Deadly Secrets

5.An Unusual Day (rewritten)

After America had dismissed the family meeting, Texas instantly leapt up to meet with Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana. The four of them shared a room, and would figure out who would partner up with who later–probably while they were in the fields, if Texas got her way. The lone star state usually messed around on the property by herself, but she didn't mind having company.

The first of her roommates she spotted was Oklahoma, a light-blue skinned boy with hair of a darker shade. His red T-shirt contrasted against his skin, catching her eye like a beacon to follow until his jeans and cowboy boots were in full view as well. Texas was about to tease him about how he wasn't really allowed to wear his boots in the living room, a fact her own socked feet attested to, but settled for hooking an arm around his neck and giving him a noogie. The younger boy protested, but couldn't get free from his older sister's iron grip, fruitlessly smacking at her until she released him of her own volition.

Through the sea of siblings, Texas saw that Louisiana and Arkansas had found each other as well. She waved over to the two, yelling out, "Hey! Meet over by the field!"

Louisiana gave a thumbs up from across the room and hooked Arkansas by the arm, dragging him with her out of sight. Once she saw they had heard, or rather Louisiana had heard and Arkansas had no choice but to follow, Texas began making her way out of the living room as well, weaving through the many states that clogged the path to the back door.

It took longer than Texas would have liked to get to the kitchen, with many of her siblings also walking through the hallways or standing around in groups, one in particular blocking the way to the shoe mat by the door. Finally, she managed to shove on her boots and squeeze out the door, passing from the cool kitchen to the humid summer air outside with her little brother in tow. Oklahoma wriggled out of her grip and the two walked side-by-side down the wooden steps of the deck.

Bugs flew about, trying to land on their arms and heads before being swatted away. Smacking at the air beside her, Texas' gaze fell upon her other two roommates who were walking away, towards the fields several hundred feet behind the house. She called out to them and picked up the pace, jogging over to her siblings with the footsteps of her other younger brother landing on the grass behind her in rhythmic thumps.

"Took ya long enough," Arkansas teased, looking back at his siblings with a smug smirk on his face.

"Ah, shuddap," Texas slowed to a walk beside him, backhanding his shoulder once in range.

The red-skinned boy merely hummed and looked forward once more, rolling up the sleeves of his red and blue flannel to compensate for the lack of air-conditioning.

Louisiana glanced over at her two siblings with a less-than-interested expression. The dark-blue-skinned state walked on the other side of Arkansas as Texas and looked back to the fields. She adjusted the yellow piece of fabric tied to keep her coily hair back, its hue matched her casual dress almost perfectly. Her eyes followed her younger sister as she sped up towards the green fields. "What're you in such a hurry fer? Did'ya forget ta' water yer crops again er som'ing?" Louisiana drawled in her recognizable accent.

Texas looked back over her shoulder at the shorter woman, biting back a remark about how Louisiana was just slow. She would love to tease her older sister more, but the looming threat of her voodoo was more than even she wanted to mess with. Instead, she merely shook her head, ignoring the fact that she indeed had forgotten to tend to her section of the fields, "Nah, I jus' wanna swipe a few of Georgia's peaches."

A smile spread across the oldest sister's face as she gave a laugh, following her younger sister between two rows of sweet corn with their brothers trailing behind. Together, the four of them made a beeline for the orchard that divided the two fields on the property.