My Rose In Disguise

7. My smart brother

BRIANA'S POV:

After a half-hour conversation with Zachery, I found that he enjoys baking, has two siblings, is the captain of the football team, and owns a café. But the most remarkable thing about him is that he enjoys entertaining foster kids, and I asked him if he could take me there to which he agreed. However, because my car's headlight was broken, I had to take it to the garage on our way before traveling in his car. He inquired how the headlight shattered, and I had to give him a brief explanation. So here we are, heading to my brother's school.

"Since we have nothing else to do, how about we play 20 questions?" As I turned to face him, I raised my eyebrows, waiting for his response.

"Sure. Why not? It's interesting to learn more about you." I beamed from ear to ear as he said that. It's nice to know him as well.

"Let's get started. The very first question. How old are you?" I asked. 

He answered, "will be 23 in a month" before asking me the same question.

"I'm 2 years older than you", I whispered with a wink causing him to laugh. "Your favorite color?" I added.

"Brown," he said, which surprised me because I hadn't expected that. "Reason?" I asked and he let out a sigh as he responded, "It defines strength and endurance. The same as trees. I've admired trees since I was a toddler because they serve as a home for birds and shelter for all. When it rains, trees shield us from them. It is a soothing and wise friend who helps us stay grounded and encourages us to appreciate the little things in life as you do. So...yeah. That's it, I guess?" He shrugged and I looked at him in awe.

"Oh. wow!" I whispered as I leaned back, wondering how someone could be so fascinated with color. Not just any color but brown. All along, I thought it was simply another dull color just like my eyes, but he changed my mind about them for the better.

"How about you?" he asked. "Yellow. because it is a happy and cheerful one." I said with a wide grin and he nodded. "Hm. simple and sweet" he added.

"Do you have any favorite animal?" His question startled me and I turned to face him.

"I have a thing for cats and horses," I responded before asking him back. 

"Dragons, even if they believe dragons are extinct," that unexpected response shocked me. Okay, I didn't expect that.

"Hey Briana, are you alright?" He asked, looking at me in concern. "Haha! Yep. I'm good. But why do you say that? why the dragons?" I asked him. I wanted a response.

"Um. It represents strength and protection as well as loyalty and confidence. And it's also a cool thing that it masters all four elements: water, fire, earth, and wind. One of my favorite things about Dragons is that they never lose confidence and hope." He stated. Wow, just wow.

"oh, wha-" I was about to ask how he would react if he found one when I noticed we had arrived at my brother's school. Okay then. Let's keep it for another day.

I jumped out of the car before turning towards him. "Would you like to come or..?"

"Oh. sure" He said as he stepped out of the car.

As we approached the entrance, I began looking for my brother, but I couldn't find him anywhere. I was concerned, wondering what had happened to him. I asked his teacher whether she had seen him anywhere, but she replied with a no. Zachery noticed my eyes as tears threatened to fall from them and tried to comfort me but in vain.

I was preparing to leave for the principal's office when I noticed a familiar boy sitting casually next to the ice cream stall, savoring his usual chocolate-flavored ice cream. Relief washed over me as I snuck behind him and stood there glaring down at him as he sat there, unconcerned about the world around him.