✔ SLAPSHOT ✖ irwin au

twenty-four.

k a r r i s

✖

It was that part of the week where the weekend was so close, yet so far. I still had two more full days of school, plus practice before I could bask in weekend shenanigans. And when I say shenanigans, what I really mean is wearing sweatpants all day, watching movies, and sneaking in a few extra cookies into my system. But alas, it was only Thursday, and my weekend endeavors only seemed like a dream.

As I sat on the kitchen table, eating a gigantic bowl of oatmeal with several types of exotic toppings only my mother and a health guru could explain the significance of each, I looked over my notes for the Biology exam I had that day. In the midst of memorizing what a Golgi Apparatus and a Cytoplasm does in either an animal or a plant cell, my mother strolled into the kitchen. Her kitten heels click-clacked against the hard-wood floors as she made a b-line straight for the Keurig coffeemaker.

"Good morning anak," mom greeted, shooting me a smile before she proceeded to choose which kind of coffee to brew that morning.

(translation: my child)

"Morning," my voice was muffled, as there was a huge spoonful of oatmeal in my mouth at that point. I swallowed my breakfast, "how long will you be working today?"

"Till about 4PM. One of my patients will be discharged today," she explained, rummaging through the bottom cabinet beneath the Keurig for one of her many coffee carafes. "I'm thinking I'll cook pasta tonight. Is Berkley taking you home after Science Club today? She can stay for dinner."

I cringed, "I have to ask her."

"I haven't told you lately how proud of you I am baby," mom beamed at me with pride. "After everything with your brother, and switching schools, you still keep your mind on your education."

"It's no big deal, really," I felt guilty. I was sitting on a throne of lies and didn't deserve a word of my mom's compliments.

This entire time she's believed that her only daughter has been spending every afternoon building robots and analyzing Einstein's Theory of Relativity. I used to be my parents' easy child. Gabe used to be the one who'd sneak out, lie, and use his charm to get himself out of trouble. I was the obedient one; the one who stayed a wallflower because that's where I felt the most comfortable. But here I was, disobeying my parents for my own selfish reasons.

And speaking of selfish -- Sebastian Grey. I still hadn't forgotten what he said to me several days ago at the last home game. Apparently my parents were taking him to court again, and seeing how the law works, Sebastian couldn't be tried again for the murder of my brother.

"Mom?" I looked up from my oatmeal.

"Yes, anak?" she responded, a smile still on her face as she mixed creamer into her coffee.

"Are you and dad taking Sebastian to court again?" I went straight to the point; no beating around the bush because I just had to know.

Mom sighed and her smile faltered, "we can't drop this, yet."

"But are you even sure it's Sebastian? He was found not guilty, so Gabe's..." I paused. Saying the word that represented the action and fate of my twin, was a word I dared not speak around my mom.

"He could still be out there, yes," mom continued.

My stomach was twisting into tight knots, and I was pretty sure the culprit to my stinging tummy wasn't the chia seeds or goji berries that which were peppered throughout my oatmeal. I knew Sebastian murdered my twin, but the more my parents pressed the idea, the more their lives were in danger. I didn't want an innocent person to go to jail for Sebastian's unthinkable deed, but I was also scared of what would happen if he did go to jail.