cheap and easy to cook. Michael followed the instructions he had read on the package years ago automatically. He had done this so many times it came naturally to him.

His thoughts returned to Chelsea as he performed his simple task. He didn't want to offend her, and because of what he had said he knew it would cause trouble in their relationship eventually. Still, Chelsea had always been there for him in the past. He thought he could trust her, but apparently that trust was misplaced. He made a plan to talk to her tomorrow and apologize. Convince her that he made it all up as a joke, and that he wasn't aware of her past. Hopefully he could recover from the mistake he had made today.

The beeping of the microwave snapped Michael back to reality. He prepared the so called soup and brought the two bowls out to the couch where Abigail sat. He placed one of the bowls on the table in front of her, and held the other in his hand. Michael reached for the remote, so as not to be subjected to The Hippo Friends.

"What do you think you're doing?" Abigail called out as he did.

"Changing the channel of course." Michael shrugged, not hesitating

"You can't! I always watch The Hippo Friends on Friday. It's brand new!" Abigail argued. Michael shrugged, still changing the channel. He surfed through their limited channels, and as usual, there was nothing on. Nothing was still better than The Hippo Friends.

"Change it back or I'll tell dad." Abigail yelled.

"I don't think dad will care that I changed the channel." Michael responded, not obeying his sister's demands.