Below the Sky

Chapter 2: Lila

Chapter 2. Lila

I took my rake, and dragged it through the barn floor. Hay got stuck in the teeth, and I dumped it in the wagon I was wheeling around. All the while I did this I thought of Riana. Was that moment at the lake really just in my head? There were boys around where I lived. The school was just about a mile away, and me and my siblings would walk there every day. However, I didn't really have any close friends at the school. There was Luke. He was sweet on me. I knew this because of the way he acted around me. He would always want to walk me to class, or carry my books for me. However, despite his best efforts, his feelings were never returned.
Other than Luke, there wasn't really anyone else who really cared for me. I wasn't like Maya, who had loads of friends and was very popular among her classmates. Or even Oliver. Oliver had a few people he was particularly close with, but he wasn't too special. I, however, was unknown. Most of my classmates didn't even know I existed.
Though me and Oliver were in different grades, we had the same lunch period, so I would usually just eat with him. Sometimes, Luke would join us, but most of the time, it was just me and my brother. Everyone could have sworn we were twins, that's how close we were.
"Lila!" I snapped out of my thoughts, and turned my head to the direction of the sound.
"Lila! Lila!" I saw Oliver running towards me. A rake similar to the one I was sup- posed to be using in his hand.
When Oliver finally caught up to me, he set to work, helping me accomplish my chore.
"Lila, I was bored so I figured I'd help you finish up cleaning the barn." I smiled. I truly had the best brother in the world.
"So," I asked him, "how do you like Riana?"
"She's nice," he responded, chewing on his lip. He looked down at the ground. "Have you taken a liking to her?" I questioned.
"No, I'm just intimidated having an older, beautiful girl like that living down the hall from me."
Now it was my turn to smile. Riana really was gorgeous, but she wasn't too much older than me though.
"What chores do you have to do today?" I asked Oliver.
"Nothing much different than you. I have to help Mama cook obviously, then milk the cows."
I frowned. Mama was forcing me to gather eggs from the chickens, clean the stables, and sweep the house. I supposed she just preferred to give me more work.
"When I'm done with my chores, I'm going to go for a run. 'Wanna come?" Oliver asked.
"Ya of course." I ruffled his hair. Then we got back to raking.

When all the dirty hay was in the barrow. I wheeled it away, Oliver tagging along after me.
"I wonder what Riana's doing right now," said Oliver.
"Ya me too. She's probably with Papa somewhere. Doing something that has to do with the law."
Oliver nodded his head. Together we lugged the wheelbarrow across the lawn, to the edge of the woods.
"Hey Lila, do you think that Riana's going to turn out to be a major bitch like the other apprentices Papas had?" Oliver asked.
thought about it for a second. "No, I really don't."
"But that's what you said about Louisa last summer, and look how she turned out." I knew that Oliver was right. Louisa had acted like such an angel when she had first arrived a summer ago. But this was different.
"You know Oliver, I just have a feeling in my gut that Riana isn't going to be as bad as Louisa was. You know?"
"Ya," he replied. "Like when we were getting Dash. There were more puppies to choose from, but we could feel it inside of us, a voice telling us that Dash was perfect for our family."
"Ya, he really was."
Me and Oliver walked through the door, and were greeted by our puppy jumping on top of us. I got down on the floor with him, and let Dash lick my face. Dash was a dog with red tinted fur, that was short and curly. He loved to jump up on anyone he saw, or bark at literally anything that passed by our little cottage.
"Hi boy," I pet him a little bit, before walking up to my room. As I was about to walk in, Riana opened her door, and walked out. She saw me, and smiled.
"How were your chores?" She asked. Sighing I looked at her, implying that they weren't that fun.
"They were... not so great. Oliver came and helped me though which made it better."
"That's good. It seems like you two have a really good relationship."
"Ya, we do. Everyone says that we could be twins because were so close. We tell each other everything."
"I wish I had a sibling that I could bond with like that."
"Your an only child?"
"Ya, it gets lonely, but at least I'm not competing with anyone for attention."
"That's true."
"I should get going. Your Papa wants me to come study some old court cases with him." Riana walked away. I watched her move down the stairs, then went into my room.