𝐈𝐍𝐕𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐁𝐋𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 ∽ 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬

𝘊𝘏𝘈𝘗𝘛𝘌𝘙 𝘚𝘌𝘝𝘌𝘕

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▏INVISIBLE STRING ▕
➫ ———— act one. gold rush
CHAPTER SEVEN ─── the last time
to listen to ➺ iris by the goo goo dolls

all I ever wanted to know was what to do.

— dave eggers, you shall know our velocity

☼

MORNINGS IN THE SHOUPE-GREY HOUSEHOLD WERE WHAT ANYONE COULD EXPECT FROM A FAMILY MADE UP OF A WORKAHOLIC MOTHER AND HER TWO INTROVERTED DAUGHTERS: EXTREMELY QUIET. Petunia Shoupe was regularly out of the house by seven thirty, and the girls usually chose to stay holed up in their own rooms. So, it was rare to spot someone wandering the house before ten.

It was even rarer to hear someone.

Of course, the stillness of the morning would offer no difference to Josie's intake of sleep. The Grey girl had never experienced problems staying asleep. As soon as she was pulled into slumber, it was nearly impossible to wake her until she was ready.

Because of Josie's well-known habit of oversleeping, she almost never woke to an alarm. Meaning that, most of the time, someone else had to come in and turn the clock off. They would then wake her for whatever she had to do, before angrily stomping out of her room and back to their own sanctuary.

So, it was unsurprising that, as her alarm blared the morning after the compass recovery, Josie sleepily curled into her pillow, completely careless. It was a daily ritual.

But what was noticeably different that time was that it was seven in the morning, during summer.

This fact had Naomi Grey fuming as she stomped through their shared bathroom, eye practically twitching as she pressed her palms to her ears. The loud screech of the alarm was agonizing, and Naomi was sure she would go insane just listening to it.

She marched around Josie's bed to the clock, slamming her palm down on the snooze button and relishing in the silence. She turned to glare at the peacefully sleeping seventeen-year-old, who had not a care in the world as her apocalyptic tornado siren blared through the second floor. She huffed, grabbing one of Josie's spare pillows, and gave a strong thwack to her sister.

But she was only met with a light snore. Naomi hit her once again, and she became even more frustrated when she gained no new reaction.

Rolling her eyes, she threw the pillow back on the bed and glanced around her sister's room to find inspiration for waking her sister. The idea easily came to her, and a smirk curled its way onto her lips. She quickly raced back to her own room, grabbing exactly what she needed.

Expertly, she held the two giant, hissing cockroaches in her hands. She hurriedly made her way back to Josie's room, a bounce in her step, as she quietly cooed at the insects. Naomi knew from experience that the easiest way to wake her sister was to tickle her feet.