The Other World

Whisper - Part 1

An autumn breeze swept Sara's hair across her face and into her eyes as she and Annie made their way home from school. Sara brushed strands of her dark brown hair back in place only to have the setting sun blind her again.

"That's it. I'm buying sunglasses," Sara grumbled.

"It's not that bright out here." Annie readjusted the shoulder strap of her purse. "The problem is you've been spending too much time inside practicing for the test. You should be more careful. Everyone knows what happens when you spend too much time under."

"I want to be able to ace it, that's all," Sara shrugged. "If I get high enough scores in the VR training course, I should be able to land a job as a surgeon right out of high school. Besides, I read an article the other day saying that guy is doing better now."

"Sara! He went insane! And blind!" Annie added.

"Yeah, but he's mentally stable now, and he can see perfectly fine in VR. Not to mention he got stuck inside a program for weeks. They fixed it to where it kicks you out after a while now."

"Still, you shouldn't risk stressing your brain out, Sara," Annie shook her head. "And didn't you get a ninety-five on the last test?"

Ninety-fives don't get you into the advanced program Sara told herself. "I don't need sunglasses, to be honest" she said, changing the subject. "If I wanted to, I could walk home with my eyes closed," Sara smirked mischievously. Annie was clearly a worrier, and no matter how many times Sara teased, she couldn't resist trying to get a rise out of her.

"Sara, don't you dare!" Annie stomped. "Remember the last time you almost-".

"Hey, Sis!" a voice in the distance behind them interrupted. "Wait up!"

Sarah stopped and turned around. She began to glare at the figure approaching. "Do you want a little brother?" Sara asked, sighing as the pounding of shoes on the sidewalk grew annoyingly close, "because you can have mine if you want."

"I think he's getting faster." A smile grew across Annie's lips. "At least now I won't have to worry about you doing something stupid like walking down the sidewalk with your eyes closed. You have your big brother, Jace, to look after you."

Sara fumed. "Just because he's taller than me doesn't..." Sara paused and watched Annie cover her mouth, trying her best to hold in the laughter. "I deserved that," Sara rolled her eyes. "See you around," she said, waving goodbye.

"See ya," Annie replied, and turned down a sidewalk that led towards her house. "Later, Jace," she added, glancing over her shoulder through long black hair.

"Later, Annie," Jace panted, stopping to catch his breath.

"What do you want, Jace?" Sara crossed her arms.

"What do you mean? Is it a crime for a guy walk home with his sister?" The two of them started down the sidewalk towards their home.

Sara shook her head. "I'm not buying it. Why are you always in such a hurry to catch up with me?"

"I mean, it's not a bad thing to have someone watching out for you, is it? It's not like you have a boyfriend or anything to walk you home and protect you from any weirdos around town. Honestly, I'd feel bad if something happened to you." Jace placed a well-meaning, but unwanted hand on Sara's shoulder.

"You know I've taken self-defense as a VR elective ever since I was in elementary school." Sara spoke in a tone much too pleasant. "If something happened, it would probably be me having to protect you." She glared at the hand on her shoulder.

"Speaking of VR," Jace paused and slowly removed his hand. "I'm gonna play my new game when I get home, so I call the VR room."

"No way. I have to do emergency room homework for my surgeon course and it's due tomorrow."

"How about whoever gets home first gets VR?"

Sara looked out of the corner of her eye at Jace's cheeks, still red from running just moments earlier. Without a word, she began to sprint down the sidewalk.

"Getting a head start won't help you!" Jace's voice called from behind.

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Well? Don't be shy! What do you think? Like what you see? Don't like what you see? Let me know in the comments!

Also, for this draft I'm splitting the chapters into smaller sections. Let me know if it works!