The Valdez Affair

4. Digging A Little Deeper

Saturday mornings were divine for some people. They were right in the centre of the weekend. There was still another day left to relax before school started and an entire morning could be wasted without  any major guilt trips. 

I thought differently and the twins - at least one of them - and my job were to blame.

Hayley often complained about having a younger brother who constantly invaded her privacy and did every single thing humanly possible to annoy the wits out of her. Me? I had two younger siblings who were twins.

Victor and Violette were adorable when they were babies. They still were . . When they weren't brainstorming the newest prank to pull on me. At twelve, they could be every bit as childish as they were when they were five. But the pre-teen stage was catching up with them, especially Violette. Currently, she had an obsession with graphic tees, while Victor had started collecting different kinds of caps for some reason. 

Victor was also a light sleeper, which meant that even on a Saturday morning, he would be up early.

When I walked out of my room at seven-thirty, dressed up for work in blue jeans and layered white top, Victor was sitting in the revolving chair in our kitchen, eating a banana.

"Good morning, Ariel," he greeted me. His brown hair was disheveled as always, since he never bothered to comb it in the morning, and he was still in his pajamas.

"Morning, Vic," I replied. "Mom's not up yet?"

"Nope." My brother shook his head. "Want a banana?"

"Thanks," I said, taking the fruit from him.

"When are you going to be back?" Victor asked. 

"Probably by six," I answered. 

"What about lunch?"

"I'll grab something during my break," I replied.

"Oh. Alright." He looked down at the banana in his hand, but just a second later snapped up his head. "Can I make cereal for you?"

"Why?" I asked, confused.

"Because I want to," he said. "And you're my sister and I love you."

I chuckled, even though this wasn't surprising coming from him. Victor was very expressive about his emotions. Especially for a guy. "Sure. Go ahead."

Victor's face lit up, his brown eyes holding a spark of delight. "Awesome!"

He jumped down from the chair and ran towards the cupboard where the cornflakes packet was kept. He then rushed to the fridge to took out the can of milk.

I watched Victor in amusement. He looked like an over-excited child, as if there was electricity coursing through his veins which made him incapable of remaining still.

Half a minute later, he brought the bowl of cornflakes to me, a beam on his face.

"Thanks, Vic," I said, ruffling his hair, and then placed the bowl on the table.

Victor sat down next to me, seeming as if he were lost in thought a second later. It was nothing new, though. My brother had certain peculiar manners that always made me wonder whether he would become a scientist and spend days in labs doing what he loved to do - Think.

I bit back a smile and proceeded to eat the cereal. But not a second later that I ate it, I was forced to spit the food out.

Beside me, Victor was laughing uncontrolably. He slid out of his seat, onto the floor, laughing, and looking at me mischievously.