Francine & Earl

Bulk*

Earl stumbled into his home that afternoon, backpack loosely swinging from one arm as he attempted to keep the aluminum pan in his arms well-balanced. Inside of it was left-over goods from the Dempsey Darlings bake sale, a fundraiser for a zoo trip for the children's ward of their local hospital. Nestled inside were also the treats he was lucky enough to purchase during lulls in the crowd, when he didn't have to work the table for his Honor Society community service. He let the heavy door slam behind him, narrowly missing the screen door before it hit his back.

It was a good thing that the house seemed empty at the moment, no telltale pair of work boots scattered across the floor by the coat closet, because Earl could already imagine his father screaming about the loud noise. Earl let out a sigh of relief at the resounding silence as he pulled his own sneakers off, and moved slowly to the kitchen, only the sound of the soft slap of his slippers filling the house. He'd be so disappointed he might cry if he accidentally dropped the food on the ground.

I guess I spoke too soon he thought as he finally entered the small kitchen space, seeing the slumped form of his younger brother spread across their small wooden table. Jared didn't give any indication that he heard Earl enter, eyes still closed and head resting on his arms.

Earl quietly sat the pan on the counter near the sink, and went to wash his hands. His brother looked like he had come straight home after track practice, his running shoes still on his feet. The fifteen year old's legs were fanned out across their hardwood floors, and Earl could see the exhaustion in the slump of his broad shoulders.

He still hadn't quite gotten over the fact that, now, both of his younger siblings towered over him. Earl was the smallest person in the house, and that showed in both stature and personality. He almost didn't dare to interact with his family, because they knew they looked intimidating and used it to their advantage. While their father was a different breed of domineering, the twins usually strutted around like the kids they were, acting larger and tougher like they had any life experience to inform that behavior.

Jared was usually the least offensive of the two, preferring to ascribe to the "tough and silent" type of accidental menacing, ignoring Earl unless absolutely necessary. Their interactions were limited to stilted hellos and goodbyes, uncomfortable grocery runs, and awkwardly bumping into each other during midnight trips to their shared bathroom.

Earl dried his hands with the hand towel he kept near the sink, the one that no one else would use because of the floral pattern, as he absently stared out the kitchen window into their overgrown backyard. The flowers he planted this past spring were already beginning to wilt with the incoming colder weather of fall. That line of thought interrupted, he suddenly felt a jolt in his pocket, and reached down to grab his phone before his alarm could blare too loudly.

Stifling a groan, Earl shut off the alarm and shoved his phone back into his jean pocket. He almost forgot he had a shift at the movie theater today, and given that it was a Friday evening, he knew it would be crowded by Dempsey standards. He shook his head in disappointment, then reached for the aluminum pan to grab a sweet out to hopefully lighten his mood. He knew that he needed to pull his work shirt on soon, thankful for the fact that Golden Cinema let their employees wear casual pants, but he was going to eat this strawberry danish to fortify himself for customer service even if it killed him.

Sending a glance over to Jared again, Earl saw the boy reach up and brush at his nose before settling back down as if he didn't move at all.

Typical, would rather pretend to be asleep than have any type of conversation Earl thought to himself while chewing his danish, and let out a sigh. He stuck his hand back into the aluminum pan, grabbing two chocolate brownies and a plate from the stack of clean dishes near the sink, placing them on the white ceramic before walking over to the kitchen table.