Forlot: My Friend Haunts Me - Book Fifty-Nine

Chapter Two

IRINA'S P.O.V.

Although that I was at the other end of said table, I felt Jashyah's frustration. I stuffed a piece of chicken in my mouth and chewed. "Here we go," I warned the family.

Jashyah slammed a fist on the table. "No, no, no!" Her plate nearly fell in her lap. "Ice skating is not my career and will never be a hobby. I want nothing to do with it. I do not care if I am breaking tradition."

"Jashyah. Please lower your voice," Mom said. "You do not want the neighbors to complain, do you?"

Jashyah laid back. "I am sure that they will understand if I tell them."

Grandma sipped on her milk. "Tell them that you are a talented ice skater?"

"The day that I am an ice skater is the day that I will be gay."

She gasped. "You are gay?"

"She is not gay," I reassured her. I smirked. "She has a crush on a cute guy."

My sister's cheeks turned bright red. "I do not. He and I are not even friends. He has no idea that I exist."

I shoved peas in my mouth. "He does now."

She squinted. "Did you tell him?"

I swallowed said peas and acted innocent. "You believe that your amazing sister would tell your crush that you are crushing on him? 'Cause I did no such thing. Cross my heart and hope to keep ice skating."

"Then how did he find out - unless that he never did."

I looked at my mashed potatoes and played with them. "Let us just say that he discovered a note on his locker. He read the entire note and confronted me."

She pointed at me. "I knew that you wrote the note. So you did tell him. You just did not tell him directly. I am the worst ice skater in the family. That is bad enough. I have to explain to him now. It is all your fault."

"Not my fault that you are...not as good of an ice skater as me."

She clasped her hands on the table. "That is a nice way of saying that I stink."

Our aunt was wiping her mouth with her napkin. "You would not stink if you did not give up easily. If you just practiced as much as Irina—"

"Stop comparing me to Irina. I am my own person. If I loved ice skating as much as you guys, I would practice my butt off. I never give up."

Our uncle, who was next to Jashyah, put a hand on her shoulder. "We are not forcing you to be an ice skater. It would be a good skill to learn. It may save you one day. Give it another chance."

Jashyah jerked away. "Why can you not accept the fact that I do not ice skate? Are you ashamed of me? Maybe you will disown me and tell your buddies that Irina is a single child. I am nothing but a disappointment to you. But a disappointment is better than ice skating."

I suddenly felt uncomfortable and stared at my meal. I was regretting writing the note to her crush now. I was not trying to embarrass her. I only wanted to make her happy. Give her something that I do not have, which is a boyfriend. I do not have time for a boyfriend because ice skating is my life. I wanted my sister to be superior. Just because I annoy her does not mean that I care less about her. She is the only sister that I have. I love her.

It was Mom's turn to drop her fork. "Jashyah. Sweetie. We are not ashamed of you. We love you."

"Then why are you expecting me to ice skate? I get that it is a tradition. Everyone in this family should learn to ice skate. But I have no use for it. It is pure torture."

"You have a blast watching us," Grandma stated.

Jashyah faced her. "Watching is different from doing. I have better things to do than ice skate."

"Like what?" our aunt asked. "All that you do is babysit Irina and read. You need to get yourself out there. Live life. And what better way to do that than ice skating?"

"Funny that you bring up babysitting. I am doing a fun activity next week. Something that I have never done."

"Ice skating?"

"I have ice skated. It is why I never want to again."

I yawned and tapped my fingers on the table. "So what is this new activity?"

"It is called housesitting. It is exactly what you think."

I snickered. "That is nothing new. You sit in this house all the time. You are housesitting now."

"That was so funny that I forgot to laugh."

"Housesitting is when a person cares for a house in the owner's absence," Dad explained. "It is an easy job that pays well - unless that you live in Forlot."

My sister was taking a long sip of her apple juice. "I am housesitting the house down the block all of next week. The neighbors are paying me handsomely."

I snorted. "How can they pay you...handsomely...when you are not a boy? And money is illegal."

"They are trading for my services. I will be paid extra if I have problems with their roommate."

"You are joking."

"I am serious. Apparently, they have a roommate. They did not tell me where her room is."

"How old is she?"

"Ten years old."

I could not help but smile. "She is the same age as me!"

Back to the present. I was pulling a suitcase behind me and had my bag over my shoulder. Jashyah and I were walking down the sidewalk and discussing life and this house that she was housesitting. I could not wait to see the roommate. We would have fun together.

We reached the house, and Jashyah gazed at me. "Why did you bring a suitcase?"