Flight

Chapter 3

            It only took a few minutes for my brother and me to get ready. People often think that we struggle every morning to get ready, but eighteen years of fighting over the proper way to put on a jacket, we've gotten used to it.

Deciding that we didn't have enough time to eat breakfast, we headed for the door to put on our shoes. We put on the same pair that we always wore. Despite having them for almost a year, we made sure to keep them in good shape and spotless, as if it was a thank you to Alex.

"You need to eat breakfast!" Our grandmother called from the living room. She rushed towards the pantry, quickly snatching two strawberry bagels. We took them gratefully and said a quick goodbye before opening the door to leave. I quickly stuffed mine in my mouth, more so to be able to use my hand to close the door than to eat it. We heard her give a small, almost childlike laugh as I dropped the bread into my now-free hand.

The streetlights lit up a path for us, as the rising sun was barely peaking through the thick blanket of clouds. The sidewalk was rough on this side of the street. Not many residents walked when they could just drive to wherever they needed to go, so no one really bothered to work on the path. Zach and I walked somewhat slowly, enjoying our bagels. As I was lost in my thoughts, Alex had somehow managed to sneak up on me.

"Good morning!" Alex said in an abnormally hyper voice, making me flinch.

"Why are you so awake? You can hardly walk every morning at school," my brother said, noticeably stifling laughter. Alex gave him a sideways look. He was walking behind us, but his height made it almost look like they were walking side by side.

"Just so excited to go watch a play with my best friends," Alex grinned. I turned my head to look upwards at him, cocking an eyebrow. He rolled his eyes in return.

The three of them walked on mostly in silence. The theater was rather far away, especially since they were walking. Three others were supposed to meet them there, so being late wasn't an option. As if he could read my thoughts, Zach looked at the watch on his wrist and began to walk quicker. Every year, I seem to believe the whole "twin telepathy" thing more and more.

About twenty minutes later, the building was in sight, along with a small group of impatient-looking friends: a blonde haired, short girl named Meghan, Dominic, the average height, dark haired king of soccer, and Maria, a tall, sweet girl I met in my Spanish class. I didn't think we were late, in fact, I thought we were at least five minutes early.

We quickened our pace once again to catch up with the other three. Upon reaching them, we were met with a few remarks about how slow we were. We shrugged it off and entered the dim lit theater.

After buying six tickets, we took our seats. Zach and I have been saving up to get balcony seats, knowing that we could have a section just to ourselves. The stage was quite long, though it wasn't too impressive, and had colorful props scattered around it. The room was dome shaped, filled with dark red seats. The wall was dark with golden accents and two small balconies with about eight seats, along with a third, much larger area. It smelled like vanilla, which set a warm, winter-y mood. The theater's light dimmed to almost nothing a few minutes after we got comfortable.

Once eighty minutes past, the play was over. Thunderous applause filled the arena while the actors bowed. The lights brightened, officially signaling that it was time to leave. I had to blink a few times for my eyes to adjust to the newly lit room.

We left the theater together, almost suffocating in the hoard of others. We offered to go get lunch at a nearby restaurant, but only Alex could come with us. Indifferent on where we wanted to go, the three of us decided to walk in one direction and make it up as we go.