The Unsolvable Equation

Chapter Thirteen

The first thing Alexia noticed when she reached home was that the house next door had all its lights turned on. That was strange, because Alexia's grumpy old neighbours never had their lights turned on. The front lawn was mowed and the mailbox a bright shade of blue. She heard laughter ring out from inside the house, something that was previously seemingly illegal within the ten metre radius of that household. This could only mean one thing: Alexia had new neighbours.

She considered going over and establishing a civil relationship with the new family next door, in case she needed their help in the future. However, she was sure that a family that welcomed laughter would be making the first move to get social soon, so she decided to delay the pleasantries. Once she entered the house though, and found her brother in the living room, with Suzanne sitting on his lap, in the midst of a passionate embrace, she wished that she had stopped over instead.

"Oh for God's sake, Ryan," Alexia groaned. "Go to your own bloody room."

Suzanne looked up, startled and immediately scooted off to his side. Her face red and Alexia didn't know whether it was because of embarrassment or … some other reason that she did not want to entertain, and she sure hoped it was not the latter. "Hey Alexia," she said, breaking into a nervous grin.

Ryan scowled at her. "Screw off, Alexia. Go say hi to our new neighbours or something."

Alexia narrowed her eyes at her brother. "Yeah, I assume you've done so."

"Eh, they'll come around eventually. Besides, Mom's already there making friends."

"Fantastic, that's our job done," she said and headed up the stairs.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Suzanne and Ryan wait for her to disappear, and then fell back into devouring each other. Once again, Alexia, who wasn't very keen on the daily dose of saliva exchange, was reminded of why she did not want a boyfriend. Alexia dumped her bag on the floor next to her bed and flopped down on it. The thought that she had to clean her room occurred to her, as it did once or twice a week, but she pushed it away again.

Alexia's room was turning into a rat's nest. A pile of worksheets filled up one side of her table, and the other miscellaneous junk whose origins she forgot. Her closet was a pile of identical clothes and her shelves were filled with awards she had accumulated over the years. Alexia's mother would complain about her room constantly, until Alexia reminded her of the dumping ground that was her brother's room next door. In those moments, Alexia could practically see the adoption agency's number flash across her mother's face.

Today, the state of the her room was the least of Alexia's concerns. Picking up the phone, she dialled K.H's number and counted three rings, K.H's usual waiting time, before her call was answered.

"Talk to me," K.H said by way of greeting.

"The circus called, they needed a new psychic and you've got the job. Guess who's got a date to the dance!"

Alexia could practically hear K.H grinning at the other end. "Well, to be fair, it wasn't the boldest prediction in the world. But I want to hear details!"