The Abominations | Ilvermorny

Chapter 2

I'm sitting at the kitchen table, drinking some orange juice straight out of the jug, when mother comes downstairs. She's wearing her grey nightgown, had her caramel hair tied up, and looked really tired. She rubbed her tired eyes while standing in the kitchen doorway for a moment. 

"I don't see a cup missy." She grumbles. 

I tried to smile as I set the jug on the table. "Sorry."

She groans and sits at the table with me, pulling the wooden chair out along the floor so it'd make a loud noise. Then, she takes her wand from her pocket and waves it. The kettle began to boil and eggs fly out of the cupboard and start to form omelets on the stove. 

Mother, despite being tired, is quite beautiful. Her hair has a natural wave to it, and she keeps it just above shoulder length. Her lips are thin and surrounded by smile lines and her cheeks are freckled with sun damage. Above her undereye bags are her gorgeous nutmeg eyes I've always been jealous of.

"Why are you up so early?" She asks me. 

I shrug. 

"How're you feeling?"

"Fine, Mother."

A cup of coffee floats over to her and lands in her hand. 

"Mind waking the rest of the house up? Mama is taking a shower."

Yes, I mind. 

"Do I have too?" I ask. 

Mother nods and sips from her cup.

Fine. 

There are seven wizards living in this house, I say 'wizards' instead of 'people' because my siblings and I don't qualify to use that term. 

Our house is small, made of stone, and on a large property outside Vancouver. During the summer, us kids aren't really allowed to leave the property, but I know my oldest brother has snook out a couple of times to visit his no-maj friend who lives down the road. He get's away with it too. If I were to sneak out, well, it'd be a different story. 

I sit up, knocking the chair behind me dramatically to make a loud screeching noise across the floor. Mother ignores it. So, after sighing, I venture up the stairs. 

The first door closest to the stairs is my sister Kate's room. It used to be a bathroom but they converted it to a special room for her. She's the oldest out of all of us and this year will be her last at Ilvermorny. 

Knock Knock. 

I hear some splashing followed by wet footsteps. Then, she abruptly opens the door. 

"What?" 

Kate's murky greenish-brown hair was dripping all down her shirt and all over the floor. She wore her pj shorts and a tank top that showed off her flaky, ashy skin.

"Wake up." I say mockingly. 

I notice she wasn't wearing her leg and foot braces yet. It's strange, she can walk and stand without them for short periods of time, but her joints and muscles in her legs get sore quickly. They're thin, and mostly help her with support. She usually covers the braces with thick socks that match the school's colors but aren't technically uniform. She gets away with it because our parents told the school she has a severe case of eczema. Which, by looking at her, is believable. 

She rolls her yellowy brown eyes. "I'm obviously up, pasty." 

"Just checking, crusty." 

It's not that she and I don't get along. But, we don't really get along that well. She's in Horned Serpent, so she prides herself on her knowledge. By 'prides herself' I mean shoves it down everyone else's throat. I call her crusty because of her skin, and she calls me pasty because, well, I'm pretty white.