Day 10: Write a scene where some kind of emergency occurs.
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He knew it was her just by the sound of her heels. Click-clock-click-clock... He wasn't sure how he knew, but he grimaced as he realized it must have been the sound of urgency and determination in her step. Alex's older sister Penelope always walked with some sort of purpose, and her worried vibe had been familiar to him since day one.
The sound of her heels grew louder and louder, which meant she was getting closer and closer. He slowly looked up and their identical green eyes instantly met.
"Sorry," he said.
Penelope sighed and shook her head before opening the door to the Principal's office and stepping in, her pregnant belly leading the way.
Alex couldn't remember exactly when he'd started stirring up trouble at school. He closed his eyes and remembered biting a boy in the first grade, sticking bubble gum into his crush's hair in the fourth, and nearly breaking someone's neck in an attempt to skateboard over their head in the ninth. He guessed that he had probably always been that way. And ever since he could remember, it was always Penelope that got him out of it.
She wasn't like him; was the complete opposite, actually. She had always been the smartest in class, the most well-behaved, the teacher's pet, the role model. Unfortunately, her niceness didn't rub off on him though.
But she did try. Oh, did she try her best to tame him. After all, who was going to raise him and tell him right from wrong if not her? Their parents had long left this earth. Alex couldn't even remember their faces.
No, all he remembered was Penelope doing everything for him. Even now that she was married and was about to have a kid, nothing had changed. But it wasn't like he had no plan to. Of course, he was well aware that his sister had a broad life that didn't just include him. She had bigger things to worry about, and Alex wanted to make things a little easier for her. Old habits just die hard.
Eventually, Penelope and Principal Kravitz' conversation ended and she left without even turning to look at Alex. She knew he'd be following close behind her, and Alex felt a sense of dread. Quiet Penelope was never a good sign.
She didn't say a word to him as they exited the building and walked through the school's front parking lot. All around them, groups of high school students were chattering noisily, but Alex kept his head down. He knew he wasn't in the position to be all happy and saying hi to friends. Maybe if he looked guilty Penelope would take it easy on her.
They boarded Penelope's SUV and she started the engine.
"Spitballs in class? Really?" she sighed as she pulled out of the parking area. "What are you? Twelve?"
"Ryan started it." Alex stifled a laugh.
"Okay. So you're both twelve."
"Kenny was in on it, too."
"Seriously?" she groaned and ran a hand through her face in exasperation. "And I thought he was the mature one."
"Were there really any mature boys when you were in High School, Pen?" he said. "Because I highly doubt that there even is such a thing."
"Marty was mature," she said fake-dreamily, referring to her first boyfriend.
"Whoa, whoa, slow down. You're married. Wipe that stupid grin off your face."
Hearing his sister say that about her ex was gross, but atleast she wasn't mad. Maybe a little irritated, but nothing major. It was probably because the school had called her out of her job for such a small offence. Things with them always got back to normal pretty quick. After all, they were all they had. There was no use getting mad at your only family.
They stopped by KFC and talked about the rest of their day on the car ride home. There wasn't much traffic yet, so they got there rather fast.
Alex and Penelope settled on the kitchen counter as they feasted on their chicken wings. Alex looked at his sister and thought that she really must have been hungry, because she gobbled up her food in a flash.
"Okay," Penelope burped. "That was delicious."
"Are you sure you tasted it? It looked like you just vacuumed it right in."
"Hey. Don't judge the pregnant lady." Penelope stood up to wash her hands in the sink. She turned back around to grab a towel, but all of a sudden froze. "Ow," she grunted.
"Wh-what's wrong?" Alex asked, suddenly nervous.
Before Penelope could answer, the awkward sound of trickling water entered their ears. Slowly, she looked down.
"Alex," she said, swallowing hard. "My water just broke."
"What?!"
"Hurry! Call Dan!"
Alex was frazzled for a moment and didn't know what to do. His sister started screaming and that's when he leapt for the phone and dialed her husband's number. They had a pretty short conversation before Alex found himself half-carrying his sister to the back of their car. The only problem was, he didn't have a license yet, and he wasn't even sure how this was done, but he sped out of their driveway anyway, too worried about getting Penelope to the hospital in time to care about anything else. As they wheeled out of the suburbs and into the city, he wondered quietly why he didn't just call an ambulance.
Adrenaline must have guided him well because surprisingly, they made it to the hospital without a problem. By the time the nurses got to his sister with a wheelchair, she was groaning and breathing heavily, her dark hair plastered to her forehead with sweat. He followed her up the elevator and through the hallways to her room but slowed down when he realized what was about to happen. His sister was about to give birth. A tiny human was going to emerge squealing from her...
He couldn't bring himself to finish the thought.
"Stay out here," Penelope breathed as they were about to enter the room. "Wait for Dan."
Alex nodded and watched his sister disappear behind a closed door. He slumped down on a chair in the hallway. "Glad I didn't have to see that," he sighed.
Now, all he could do, was wait.
