Star of Success

chapter seven

Soon enough my sister and Victor start ranting about  that show until I felt my ear drums pop. Ethan lowly  chuckles once he saw me roll my eyes. He seems to be biting his lips a lot and opens his mouth to say something but closes it quickly, he had hesitated multiple times and I soon became curious and irritated.
“Spit it out,” I say frustratingly.
“It-it’s ridiculous,” he says waving his hand carelessly.

“Surely not as much as this show,” I grin, and point at Blaise and Victor.
Ethan bites his lip slowly and looks down before meeting my eyes.
“Were your family wizards?”

I let out a short laugh and break eye contact, I surely didn’t expect such question.

“Do you believe in magic?” I ask muttering.
“Definitely. This planet has more than just regular people walking in streets and struggling with life,” he says excitingly but then loses it and rubs the back of his neck. He looks embarrassed.

“Yeah, you’re right. It’s a shame that not all humans have magic,”

“They did, but only the worthy still have it and know how to work with it. But you still didn’t answer my question,”

“Er…my family used to have magic, but it died once they parted. The magic died with my grandparents and now we are just normal humans,”

Ethan nods twice and scrunches his nose.
“It’d be awesome if you had magic. I know and heard about your ancestors and their stories,” he says twirling his finger in the air and pointing at my
house, “each had their own special gifts, and I bet, if you had a gift…you’d be the most powerful and
have the most unique gift,”

I blush at his compliment and smile widely. I always found my gifts were interesting and very powerful.
But I don’t use them on daily basis, since they’re useless. The only time I use it is on April fools and on Blaise. I have the gift to turn any object I want
come to life and change it to any shape I please.

Three years ago, I touched Blaise’s old teddy bear, and brought it to life. I made it follow her everywhere she went around the house, without her noticing anything, but a scary presence. I eventually stopped the trick, when she started screaming and crying that a devil was in the house, trying to drag
her down.

“Yeah, unfortunately I lost my gifts. Sometimes I wonder if my gifts were drawing sketches and not getting bored,” I say jokingly.

“What do you guys like to eat?” Blaise asks suddenly.
“Oh no, we’re having lunch at home,”
The twins start to ramble about leaving early and not wanting to bother us, but then I silence all of them.

“We’re all having lunch here, and that’s final,”

I head to the kitchen and open the freezer. I take out
ground beef and open the cabinets and start taking out spices and a box of pasta. “How does lasagna sound to you?” I ask, looking at them as they sit around the table. I hear murmurs of agreement and take out a chopping board and a large onion and start
chopping.

“Who cooks at your place?” Blaise asks the twins.
“Victor does. But I cook better,” Ethan says boasting.
“All you can do is boil water and add tea bags,” Victor says rolling his eyes.

Ethan gasps and places his hand on his chest looking hurt.
“Seriously?”
“No, to be fair…Ethan bakes desserts and has an amazing taste in designing cakes and cookies,” Victor replies solemnly.

“So, you’re useful for Christmas?” asks Blaise grinning.
“And thanksgiving,” Ethan laughs.

I laugh with the rest and put the beef on the stove and start frying the onion with it. I add the spices and stir.
“Stella, I’ve never mentioned that when we first met, my brother was ecstatic to hear that you’re an Adhara. So, when we parked here, he gasped loudly
and started jumping in his seat,” Victor says mockingly before Ethan yelled at him to shut up.

“That’s shocking,” Blaise says perplexingly, “usually when someone hears that we’re from the Adhara family, they’d run to the hills,”

“I think it would be so cool if you had powers,” Victor replies in awe.
I almost break the wooden spoon in my hand and glance at my sister who grins. I try hard not to turn
the knife next to me into a dagger and slash it to Victor’s chest.

“You know the person who attacked your ancestors with a fireball in this house…I don’t think it was a
villager,” says Ethan thoughtfully.

“It wasn’t,” replies Blaise gravely, “one of the children who fled stated it was witchcraft. But we don’t know who it was,”
“You’re not the only ones with magical gifts in this world,” says Victor smiling.

“You guys want to watch a movie before lunch to pass time?” I ask loudly wanting to change the subject. I’m worried my sister would accidently slip
something from her mouth.
Blaise reads my expression and nods
understandingly. She drags the boys from the kitchen and take them to the living room and hear her turn on the television.

I take out a tray and place the pasta and add the beef and pour the heavy cream. I feel a poke on my shoulder and turn at my right to see Ethan smiling above my shoulder. “I thought you were watching a movie,” I say confusingly.

“I was excited at first, but then they put a drama movie I have no interest in,” Ethan says boringly.

“Not your type, is it?”
“I don’t mind these movies, but that one is horrible! Who falls in love with a psychotic murder?”

I laugh loudly at his high-pitched voice. I finally spread the cheese and put the tray in the oven.

“What’s your type?” Ethan asks as he helps me put the dishes in the sink.

“I don’t know, but I prefer the ones with dragons in it,” I reply after a long time of thinking.

I take the sponge from the sink and start cleaning the dishes when both my phone and Ethan’s ring once, followed by several messages bursting through our devices. Before Ethan can reach it, we hear a loud gasp from the living room and a thunderous scream.