"I have ten fingers. The thumb is to show the world I'm okay, the index is to pick out the people I cherish, the middle is for the haters, the ring is for my true love, the pinky is for promises and more and the other five are for holding yours."
~...
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"Lloyd! Kai! Both of you get your butts down here now!"
I rolled my eyes at Nya's persistent yells, taking my time in spraying on some deodorant and giving myself a final preview in the mirror. I looked fine, enough to give a good impression that I was a clean boy with a set routine for hygiene. Though Kai seemed to be overdoing everything.
And I let him know after I saw him restyling his mop of hair for the fourth time that morning.
"Your sister is wreaking havoc downstairs and you're still not ready?" I said, watching as Kai glared at the traitorous bit of hair that would not settle down the way he wanted it to.
Nya yelled something about beauty contestants taking less time to get ready and I heartily nodded along while purposefully ignoring the fact that I was in the blame too. I'm such a hypocrite. Kai walked past me and yanked open his bedroom door all the way, sticking his head outside.
"Misako, could you lock Nya in the car, please? I'm trying to perfect my hair and she's making me lose concentration!"
I gave Kai an amused smile, certain that my eyebrows had vanished into the fringe of my blonde hair from being raised too high. I mocked a triumphant laugh when my mom rejected his proposition and joined Nya in calling us downstairs.
"It's a long way to school," Mom stated loudly, standing at the bottom of the stairs from what I could tell. "The sooner we leave, the sooner we get there."
"What's the hurry, honestly?" Kai muttered quietly, focused entirely on his hair.
I had to congratulate my foster siblings for opening up to my mother so quickly and easily. They had only been at my mom's place for a few days when I was introduced to them. They had already warmed up to her and I could not help but feel jealous.
I only get two weeks each month to spend time with my mother and I have her to myself mostly. So the very idea of sharing her love and attention with two other kids boiled me up and actually experiencing it was even worse. I'm ashamed to admit that I was slightly rude to Kai and Nya at first. But that was before I learned what they had to endure their entire lives.
I think my mother had already filled them in about my sensitiveness because they never complained about my behavior. Rather they tried to grow closer to me and helped me overcome the possessive hold I had on my mother.
Now, it's hard to imagine a life without them. Kai and Nya had so readily incorporated themselves into my mother's life that I myself couldn't see them as anything other than my own siblings. Even Kyle likes them and he rarely ever becomes casual with strangers.
