The Magical Life of Cathy Mariano: The Portal Crawlers (Version 1) OLD

The Return

The Return

I was laying on my bed in my basketball shorts and an old t-shirt peacefully reading the greatest book to ever be written when my older sister charged into the room in a blur of blondish brown hair and red pajamas. Her dark grey eyes were wide with surprise and her pajamas were crooked on her body. She headed to the window to close the royal blue curtains in one quick movement and then turned to face me. "Hurry Cathy! Do not let anybody through that door."

I was caught off guard by her mood but I decided it would be best to just do as she said. Christie already had her eyes closed in concentration and just as the colors of her clothes were starting to morph into an unrecognizable form the door to our shared room began to open once again. This time it was James, Christie's boyfriend.

"Christie?" The hushed sound of James' voice carried through the crack in the door as he slowly pushed. "I know you're in here. Are you-". I quickly threw up my right hand defensively and the talking ceased. The door was still open a crack, but there was no way I was going to be able to close it without breaking my hold on him.

I let out a frustrated grunt then turned to face my sister who had just finished changing her outfit. She was wearing a black skirt with a red top, her hair straightened and hanging elegantly at her shoulders. "You forgot you had a date. You barge in here and disturb me while I'm reading because you can't keep track of your dates?" Christie gasped dramatically then replied, rather indignantly, "I most certainly did not forget about our date. I just forgot which day it was going to be on."

I scoffed, "Are you trying to tell me that you forgot the date of your date?"

If she did catch the humor in that she didn't let on. Her reply was a simple "yeah".

"And you want my help?"

Again, "Yeah..."

In one swift motion, I grabbed my book, snapped my fingers and plopped back down on my bed. James opened the door completely. "Ready?" he asked my sister like he hadn't even noticed the five-minute pause between his last two words.

Christie looked around the room as if the answer to his question was on one of the beige walls. "Uh...yeah. But wait right back. I need to fix my makeup first." She grabbed her orange makeup bag off her desk and ran out of the room. James took a spot on my bed leaning against my bent knees.

"She forgot again, didn't she?" The question was more like a repeated statement, because that's what it was. I knew he wasn't upset so I decided to use humor.

"No, she remembered. She just forgot which day you were taking her out," I said, parroting my sister's previous words. James, fortunately, appreciated the irony of these words.

"She forgot the date of our date?"

I nodded to confirm his statement, "Precisely."

At that moment Christie ran into the room swiping an icy white mascara wand at her eyelashes. "Are you guys conspiring against me?"

James answered her question with a wicked smile. "Yes, Kitty and I are planning on ruining your reputation."

"Too late. College has already done that for you. What can ruin your reputation more than being a freshman?" She left with a dramatic sigh and James gave me a look.

"She is really stressed. College...moving..." his voice trailed off and his eyes drifted toward the pile of suitcases neatly stacked -by me- at the foot of my sister's bed. He changed the subject. "How have you been?"

"Good, I've just been reading lately."

He picked up my book and examined it. "This book? Didn't Jerm get this for you like eight years ago?"