The Ritual

Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

                “So this is the ‘fabulous college’ you were talking about?” I rolled my eyes at my older brother, David. He just grinned at me.

                “Trust me, all the good stuff happens when the lights go out.” He nudged my shoulder, winking. And it was at that moment that my parents walked up.

                “Nothing will be happening when any lights go out, young man,” my father said sternly, narrowing his gold-green eyes. David had the decency to blush.

                “Now we expect you to take good care of your little sister,” my mom said, shaking a finger at him. Yep, you heard right. Shaking her finger.

                David rolled his eyes. “Come on, Mom. You know I’ll keep an eye on this little runt.” He got me in a head-lock and ruffled my hair.

                “Let go of me, you jerk!” I screeched, pulling out of his grip. Great. Now my hair was even more of a mess than it was.

                I must have had a peeved look on my face, because David starting laughing so hard I thought that he might’ve blown a brain fuse, or something.

                “Wow, Snip, what crawled up your butthole?” He asked, still chuckling to himself.

                “Don’t be disgusting,” I snapped, attempting to fix my hair. “And don’t call me ‘Snip’.”

                He rolled his eyes, a mixture of Mom’s aquatic blue’s and Dad’s golden-green’s, coming out in an attractive grouping of gold, green, blue and lavender-gray rings around his irises. Me? Not so lucky.

                “You know, I would’ve thought that you’d be happy, finally getting to be on your own. Maybe you’re actually acting like a little priss because you’ll miss your Mommy and Daddy.” He laughed again, snorting like a pig.

                It’s times like these when I really wish I didn’t have an older brother.

                “Come on now, David,” Mom said, swatting him on the arm and using her I’m not too angry now, but one wrong move and it’s the end voice on him, and David snapped to attention. I smirked.

                “I don’t know, David,” I couldn’t help but sneer. “Looks like you’re the one who’s still a child at heart.”

                He stuck his tongue out at me, and I made a pig nose right back.

                My parents sighed. “To be honest, I don’t know if I’m exactly ready to let the two of you be off on your own like this,” Dad said. “David, of course, has been here for a couple of years, and I’d rather not know what’s been going on behind closed doors. But with the two of you together…well, let’s just hope this school is still standing in a few months.”

                “Come on, Dad,” David said. “Give me a little credit here. Etienne and I lived together for eighteen years. We share the same blood.” Not a fact that I was necessarily proud of. “I’m sure we can handle it.”

                “Yeah, Dad,” I agreed, slugging his shoulder playfully. “What’s the worst that could happen, really?”

                My Mom visibly paled, and my Dad rolled his eyes. “I hope I don’t have to answer that; I don’t want to risk it.”