The Project •On Hold•

🌸 Chapter Eleven 🌸

-BONUS CHAPTER-

-Five years before-

Zephyr laughed as she walked through the school hallway with her boyfriend, Akira. The couple had been dating for years- since seventh grade. They had been best friends since kindergarten.

"I've gotta go pick up Arty and Jade," Zephyr said.

"Can I come?"

"Of course. But I don't see why you'd want to."

"Because your sisters are cool. Plus, you'll be eighteen tomorrow. I gotta make sure you enjoy your last few hours of childhood."

Zephyr laughed. "You're great."

Akira tossed his short hair to the side as best as he could. "I am pretty awesome, aren't I?"

She playfully shoved him. As they drove to the elementary school to pick up Artemis- Jade went to the middle school next door, she was in eighth grade- Zephyr fiddled with her promise ring. Akira noticed and grinned at her. "Soon, Baby, I promise." He kissed her. They pulled up in front of the elementary school, and Artemis pulled herself into the backseat of Akira's truck. Jade hopped in after her, having bolted across the shared parking lot, as usual.

Next, they were headed to the rundown apartment building. The girls climbed out of the car. "See you tomorrow, Zeph! Remember, tomorrow is the day you report your dad and move in with me."

Zephyr grinned at him. "How could I forget?" She leaned across the seat. "I love you."

He kissed her back. "I love you, too, Baby."

The sisters walked into the building, soon getting situated in their bedroom, doing homework. Jade had a bed to herself, Artemis slept on a trundle underneath Zephyr's bed.

"How was you guy's day?" Zephyr asked, typing away on the computer.

"Ok," Artemis replied.

"It sucked," Jade muttered.

Zephyr laughed. "Relatable."

Artemis groaned. "I'd rather die than do this homework."

"Stop being so over dramatic."

"Where's Dad?"

"Who knows? Somewhere for work, probably. I'm sure we'll know when there's some new report about the assassination of blah-blah the blah, from blah."

Her sisters laughed.

"Fair," Jade said. "But I seriously wonder when he'll be home."

"I dunno, Jade. I've gotta go see what the dinner options are."

"K."

Zephyr walked out of the room, going to the kitchen. She scavenged through the cabinets and the refrigerator, trying to find something for dinner. She found a container of frozen pho in the freezer. She pulled it out, setting it on the counter to defrost some. The opened the cabinet where the pots and pans were, ignoring the roaches that scrambled out. She pulled out a pot, rinsing it before filling it with water and setting it on the stove. In a few minutes, she was putting a bag of boil-in-bag rice in the pot, and setting the timer.

She put the pho in the microwave, defrosting it some more before dumping it in another pot. Once the food was done, she served it on the table and yelled for her sisters to come and get some dinner. The girls scrambled in, eating happily. The news was on.

"Lee Wing, The ambassador to France from North Rhelasia was murdered today by the assassin only known as Sportsmaster-" The reporter said.

"Called it," Zephyr said, putting some more food into her mouth.

"The authorities are trying to track down the masked man, but to no avail so far. It is believed that he has left the country-"

"Oh, without a doubt," Jade said.

"But we have the authorities in Gotham City, New York and Star City, California, where he is most often sighted, tracking him down. Stay tuned for more, we'll be back after the commercial break."

Zephyr cut off the tv. "Well, he should be home soon. Let's get ready for bed, shall we?"

The girls were soon changing into their pajamas. No sooner had Zephyr thrown on a pair of shorts and taken off her t-shirt when a voice bellowed: "ZEPHYR!"

"Well, we know he's home."

She left the room, heading in the direction of her father's voice, wondering what he could possibly want. Probably just her to get him dinner. She shook off her stress, assuring herself that there was nothing to worry about and walked to the living room.