Two weeks off with nothing to do?
Not anymore.
Chapter Two
Later that evening, the scent of roasted vegetables, grilled fish, and fresh-baked bread filled the apartment, mingling with the faint floral aroma of the night air drifting through the open balcony doors. The apartment was warm and lived-in, a home that carried the essence of their family in every space.
Phoenix and Spring kicked off their shoes when they came into the living room. Their school backpacks were piled in the corner near the front door, adding to the clutter in the front foyer. They left them there for the time being rather than in their bedroom, which looked like a cyclone had hit it.
They were supposed to put their shoes in the shoe box their mom had placed by the front door, but it was already overflowing. If she remembered, she’d remind Spring they needed to put them up when they went back to their bedroom.
A stack of half-read books lay scattered across the coffee table, along with a few loose data pads filled with unfinished schoolwork. Their symbiots sprawled lazily across the couch and chairs, one of them purring in its sleep while the other emitted soft, contented snores.
Phoenix reached for another roll as she sat next to her sister at the long, polished dining table. They were almost finished with the delicious meal their dad had made. She was stuffed, but she couldn’t resist the last roll.
“Well,” Creon chuckled, watching her. “I think I’ve outdone myself this time if you are going back for thirds.”
Spring snorted. “Dad, that nothing is burnt is already a win. We’re starving from the last couple of meals you made.”
Phoenix grinned. “Yeah, you didn’t set off the fire suppression system this time. That’s pretty impressive.”
Creon wiggled his nose and grunted, trying not to grin at their teasing. “If you two don’t want me to cook, I can always let you do it,” he suggested.
“Are you kidding? Forget the fire suppression system, we’d probably burn down the house,” Spring mumbled around a mouthful of veggies.
Phoenix nodded. “Not to mention, can you imagine what the kitchen would look like?”
Their dad straightened and looked over their heads at the living room. He shook his head.
“If it looks anything like the rest of the house and your bedroom—no, I don’t want to imagine that,” he dryly replied.
Spring giggled and scooped another bite into her mouth and chewed thoughtfully. “Besides… would you rather suffer through our cooking—and the disaster that follows where you have to explain to mom why she needs a new kitchen—or take our backhanded compliment and enjoy this rare moment where dinner is actually edible?”
Phoenix caught the tug on her dad’s lips, and she finally figured out why he was so relaxed tonight. He had been frazzled when it came to dinner time since their mom left on her trip. The first night, they ended up eating sandwiches. Last night had been soup. She looked at the dinner roll that was almost gone.
“You had the palace chef make dinner,” she murmured, her eyes flashing from the roll to her dad’s face.
“I knew this tasted familiar!” Spring exclaimed, laughing when their dad groaned and bowed his head.
“Okay, I may have given in and asked Cook to help—a little. I still had to put everything in the oven. Your mom makes cooking look easy. Give me a weapons system and some tools and I’m in heaven. Put me in a kitchen and I can’t figure out how she does it,” he grumbled.
Phoenix reached out and placed her hand over her dad’s. “That’s okay. We loved the soup and sandwiches.”
“We just didn’t enjoy smelling the burnt stuff before it,” Spring muttered, glancing at the reason the balcony doors and windows were still open.
“What did you girls do today?”
Phoenix glanced at her sister. Guilt swept through her. It wasn’t what they did today that made her feel guilty. It was what they were planning to do tomorrow that tugged at her conscience. Spring shrugged her shoulders.
“Hung out in the garden with the others. Roam was being a jerk, but other than that, not much,” Spring said.
“I’m reading a really cool story,” Phoenix replied.
Creon frowned. “What was Roam doing?”
“Nothing. Just being Roam,” Spring mumbled.
“What about you? How are the renovations going in the amusement park?” Phoenix asked, sensing her sister’s withdrawal.
