Lights Of The Memory Lane ✔

#23 Hot Pursuit

   "Tom, give it back!"

   The peaceful morning is spoiled by Emily's loud voice, accompanied by a series of resounding footsteps.

   Thomas arrives at the kitchen, holding a pink notebook and eagerly looking for a place to hide.

   "Wow, Thomas. I didn't know that you own a girly pink book. You are really just like me," Elizabeth, who is coincidentally at the small kitchen, tilts her head and observes her brother.

   "Shut up, Barbie," Thomas glares.

   Elizabeth huffs and turns away. She knows why Thomas called her 'Barbie'. It is because she wears a pair of pink pyjamas with a scattering of purple stars and a picture of a big, rainbow unicorn with its eyes closed, saying 'goodnight' on the top.

   Thomas is about to talk to Elizabeth when there is suddenly a sound of stamping feet behind him, making him quickly hide under a table, which has a large cloth covering it, making him invisible to everyone if he stays under it. Elizabeth watches him with a raised eyebrow.

   "Tom, come on!" Emily appears in the kitchen from the doorway and looks around. She does not see Thomas anywhere. Just Elizabeth, who is innocently staring at the ceiling.

   "Lizzie, have you seen Thomas?"

   "Uhh......" Elizabeth hesitates, glancing at the table. Under there right now, Thomas is probably praying Elizabeth would not tell Emily his whereabouts. "I think I saw him somewhere, but I don't remember..." she trails away and pretends to gaze at the serene scenery through the window. She is glad she does so because she just witnesses a couple of squirrels chasing each other across the snow-covered grass outside.

   Emily squints her eyes at Elizabeth suspiciously and walks towards the table. She actually noticed how her little sister glanced at the table nervously, like she was hiding something. Thus, she rounds the table and Thomas probably stares at her feet from under it, waiting for his faith like in a nerve-wracking scene in a horror film.

   All of a sudden, Emily crouches down and peeks under the table as fast as lightning with her creepy-looking face, completely startling Thomas until he accidentally knocks his head on the table.

   "Give me back my book!" Emily lands on her knees and pulls Thomas' legs towards her.

   "Wait, you're pulling down my trousers!" Thomas exclaims and tries pulling his trousers up, avoiding it from exposing his underwear. He can hear Elizabeth laughing at him.

   Emily cackles mischievously like a wicked witch as Thomas turns to panic mode, causing him to do something that he rarely does to her.

   "Oww! Thomas!" Emily hisses after Thomas kicked her hands with one of his legs, making her let go of him. He is finally free from her grip, so he proceeds to run away. Seeing this, she swiftly stands up and moves forwards, but not before bumping into someone. She rubs her nose whilst shutting her eyes in frustration and then opens them back.

   "What are you two doing running around the house?" Stephen asks, looking back and forth between Emily and Thomas. He is holding an empty mug and already dressed for work, wearing a long-sleeved green shirt, which complements his majestic green eyes, and a pair of black trousers.

   "He took my book," Emily points at Thomas and pouts so that Stephen will be taking her side. He should, though. Actually, Thomas went into her bedroom early in the morning and just talked with her about school when he suddenly rummaged through her drawer and found her old diary. He had read one of its pages back at their mother's house, but he wanted to read more. When she wanted to snatch it, he ran out of her bedroom and went downstairs. In conclusion, Stephen must help her retrieve her old diary because Thomas just stole it from her.