A lot of things happened in a short amount of time after our birthdays, before things returned back to normal again. First of all, I started looking for a job somewhat immediately. Luckily, there were a few openings as an athlete. I had to start pretty low down, but I suspected that Mum had done the same many years ago, and a low start was better than no start, so I gladly took it.
Then, not two hours after Caelan and I had gone to bed after the celebrations, I heard a noise from downstairs. My windows didn't face the front porch or the street, so I couldn't see what was going on, but I had a pretty good hunch. I called the police, and waited.
There were more noises coming from downstairs not long after I had made the emergency call. It sounded like two of them were fighting, but I couldn't be sure. Besides, why would they fight each other? For all they knew Caelan and I were sound asleep, and we didn't have the money to buy a burglar alarm, so technically, they had all night to rob us.
When I heard sirens, I made my way downstairs to meet with the officer and, hopefully, to kick the robbers where it hurt.
Unfortunately, the robbers had gotten away. The police officer had seen them run off, and had sent her partner after them so she could make sure that we were fine. According to her, the robber had been limping and holding his side as he ran off. Only one robber, you ask? I thought you said you heard two, you say?
My confusion was answered by my brother, who looked more than a little smug. He was obviously a lot braver than I was, because when he had heard sounds coming from downstairs he had gone to face the robber, and had (according to him and the officer's observations - bear in mind, it was very dark) apparently given him a good beating.
Nothing had been stolen, and the officer promised to keep in touch if they caught the robber. I went back to bed that night swearing to myself that I'd buy a burglar alarm once we were able to. They cost a lot of money, and it would take us a while to save up for it, but it was definitely top of my to-buy list.
Next it was time for our graduation ceremony. It felt weird, accepting our diplomas without Mom being there with us, but I felt proud nonetheless. Everyone was so happy and overwhelmed that day, it was hard not to be happy with them. It was infectious, and it had hit my brother just as hard.
He had somehow managed to get on the honour roll, and had been voted Most likely to write a best-selling novel. I had a feeling he was much more excited about the latter, but he was obviously happy, and I didn't want to ruin that for him.
I had made it on the honour roll, too. I had also been voted class valedictorian, and had spent hours on my speech! As a joke, at least I supposed so, I was voted Most likely to get arrested. I was a bit hurt, but was just going to see it as a last joke amongst class mates. After all, I had done nothing to make anyone think that I had criminal potential. Well... Apart from those times I had stolen from Connor and Tess, but no one knew about those. Not that I was aware of, anyway.
After all that, things finally started to settle down a little. I was very determined to earn at least a few promotions and pay raises as soon as I could, since we really needed the money. Caelan was writing on his book pretty much every day now, but it didn't pay much yet. He was an unknown writer, and as such wasn't paid much from his publisher. I knew he had talent, but it would take time.
To earn myself the favour of my boss, who happened to be my Dad, I worked out everyday. I didn't want to be at an advantage just because we were related, and was working hard to prove that I deserved a promotion anyway. I had never been so exhausted, but I knew that my efforts were starting to be recognised, and had a feeling that I was in line for my first promotion.
Caelan and I had been bonding a lot since Mom's death, and he was actually helping me. He had already been working out for years, and didn't mind training me. In fact, he seemed to love shouting orders and insults at me, and I actually didn't mind, either. It helped me, and I appreciated him doing it.
When I wasn't killing myself on the treadmill, I played chess. I had really gotten into it at school, and didn't want to let it slip now that we had graduated. It was fun, and a challenge both, and I found that it helped me relax, too.
I was getting really good at it, as well! Caelan never played with me (to be honest, I wasn't sure if he had the mind for it), and I hadn't played with Leon since childhood. Mom had sometimes played with me, but, well, that was over now. I was considering a ranked chess match - after all, I couldn't be sure that I was really good at it if I only ever played with myself, could I?
Whether I had Caelan training me or not, I was working out. I knew I was creeping closer towards a promotion, and maybe I could even get a pay rise if I practised hard enough.
Caelan was usually writing on his book while I was using the treadmill, and I knew I started to annoy him. This old thing had seen better days, and I realised that I would have to invest into a new one eventually, or else this one would fall apart on me.
To do us both a favour, I had picked up jogging. Mom had sometimes told us that she had gone jogging every now and then, and the weather was nice enough for it this time of year, so I thought I could head outside for my workout.
Honestly, I had no idea why I hadn't tried this sooner. I loved being outside, so it was a mystery to me how running outside hadn't occurred to me earlier. It was lovely, the breeze felt amazing against my hot, sweaty skin, and I could hear the birds sing every step of the way. I felt completely in my element, and vowed to myself that I would go jogging a lot more often in the future. Caelan would be grateful to be left alone, too, since he'd get more writing done that way.
Not long afterwards I arranged my first ever ranked chess match. I had gotten the number for the local chess club online, had phoned them up and asked them if they could send someone to play with me. After a few questions, such as how long I had been playing and if I had ever played a ranked match before, they told me that a woman called Constance Shelley would be around in a few days time.
True to their word, Constance arrived a few days later. She was old, possibly older than Mom had been when she had died, but she looked fierce. Playing with someone who actually took this game seriously was amazing. We were playing for nearly two hours, but I eventually won. Constance was a good loser, though, and even congratulated me. She told me how she thought that I should play against more opponents, and I thought she was right.
But before I arranged my second match, I phoned Tess. Caelan and I were getting along alright now, and I loved Leon more than ever, but I wanted a female friend, too. Tess was Leon's sister, so naturally I wanted to get along with her. I phoned her to find out whether she was home, and she said she'd only be ten minutes, so I could come over.
As it turned out, she wasn't. So much for Oh no, it's fine, I'll be home in ten minutes! I couldn't be too annoyed though, because Leon was home. In fact, he was the only one home, and I realised that we had never actually been alone before. Sure, we'd been alone in the same room many times, but being alone with him in the same house was completely different. I was a little nervous, but kind of in a good way.
"Ebony! What are you doing here?" he smiled what he thought was his alluring smile.
"I thought Tess would be here... We were supposed to hang out tonight and she said she'd be here by now."
"Tess? I doubt she's coming, she's on a date. She called me not five minutes ago to say she'll be home real late."
"Oh. So, erm... Can I stay, anyway?" My heart beat a marathon as I said those words, but I wasn't entirely sure why. So we were alone. He wasn't exactly a stranger to me, I had known him since we'd been kids.
"I was just about to make hot dogs, you want some?"
"Sure!" I followed him to the kitchen, where he had already started to prepare some sausages.
I had never actually tasted anything that he had cooked. Hell, I hadn't even known that he cooked! It was possible that he had always enjoyed it, and I had simply never known. I supposed we had never talked much about it.
Whether this was his first time cooking or not, I could see that he put a lot of effort into what he was doing. I myself had never cooked much, and couldn't tell the difference between basil and oregano without tasting them, name plates attached to the spices.
I could tell perfectly fine, however, when his hot dogs burned, horribly, and when his focused smile turned into a frown.
"Oh god, I'm sorry, Ebony! Shall we get some take away? I can get a pizza delivered if y-"
"Don't be silly, I'm sure they're not that bad." That's right, I ate them anyway. They really were burned badly, but it wasn't as bad as it had first looked. Or smelled. At least now I knew for sure whether this had been his first time cooking or not.
I needed a fair amount of orange juice with it, but I finished my hot dog, and made him smile with it.
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Wishes fulfilled
Join professional sports career
Play chess
Improve Athletic Skill
Improve Logic Skill
Reach Logic Level 4
Go Jogging
Work out until fatigued
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