END OF THE BEGINNING

16: Dark Scare

'Dark Scare'

"What did you say to Philip and Peter yesterday?" Tamara demanded as I moved around her room in search of my retractable pen which had gone missing since the last time she stepped into my room.

"Nothing much, I just told them to stay away from me till they sort out their differences. It's ridiculous having men fight over me like that." 

Tamara turned around on the stool she was seated on close to her window.

"True, I find it funny and at the same time challenging." She raised her phone to her face and smiled at something.

  Wondering what it was that caught her attention, I waddled over to her side and peered into her phone. She was watching a celebrity dance video.

This was one of the things we didn't have in common, while she loved fangirling over her favourite celebrities, I wasn't one to jump up and down when my favourite person comes up on my T.V screen or on my phone. I saw stuff like that as unnecessary, I had a life to live and if I lived my life constantly worshipping a set of people, it would just be boring.

In the streets you'd hear whispers of  "Justin Bieber came to California" or "Lady Gaga was in Las Vegas last week" or even worse "Miley Cyrus is my mom's niece." Who had time living life fawning over someone's dream come true?

"If you're about criticizing me, just hold it in." My sister muttered as she noticed my bored expression. Tamara knew me too well.

She understood every of my actions even without me explaining them to her, she even had a list lying in one of her drawers that contained things I disliked, I disliked being curled up on the couch watching sappy movies that made you cry like a baby. I disliked going to crowded places like the zoo or restaurants, I only go there when circumstances beyond my control force me out of my shell.  Even going to the Mall was something I did out of sheer duty. Tamara understood that that's why she rarely asks me to accompany her to the Mall apart from Saturdays when we go out as a family.

This was another moment when I couldn't help but be jealous of my sister, she was a social person, she had a few friends who she hung out with whenever her busy schedule allowed her. She got more invitations to parties more than I did because  everyone saw her as the more active sister.

The last time I went for a party besides the one yesterday was when I was still in college and it ended up in a disaster when I couldn't get anyone to talk to me, I sat in a quiet corner and died out of boredom. Well, not literally though.

Even if I was a young woman now and I had two men fighting for my attention, I couldn't help but think about those little things that differentiated my sister from me.

"You've being standing there for awhile, what's the matter?"

My thoughts cleared and I looked up to see Tamara emerging from her walk-in closet. She had changed from the pair of shorts and tank top into a  red red gown that stopped at her knees. It  wasn't fancy or anything but I knew she had somewhere to go to.

"It's nothing, really."

She shook her hair in disbelief and walked to her dresser and picked up a hair brush.

"I'm not buying that." She replied in a sing-song voice and started brushing her hair slowly, using her fingers to untangle the ends.

"Where are you off to?" I demanded, not willing to share my thoughts with her.

"Michael returned today, he's at the airport, I'm heading over there." She dumped the brush in a drawer and then picked her phone lying on a white fancy chair. She shot me a look that spoke of so much sadness. I had never hid anything from my sister, everything that happened to me, I always shared it with her. As she walked out of her room, I blamed myself for dampening her mood. In fact, I blamed myself for everything going on in my life including being entangled in a love triangle with two guys.