Exciti

Chapter 2 (Adam, two weeks ago)

Adam's exited his bedroom in a series of hops, taking care to avoid treading on the metallic pieces, delicate tools, and coin albums that covered every inch of its floor. Once out, he examined his socks and grinned. Not a bolt.

"Mom will kill you when she sees this." A voice suddenly whispered in his hear.

"Gaah! Tam! Jeez!" He swatted at his ear then glared up at his laughing sister. They shared the same dark, straight hair, and grey eyes, but the similarities ended there. Adam was scrawny and short whereas his sister was tall and athletic.

She pointed over his shoulder at a particular pile of metallic and wooden parts. "You took Great grandpa's wall clock apart, again. Mom will not be happy."

"I'm fixing it," he explained, but closed his door nevertheless, "and I will have it all done and ready before mom comes back from work, I promise...Umm, she is gone, right?" he asked with a guilty smile.

Tamara shook her head at him then turned and started walking back to the kitchen, which was emanating the delicious aroma of pancakes. "At work, had to go early because of a mishap with some ice sculptures." A bit of crossness colored her tone.

He grinned and started following her. He could always count on their mother's long work hours, the downside of her job as the manager of a popular reception hall in downtown Boston. He was almost at the kitchen door when the house phone rang.

He picked it up, "Hello?"

"Forget about your sister," a woman spoke.

He frowned at the phone. "Who is this?

"Tsk," the woman said, then hung up.

Adam made a face and continued into the kitchen. He forgot all about the call as soon as he saw the pancakes. He piled a plate and poured about a gallon of syrup before he dug in.

"Happy birthday, by the way!" Tam said out of the blue, ruffling his hair.

"Fanksh," he managed to say through a full mouth.

"Gross, Adsee! Don't talk with food in your mouth!" chided Tam before her expression softened, "Mom remembered it, you know? She asked me to wish you a happy birthday and tell you that she will be bringing a cake on her way home tonight."

Adam suspected that Tam had to remind their mother. Tethering their mother to reality kind of became her job since their dad's passing almost a decade ago. He put his fork down and inspected the syrup bottle with fake interest. "Tam?"

Tam flipped her long hair over her shoulder and adjusted the bandana that kept it off her face, "Yeah?"

"I...I heard you and mom argue last night, again." He said, reluctant.

Tam winced, "Did we wake you up? Sorry."

"Did you really drop out? I heard mom say that they haven't heard of a Tamara Dunton in the school."

She raised her eyebrows, "Eavesdropper."

"You were loud," he protested.

She waved her hand, as if waving his worries away. "I did not drop out. I'm sure there was a misunderstanding. Mom and I will clear things up with the principal in a couple of hours. We were supposed to go right about now, but the call came and she had to go to work."

Adam knew better than to be reassured by that. "You know she'll blames your job," he mumbled. Tam worked part-time in a knickknacks store in Cambridge since she was fourteen. He wished she'd quit already. He hated how having a job made her an adult overnight, all busy and quiet.