Imperfect Android

Chapter 2

Teagen was sitting in her living room still holding the card tightly. Her mother was making dinner and her father was in his office working. Teagen's sister Naru, who was 14 years old, walked in. Her bright brown eyes glistened.
"Who was at the door?" she asked.
"No one." Teagen replied.
"But I heard you talking..."
"I said no one!" Teagen snapped.
Naru walked into the kitchen slowly, avoiding Teagen's gaze. Her brother Lore followed. He was 12 years old. Lore looked up at Teagen and smiled. She couldn't help, but smile back. Being the oldest, at 17, meant that she had to take care of her siblings.
Teagen's mother set the dinner on the table. There was soup steaming in a large pot. Her father then walked in with a tired look on his face.
"I have to get a new job." he mumbled. "We need the money and I can't take these long hours anymore."
Everyone sat at the table and began eating. Their father's grey eyes shifted. He then took out his Electropad. The floating words encircled him as the device turned on. He read through the employment sections of the news.
"Not at the table Jerdin." his wife sighed. "We talked about this."
He quickly turned it off. Their mother pushed back her hair. The brown waves cascading down her back. Everyone sipped their soup as the sound of the spoons hit the bowls.
"Why don't we talk about our days." their mother suggested. "Lore, you first."
"I built a machine!" he said.
"Not another." said Naru.
Lore had a tendency of building contraptions.
"It makes a room fill with fog in a matter of seconds!" Lore said excitedly.
"What could you possibly do with that?" Naru said sarcastically.
Lore's face turned pink as he looked at the floor.
"How about you Naru." her mother asked.
"Not much." she said, pushing her remaining soup with her spoon.
"Tegan?" her mother asked.
"I...um.", Teagen said as she fingered the card in her pocket.
"I just read on the Electropad." she lied.
Teagen got up out of her seat and went down the hall to her room. She sat on her bed thinking about the strange man.
Should I come? She thought.
Teagen heard the rest of the family walk to their rooms. One by one, each light went out. First, Naru's room. Then, Lore's. Then, her parents. Lastly, Teagen turned off her lamp. She sat up in her green quilted bed. While sitting in the darkness, she could almost see the pale blue eye of Mr. Gallows.