Short Stories From a Camera

Alexa Ruth

"Alexa Ruth!" 

Dad opens the door to my room and peeks inside. 

"Dad, I said stop calling me that! I want to be called Red!" 

Dad smirks. "Well, I call you by your birth name because it's the name your mother and I gave you. Also, what kinda name is Red, anyway?" 

I glare at Dad. "The same kind of a name as the name Blue," I say. 

Blue is what we call my little sister, Holly. 

"Well, what ever your name is, come on out of your room." Dad leaves. 

I glare at where his head just was. I slide off my bed and walk out of my room. When I walk into the living room, Blue runs up to me. Since she was 3, she started growing wolf ears and a tail. She also has super fast reflexes and retractable claws. I always wondered why she had these traits. The same traits as Wolfums. 

"Red! Come play with me!" Blue says, tugging at my hand. 

I smile and tuck my red hair behind my ear. Mom looks up from the book she is reading to give a little wave, then Dad comes in from the kitchen and she goes immediately back to her book. Lately, when ever Dad enters the room, Mom looks at something besides him and goes strangely quiet. Blue tugs on my sleeve to get my attention. I turn back to her and help her build a block tower in the middle of our very messy living room. Everybody is silent. The only sounds are the blocks being stacked and the occasional sound of a page turning. 

"Well, someone say something!" Dad says, startling me. 

"There is nothing to say," Mom replies, calmly. 

Dad looks stunned and stomps out of the room. I hear the front door slam. Mom releases her breathe and everyone goes back to being happy and talking and having fun, exactly what we can't do when Dad is in the room.