The House of Izhar

Chapter 21 - There's Uh Situation

"Brooke, honey," his mother called. "Can you please get off your radio for one second?"

"You've been glued to the thing ever since we departed a week ago," his father agreed.

Brooke still sat there in the corner holding the radio up to his ear. No idea what he's listening to and he seems to be very territorial whenever someone asks.

Meanwhile, Jordan and Birdie seem to have grown closer since that day in the town. Apparently, they have way more in common than they thought. Good for them? I don't really know what to think about this.

Like Rock and I, the twins often spend our daylight on the front deck. Mat had salvaged a wooden plank for us. That might not seem like much but to us, it's a brand-new tool for our practice sessions.

The four of us played this game of two on two. Harry and I against Mat and Rock on 'Capture The Center' a new game we invented. I would try to fling my card to stick at the centre of the board. Mat would use his whip to knock my card out of the centre. Rock would then fling his card, and Harry, would try to prevent him and vice versa. The first team to fifteen cards on the centre of the board wins.

"Did you know..." I spilled. "Avery and Sorian..." I made a romantic gesture and everyone understood immediately.

"I knew it!" Mat exclaimed but I quickly shushed him. "Lucky man, it was going to happen eventually."

"Do you think West knows?"

"Naway mahn... that man is too stuck up in other problems to notice," Harry smiled. "What do you think the lovebirds are up to behind West?"

"Why don't we check?" smirked his twin. Together we cleaned up our game and sneaked to where the two 'might' be. We find the two not long later. The two have been getting a little too careless lately. The eldest Izhar girl, the twins and my favourite uncle's sister, has always been stealthy, and vigilant while at the same time elegant. However, these days... let's just say she's been slipping up. They give signals to each other whenever they want to go to their 'secret' hideout. The engine room. We even learnt the time they usually meet up so we can sneak back there before they enter.

The four of us love to watch them, from hiding, of course. We made bets on who would do what. This show has been going on for several days, but one day, unfortunately, we became too careless when...

"I knew it! Ha!" Harry yelled. We were in the engine room, behind the steaming machinery. We were pouring buckets but it was worth the entertainment. The two lovebirds were in view from our very narrow vantage point, then, they weren't.

"Where did they go?" Rock asked. "You think they left?"

"Not possible, they usually always end their session with a kiss," Mat replied.

"Ugh, just move over," I shoved Rock and the twins to the side, making my way to the peephole. I squinted hard. Still couldn't see any of them.

Then, "Usually end our session? How long have you four been watching?" Avery and her bright emerald eyes appeared into view. I screamed and slammed into Rock. Rock screamed because I screamed. The twins shoved me out. How dare they throw me under the bus? "It's her fault," they say in unison. "She influenced us." They try not to laugh but they fail miserably.

I stumbled, tripping on myself but just as I was about to plummet my face to the floor, Sorian caught me and brought me into a bear hug. "You cheeky bastards!" He tightens his grip on me. I thrashed around but he wouldn't budge.

"Should we punish this one?"

I looked helplessly at the both of them. Oh, no. Avery stretched her fingers and wiggled them around in front of my face. "No, you can't do this to me—stop it hahaha!"

The three guys, the ones that threw me under the bus just stood there laughing at me. Utterly evil! I can't believe them.

One thing anyone should know about me is that I'm incredibly ticklish. Sorian holds me tight while Avery tickles the life out of me. Tears streamed out of my face for a solid minute until they finally let me out. By that time, I was breathing so hard I could barely stand.

"No, way we can let these three go off scot free right?" Sorian smiled, and Avery turned to them menacingly. The boys' smiles dropped. Their eyes grew round. Sorian sauntered over to the twins draping one hand on each.

Rocket made a mad dash for the exit. "Oh, no you don't! If we're getting punished, you'll get it with us!"

"We usually end our sessions with a kiss, right?" Sorian puckered his lips making salivary noises and making a seductive look at either of them. The boys squirmed. "Gross!" one yelled.

We all laughed hard. Avery went over and gave us all a big hug. "Ugh, I hate you all so much right now."

Suddenly, we heard creaks. We broke from our hug to find the giant West descending the stairs. "We have a situation. Come on, hurry up. This isn't a vacation."

We followed after him and saw the 'situation' first-hand. The wind was howling hard. The skies were turning grey. We followed the bustling West inside. Instantly, I saw shocked wide-eyed gasps, and horrified expressions painted across my family's faces. One I'll never forget.