Keira returns home, glancing towards the rest of the front room as she carefully walks through the room in her socks. Her boots are left by the door and the indistinct sound of a television covers her arrival.
She puts her messenger bag down on a waist-high bookshelf, filled with random books, boxes and two picture frames. One is a photo of Keira and Abby hugging at a park as children. The other is mostly cut off from view, but a blonde, curly-haired toddler is being held in a man’s arms. A vintage oval mirror hangs above the bookshelf at eye level.
As Keira sneaks by behind her, Carolynn’s sits on the couch, her gaze unwavering from the screen. Keira almost makes it to the stairs before her mom calls out to her, turning off the TV without so much as a glance towards her daughter.
Carolynn, blasé: You missed dinner.
Keira flinches at being caught, but recovers quickly and pretends she wasn’t just trying to sneak upstairs without being seen by her mother.
Keira: Yeah, I was visiting with some, ah…new friends?
Carolynn startles to see Keira’s injuries.
Carolynn, concerned: Oh Kiwi, again with the scrapes and bruises? What happened?
Creator Comments
Keira is a bad liar when she's not expecting to be questioned! Which was poor foresight on her part, since sneaking in through the front door has very high chances of being caught lol.
Kiwi is Keira's nickname from childhood! Toddler Abby couldn't pronounce her baby sister's name yet, and this was as close as she could get for a while. It delighted another young family member, who would use it all the time on purpose until even their parents started using it. It stuck, to older Keira's frustration (Anyone who points out that she still has a kiwi bird plushy will be scowled at and/or ignored with extreme prejudice).
Be kind and stay hydrated! – M.G.