You're Special (Undiscovered Wattys 2014 Runner Up)

Chapter 5

"Girl, you look way too happy for 7:30 on a Monday morning," were the first words out of my sister's mouth, as I picked her up from her place before going to work.

Pappilon Salzbury was my first cousin, barely a year my junior, but with her Dad being a workaholic and Mum a socialite who forgot she had a daughter, my Mum took it upon herself to never let her niece-in-law feel less loved.

Pappilon was a rich, spoilt brat, whose aim in life, as she decided in high school, was COMOMS - Chillin' on my Ol' Man's Shillings. She was also my best friend, my twin, for all intents and purposes.

At the moment, she looked like she had partied hard all night. Which is not the first impression you want to make on your first day at a school where diapers and juice sippers were more in abundance than cigarettes and Tequila.

"What happened last night?" I asked her. She gave me her 'look'.

Now, let me tell you something about Pappilon. Her wardrobe consisted of ninety percent shorts and neon hippie tops ("Cuz Hippie is the new shiz babe!" she had said) and ten percent of actual dresses and bottoms that actually touched the skin beyond her mid thighs - a pathetic effort on my mother's behalf to provide her with decent clothes for the dreaded family dinners. Converse clad feet on my dash board and her long chestnut hair all over the place, she would raise an immaculate eyebrow from behind the Gucci shades and look at me with her 'Are you siriusly asking me that?' look. (We are all big Potterheads in my family - our not-so-guilty pleasure).

"You're changing the topic baby girl," she said, her lips pulling up in that smirk that would have her parents quivering in anticipation of something evil. "You're looking happy."

"A) I'm older than you, 'baby girl' and B) No shit, Sherlock. I'm happy."

"Mummy, you said a bad word," piped in the four year old from my backseat. "A dollar in the swear jar, woman."

Pappilon was giving ROFL a new meaning - laughing so hard she was cramped on her knees in the thankfully large leg space of my sedan. I didn't find it that funny. "Okay, kid. No more of those black and white soaps for you."

He stuck his tongue out, before turning to his now sombre aunt. "Mummy met an old 'friend' yesterday," he made air quotes at friend; I was gaping at him.

"Ooh! Was the friend a guy? It was a guy, wasn't it? Tell me you protected your Mummy's virtue!"

"Pappilon!" I exclaimed, just as Jamie said, "Mummy what is virtue?"

Never had I been happier to have reached school. Jamie ran out the car to meet his friends. I gave my sister my standard glare. "No mention of long dead virtue."

She laughed. "Tell me who the new guy is."

My lips, on their own accord, turned up as I said his name. "Aaron Kingsley."

I could see the wheels in her brain turning as she tried to put a face to the name. I could practically imagine a comic light bulb glow on top of her head as she stopped tapping her chin, her mouth forming an O.

"James' best friend! Y'all played together as kids, he would defend you when James would tease you." She patted herself on the back, proud of herself.

"5 points to Slytherin, Miss Salzbury." We got out of the car, walking towards the administrative building. "He was filling in for Dr. Davies yesterday when I met him. He has a daughter. Very sweet kid, but she's autistic. His family didn't really accept her. I offered to teach her. "

She looked thoughtful, taking it all in. "Are you gonna go down on him?"

"What?!" I choked. "Pappilon, what the hell! I am not going down on him!"

She put her hands on my shoulders, turning me to face her. With a sombre expression on her face, she said, "Selene, it's been four years since your husband died. You need to get some." She emphasized her statement with a nod. "And who better than a guy who is already in love with you?" She said cheerfully.

I heard the Principal calling my name, but there was only thing I could think of, as my sister walked away to greet her new employer.

A guy already in love with you.