Rowan [NaNoWriMo 2018]

Five

"I sustain myself with the love of family." -Maya Angelou

A month and a half later...

Rowan sat on the steps of her front porch soaking in the sunshine. School had ended for the year, and Laurel was finally due to come home today. Ashley Johnson had informed them two weeks after Laurel had left that she would not be returning until the school year was over. When asked for a reason she said that testing was taking longer than planned. Rowan was highly annoyed but knew better than to push the issue. Laurel was supposed to be home for two weeks before starting university. Rowan looked forward to hearing about what her older sister would be studying. The front door opened and Rowan turned her to see who it was.

"Hey," Samuel greeted. "May I join you?"

"Of course, Dad," she replied.

Samuel settled his lanky frame on the step sitting next to her. "So kid, I have to tell you something."

Rowan stiffened. "Okay."

"For us to have Laurel home for two weeks, we had to agree to some stipulations."

Rowan blew her breath. "And what in the world would that be?"

"For Laurel to be able to stay here with us we had to agree to an Official staying here as well. If not she would be staying in a hotel and could only have stayed two nights."

Rowan scowled. "Do they not trust her or something?"

Samuel shrugged. "I think they don't want her to be swayed by anything family members may say, and they don't want her to talk about the details of testing."

"So where is the Official going to sleep?" Rowan asked, fighting the urge to roll her eyes.

"Alder will sleep on the pull-out couch, and the Official will sleep in his room. Your mother and I decided that this arrangement would be the most beneficial to your and Laurel's privacy," Samuel answered.

Rowan gave Samuel a little smile. "Good thinking, Dad."

"Now Rowan, I do need you to remember your manners and your allegiance to Icamera while your sister is here," Samuel sternly reminded his daughter.

"I will be on my best behavior," Rowan promised.

Rowan heard a vehicle and looked up, shielding her eyes from the sun. She saw a white van approaching and let out a small squeal.

"Let me go get your mom and brother," Samuel said as he stood to his feet.

The van pulled into the driveway. The driver door opened and the man that was there the day that Laurel left got out. He nodded to Rowan and walked around to the passenger side back door and opened it. Rowan watched as he extended a hand to Laurel. Laurel slowly walked around the van. She was wearing a charcoal gray pencil skirt, black flats, and a hot pink collared shirt. Rowan also noticed her necklace around Laurel's neck. Rowan tried to be patient and wait for her sister to reach the porch, but she couldn't. She jumped down the stairs and ran to Laurel, her face breaking into a wide smile. Rowan almost knocked Laurel over in a huge hug. Laurel laughed and returned the hug. Rowan kept her arm across her sister's shoulders as they turned and headed for the porch. The rest of the family stood at the bottom, and Rowan dropped her arm so that everyone else could greet Laurel.

After the initial greeting Laurel asked for everyone's attention. "Mom, Dad, Alder, and Rowan I'd like to introduce you to Matthew. He's my assigned Official. And he's not too terrible," she said laughing.

Matthew grinned. "Thanks for that Laurel. Thank you all for allowing me to stay in your home during Laurel's visit. She's ecstatic about this day."

"Can we go inside now? The sun is hot," Alder whined.

"Yes, we can go inside," Rebekah answered.

Once inside Samuel and Rebekah gave Matthew a tour of the house and showed him where he'd be sleeping. Laurel and Rowan raced upstairs to Laurel's room.

"Wow," Laurel whispered.

"What?" Rowan asked.

"It just seems so weird to be back in my room," she answered. "It is so different than my dorm room. And thank goodness for that."

Rowan smiled. "The only thing that'll be different for me will be sharing my bathroom with the shower hog."

"Oh pitiful you," Laurel joked.

The sisters lay on their backs across Laurel's bed.

"So, did you meet any boys at school?" Rowan inquired.

Laurel snorted. "It's not exactly a place you want to meet boys. Did you meet any boys at school?"

Rowan elbowed her sister. "Not a chance. I continue to be underwhelmed by the males at my school."

"Why am I not surprised by this information?" Laurel asked.

Rowan shrugged."Oh, what will you be studying in college?"

"I wanted to wait until dinner and tell everyone at once," replied Laurel.

"That's fair," Rowan agreed.

Dinner was loud and cheery at the Wise home that night. Rebekah had fixed a beautiful meal of spaghetti, homemade garlic bread, and Caesar salad- it was Laurel's favorite meal. About halfway through dinner Rowan again asked Laurel what she would be studying.

The room fell silent as Laurel answered. "I will be studying the Icameran government and will most likely serve as an Official upon graduation."

Rebekah beamed at her daughter. "That's great sweetheart; the government was what you wanted to do."

"Thanks, Mom, I'm really looking forward to this opportunity."

Rowan studied her sister with narrowed eyes. She wanted to address the issue further but knew she'd get into trouble. As she sat in deep thought, she felt like someone was staring at her. When she looked up, she saw that Matthew was staring right at her. When their eyes met, Matthew looked away. Rowan felt a shiver go down her spine.

Later that night Rowan and Laurel were lying in Rowan's bed. It was the furthest away from where Matthew slept so they decided to sleep in there so they could talk.

"Are you excited about working as an Official?" Rowan asked her sister, her voice barely a whisper.

"No. I'm terrified," Laurel answered so quietly that Rowan thought she imagined it.

Author's Note:

Yay!!! Two updates today! I'm so very behind for NaNoWriMo, but I'm going to keep on keeping on. Thanks for reading. Your feedback and votes are great motivators for me. I appreciate you all very much! <3

-Kennedy