Crazy Not Zany

Chapter 19: Big Brother

Shayna was by the door again and Gekko knew better than to drag her from it. The last time she had thrown a full-on tantrum, Gekko just couldn't handle that right now. He was lying in the lower bunk of the bunk beds, watching her. Her tail swished back and forth in the air as she eagerly spied on their guards on the other side of the door. Even from here, he could hear the murmurs of their conversation. But he chose to ignore it. Shaking his head, Gekko returned his attention to his reading homework. Biting the pencil eraser, he glared at the paper before him. There was a sentence written at the top of the paper in cursive: In a short essay, write about a challenge you had to overcome.

This whole thing was stupid. Gekko would rather do the math equations than write this essay. A challenge? Try being in prison. That's a challenge for you. Gekko sighs and tosses the paper to the side. He plants his face into the pillow in front of him. He can't do math, he can't even write an essay, what can he do?

Within the silence of the cell, he begins to hear whispering. He glances up and notices Shayna muttering to herself. Looking at her from behind, she sat in front of the door, braiding her long hair. A nervous habit Gekko knew she had when she felt anxious. Gekko sits up and jumps off the bed, walking over to his sister.

"Shayna?" Gekko asks upon getting closer. He frowns when she doesn't respond, instead she keeps muttering.

"...stupid...episode...Zekko..." That is all he can hear from her.

Gekko taps her shoulder. Shayna flinches and turns around, dropping her hair from mid-braid. Her eyes widened in surprise. Then she plasters on a smile.

"Come to finally join me?" Shayna asks, absolutely chipper.

"No," Gekko says bluntly. He pondered for a moment whether to ask if she was alright but changed his mind. "They say anything interesting?"

"Kinda." Shayna turns to face the door. She crosses her arms. "Prisoner 001 had a visitor today. Some old flame."

"Oh," Gekko says, disinterested. He scratches his chin. "You plan on staying here-"

Shayna holds up a hand, slapping it over his mouth. "Shhh! They're speaking again!"

Gekko removes her hand and glares at her, as Shayna then presses her ear against the door, ignoring him entirely. Gekko rolls his eyes.

"I just wanted to know-"

Shayna places a finger to his lips, shushing him. "Silence, please."

She retracts her hand, returning to the task at hand. Gekko scowls at her back but then realizes something. Half of her hair was covered in braids. Biting his lip, he grabs Shayna by the arm.

"Shayna, give it a rest."

"Quiet Gekko!" Shayna hisses, trying to brush him off. "They just got to the good stuff."

"Can't you gossip later?" Gekko reprimands, pulling at her arm once more. Attempting to catch her attention, only for her to yank herself away.

"No," Shayna says bluntly. "Now shut up. You're making me miss everything!"

Gekko runs a hand through his hair, muttering curses under his breath. As much as he wished he could just let her be, he knew better than that. She never gets this riled up over eavesdropping on the guards.

He crossed his arms. "Shayna."

She doesn't respond.

"Shayna, I'll scream." He threatens.

Shayna snaps her head to him. "You wouldn't."

Gekko locked eyes with her. "Try me."

They stared into each other's eyes. Then with a defeated grunt, Shayna turns away from the door. She gives him the stink eye and Gekko scoffs.