DESTINY

CHAPTER THREE

    CHAPTER THREE

 I close the door quickly once Kitty is inside. I look through the glass siding around the door to see if Rick is still there. He stares back at me, his confusion obvious on his face. I shew him away with my hand. He finally turns away. I click the front porch lights off when Rick is back on the sidewalk. Turning around, I see Kitty with her back to the wall, her head low. I begin to reach out for my sister, but I stop.

 "Your back!" Mom says walking into the entryway. 

 "Hey mama." Kitty says with a smile, head up.

 "Hey honey. Serendipity, you look ill, are you okay dear?" She asks, taking my wrist in her hands. Before I can assure her I am fine, she goes on to say, "Oh, my poor dears, you probably haven't eaten! Come on, my girls, dinner can be thrown in the microwave and be eaten up right away!" Mom keeps her firm grip on my arm as she practically runs to the kitchen. Kitty floats into the kitchen behind mom and me. Even when she isn't with those people from school, when she acts like herself, she still flies around like a little fairy.

 Mama has two bowls of tomato soup in front of us in no time. Kitty and I sit at the round wooden table in the kitchen. We begin eating and mama joins us with a cup of tea. "So, how did today go?" She asks.

 "Good." Kitty says.

 "Serendipity, you have been more quiet than usual. Is anything wrong?" she asks.

 "No! No, no, really, I'm fine." I say. It feels weird saying that to her. I don't want to call it lying- when I lied to India I felt awful. I would die if I lied to my mom. So instead of staying on the subject, I change it. "Kitty certainly had a fun time today."

 "Oh really!" Mom says excitedly.

 "Seri..." Kitty scowls at me. Mom looks from me to Kitty.

 "Serendipity, what do you mean?"

 "Never mind." I say. 

 It is quiet for a few minutes, only the sound of Kitty and me sipping the soup from our spoons. Then, the sound of dad's office door creaks from in the house. His footsteps thump through the house until he stops at the door of the kitchen.

 "Hello, girls. How was school?" He asks. He acts as if he would any other day, like it wasn't nine forty eight at night. 

 "It was a good last day." I say.

 "Good, good. Kitty?"

 "Same." She manages to say. I look at her now, her previous answer grabbing my attention. She stares at dad, watching him intently as he gets a glass of water. 

 "Tests go well?" He asks. Kitty's hand begins to shake, so she lets go of the spoon to make it less noticeable, but she drops it instead. The loud noise gets dad's attention and makes mom jump. I just keep staring at her.

 "I'm sorry." Kitty mumbles, standing from her chair. She takes her half empty bowl and walks to the sink. She sets it in it and walks out of the kitchen.

 "Is she alright?" Mom asks. She gets up from the table, leaving her tea. Mom goes after Kitty. "Kitty-"

 "Mom, she's fine." I say. Mom looks back at me and dad just watches. He doesn't say a thing, just looks at me to hear what I have to say. "She's just tired, I can tell."

 "Something is wrong, though." Mom objects.

 "I'm her twin, I'm the older of us; I know when my younger sister is tired or upset. She is just tired." I say. Mom and dad just look at me. Do they know I am talking falsely to them? "I can still go and talk to her though, if you'd like."