SIBLING RIVALRY | YELLOWJACKETS

TWO

Camille and Travis fell into a comfortable silence as they drove to pick up their friend Anika Torrance. Camille knew she had to bring up the pep rally eventually, but for now, she just wanted to let her brother breathe and wallow in his teenage angst. It was easier that way. Plus, it was pretty much a guarantee that Anika would bring it up the moment she got into the car.

"Mille." Travis spoke suddenly, breaking the silence as they pulled up outside Anika's house. "Before you even ask, I'm not going." He said definitively as Camille turned to look at him, a soft sigh escaping her lips. He always had known her better than herself and knew what she was thinking before she had even thought it. It was kind of frustrating. But she loved him nonetheless.

"Trav, I know you two don't get along. Heck, I don't get along with him either, but if you go, maybe he'll cut you some slack," Camille spoke gently, extending her hand to rest on her brother's knee. "He might even finally let you off the hook for trashing the house last summer," she added with a slightly sing-song tone, hoping to entice him. Unfortunately, her attempt fell flat. Of course, it did. Bringing up what had happened during the summer was never a good idea. Travis furrowed his brow, knocking her hand off his knee and turning away to stare out the window. That was the end of that conversation and the silence returned, but this time it was not comfortable at all. Luckily, it wasn't to last long.

"Good morning, Thing One and Thing Two!" Anika Torrance's familiar voice echoed, punctuating the air as she flung open the car door and hopped into the back seat, a wide grin adorning her lips. "Today is going to be amazing!" Her words burst out, evoking an irritated grunt from Travis as she playfully peeked her head through the space between the two seats. "We've got the pep rally today, and tomorrow, it's off to Chicago!" Her grin widened before she settled back into her seat, fastening her seatbelt. Her excitement was admittedly infectious, and Camille couldn't help but smile too.

"Morning, Ani," Camille sang cheerfully as she eased out of the driveway of the Torrance house. "I was going to ask if you're excited, but after that, I think I already know the answer." She chuckled softly, shaking her head. It had been fifteen years since she and Anika became friends, and not a single day had passed without Anika bringing a smile to Camille's face. Anika was the kind of friend who felt like family. Through thick and thin, she was there not only for Camille, but also for Travis and Javi, always providing unfaltering support.

"Excitement doesn't even begin to cover it!" Anika exclaimed, her eyes filled with anticipation. She glanced at her friend and then at her brother, but her enthusiasm faded when she noticed his expression. Letting out a sigh, she couldn't help but address his moody attitude. "I guess I can't expect the same level of enthusiasm from Mr. Grump over here. What's bothering you now? Should I teach Randy Walsh another lesson? Because I'm more than willing to do it without a second thought." Anika inquired, causing a faint chuckle to escape Camille's lips as she reminisced about the time when a thirteen-year-old Anika had fearlessly taken down Randy. Even to this day, Randy couldn't face Anika without turning as pale as a ghost.

"Not Randy this time, if it was, it would be a lot easier to deal with." Camille sighed softly as she took a second to glance over at her brother, who hadn't moved since Anika got in the car. She hated this. She would give anything to make things better for him, to fix things with their dad, but it was impossible. As long as their dad was coaching the girl's football team and fawning over the girls as if they were his children, things would never change. But this was one thing she couldn't really talk to Anika about because she was one of those girls, and she saw their dad in a whole other light.

"Oh..." was all Anika said before kicking the back of Travis' seat, earning a grunt from him as he turned his body slightly to look at her, giving her a scowl. But that didn't change her upbeat approach at all, not even Travis and his gloom could dampen Anika's cheery vibe. "Cheer up Trav, a handsome face like yours is ruined by a frown." She told him as she leaned as far forward as her seatbelt would allow and gently tapping his cheek with her hand.

"I hate you." Travis mumbled under his breath knocking her hand away from him as they pulled into the school parking lot. "I only put up with you because you make Mille happy." He added going for a rather low blow, but it didn't work because honestly? They all knew it wasn't true. Anika was just as much his friend as she was Camille's, if not more so.

"Sure you do Travis. Sure you do." Anika retorted as they all climbed out of the car. "You love me really." She told him with a nod before slinging an arm around him. "You just don't want to admit it in fear of emasculating yourself because your only friends are your sister and me." She added, a smirk planted firmly on her lips.

"Once again. I hate you." Travis repeated as he pulled away from her, but even he couldn't stop the slight smile that made its way onto his lips. "I'll see you at lunch." He sighed softly giving the girls a slight wave before heading off in the complete opposite direction of the school. Camille frowned as she watched him go, of course he was skipping again. He was skipping more and more as of late, but he was always back by lunch. She couldn't help but wonder what he was up to...

"I've got to go too. Meeting the team before class to go over some stuff before the rally later." Anika smiled, snapping her friend out of her train of thoughts as they walked towards the main entrance of the school. "But I'll see you in class. I promise." She added giving Camille a quick squeeze before running off into the school and towards the locker room leaving Camille completely alone. Today was going to be a long day.