The Secrets of the Aorta Ruins

Chapter Three

Becca could hear the school bus pulling up and the front door close as Zack let himself in. Their parents were both still at work. She met him at the top of the stairs to greet him. It was finally Friday and she would be returning to school with him on Monday. The week had dragged on slowly, but she had managed to fill her time in with reading, kicking around her soccer ball, and of course several text conversations with Derek.

"Hey, I'm up here! How was school today?" she asked.

"Mom and dad at work still?" he asked.

She shrugged, "Yeah of course, why?"

"Then it sucked, it was school," he answered and they both laughed. He climbed up the stairs, taking them two at a time, his back pack slung over one shoulder. He gave her a hug once he reached the top of the stairs. They walked into his room, him dropping his backpack to the floor with a loud thud.

"Got a lot of homework over the weekend?" She asked. The only response she received was a loud groan. She took that as a yes as he emptied the contents of the bag onto the floor. Becca looked them over, it looked like he had brought home every text book he had. She didn't remember having nearly that much homework in that grade. But then again, he always got better grades than she did anyway.

"Got something for every class?" she asked still looking over the pile.

"Yup," he groaned, "And it's Friday!"

"Well, I guess we should get started then," she grabbed one of the books until she saw it was math. She pushed that one towards him, shaking her head, "Nope, you're on your own with that. I can help with the rest though," Despite being three grades below his older sister, he was already in more advanced math than she was. She couldn't understand any of his math at all and decided to skim his history book while he struggled through his high-level math. Occasionally he would mutter to himself and Becca would give him a sympathetic look, but she didn't understand a word he was saying. A few hours in to the mountain of homework, she decided she needed more coffee. She headed down the stairs to find their mother had already come home and was in the kitchen. Becca helped herself to the last bit of coffee she had made earlier in the day, adding in milk and sugar.

"Ready to go back to school on Monday?" her mother asked.

"I guess, but I've been learning more being home," she said with a laugh.

"Only about what you're interested in though dear," her mother replied.

"True, but that's what I pay attention to in school too. Proven fact. Who pays attention when they aren't interested mom?"

"That doesn't mean you shouldn't try!"

"Gotta go! Helping Zack with his homework. His teachers were feeling mean today," she said before sipping her coffee down to a level that allowed her to run up the stairs, closing the door behind her once back in the bedroom. He closed his math book and looked up at her curiously.

"Mom," she said, answering the unasked question. She resumed an Indian styled sitting position on the floor, closing the history text book she had been skimming, "Math done? What one next?"

"History, since that's the one you're waiting for. Then science ok?" he said smiling, pulling out those two books. The pair had only gotten through history before getting called down for dinner, and they had only barely finished. Zack was still only studying Aldenmoore history at his grade level, whereas Becca's class was finally exploring other lands even if it wasn't as quickly as she was hoping. She wondered if her younger brother even knew other races than human even existed on the other continents, but her curiosity would have to wait until after dinner.