Branches of Our Tree

Chapter Fourteen: I'd Rather Be His Shadow

Elsa

Within a few spiraling minutes, I had managed to grip the plastic-wrapped spines of my color-coded binders, sling the padded straps of my swollen backpack securely around my shoulders, and redefine the whole concept of "fast-walking" to the one of the exit doors of the school. All it took to fuel my rapid action was the pleasant troll of the afternoon bell.

I'm free, I silently repeated, relishing the glorious thought as a breath escaped from my parted lips. All around me, the vibrant smoothie-blend of teenage conversation consistently spat out words of happiness.

"It's...Friday, right?"

"I'm...to relax."

"When I...going to sleep."

These words of happiness were now holding the top slots on my "Favorite Phrases" list.

"Elsa! Elsa!" My eyes flew from the thriving mass of students, landing haphazardly on the jittery figure of my sister, who was managing to push aside those who were in her way. Managing somewhat.

"Excuse me, sorry, oops, pardon me, oh, didn't see you there!" A small chuckle tugged at my mouth, my hand rising to allow my fingertips to press against the thin flesh of my lips, so my laughter wouldn't be noticed. In front of me, Anna was waging her own version of a modern-day Civil War, in which she was the commander, cavalry, and soldier all in one. Her hips were avid pendulums, knocking into the cushioned silhouettes of packed backpacks as if the intention was to go straight through them. Her feet were enemies of gravity, meteorites that pounded against the brittle concrete tiles, hoping to leave a three-inch deep indentation of a foot adorned in a tan leather boot. Her eyes were spotlights, swiveling from one location to the next, haphazardly targeting the next object to be thrown off balance.

Clumsiness. My sister just forced the dictionary writers of the world to rewrite their beloved definition of it.

Slowly, Anna pressed between clusters of chests and elbows, out-stretching her usual terse stride to be able to reach her destination. Within a few seconds, she accomplished the feat of standing directly in front of me, not a single distracting or attention-snatching obstacle grasping the frayed edges of her focus. "Wow!" she blurted out, a palm pressing firmly against her pumping chest. "I never knew a crowd could swallow me up, just like that!"

"Neither did I," I agreed, a smile lifting up my cheeks. "But, now we know how you'd react to it."

Anna's rounded eyes enlarged incredibly, the pointed, sparkle-capped tips of her lashes grazing her penny-colored brows. "React? Elsa, I barely even had time to figure out where I was! All I had on my mind was to find you, and tell you that I'm going to someone's house after school today, and then, I find myself cowering underneath the frickin' basketball team! Seriously, why don't they just grow up to seven feet? Besides, it'll help--"

"Wait, hold on, little sister." My hands flew up to perch on her shoulders, my fingertips brushing against the cool fabric of her t-shirt. "You said you're going to someone's house?"

She stared at me, her mouth arching into a gap with the likeness of an egg.

I sighed. "You can breathe, Anna."

The air that was held captive within the two constantly-constricting, fleshy cages beneath her ribs managed to burst up her windpipe and back into the atmosphere. During this process, her eyelids had fallen, as if exhaling was the trigger to drop them. After a brief moment of exaggerated silence, Anna parted her lips, piping out an answer. "Yeah. A friend's house."

My eyebrows lurched upwards. "You have a friend...already?"

Giggles danced out from between her teeth. "Of course, I do, Elsa! And a nice one, too! I met him in Ceramics."