Scar Red

3: New Opportunities

When we were done making dinner, I proceeded to set the wooden table of our makeshift dining in the living room. Soon enough everyone was seated and as Dad was saying grace on behalf of the food, all six pairs of eyes supposedly shut, I discreetly switched places with Nicholas so that I would be sitting beside Kyle and opposite Caleb on the other end of the table.

Or maybe it's Kyle that's opposite me and Caleb beside, so hard to tell but what I could tell would be the look on their faces when the time came. I told Nicholas what they did so he was in full agreement with my plans.

Not that we were making a caricature of the sanctity of the prayer for our eyes were still closed when we swapped, having calculated the proximity of the table's edge to their bodies and mastered the art of weight transferring from one part to the other; it was a piece of cake. Besides, it wasn't the first time we were doing this.

Nicholas and I were very well-versed in stealth and those other survival skills. We were the most dangerous duo of our time, we would go into war unarmed and emerge victorious, we would expertly manoeuvre our way to the cookie jar, swiping some and escaping unscathed...well, sometimes. We would make guns out of bamboo to play with.

Ahh! The good ol' times. We were real pains in the derriere of our parents but now we've well outgrown those things and I hoped they would too.

Thinking of it, we weren't much different from the twin heralds of destruction over here, I saw a peek of myself every time I saw them with that look on their faces, you know, the ones that said 'we're up to no good.' Truly, the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree.

"Amen," Dad concluded.

"Amen," we chorused simultaneously.

The both of them were chuckling among themselves, I wondered what was so funny, maybe one had told a joke during prayer. Talk about sacred impertinence.

On opening their eyes, Caleb was the first to gasp, earning a curious stare from Mother, if Dad heard it, he didn't show it. Beside me, Kyle followed his brother's line of vision to me, must have not seen that one coming, eh? Now I've resumed calling them randomly, it's less confusing that way.

Nicholas smirked at the both of them while I began to eat my food, innocently ignoring their grave expressions. It was a delicious meal of pasta if I do say so myself.

After all, Mother and I prepared it, she said my cooking would be exquisite...in another life, 'cause calling it bad would be a grave if not horrible understatement—all those unfortunate ingredients that had fallen hapless victims to my doomed cooking expeditions—it was a miracle that this meal was edible.

Halfway through the meal, I dabbed my mouth with a napkin and leaned in towards the both of them.

"So...who was it?"

Now they had nowhere else to run, even if they tried to, Mom and Dad would get to know about their little stunt and the consequences would be more aggravating than the one I'd give them. I had them just where I wanted.

They exchanged glances with themselves, arms moving in congruity to point towards the other.

"He did it!" They chorused in unison, without a doubt attracting the attention of the whole table.

I slapped a palm to my forehead frustratedly, hearing Nicholas's deep mirthful chortles that seemed nigh mocking.

The rest of dinner went by uneventfully and I couldn't be more thankful.

"Those twain little runts!"

I was only trying to fish out the culprits so he could receive his just punishment despite that they chose to suffer together, if one did something, they both took the blame no matter what, it's like some kind of twin instinct—admirable really, but dumb—and they knew I would feel sort of guilty punishing the pair of them if it's only one that wronged, it's my vulnerability so they use it against me just for the fun of it.