The Exchange Student

London

Beatrice had just got home. She could smell that her mother had been cooking for hours because of the way her mouth was watering. She loved when her mom cooked, it wasn't rare but it wasn't that often either, and she would always be grateful for her, taking the time to prepare such delicate meals for her daughters.

Though the pleasure would be dissipating very soon, since her father would be home at any time now, after his long day at work.

It was already nine when she got home, and her sister had already eaten, because she had to go to bed early, as she was the youngest sibling, and had to go to school in the morning.

Beatrice dropped her bag near the doormat, put her keys on a shelf right next to the door, and stepped inside. She headed into the kitchen, which was just ahead of the entry, passing the staircase that led to the bedrooms.

"Hi." She went behind her mom, who had just turned the gas back on, and started stirring the risotto she had prepared earlier as soon as she heard someone entering the house, to hug her.

"Hi sweetie, how was school ?" She asked, letting a smile appear on her face, that Beatrice could sense because of how she sounded when she asked her the question.

"Well actually, it was great" She took a step back, breaking the hug. "I actually have some exciting news for you guys." But before her mom could turn around, she was already heading out of the kitchen, stepped a foot on the first stair, before her mom stopped her, or at least tried.

"Aren't you gonna tell me why you're in such a good mood ?" Her mom had raised her voice, since she saw Beatrice leaving the kitchen, but had such a soft tone in her voice. She couldn't remember the last time she received a spontaneous hug from her oldest child. And Beatrice wasn't a physical touch kind of person. "Bea ?"

"Sorry, not a chance I'm telling you before I get to talk to Camila !" Bea almost shouted as she was already halfway up the stairs.

On the second floor were the girls' bedrooms, they grew up with the luxury of having separate bedrooms. Their parents were upper middle class, they had the means to provide for their daughters since they both had decent jobs. Her mom was a teacher at the private high school her sister was enrolled in, and her dad was working in the research field, for the university of London.

She entered her sister's room, who was sitting at her desk, still dressed in her school uniform.

"Camila, quit being a nerd for a sec, will you ?"

"Ever heard of knocking, you twat ?" She turned around, stood up and went straight for a hug, as her sister couldn't resist a groan, since she didn't particularly enjoy being ambushed into physical contact, but eventually put her arms around her little sister's shoulder.

"What are you studying ?" Beatrice asked Camila, who sat back at her desk.

"I have an English test tomorrow, dad said I could skip church on Sunday if I get an A." Bea was proud of her, well not for the skipping church part, because that made her sad to see her sister losing interest in her Christian faith, but she was incredibly proud of Camila for standing up for herself, against their parents. She was definitely starting to become a mature version of herself, having her own wishes and opinions.

"I have no doubt you'll make it, let me know if you need some help," Bea offered.

"As much as I appreciate your generosity, I wouldn't trust you on an English test." Camila said, laughing at her older sister.

"Oh, now that's cute, but you wouldn't want me to beat your ass ? Plus no matter what the subject is, I will be extremely good at it, it's almost like a curse..." Bea loved being the older sister, and she would make sure that Camila stayed in her place. They loved each other very much and had that little competitive energy between them.