Only A Leap Ahead

7. The girls

We are now walking back home. It's pretty late and since I was also getting sleepier by the second, we thought it was better if I got back soon. Even in my groggy state, I try to process everything he had said a few minutes ago. But right now, all that matters to me is a good night's sleep.

I stumble on a rock ahead of me and almost fall but hold myself steady. My bag slips and the contents of it splatter all over. "Ugh," I groan. I bend down to retrieve everything back. My hand stops over an envelope... Abigail's letter. I realized the envelope had come undone. I snatch the envelope from the ground before he can see it and roughly stuff the letter inside. And then I look at him. If he has seen my little stunt or not, I cannot say. Typical of Lancelot. I pick myself up and we resume our walk. I silently pray I didn't damage the envelope or the letter earlier.

I look at him walking in front of me. I walk into and through him. Woah! Cool, I think.

"Hurry now," I say peevishly.

I turn to catch his reaction.

"What was that?" he asks, surprised.

"Since you are ghost-like, you know," I reason.

"C'mon Latte, show me some respect hmm?" he smiles.

"Of course, Sir Lancelot," I bow.

"Really now? I'm no knight of King Arthur", he scoffs and walks past me.

"What do you know about the knights and the king anyway?" I ask, walking up to him.

"Everything that you know." And he continues to walk ahead of me.

Everything I know? Weird. No scratch that. Creepy. While my thoughts are fighting for the best synonym I don't even realize when we reach.

After 10minutes from the bag fiasco he says, "Here we are."

"This is where we shall depart ma'am, I can only go so far," he says mimicking my voice.

"Oh! Shut up," I laugh. I look behind at the house. The lights are still on. I turn to say goodbye to Lancelot but he's already gone. I'm still not used to his unannounced arrivals and departures.

I enter the house to find Arlett sleeping on the couch and Isabelle drooling over what I believe to be her homework although the page is filled with doodles and disoriented stick figures.

I wake them up, order them to clean the mess and pick up the papers strewn around.

"Where have you been?" Izzy asks, waving her homework slash art at me.

"At the park," I say nonchalantly.

"At the park!" She says, astonished

"Umm...yeah" I say slowly.

"We waited for you for hours, didn't we Arlett?"

"Yeah, but it's okay Scarlette. Izzy just likes to over-do things," Arlett replies.

"Over-do?" Isabelle screams.

Arlett and I burst out laughing at her angry and confused expression. I excuse myself and go for a shower. When I come back I see the girls talking on the couch. I open the fridge and ask, "Have you girls eaten?"

"Well we were actually planning to have a girls night," Arlett says.

"Oh, then carry on, I won't disturb you two," I say, still eyeing the items in the fridge.

"Hold it, Scar! You're a girl too," Isabelle says knitting her brows together. "I told you she's a bit dim," she whispers to Arlett so loudly I swear I could have heard her even if I was upstairs.