Uniquely Normal

Chapter 11: Glee

"Let's go." Coen raced past me chuckling as I followed in pursuit. Once back to the main level, I ran upstairs to go get our shoes as he ran to go get our coats.

I burst through my room door searching the room for my fuzzy boots. I could hear Coen and Joey yelling with loud laughter, urging me to continue. I slipped them on fast, almost sliding down the steps in my rapid urgency. Coen joined in my steps, swinging open the front door.

My face winced as the cool air slapped me and we discovered it had been snowing.

A lot.

The streets were already covered in the glimmering white blanket and running through the snow like its sand was a workout I had not been prepared for. "It's right across the street." I pointed, running into the road.

"Do you not look out for cars?!" Coen threw his hands up into the air. He let out a huge huff and smiled, quickening his march. "I did already slow poke!" I treaded through the thick snow up to the black steps which you could no longer tell the color of, and lightly knocked on the ice-cold door.

Before I could knock on the door a second time it swung open. Mr. Peters was standing with a plate of cookies. His cat was curled up in front of his feet, blending into the shaggy carpet with its light gray fur.

"Cookie?" He mumbled moving the red plate towards me. He munched as crumbs fell into his white beard and onto the floor. The cat was sure to quickly eat them.

"No thank you." I giggled. He smiled brightly and raised a brow as his eyes landed on Coen. "And who is this?" He winked at me. Coen stepped forward and rose for a handshake. "Ooh. Strong grip."

"I'm Coen. Coen McAllister."

"You look just like your father did back when I taught that CPR class decades ago, wow!" His smile dropped a little, sadness glistening in his eyes. "Sorry about your brother." Coen gave a gentle smile and a head nod of understanding. Our city was big, but all the while far too small.

Mr. Peters stepped away from the door and came back to give us a piece of paper. "This is the next clue kids. Hurry and good luck!" We smiled and spoke out gratitude, getting ready to zoom back into the house.

Mr. Peters grabbed my arm softly, stopping me from turning away and walking. "If you have any plans of getting back with Malik, you might wanna make it clear to Coen that you're not interested." He shrugged. "It the way he looks at you."

I widened my eyes. "What? How did you know about our breakup?" I whisper yelled.

"You dad gossips a lot at work." He shrugged again. "I'm just saying, its easy when your young to forget how much romance and love actually impacts you. And how easy it is to accidently hurt the people you care about. All I'm saying is, be careful. Don't think about it too much, I can see the worry on your face." He placed a cookie in my hands and smiled before closing the door. I sat there in confusion, slightly anxious from his worrisome don't worry.

Coen yelled the note out loud, beginning to dash back across the road. "The freezer! Key word ice!" I quite my thoughts and made a break for it back to the house, attempting to glide across the black ice and sleet. I slipped in the road, my arms flailing in tune with Coen's guttural laughter.

With Coen by my side, we quickly burst into the house, slip off our shoes, and run to the kitchen. Wesley and Joey were already there. The freezer door was open, the teal ice cube tray was on the granite kitchen island, and Wesley was sucking hard on an ice cube.

That must be where the clue is. In the freaking ice cube.

"Suck it harder! Faster!" Joey yelled as attempted words of encouragement, although they did nothing but make Wesley laugh. The ice cube flew out of his mouth and onto the floor. "You can't say shit like that man! Now come on. Once we get the clue, we're gonna throw it so it's harder for them to find it."

"We can hear you ya know." Coen reminded them causing Wesley to have another laughing fit. The ice cube popped out of his mouth and slid onto the kitchen island. Both teams were about the same distance away.

An old western stare down occurred between Joey and I. Both of our eyes darting between each other and the ice cube. He squinted his eyes and cocked his brow and simultaneously we both reached for the cold ice cube. I bumped him hard with my hip causing him to fly to the left against the stove.

Gripping the ice cube, I slammed it down hard onto the counter causing it to break apart. Inside was a small laminate picture of a dollar bill, a quarter and a penny. Joey snatched it from my hands, both him and Wesley joining our confused expressions.

"A dollar twenty-six? What kinda clue is that. Especially since it's the last one." Coen huffed. "Yeah, I'm confused." Wes scratched the back of his neck slowly.

I put a finger to my lips signaling everyone to be quiet.

A dollar and some change? What is it?

Money.

What does money have to do with my parents. They make a lot of it but that's not it. Money. Money. Money. Think about today. It's Christmas Eve. But it's also their anniversary. The party? We spent a lot of money on that shit.

My thoughts were all over the place until Coen whispered into my ear. "Maybe we should think abstractly. Yes it's one dollar and twenty six cents but think of it written out as 1.26." He shrugged. Little did he know how smart that thinking was.

As I repeated the words, it hit me. "One twenty six! It's a time! My dad has this old clock from his grandfather in their bedroom and the time is stuck on one twenty six!" I hurriedly whispered into his ear, sure I got spit probably somewhere on his face.

"When I say go, we're going to run up the stairs to my parents' room. The first door on the left is their room." He nodded in response as I wink. As if on cue, Tyrone runs toward the kitchen searching for his next clue. "Are you serious?" He huffed once he saw us all standing there already, throwing his hands in the air.

I took a deep breath and turned to face the stairs as nonchalant as I could. 1, 2, 3.

"Go!" Through a burst of energy Coen and I made a break for the stairs. His athleticism was definitely present as he zoomed past me very quickly. I could hear Joey and Wes running too as they realized we figured out the clue.

The stairs creaked heavily with our pattering footsteps. My mom and dad stepped out of the room clapping their hands with excitement. We hit the stairs with a loud boom. This gave me an opportunity to go for it. Coen was fighting off Wes when I felt a pair of sweaty hands grip my calves. The stairs were too narrow for all the fighting and with Tyrone now in the mix, if one of us fell, we were all going down.

We were shoving and tripping each other, and Coen eventually burst throw the crowd of hands, darting up the rest of the stairs and moonwalking comically into the room. I could hear my parents erupt in cheers.

I soon followed, jumping onto Coen's back in glee. "Good game lil bro." I patted Wes' shoulder laughing while breathing heavy.

"I'm younger than you by three months!" His face was slightly getting red. He was a really big sore loser. As the loud chatter quieted down, Coen looked up at me, his lips pulling in a bright smile. "This has by far been one of the best Christmases I've ever had. Carson would've loved you."

My heart fluttered, a small, shocked expression forming on my face, covered by a smile to mask how much a small compliment impacted me. "From the way you love him, I think I would have loved him too."