Road to Someplace

Chapter Ten

 It took a while to fall asleep. I heard some mumbles in the night, but not much else. i eventually did get my rest, only to be woken up to a pillow slamming into my face.

"Get your ass up!" Raveena called, smacking my head with a soft pillow. I let out a groan, and swatted aimlessly at her, clawing at the air. She only snorted, and started tugging at my wrist, dragging me out of the bed. I toppled onto the ground, my whole body aching. I slowly rose up from the ground, attempting to kick Raveena while rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. I hit her kneecap with my ankle, with hurt me more than it did her. I winced, a sharp crack of pain running through my foot. Raveena smirked.

She left me alone for a few minutes to change. I slipped into a short-sleeved flannel shirt and a pair of cargo shorts. I laid around for a few minutes, too lazy to get up.

When I finally left the bedroom, I couldn't find Raveena. I stumbled around the house blindly, lost in the impossibly large hallways and rooms. After walking around most of the house, I finally found Hailey and Raveena in the office.

Raveena was sitting at one of the desks, and Hailey stood over her. Because of the height difference, however, they were basically the same size with Raveena sitting down. I shuffled forward to see what the two were up to.

Raveena had the graphic tablet I had seen earlier in her lap, the stylus in her hand. Her eyebrows were pinched together in thought. Her tongue was poking out of her mouth, as it tended to when she was focusing. She was sketching, and was clearly having some troubles with the unfamiliar system. Hailey gave her a few pointers, and lightly guided Raveena's hands from behind the chair, occasionally giggling at Raveena's confusion. Raveena looked a bit flustered, and sighed in frustration as her hand slipped, created a big streak through her drawing. Hailey tapped an undo button in the corner for her. Raveena huffed, but kept drawing. I took a few steps closer.

I watched Hailey teach Raveena how to use the tablet. Raveena and I squabbled a bit, me making fun of her trouble with the tablet, Raveena retorting back with critiques of my horrendous drawing skills. Hailey only giggled. She wordlessly guided Raveena's hands a number of times, adjusting her grip on the stylus and fixing little imperfections in the doodle.

Eventually, shortly before I left the room, Hailey and Raveena switched places. Raveena watched as Hailey worked on some art for The Songbirds, her hands tousling and playing with Hailey's hair, which was in waterfall braids. I left in the middle of one of Hailey's lessons on drawing with a graphic tablet, shutting the door behind me softly.

I wandered to the kitchen. Stewart was in the kitchen, and handed me a breakfast consisting of toast, a few eggs, and a black coffee. I ate it, then hung out with Hailey and Raveena for a while longer. We sat outside on a porch, making small talk, occasionally bursting into uncontrollable laughter.

We were near one of the kitchen windows, so we could see when lunch was starting. Stewart was noticeably absent from the room, which, according to Hailey, was a bit peculiar. I strolled in, leaving Hailey and Raveena outside to chat and laugh. I approached Sophia, who was pulling out piles of plates, pots, and pans. She smiled at me as I came closer.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" I offered. She shook her head. "No, it's fine," She said. "Are you sure?" I asked. She considered it for a moment, pursing her lips in thought. "Sure, thank you," She said, scooting over to the other side of the counter, leaving ample space for me.

I mentioned I wasn't exactly adept at cooking. She waved it off. "Don't worry, when we started off, Stewart and I could burn mac-n'-cheese easy, but our dad taught us. I doubt you could be much worse than me as a kid," She said. I grinned. "I wouldn't bet on it," Sophia laughed, her lips pulled into a bright smile.