Salticidae

*Chapter One*

          "One, two, one two three four!", at that, the sound of drums collided against the sting of electric strings - creating a not-so-pleasant sound, and barely noticeable as music. But, despite that, the girl's dad stood there proudly, leaned up against one corner of the garage with a cigarette hanging from his fingers and a smile plastered on his face. With the slip of a finger and one wrong note, the song came to an end.

      "You guys are good!", their dad encouraged them with a nod. Josie groaned and slumped over her drums dramatically while Lucia held a hand to her head in annoyance, allowing her crimson colored electric guitar to hang from her shoulder.

      "Come on guys one more time, we're so close! Please?" Olivia pleaded with her sisters, her determination fighting her own irritation and winning the battle.

      "Yea, one more time." Their dad chimed in. Josie got up from her spot behind the drums- a stained white plastic garden chair, because the seller on Facebook didn't include its proper seat, for some reason- and placed her drumsticks down wearily on the unpacked box beside her.

     "Nah, I think I'm good for tonight. I'm gonna go draw." With that, she turned around on one foot and left the garage to head to her new room.

       "Luci?" Olivia turned to her youngest sister with hope, giving her her best puppy eyes and her biggest fake frown.

       "Oh god, ew. Don't make that face EVER again, please. We don't have a drummer right now, it won't sound as good. Let's just do it tomorrow." Olivia could feel the stress from the move radiating off her little sisters. She understood why they'd be stressed, of course, but couldn't relate to it on a personal level. She wasn't leaving much behind in her old town, only trauma inducing memories that she was ready to let fade away, and old friends she wasn't too sad about letting go.

   "Fine. Whatever. I'm gonna go sulk alone in my room, then. If you find me hanging from my ceiling fan by my blanket you'll know why I did it and who's to blame." Olivia joked, giving her sister an ugly face before setting down her bass guitar and unplugging the mic from the extension cord.

"Hey," their dads smile faded and his eyebrows knotted as he put out his cigarette in his freshly emptied Bud Lite can "not funny. Don't be making jokes like that, cabrona."

      "Wanna use my blanket instead?" Lucia joked back. Their dad shook his head, but being used to the crude humor, he dropped it and didn't argue any further.

      "Nah you probably have period stains on it."

      "Only one, but it's not that big. Just don't tie that part too close to your face."

        Their dads face twisted in disgust.

         "Nasty ass's."

   The three made their way back into the house, the smell of food lingering from the kitchen.

        "What's this?" Their dad -Jose- asked, pointing to the food on the counter.

      "Cheesy chicken casserole - a neighbor came by and dropped it off, Susan Heffley. She says she lives around the block from us and noticed us as she drove past earlier today. Grab a plate girls, it's really good." Sherryne -the girl's mother- responded, walking her own plate to the sink.

  Olivia looked at Lucia, digging her teeth into her bottom lip and squinting her eyes with a hand to her chin before asking, "Does she happen to have a hot son or dilf husband?"

     "Really Liv?" Sherryne laughed. "She has three sons, one around your age and one around Luci's. You can figure out if they're hot when you bring this tupperware back to her tomorrow."