Robbin

2. The Evening Before

The evening before...

As the thick breeze through the window ruffled her hair, a much different thickness than the dry arid wind from Colorado, Terra shoved the strands roughly away and tucked her bangs behind one ear. She scarcely noticed the rustle of the chain around her neck.

"Terra?!"

Her mother's presence immediately dampened Terra's mood. Prior to the interruption her mood had been one of mild annoyance and now threatened to spill over into blunt anger. The tall, normally unimposing presence of her mother was enough to send Terra off in a furious smattering of curses within the last few days, regardless of how polite she was. In fact, maybe it was because she was infuriatingly polite

"It's a little bit bigger than we're used to, but the house is... is coming over nicely, d-don't you think?" her mother's stutter was so pronounced Terra felt a little proud of her ability to stare so intensely without blinking. Her mother deserved it.

"How lucky we are that your father accepted that promotion, huh? T-T-Terra?"

She decided her mother's first question was less imposing than the last which she refused to answer. "Yes, rather nice," she replied curtly before trudging toward the exit.

The hallway outside Terra's door was lined by an enclosing railing on her right and a wall partially occupied by her sister's door on the left. Below the second landing was an entryway which stretched to the distant ceiling enclosing both floors. The vastness of the new house made Terra feel uncomfortable as if she were an ant, meaningless and small. She brushed her hands against the mahogany banister as it bent off and fell down the carpeted stairway which ended in front of a wooden door.

In their old trailer, they had painted over all the dilapidated wood. Cabinets were painted, floors were covered with linoleum, doors were replaced. That was so they could sell it. But now that they had a new house, wood was back in fashion.

The kitchen was as large as everything else to Terra who preferred their home in Colorado. Tan, spotless tile adorned the floor and black marble lined the counter tops and the flat island in the middle. To the left of the kitchen stood the fridge and a little further, a sitting room overtaken by dozens of unloaded boxes, some of them containing new appliances. They were stacked so high that they almost blocked the two crouching figures sifting haphazardly through them.

Her dad had short, black hair, a clean shaven face, and annoyingly welcoming dark brown eyes which peeked over the top of one of the boxes. His voice was warm, like rich honey, and at this moment Terra wished it was easier to dislike. "I think I saw some boxes over there that looked like they belonged to you."

Terra trudged over begrudgingly, trying hard to keep the scowl on her face.

"Still keeping up the silent act, are we?" This voice was sharp and shrill, a different shrillness than her mother's, much more pronounced. Much easier to dislike.

Terra rolled her eyes in her older sister's general direction. "Sarah, when did I ever say I had any 'silent act' going on at all?!"

"You didn't have to say anything at all. That's the point."

Terra glowered. With short layers of black and pink hair, Terra's fair skin, and about the most revealing clothes she could seem to find, Terra's older sister could knock a fly dead with the force of her obnoxious presence in any room.

"Terra, will you keep your voice down, please?" her mother chided from the entrance of the kitchen. Terra felt her mouth drop open at the injustice of it all, but she resolved just then not to say another word, as if to punish the world with her silence.