"So, should we split up?" Fred asks, sounding way too excited about splitting up. I guess he reads too many comics.
"Sure," I reply. "I'll take the kitchen, you take the living room?"
"Yes!" Fred says, rushing into the living room.
I walk more slowly into the kitchen. Dust is beginning to collect as if taking advantage of the absence of my mom's rigorous cleaning. I ignore it as I peer into cabinets as if I'm searching. Really, though, I'm not.
When my brother and mom disappeared, I didn't think much of it. They left and didn't tell me, what of it? It hadn't been that long, so I wasn't worried. I remember seeing the newspaper standing desolate at the end of the driveway, going out to get it like usual.
They made the headline. Should I be proud? They were right there on the front page. 'CAR EXPLODES JUST OUTSIDE SAN FRANSOKYO' it said. Nobody told me that they had died, I had to get the news the hard way. I didn't even realize what had happened until I decided to read the article.
What if I hadn't? What if the reporters hadn't made the article look interesting enough that I decided to read? Maybe I'd actually be searching right now, not just peering into dusty kitchen cabinets for something I won't find. Do I wish that that had been the case? I don't know. I was barely able to take the news at first. I was in denial that it could have happened. I broke into my brother's locked room expecting to find him, and when I couldn't, I ripped the article to shreds and left.
It seems like all I've been doing lately is hiding. Hiding from the awful truth of the world that I've never discovered until now: nothing lasts forever. Maybe when this city falls to pieces and the ocean slowly covers what remains of the earth, maybe then I'll accept the truth.
I should just tell the others. They shouldn't be here, frantically searching for nothing when they don't have to be. I've tried to tell them before, but I can't quite seem to be able to.
"Ivrian!" I hear Fred call from the living room.
I sigh and make my way into the living room, where Fred is standing, awestruck, with a thin book in his hand.
"What?" I ask, then, as if I didn't just tell myself that I wanted to tell the truth, I add, "Did you find something?"
"Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!" Fred says, jumping around and hugging the book.
"What?" I ask again.
"It's the original copy of 'The Tales of Bokenburg: Book One'!" Fred squeals. "Where did you get this?!"
"Uh, I don't know?" I say. "It's not mine."
"Can I have it?" Fred asks.
"I just said it's not mine! I can't give something away that's not mine! It's probably my brother's, honestly."
"Then we'd better hurry up and find him so he can nobly gift it to me," Fred says, his voice getting dramatic at the end.
"Yeah, hurry up and find him...nobly gift it to you..." I say, disappointed in myself for not taking the opportunity to tell Fred. Not that it would be a great time, since he's so excited about finding my brother, but I should still tell him.
"Ivrian!" I hear Tadashi call from upstairs. "Come up here!"
Me and Fred run upstairs to find Tadashi and Ethel are standing in my room with, holding the the pieces of the article I ripped up.
"Look at this," Ethel says, showing us the pieces. "Do you know what this is?"
"No," I lie, then immediately regret it. It seems like all I can do is lie.
"Really?" Ethel asks aggressively.
"Ethel, she said she didn't know, leave her alone," Tadashi says, grabbing his friend's arm.
"Leave me alone, Tadashi! Don't grab onto me!" Ethel yells at him, pulling her arm away.
"Sorry, I just don't want you picking on my friend!" Tadashi says.
"Oh, why is she so special? She's all you seem to care about!" Ethel says, moving to stand in front of Tadashi.
"What? No she isn't!" Tadashi yells.
"Yeah, right," Ethel says, and slaps Tadashi's face.
The room goes quiet for a moment, then Tadashi pushes Ethel hard, and walks out of the room. Fred follows eagerly, and I'm left alone in my room.
Sorry this is a little late, I had to actually get some sleep 😁
YOU ARE READING
The Science of Words--Sabotage
Hayran KurguIvrian thinks she knows everything, and is too scared to tell anyone. Davin knows a lot, but doesn't have anyone to tell. Tadashi wishes someone would tell him what is going on. A sequel to The Science of Words.
