Krystal's POV

It was only when the house phone rang the ninth time that someone angrily picked the receptor up. This always repeats itself doesn’t it? No one is really keen on picking up the phone, advertisers and scammers just cram your mind up with crap for money in the first few seconds of the speechless pause they get from you. But we’re all aware of the fact that every single time it would end in the same way; with a loud slam of the receptor.

I waited a couple of seconds for it but I never got to hear the overreacted finish sound, instead an elongated pause filled up the time. It took me by surprise so I moved my head slightly to see through the leaves of the areca palm tree hanging off in the hallway. I only saw a hand resting on the furniture, the diamond ring shining was claiming the person who picked up the phone seconds ago: my mother.

A few seconds following later she started to speak. ‘’Oh, that’s great. I’m already excited!’’ her voice giggled here and there. I sat up on the sofa. I nearly started to panic if it wasn’t for my father to smile slightly to himself at my mother’s content. I could completely figure out the use and purpose of voice based on people’s reactions, I started to chill inside because it was nothing bad and rested my back on the sofa again, I always think that if there was something bad to follow that it would be my fault.

I heard the clank of the receptor and she suddenly made an entrance in the living room. This wasn’t my mother but my sister. She flipped her hair onto her right shoulder as she walked in and grabbed a bag of skittles from the coffee table. She dropped her body on the sofa on my right and lit up the screen onto her phone in response to a sudden ‘blump’ sound. A smile started creeping on her face as soon as her eyes shattered across the screen of her phone.

My eyes snapped to her hands as she opened the packet of skittles and spilled the bag out on the sofa. Her eyes also snapped to the skittles that lay out next to her and she quickly mapped out the red ones. She always does that. She eats the red ones and dispenses off the rest. That’s where dad comes in with his lecture but he ignored it this time and kept watching TV.

I realised that now mother stood in front of me and with a looming look. She squeezed her eyes slightly but then released them at me moments later. ‘’You said you had that presentation tomorrow didn’t you?’’ she asked as she put a hand on her hip. I gulped and slowly sat up. I was now wondering if anything was wrong or if I did anything wrong.

‘’How long is it?’’ her voice lead off somehow. ‘’Its two and a half hours afterschool’’ I said and looked back up at her eyes. She exhaled and looked back to my father. ‘’I knew we would have some sort of problem. Anna just called and said we’re having another family reunion, and as always I’m always the last to find out because my letter would be too late. We just had to be the only ones far away.’’ She kept pacing to the right to get in my father’s vision way.

He fixed his eyes on her and finally caught up on what she said. ‘’We’re not going through what happened last year are again?’’ he asked and my mother sighed. ‘’Well...’’ she trailed and looked at me and I shrinked. ‘’We already have our first candidate to have a long and tiring trip because she has to attend a school project presentation afterschool tomorrow and that’s the exact day that we have to be at the family reunion too’’ she sat down on the sofa and gave one last loud sigh out.

‘’I’m sorry I ehhh’’ I started out to say something to calm her down or something but I think it made matters worse. ‘’You know, I always have to be the only one to look bad out of all of the families showing up there. I have to be the last one there, half a day late with a migraine from all traffic and have already missed out the main events, to live through two whining kids and greeting everyone after I’ve already pulled my hair out.’’ She started to rant on towards my father and I already started to take the blame. It would be me that would be responsible for anything this time, I just knew it.

‘’Don’t worry, it’s not your fault Krystal.’’ Jessica appeared onto my right and I was hit by a strong strawberry scent from all the sweets she just ate. ‘’She’s just mad that we were nearly the laughing stock years ago, if it wasn’t for the uncle on our father’s side, Liu, and his family for getting drenched in the swimming pool we would have definitely been the most funniest memory for arriving half a day late with a family looking like they have just travelled the world and through a jungle.’’ Jessica laughed it off and my mother took notice of her side comment.

‘’Actually, that made me feel better. That dog really freaked them out’’ my mum took a pause to laugh and then continued. ‘’They literally jumped in the pool to get away from it and Rin fell back in a second time when she slipped.’’ she started laughing again but this time slapping a hand onto the sofa. My father also had started laughing at the memory and I was just sitting there wondering how my mother could change moods so quickly, she normally stays on one mood.

They kept talking up till the point where my mother fixed her gaze on me accidentally. ‘’We’ll work something out tomorrow then, just pack something today so when you guys come from school we set out straight away, it’s nearly 200 miles so we need to move fast to actually get there in the evening. We have a birthday to attend.’’ My mum said and looked at my father anticipating something I couldn’t really figure out.

‘’What? The twins? It’s their birthday? Oh yes, Tiffany and Sulli said they’re having one hell of a party and imagine how many presents they’re g