Internet Tensions

Lola sat comfortably on the couch, wearing her trademark pink dress, her crown glimmering atop her head as she scrolled through YouTube on her tablet. She was lost in the world of makeup tutorials and pageant clips, and the Wi-Fi connection seemed to be working perfectly fine for her—no lag, no interruptions.

Meanwhile, Lana was sprawled out on the carpet, clutching a PlayStation controller and staring at the screen in frustration. She was in the middle of a chaotic match in GTA5 with a few of her friends, but her character kept lagging, glitching, and rubberbanding around the screen. It was impossible to drive properly, let alone try to complete any missions. She could hear her friends complaining in her headset, which only made her more irritated.

Lana threw a quick glare over her shoulder at Lola, who was obliviously giggling at whatever video she was watching. Lana's patience finally snapped. "Get off, sis!" she yelled, her voice echoing through the living room. "You're hogging the Wi-Fi!"

Lola barely glanced up from her screen, her expression annoyed. "I can't! I'm watching a video!" she shot back, emphasizing the last word as if it was obvious that nothing could be more important.

Lana rolled her eyes. "Well, watch it later! I'm trying to play online here!" Her character on screen stuttered and froze mid-jump, which only made her grip the controller tighter.

But Lola just crossed her arms stubbornly. "No! I'm in the middle of it, and I can't pause it!" She turned her attention back to the video, as if Lana's struggles were nothing more than background noise.

Lana let out an exasperated groan and turned back to her game, but the connection issues only got worse. Her friends were getting impatient, too, asking why she kept glitching out. "It's my sister!" she snapped into her headset. "She won't get off YouTube, and it's ruining my game!"

A cacophony of complaints from her friends filled her ears, and Lana knew there was no point in continuing. Frustrated, she logged off the game and tossed the controller onto the floor. She turned to Lola, hands on her hips, her face flushed with anger.

"Why do you have to be such a baby about everything?" Lana huffed.

Lola looked up, raising an eyebrow in disbelief. "Me? You're the one who's throwing a fit because your game is slow!" she shot back.

The two sisters glared at each other, tension crackling in the air. Then, all of a sudden, a voice boomed from the kitchen. It was Lynn Sr., their dad, who had clearly overheard the whole argument. "Girls! It's just the Wi-Fi! How about you take a break from screens and go outside?"

Lana and Lola both groaned in unison, rolling their eyes. But deep down, they knew he was probably right. Lana's game would still be there later, and Lola's videos weren't going anywhere. Begrudgingly, they shuffled out of the living room, muttering under their breaths about Wi-Fi and unfair siblings. And despite their grumbling, the fresh air outside felt a little better than they expected.