Those With Wings

Getting to Know You (or Not)

Zero

It didn't take me long to give the two strange people in my house a glare. Luanna and Alex. Something was just different--off--about those two. I just knew it. 

It was a gut feeling, I admit. But It's not like it wasn't true. 

It was later that night that I finally had the courage to talk to at least one of them, Luanna. "So..." I started as I sat next to her on the couch. The only thing she gave me--and aggravated glance.  Why was she so angry with me? What did I do this time? Clearly I only helped her.

Right?

She raised her right eyebrow slightly. This was strange. She just gave me a simple look before going to the coffee table, picking up her glass of hot chocolate (something she told us she hadn't ever had until today...not to mention almost every food was new to her. Where was she from anyway?) I for sure didn't believe she was living off the land. Her English was strange. It was if she didn't know what the words 'didn't', 'don't', 'won't' 'can't' and other words like that were. Her brother was the same way, only he was trying to fit in more than she was. They didn't even know what telephones were. Luanna nearly smashed ours when it rang. It scared her. Yet she knew what books were, and man did she like to read. 

Over the next week, she read more books than I've ever seen anyone read in a week. If it was in our house, she read it. I had a lot of books, but she combed through my whole entire collection within five days, including all the larger series of books. I still don't know how she managed to do that. Alex slept in my room at night, Luanna slept on the couch. Yet for some reason she didn't even bother anyone with her reading. She just was strange.

Strange. Those two kids were strange.

Yes, strange.

Now here I was packing my stuff into boxes and she just finished my mother's collection of romance novels and novellas. She finally moved onto Lord of the Rings, and I swear she was going to finish that by the end of the day. They were the only books left in the house she hadn't read besides the cookbooks. Luanna sat in the window seat in my room, watching the park from across the road and reading the book. I just packed more of my clothes into boxes. This sucked. Not only was I moving, but I've had to keep quiet that two crazy lunatics were living in my house. Or, one crazy lunatic bookworm and Alex, who was attempting to be a better brother than I was to my little sister. We've had to keep my two friends--and cousins--Travis and Jack from coming over and wishing us goodbye because of those two lunatics. 

It didn't take long, but my father finally found a cheap apartment to rent until he was finally transferred out. None of us were looking forward to it. I was missing a summer with my friends--family--to go sit in an apartment with no one I knew but my family and the lunatics. 

"Don't you guys have like anything with you?" I asked while I gave Luanna another glare. Their clothes looked a bit out of place. Luanna hand washed them while she wore some of my clothes (against my will) yesterday, but it was still the fact they'd been wearing them the whole week now. She was much more comfortable wearing her white 'rags' than to look normal like the rest of us.

Wherever in the world did they fall from, anyway? You can't just fall out of the sky.

"Where did you fall from anyway?" I asked, noticing that Luanna didn't even bother to answer my first question. Alex had entered the room and sat next to her. What idiots. They just ignored everything and didn't have a care in the world. Luanna was a bookworm and Alex was just trying to help as much as possible and assimilate into society.

They shared a glance together until Alex blurted out, "From the sky."

Haha. They just fell from the sky. Like angels.

Luanna rolled her eyes, "We were in a hot air balloon, idiot. Of course you wouldn't remember. You got this bright idea that it'd be funny to jump." Her English was improving, same with her sarcasm. She was learning from reading all those books.

My eyes narrowed, "I saw no balloon."

She shrugged it off, "Well, we didn't just fall out of nowhere now did we?" Her words were sarcastic and quite bitter. Didn't know books could have that effect on someone.

She made a good point, I thought in return. I became a little less certain of myself now. There might've been a hot air balloon. I mean there had to be something. I was just more focused on the clouds.

Luanna smiled at me. She actually smiled at me. I found myself smiling back. Her smile was just so bright and warm, like an angel's-

Stop it, Zero. That's about the gazillionth time you've compared her to an angel. Stop being so thickheaded.

"You should probably ask my mom for some clothes," I said roughly, dropping my bag, ripping it open and tossing Alex some clothing. "There you go," I murmered.

He ran past me. "Thanks!"

I chuckled, but Luanna folded her arms. I huffed. "Why are you so angry with me for no apparent reason?"

She softened a bit. "Thanks for taking us in," she mumbled.

I grinned at her. "You're welcome, but I didn't do anything, my parents decided."

She shrugged, and smiled. "Thanks anyway."

Luanna then hesitated. "I'm sorry you have to move, I mean, this must've been your home for years."

I shrugged. "Well yeah, but nothing much ever happened, it never really felt like a home to me."

She gave me a strange look, and her hazel eyes widened. "It still sucks," she mumbled.

I nodded. "Well, yeah...But isn't there anyone looking for you two, like, foster parents or something? Or people from an orphanage?"

She turned away abruptly. "I ought to get changed," she said in an annoyed voice.

Before I could say anything else, she walked away quickly, and I scoffed to myself.

This is going to be a tough, tough relationship.