On Your Toes| Ongoing

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐢𝐯𝐞 - 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐝

MID-JANUARY, SIX YEARS AGO...

DARREN: hockey practice got canceled so we can just hang out if you want

IVY: Can't. I meant to call early and cancel. I have to watch my sister

DARREN: You have a sister? What's her name?

IVY: Her name's Manny. She's 10

DARREN: Oh cool.

DARREN: We can still hang. Bring Manny. The four of us can play board games at my house or something

IVY: The four of us?

DARREN: You, me, Manny, and my brother Splinter

IVY: Your brother's name is Splinter. As in Splinter Honey?

IVY: Your parents must hate him

DARREN: Lmao no his real name is Jonathan. Splinter's just a nickname

DARREN: But back to us hanging out, what do you say?

IVY: I'm not really supposed to leave the house when I'm babysitting 😐

DARREN: Oh ok

Although it is kind of hard to determine someone's tone through text, Darren's disappointment was clear. Ivy sat up on the bottom bunk bed which was technically Manny's bed. Ivy had the top bed while Manny had the bottom one; the bunk beds allowed more space into the room the two sisters shared with one dresser, a singular desk, a chair, and a closet. Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she sends a quick message before heading to the living room where her younger sister was.

IVY: I'll see what I can do

In the living room, Manny sat cross-legged on the beige carpeted flooring, clutching the remote in her small brown fist. Still dressed in pajamas, Ivy stood behind the gray-blue couch looking down at her sister who leaned against the front.

"Manny?" she called out, though Manny never took her eyes off the television. The ten-year-old was watching some weird special on National Geographic on Australian spiders. "Do you wanna go to a friend's house with me?"

Manny turned around with quickness, her shoulder-length pigtails swinging with movement. A puzzled look had taken over the young girl's face. "What friend? You don't have any friends."

Ivy huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. Without looking at Manny, she asks the question again, sounding annoyed. Manny rose to her feet and tossed the remote on the couch. "Okay, let me get dressed," she said as she ran past her older sister to their bedroom.

"You forgot to— I'll do it," Ivy said as reached over the top of the couch with her long torso to turn the tv off with the remote.

IVY: What's your address

Ivy texted Darren on her way back to her room. He sent his address along with a smiling emoji. Ivy beamed at her phone before throwing it on the lower bed. Walking over to the dresser, she pulled open the drawers on her side and traded her shorts and tank top for an oversized maroon sweater and ripped jeans. Beside her, Manny wore black tights and some generic Black Girls rock shirt. Ivy packed into a small bag her Metrocard, her wallet, and her house keys.

They slipped on her winter coats before leaving the apartment. Walking hand in hand in the blur of people on the way to the subway, the cold seemed to have found a home inside their coats. A slight chill swirled within. Manny and Ivy walked downstairs and scanned their card and began to wait for their train.