The World As We Know It

Chapter 1: Family Fued

Art by liv_booboo_ (Instagram)

Characters:
Pearl: June Pearl
Pink Pearl: Whitney Pearl
Yellow Pearl: Yasmin Pearl
Blue Pearl: Rebecca (Bec) Pearl

An uncomfortable silence had filled their tiny home. It was way past Pearl's bedtime, but no one had remembered to put her to bed. Her sisters were too busy being distracted to remember.

Pearl's second oldest sister, Yasmin, was sitting in the loveseat across the room, frowning at the pile of bills laid across her lap, while Pearl's third oldest sister, Bec, was sitting on the couch doodling in her notebook.

The three of them had been waiting for their eldest sister, Whitney, to come home from her trip to Empire City. Whitney had been unemployed for a while now, but earlier this week she had found a job opportunity in Empire City and decided to travel to the city for the job interview.

"I'll be back by Sunday morning." Whitney had promised, but when Pearl had woken up this morning, her oldest sister was nowhere to be seen.

Yasmin was furious that Whitney hadn't returned when she promised. No Whitney meant no one to watch Pearl, so Bec had to miss another day of work in order to watch her little sister.

Pearl was only five, but she already understood that their family was struggling financially. Her sisters worked hard to provide for their family, especially Yasmin, who had two jobs and was always working.

Sometimes, Pearl felt like she was another added problem that her sisters had to deal with. Their mother had died when Pearl was a toddler, leaving her sister's to take care of her. Her sisters were young and Pearl understood the weight of their stress, so Pearl would often try her best to be a good kid, even if it meant sometimes she would have to be unhappy.

So even though Pearl was exhausted, she wouldn't whine about it. She'll just wait until one of her sisters figured out how late it was.

Pulling her legs towards her chest, Pearl rested her chin on her knees as she watched Yasmin anxiously run her hands through her short blonde hair. She could tell by the look on her face that something was bothering her sister.

In the corner of her eye, Pearl could see Bec lightly sketching a figure into her notebook. Turning towards Bec, Pearl squinted at the sketch as she tried to figure out what her sister was drawing.

Earlier today Bec had let Pearl play with her nice paints, the expensive ones Whitney and Yasmin had given her as a birthday present. Together they had swirled yellow and orange paints together on the canvas until their painting of a sunflower was completed.

Rubbing at her tired eyes, Pearl let out a loud yawn, catching Bec's attention. Looking up from her notebook, Bec pushed away her brown bangs from her face as she glanced over at the analog clock hanging above Yasmin. Realizing the time, Bec closed her notebook before placing it on the coffee table.

"I'm sorry, June." Bec apologized as she got up from the couch. "Let's get you to bed."

Truthfully, Pearl hated her first name. She much rather have a nickname like Bec did, but Pearl had never bothered to talk to her sisters about it.

Right as Pearl is about to get up from the couch, the sound of the door opening had stopped her from moving any further.

Standing behind the door was Whitney, who was holding her suitcase and a couple of shopping bags. As soon as she entered the house, Whitney immediately dropped her bags on to the floor, before closing the door shut.

As soon as Whitney entered the living room, a huge smile lit across her face. "Hey guys! Did you miss me!"

Avoiding eye contact, Bec sat back down on the couch, while Yasmin placed her stack of bills onto the coffee table.