The End's Beginning- TLOS

School Drama

"Will you stop kicking me?" Elizabeth screamed at her sister, Carrie. "I swear, I will end you. Mom!"

Bree rushed in, holding a plate of meat she was seasoning for dinner. "Carrie, kicking your sister while watching tv ultimately will lead to no tv for all of you. That includes your brother."

Matthew, the middle child, seemed to hear what she'd said. "Okay, that's totally unfair! I've done nothing but play video games all day!" he yelled from upstairs.

Their mom raised her eyebrows. "At least you're aware of what the issue is. Maybe read a book or two instead. Does anyone wanna help me with dinner?" she asked.

Elizabeth quickly got up and followed her mom. "Anything to get me away from her," she said, sticking her tongue out and walking into the kitchen.

"Fighting with your siblings again?" Elizabeth's dad asked, cutting up some garlic.

"They can get a bit annoying sometimes, but I try to not let it bother me. How did you survive life having a sister, Dad?" She sat down at the kitchen table and leaned her head against her hand, watching her parents work.

"Well, Alex and I are twins, so I guess that made it easier. But I did get annoyed at times, like when she wouldn't shut up about school or when I got compared to her." Conner explained.

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Where's Aunt Alex anyway?" she asked. "I haven't seen her in forever."

She saw her parents look at each other. They were obviously keeping something, but it was probably private, so it would be best to ignore it and leave them alone.

"She's out of the country right now. You know how she's been travelling a lot lately." her Dad said, pretending to focus on the garlic he was chopping.

Elizabeth picked up the book she'd been reading for the past few days and became deeply absorbed in it. The book was about all the fairy tales that everyone knew about but continued by other authors. Her dad sat down next to her after ten minutes of uninterrupted reading.

"What's that book about? Anti-gravity? Looks like it's impossible to put down." Conner joked.

"Oh my goodness, Dad. Your jokes are... wow." Elizabeth laughed.

Her mom placed five plates down, each with broccoli, corn, and a few slices of pork. It smelled amazing.

"Kids! Dinner!" she yelled.

Soon Matthew and Carrie were both sitting down, scarfing down their meals like it was the last time they were gonna eat. Elizabeth rolled her eyes.

"So, Dad. I was reading that book just now, and I was wondering if we could visit the bookstore and get the second book."

"Yeah, sure. We can go down to the bookstore that's just out of town," Conner replied, scooping up some corn with his fork.

Elizabeth bit her lip nervously. "Actually, I did some research last night and... that bookstore doesn't have it. But the other bookstore... Wilson's Bookstore? It has some in stock."

"Oh, sure, we can visit that one, but... it's been a while since I've gone," he answered.

Elizabeth knew that that bookstore had been called Bailey's Books, their family name before the building was sold. It had once belonged to her grandfather, who'd passed away when her dad was Carrie's age.

"You can go tomorrow honey, after school, but right now you need to put your book down and eat your dinner," Bree said.

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