"How many times have I told Ellie...quit taking my shirts..." A loud grumble emitted as a young college student rummaged through her wardrobe. She kept a detailed inventory in her head about the articles of clothing that she had. As had occurred multiple times over the past few weeks, several of her shirts were missing. If she hadn't known better, she would've assumed it to be the work of a mysterious shirt thief. However, the bandit only turned out to be her younger sister.
"Oh Madison it's not too bad...it's cute sharing shirts!" The student mocked her sister, purposely using a slightly higher pitched voice. "Your wardrobe is so cute, I couldn't resist!" She rolled her eyes, simply thinking about the excuses that Madison's younger sister Ellie would produce upon being confronted. It was getting tiresome at this point, every excuse in the book was being thrown.
So was the price of living in a small apartment, the two sisters interacted on a daily basis. With Madison attending college at the local university and Ellie a senior at high school, the two girls were fortunate to be living alone. Their parents were always on the girls' case growing up and when Madison saved up enough money to rent an apartment off campus, Ellie jumped at the opportunity and begged Madison to let her live with her. The younger girl would've given her right arm for her to just get out of the reach of her overbearing parents. Begrudgingly, Madison promised to take care of her younger sister, assuring her parents that she would be ok.
It had worked fine for the first few months over the summer. It was when the two girls returned back to school that affairs started to become strained. Being in college, Madison was always studying or working on her various projects. She was studying to become a computer engineer, something that was far from an easy task. She was lucky enough to not be swamped with a plethora of classes but this was compensated for an envelopment in difficult work.
Of course being in high school, Ellie had no idea of the struggles that her older sister was going through. She only focused on getting through her day, taking her fairly average classes. The only thing that really kept her motivated was her skill at volleyball. She wore the captain's badge on her uniform and it was something that she prided on being. Her numerous accolades lined the shelf on her side of the own small bedroom, constantly reminding her of her athletic superiority over her nerdier sister.
Thus, with the two sisters being generally polar opposites, the two of them faced fewer interactions. Madison was always at the lab and Ellie always at her volleyball practice. In fact, the only real interaction they had was Ellie swiping some of Madison's shirts, something that became a frequent habit.
Madison exited her own bedroom, gently closing the door to her own section of neat, clean, tidy paradise. She checked her watch, glancing down at the time. "3:15...she won't be home for a few hours." She nodded to herself as she opened the door into her younger sister's bedroom. It was the first time she had been in her bedroom in a few weeks, the two of them having an agreement to not touch each other's things. Madison did her best to keep her end of the bargain but Ellie was immune to that sense of honor.
Stepping inside, Madison emerged into a war zone of messiness. Books strewn across the floor, papers cluttered on her once neat desk, her laptop on charge on her bed. Countless shirts strewn across the floor from light t shirts to her seemingly endless pairs of jeans. "I don't get it...she has so many clothes yet she has to steal mine..." Madison grumbled as she gently shut the door. She was tempted to clean her sister's room as a favor to her sanity but she thought better of it. All she wanted was her clothes back.
Making her way over to the dresser, Madison promptly started rummaging through each of the drawers. She had to pull out each shirt individual, seeing if it matched the missing profile from her own wardrobe. Unluckily enough, nothing that she pulled resembled anything from her wardrobe. It was even more difficult, given that they were around the same height despite their age difference.
Madison's eyes soon darted over to the pile of clothes on the floor. In particular, there was a heap right next to her bed. Kneeling down, her hand reached inside the pile as she intended to lift up the pile and place it on the bed. However, as her hand dove inside the pile, the feeling of hard metal appeared in contrast to the soft shirts around it. "What...what is this?" Madison raised a curious eyebrow as she pulled the item out.
In her hand dangled a pair of handcuffs, completely unlocked. The metal was a solid shade of black, in a very similar nature to Madison's hair which she found slightly unsettling. She held the pair of handcuffs in her hand, inspecting them curiously. She knew what they were obviously, having seen them on tv and in movies before. However, her eyes had never seen one in person beyond being carried by a police officer. Now, it appeared that her younger sister had a pair in her possession. The main question running through her head was why? Why would Ellie have a pair of handcuffs?
Before Madison could draw any conclusions, the sound of a door opening pierced the general silence of the room. Madison hurriedly checked her watch. "3:30? She...she shouldn't be home yet!" She muttered out in a panic as she quickly turned to leave, stuffing the handcuffs in the pocket of her jeans. However, before she could leave, the door knob of Ellie's room began to turn. For a split second, Madison thought about diving and trying to hide. However, that would look even more suspicious. She froze up, just as her sister entered into her room.
The door swung open and Ellie stepped in. She was dressed in her volleyball outfit, the white long sleeve shirt and her short shorts that clung to her body, with her soft brunette hair tied up in a ponytail behind her. She looked at her older sister for a second, tilting her head to the side curiously.
"Umm...it's good to see you Maddie..." Ellie broke the silence, her suspicion apparent in her voice. "What...what are you doing in my room?" She got straight to the point.
"I was...searching for the clothes that you took. I know you took them..." Madison responded, assuming the role of a defendant. It absolutely was the truth, even if another thought lingered in her mind regarding what her sister had that she shouldn't own.