He says"Hi."

6

Meanwhile...

Marcus was walking home from Daniel's house. The early release from school meant they were given an a opportunity to revise for an upcoming history quiz. As he was on his way home he decided to text Ana-Lia.

[Big Sis 15:00]
Hey, went to Daniel's for a bit. Are you at home or with Noah?

He waited for a minute or two for a reply but received none.

Hmph, she must be with him.

He took another quick glance at his phone, only to have the small delivered receipt stating back at him. With a shrug, Marcus put it in his pocket and continued his walk. Barley a minute later, he heard his phone ringing.

Ring
Ring
[Incoming call from Daniel]

With a groan of annoyance he answered the phone and aggressively slapped it against his ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey man."

"You forget something already?" Marcus asked unsurprised.

"What are you talking about?"

"Mate, you almost never call me unless it's an emergency or you forgot something, now get on with it." he said, his voice slightly monotone.

"Ugh, I hate you sometimes."

"Feeling's mutual mate, so what do you want?"

"It is just a quick clarification for the quiz, what was the purpose for the Scramble of Africa, again?"

"Remember the three G's?"

"The hell?"

"Glory, Gold and God, just use those points and elaborate them from the textbook."

"Much appreciated."

"Yeah whatever, I'm nearing home so I gotta hang up now."

"Aight, cheers."

"Cheers, mate."

***

Play music now

Marcus approached the door, quickly searching his pockets for his keys. Once he heard the click of the handle he made his way inside. His eyes met dark interior, confirming his suspicion of the house being empty.

Locking the door behind him, Marcus made his way upstairs. On the way to his room, something caught his eyes. That something was coming from his sister's room. He walked towards it and realised that what he saw a foot. Not thinking much of it, he marched inside to confirm if what he saw was really there.

"What the hell?" He uttered.

He was frozen stiff by the sight in front of him. On the floor, there lay his sister, unconscious.

"Ana-Lia?" He asked as he knelt down.

But there was no response.

Shit.

He leaned his head closer for any signs of laughter or at the very least a quivering lips, just incase she was a playing a trick on him.

"Hey, come on, quit taking the piss." He demanded, whilst lightly smacking her face.

Once again, silence was his only response. Following this, Marcus soon realized that this seemed too real to be any type of joke.

"Ana-Lia, please."

This time he was met with a low groan and without any hesitation he quickly helped Ana-Lia onto the bed in order to further see what the matter was.

Upon a close examination, he noticed beads of sweat starting to form on her forehead and her breathing had become hitched. Marcus' worry started increasing the longer he saw his sister in this state.

Not knowing what to do Marcus grabbed Ana-Lia by the shoulder and gently started to shake her, hoping the it would wake her up. A soft inaudible whisper escaped Ana-Lia's mouth.

"What d-do you want from m-me?"

Marcus looked at her in confusion and all he could do at that moment was shake her and continue begging her to wake up.

"Please... s-stop." she whispered.

Marcus noticed tears streaming down her cheek, with one final attempt he began shaking Ana-Lia awake. She finally woke up with a loud gasp. Putting his arm around his sister, he guided Ana-Lia's breathing.

"Breath in."

"Breathe out."

"Breathe in."

"That's it, nice and slow." He instructed.

With her hand on her chest, Ana-Lia regained composure. She turned her head to see Marcus sitting beside her with a relieved expression plastered on his face. A sigh leaving his mouth at the realisation that she was okay. Not knowing the current situation was confused to see her brother in her room.

"Marcus? When did you get here?" She asked.

"Not too along ago." He answered plainly.

"What happened?"

"That's what I would like to know too."