Bang!
I wake up with a start. Somebody's knocking at my door!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Okay, trying to kick it in would probably better describe what the person outside my room is doing.
"Timmy!"
I dart into an upright position, already feeling myself up halfway through the motion. Thank God, I've already changed back. There's my flat chest, there's just a hint of stubble on my chin.
"What?" I call back. She won't come in, not until she knows I'm dressed. Pearl is smart that way.
"Can you make me pancakes?" Her voice is so sweet and pleading. A smile creeps onto my lips. She just won't give up.
"Don't you have anything else to eat?" I call back half-heartedly as I put back the thin blanket.
"Nope!" It's audible she's proud of having looked first. "No bread and we're fresh out of cereals!"
How awfully convenient for her. "And Mum hasn't gone shopping yet?" I open the door to my room and step out into the hallway.
Pearl is still in her pyjamas too, looking up at me with a tooth-gapped grin.
"She has to work. She told me to ask you to get everything."
Well, I do have holidays after all. Only reasonable for my parents to ask me to participate in keeping the house upright.
I sigh. "Sure. But pancakes first, right?" I know my little sister. She's not the patient kind.
"Yesss!"
Once again I find myself amazed at how good she is at reading the mood. Had she come at me like this just a few days ago, I certainly wouldn't have reacted the way I do now.
On bare feet, I head down the stairs, past Mum's bureau and into the kitchen. I used to make pancakes regularly, I've gotten quite proficient at it. Well, I didn't do it in over a month, but I'm sure I can't have forgotten everything so quickly.
Pearl pads in behind me, sits down at the kitchen table, knees pulled to her chest and turns on the small radio.
'The comet continues to cause excitement. Already, there are full collages of comet pictures. The hashtag #cometandi has overtaken social media by storm. All over the world, teenagers and young adults party outside and in nature. Many report a constant feeling of elation. Psychologists say that might be due to the knowledge that, if the comet were to strike Earth, humanity as such would likely seize to exist. Spiritualists on the other hand accredit this effect to the comet's supposed magical properties.
"It's affecting you as well," Pearl giggles as I pour the first portion of dough into the pan.
Stiffly, I get out a spatula and fiddle with the heat regulator. "You think so?" I ask. I'll have to do some more research these days, once reports of possible supernatural events have been tested and verified. I can't be the only one, can I?
"Yeah, totally. Did the comet tell you to be happy?"
I freeze. There's no way she knows, is there? Yet still... Forcedly, I shimmy the spatula underneath the small pancake, lift it up and turn it.
"Or did something else happen?" I breathe a low sigh of relief as she giggles giddily. "Do you have a girlfriend now?"
"What? No!" I act all offended, which makes her laugh even more. But in my mind I'm relieved.
She doesn't get everything right.
YOU ARE READING
Moonlit Waters
Любовные романы"I'm just scared somehow that you're not even real." "And what if I wasn't? What if I wasn't, but wanted to be?" When Timothy Crow gets the ability to turn into a girl whenever he goes swimming, his first reaction is to panic, resulting in his near...
