𝘼𝙁𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙒𝙀 𝘾𝙍𝘼𝙎𝙃𝙀𝘿 ↣ 𝙊𝙉𝙀 𝘿𝙄𝙍𝙀𝘾𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉

10. PAPER HOUSES

[THREE WEEKS LATER]

On Keenan and Karter's first day of school, Louis and I woke up with them.

The morning was filled with the four of us spinning around each other, trying to get things together. At times like this, it was easy to remember that Louis and I were only really about ten years older.

"Breakfast? You should eat before you go to school," Louis announced. "Food for thought, literally."

"That was the worst joke I've ever heard," Karter said dryly. He smiled after, showing that he was only joking.

"What do we even have to eat?" I asked. I quickly looked though the pantry, fridge and freezer. "Ice cream?"

"For breakfast?" Keenan laughed.

"Why not," Louis said. He grabbed down four bowls and I found the ice cream scooper. I tried to scoop the ice cream. It was quite literally ice.

"Here, I got it," Karter said. I slid him the tub and he scooped it without issue.

"It's warmer now," I said flatly.

"It got warmer in the ten seconds it took between when you tried it and when he tried it?" Louis asked sarcastically.

"Yes, it did," I laughed defensively. Karter slid bowls of ice cream to his sister, Louis and I. I took the tub and tossed it back into the freezer.

While we ate, I ran over a checklist.

"Book bags?" I asked.

"By the door," Keenan said.

"And you have everything you need in them? Books, pencils, that type of thing?"

"Yes," Karter said.

"And just to go over everything one more time. Karter's gonna drive you two to school and he's taking the Rover. It has plenty of gas, but if you guys want to stop at a gas station or something and get snacks after school that's fine."

"Please don't crash," Louis added helpfully.

"I probably won't," Karter said.

"Probably?" Keenan asked skeptically.

"Nothing in life is guaranteed," Karter shot back.

"You're an idiot," Keenan laughed.

"Smarter than you!"

"You are not! Just because you can build your funky little robots doesn't make you smarter than me!" Keenan laughed.

Louis and I shared a look and smiled. Keenan and Karter bickering was always entertaining. More than that, though, it showed that they still had a little bit of childishness in them, regardless if they wanted to think it or not.

"You're right, the thing that makes me smarter than you is the fact that you have no brain."

"How are you gonna say I have no brain and then say something as stupid as that?"

"Okay," Louis laughed, jumping in to play referee. "you guys need to get to school." Louis gave Karter the keys and took the ice cream bowls from both kids. Karter spun the keys around his finger and picked up both book bags. He handed one to his sister and opened the door.

"Be good!" I called.

"Never!"

"Okay!"

Karter and Keenan called back at the same time with different responses, making me laugh. The door closed. Louis and I shared a look and I smiled at him.