“Is... Lenore... here?” she asked, the words a little delayed, like her tongue didn’t want to cooperate.
“Yeah,” I said, stepping aside. “Come in.”
She entered with awkward steps, eyes scanning the room, but they landed on me again. Stuck there.
Then Lenore came running in, bright-eyed for the first time all day.
“Sophie!” she beamed. “Are you going to teach me to roller skate today?”
Sophie nodded, still glancing back at me between smiles. She leaned into Lenore and whispered something. I caught my name. Or at least the shape of it.
Lenore just giggled.
Great.
I leaned against the doorway, arms crossed.
She has a crush on me.
Cute.
But no chance.
I sat on the front porch, trying to lose myself in a book, but I wasn’t really reading. I couldn’t.
Around the house, I could hear Lenore and Sophie circling again and again in their roller skates, laughing like the whole world belonged to them. They flew past the doorframe for what must have been the thirtieth time, lollipops stuck between their teeth, voices high with sugar and joy.
I tried to stay patient.
Turned another page I hadn’t even looked at.
But the sound of those wheels grinding over the floor and their giggles cutting through the air scraped at something in me.
I looked up, fixing my eyes on Lenore.
“Hey, Trouble. Will you stop?”
She slowed, smiled at me, and asked, “Stop what?”
“That,” I said, pointing at her skates.
“Okay, fine,” she replied, dragging the words over her tongue, then put the lollipop back into her mouth and moved toward the stairs.
For a second, I thought she was going to listen.
Instead, she turned around and started skating again, this time slower, tighter circles right at the front door. Just to spite me.
I breathed in, deep and slow, trying to hold onto what little calm I had left. They both giggled like they had cracked some code to drive me insane.
I stood up without a word, walked to the front door, and shut it in their faces.
“Bye-bye,” I said through the glass, giving them a wave.
Brat.
If I had known she would annoy me this much, I would’ve stayed in the attic with the dust and the ghosts. At least they didn’t laugh so loud.
EIGHT
