" Shh... Sam's still sleeping," I whispered, facing her now with a conspiratorial grin.
" Okay, I'll be a quiet mouse," Anna giggled, mimicking a tiny creature in its tiptoes.
We entered the living room, doing our best to step around the creaky floorboards that seemed to always give us away. Just as I was exhaling in relief over our sneakiness, the fluorescent lights flickered and blinded for a second as Sam's silhouette came into view leaning against the wall, scowling at us. His messed-up hair and sleepy eyes could not hide the irritant oozing from him.
"What do we have here?" he drawled, crossing his arms tightly over his chest. "Didn't I tell you to keep it quiet? Or were you just too busy dragging annoying friends onto my property?" "It's nice to see you too, Sam," Anna shot back, her bravado full on as she crossed her arms over her chest in defiance.
"Yeah, I didn't know I needed your approval to invite my friends over," I said, trying to lighten the tension between us.
"Do you really think she's going to bring anything but chaos into this house?" Sam retorted with sardonic sarcasm, his lips curled into a smirk, his eyes dancing wickedly in Anna's direction. "You're like a tornado in a library".
"Oh, please. What's your greatest contribution to this household, Sam? Snoring?" Anna shot back, her eyes aglow with mischief.
"You know, if you were half as smart as you thought you were, you'd know that snoring is a talent you can't touch," Sam said matter-of-factly, smirking.
I rolled my eyes frustration bubbling inside me. This was starting to feel like a sitcom I desperately wanted to turn off. "Both of you, knock it off!" I snapped. "Sam, to your room. Anna, you're coming with me". They froze, staring at each other as if I had just announced a national emergency.
"Wait, what?" Sam raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms even tighter.
"Seriously, I'm sick of you two yelling at each other like cats in a poke," I muttered, tugging Anna's hand and heading for the stairs. "Come on"
The higher I dragged Anna up the stairs, the less her feet touched the steps, and from below, I could hear Sam's frustrated groan; a door slammed, emphasizing his irritation.
As soon as I was inside the safety of my room, I let out a heavy sigh and casually flicked my bag of clothes to a chair in the corner. Anna plopped herself dramatically onto my bed, swung her legs over the edge and stretched out like a cat basking in the sun.
"He's such a jerk sometimes, you know?" Anna grumbled, her voice dripping with teenage disdain. She turned her head to look at me, her eyes glittering with amusement despite her words. "I swear, that guy lives to get under my skin".
I plonked myself down beside her, and my weight made the mattress sag just a little. The corner of my mouth tweaked upward in a crooked smile. "Tell me about it," I chuckled softly, shaking my head in amazement. "Sometimes I am still wondering how we managed to have such. unique dynamics in our relationship".
Anna snorted, flipping onto her stomach and resting her chin on her hands. Her hair fanned out around her face in a sort of halo. "Unique? That's one way of putting it. How would more accurate be, for Sam, annoyingly stubborn, annoyingly smug". She stopped, with her fingers tapping thoughtfully against her chin. "You know, I was just now thinking. perhaps we start betting. Each time he does something very annoying, we bet one dollar each, then till the week is over, we are well off!" Anna grinned mischievously on; her eyes shone full of mischief.
Where will we get the money?" I asked, laughing, as I raised my left eyebrow. "We're both out of work".
Anna was dismissive, waving it off as her smile remained buoyant. "Details, details! We'll sort something out. Maybe sell some of Sam's precious comic book collection behind his back? " In a flash, she sprang upright, her eyes bright with excitement. "Oh, or we could start a YouTube channel! I bet people would pay good money for advice on how to deal with impossible siblings like yours".
Anna jumped off the bed, pacing back and forth as ideas seemed to pour out of her. "We could have competitions, like who can make Sam crack first during family dinner. Or maybe a series about the art of the perfect eye roll. Oh! And definitely an episode about the secret language of slamming doors and exasperated sighs".
"Okay, okay!" I laughed, hurling a pillow at Anna, who was already half-bouncing up and down with enthusiasm. "You stay here, I need to pee," I said, heading for the door. Anna caught the pillow out of the air, clutched it to her chest, and plopped back down on the bed.
"Okay, okay, I'll hold off on my brilliant ideas for now!" she called after me in a playful voice. "But don't stay too long! Genius waits for no one, you know".
As I stepped out into the hallway, the muffled sound of a video game could be heard from behind Sam's closed door. It seemed he had retreated to his usual sanctuary. I had just left the bathroom, drying my hands, when Sam's bedroom door swung open unexpectedly; the sudden movement made me jump. Strong arms enfolded my waist from behind as I was pulled against a firm chest. A large hand clamped over my mouth, stifling the surprised cry that threatened to escape.
"Shh, not a word," Sam growled softly into my ear, the heat of his breath tickling my skin. In one fluid movement, he picked me up in his arms, just like a bride, tugged the door open farther and whisked me inside the room.
