That afternoon found me home alone –AGAIN. I had an inkling that my brother wouldn’t be home until past six. He’s my younger brother, mind you, but it seems like he’s even more out there than me. To answer the question I know would be on your mind by now, yes, we live alone. As to the why part, well, maybe we should get to that now before things start getting confusing. Our mom’s been abroad for nearly four years now. And my dad, well, he died more than a year ago.

No need to get all weepy though.

I started to get into the whole responsible sister crap and cooked the food, silently wondering when I’d start going crazy. Hell, when you go home to an empty house almost everyday, talk to no one but your cat, it’s only a matter of time.

My phone rang.

“And sometimes, ”I muttered. “That’s when you start being grateful about your friends.” I added as an afterthought, before I answered my phone. “No matter how weird they can get.”

“Hello.”

“Ax!”

I cringed slightly at the sound. I should have checked the caller ID first. Oh well, at least he’s someone to talk to. “Hey, Hero.”

“So what do you think about the Director’s proposition?” he sounded a bit pleased.

“I’m guessing you just got approval from your parents.” But inside I was all, ‘Why are you talking to me you two-headed freak?’

There was a single moment of silence before he spoke again. “Hell, yes.”

I couldn’t help but feel a bit envious. He could have practically everything he wanted if he asked for it. Beauty of being the only student left among five siblings. Absolutely everyone spoiled him. “I haven’t talked to my Mom about it yet. You know how touchy she gets when I mention travel.”

“I could help you. She trusts me, right?”

I laughed. “I don’t know if she trusts you enough to convince her.”

“We could try, you know. Something like this doesn’t come twice.”

“Okay, okay,” I muttered. “I’ll maybe talk to her about it later.” Then I hung up.

All of a sudden, my nose pickled up a vile smell. My eyes widened as I ran back towards the kitchen. I sighed and stared at the ruined dinner. He always does that to me. ALWAYS. With another, heavier sigh, I tried to rescue what was left and dumped the charred part into the wastebasket.

“So I guess we’re having takeout tonight,” Jamie muttered behind me.

I turned to find him looking at my failed creation with a disgusted look on his face. “You’re not seriously making me eat this are you?” he continued, poking at the sauce with his fork. “It looks like it’s breathing.”

I slapped his hand. “Well I’m sorry mister. Why don’t you cook then?”

He made a face. “No thanks.” Then his eyes fell on the envelope on the coffee table. I’d put off looking at it for as long as I can, but now that he’d seen it, I guess there’s no helping it. He grabbed it and began riffling through the contents like it was his letter.

“Hey, what the hell?” I complained.

He stuck a tongue out at me then began to read the contents of said letter. I watched his eyes widen, first in surprise, then in disbelief. “Whoa.”

I grabbed it from his hands and began the task of folding them properly.

“You just got a request to go to Korea!”