Chronological Chaos - Temporal Tides

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Sybil had to restrain herself from whirling around. "Why would you say that? I was trying to get away!"

"He seemed friendly," Emil said. "He even left a card on the window?"

"What?" Sybil glanced at the passenger window and saw that the man had indeed left a small, black card tucked in at the bottom of the window.

They pulled into the middle school parking lot, behind another line of cars. Sybil quickly put the car and park and reached across the car. She rolled down the window and grabbed the card before it came loose. She slid back into her seat and examined the card. Emil had taken his seatbelt off too and leaned over her shoulder to see what the man had left.

"That's boring," he said. "There's not even a name."

Sybil flipped the card over and saw a simple logo, a thin square overlapping a triangle. She looked at the other side again. There was only a phone number to call. Nothing else. She scoffed and dropped the card into the cup holder. "Useless," she said.

Emil fell back into his seat. "Did you know that guy?"

"I saw him at school yesterday. I think he was some sort of recruiter. He said he needed me for some job?"

"Are you going to take it?"

Sybil turned and raised an eyebrow. "Why would I? He's ambushed me twice in the past two days. I think it's freaky."

The line of cars moved up and Sybil shifted into drive. After only a few feet, the cars stopped again.

"Maybe they pay a lot. Don't you need a lot of money for college?"

"You need a lot of money for everything," Sybil said with a sigh. "Whatever. If I see him again, I'm calling the cops.

The line had finally moved enough for Emil to get out. He grabbed his poster board and a pile of balloons. "Thanks for only almost killing me," he said before closing the car door. Sybil shook her head and drove out of the parking lot.

I enjoy these two's relationship. Siblings are such an anomaly when it comes to human connections. There is no perfect formula for them, they either end in success or failure, seemingly random. I feel that every family unit I have witnessed has been an experiment, one way or another. At this present time, a perfect concoction of love and authority, privilege and responsibility, has yet to be discovered. Until then, parents and siblings simply can only try their best.

The small school's parking lot was nearly full and Sybil almost resigned herself to parking in the field next to the school. But a faded spot was found inside the school property.

Sybil walked cautiously into the school, checking around cars and over her shoulder for the man again. She hadn't told her parents about him yet, she honestly didn't feel a need to, until this morning. Still, there was nothing she could do until the end of the day.

Her friend, Josie, met her at their lockers. "Sybil!" she said in a sing-song voice. "Guess who asked me to prom?"

Sybil gasped. "No way! Who?"

"Carter Wood. Look at this!" Josie lifted her phone to show Sybil a picture of a sign next to a bouquet of suckers. The sign read, 'Would you come to prom with this dum-dum?'

"That's so cute! Sybil said. "How are you going to accept?"

"I don't know yet!" Josie slipped her phone in her pocket. "I mean, I'm definitely going, I mean, Carter Wood? Last year, he took Iris Christensen. How can I compete with her?"

Sybil poked her friend's arm. "I'm pretty sure it isn't a competition. I think it's supposed to be fun?"

Josie laughed. "I know, I know. Hey, will you come dress shopping with me?"