A Family Podcast (english)

Chapter 33

Thea

I sat under the table for a few minutes before realizing that I had to come out at some point. But people kept passing by to get food. I cautiously reached for the tablecloth and peeked out from under it. But footsteps could be heard again, and I quickly let the cloth fall. Great. I heard pitter-pattering steps, and soon Coulder's voice could be heard.

"Stop being mad" he whined. "You said I could go to the beach"

"Just go to your seat" Taylor's voice sounded irritated. Coulder grumbled something that I couldn't understand and disappeared.

I hesitated for a moment, but then I quickly lifted the tablecloth.

"Pst, Taylor" Taylor briefly turned around, but then he wanted to continue walking.

"Taylor!" I hissed a bit louder, and Taylor turned around again. His eyes widened in surprise when he spotted me.

"What the hell are you doing there?" he asked. I glanced past him, where an older couple was approaching us. I quickly waved Taylor over to me and held the cloth a bit higher.

Taylor gave me a look of "Are you freaking serious?" before glancing at the older couple. But then he just rolled his eyes in annoyance and crawled under the table with me.

"God, what's going on with all of you today?" he sighed.

I made some space for him and leaned against the wall again. Taylor followed my example and looked at me expectantly.

Was there a discreet way to ask him if that boy was still nearby? I didn't want him to see me crawling out from under the table. The whole thing was ridiculous. He probably wouldn't even recognize me. I was probably just imagining it all.

Apparently, I had been contemplating for too long because Taylor gently nudged his shoulder against mine.

"Care to tell me why we're sitting under the table?"

"It's embarrassing" I warned him, and Taylor's mouth twitched.

"I didn't expect anything less" he replied, chuckling, and I elbowed him in the side.

"If you're laughing already, I won't tell you anything" I retorted stubbornly, and Taylor laughed softly.

"We're sitting under a table. In the middle of the dining room. Let me have some fun."

"Do you have to repeat that all the time?" I asked, and Taylor shrugged.

"It's hard to ignore" In fact, the space down here was a bit cramped for my brother. I could sit comfortably, but he had to duck his head.

"This is stupid" he grumbled. "I'm too old for this"

My gaze fell on the plate I had brought along, and I grinned. In my excitement, I had also piled chocolate muffins onto the plate. I handed the plate to Taylor. He accepted my bribe with a wink.

"I saw you singing toothbrushing songs with Susan last week. So you're not too old for stuff like this."

But I knew Taylor was right. Not about him being too old for it, but about it being stupid. What normal person would just hide under a table?

Taylor shared some of the muffins with me, and I stuffed my mouth with them.

"You know what? You're right" I wiped the crumbs off my hands and tried to straighten up as best as I could. "This is totally dumb"

I pushed the tablecloth aside and climbed out of my hiding spot.

The ensuing shriek startled me so much that I flinched violently.