t w e n t y - t h r e e ; simmering

I’m dumbfounded by the turn of events. The last person I would have ever guessed to be Olivia’s brother would be Kai’s swimmate. When she brings up the topic of her brother, I envisioned someone close to my brother’s age, not a high school student who happens to also go to Lincoln High. Plus, they are the type of siblings that hardly have similar physical characteristics. The resemblance is so subtle that you would have to squint to recognize it. My mind swims in an endless pool of questions and I think I’m more confused than ever. I turn to my best friend, who is wearing a curious expression on his face. “Wait a minute, how do you know Olivia?”

“Vernon drives me home and she’s always there.” Ever since Kai sprained his ankle from the hiking trip, Vernon offers to carpool with Kai due to his inability to drive. Still, some things aren’t adding up.

“But we’ve known you since freshman year,” I address Vernon. Kai joined the swim team the fall of our first year, and he’s been swimmates with Vernon since then. “How come I’ve never seen Olivia with you?”

“It’s her first year here. I’m older by two years,” Vernon explains.

Hold on. Come again?

My eyes are doubled in size because my whole life is a lie. Technically, I’ve been lead to believe my assumptions are true when they were actually far from the truth. My neck snaps to Olivia, “Holy . Olivia you’re a freshman? I thought we were the same year. And you’re Vernon’s little sister? But every time you talk about your brother, I’ve thought he was a little boy! And how are you so damn tall as a freshman???”

The height difference between me and the three of them is significantly noticeable. Their frames overshadow me when we are standing as a group. It does explain why Olivia plays basketball though. I’m here wondering what kind of food the girl eats to achieve that much growth.

Olivia gazes at a spot thoughtfully as though rewinding the times she’s talked about her brother, then establishes eye contact with me. “Hmm, I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned that he’s older. But I can see why you assumed that since he’s so immature.”

Vernon locks Olivia in a headlock after hearing the insult. “You smurf. I didn’t share food with you when we were kids for you to badmouth me in front of girls.”

Olivia’s face scrunches up, utilizing her leg to back kick him in the shin. Vernon curses in pain before letting her go.

“Wait a minute.” A sudden memory conjures up in my head. “So you’re the brother that wets his bed until he was eleven?”

A fierce laugh pierces through the air. Kai’s clutching his stomach as his head falls backward, hacking his lungs in laughter at the embarrassing detail of Vernon.

Olivia examines the murder evident on her brother’s face, squeaks, and breaks into a run. “Guess I’ll see you tomorrow Skylar!” She calls out when several feet in distance have separated us.

“YOU’RE WALKING HOME AFTER BASKETBALL PRACTICE.” Vernon’s voice booms. A few student passing by gives us looks of interest but carry on walking. To me and Kai, who hasn’t stopped laughing at the new fact about his swimmate, Vernon omits through a forced grin, “That’s a total lie. Well gotta go because coach’s probably wondering why I’m taking so long to find my swim cap and goggles.”

“Don’t wet yourself in the pool,” Kai jeers as a side comment. I bit back a grin, camouflaging my mouth with a raised hand.

“Oh, off dude. If you bring up another joke like that count yourself walking home for this week too.” Vernon’s eyes squint in a glare, extending his pointed his finger at Kai in a warning. Rather than intimidated, this only causes Kai to crack up even further.

“I’m going to bring that up every chance possible,” Kai comments when Vernon has vanished, leaving the two of us in the middle of a deserted hallway. “So Olivia’s that tall friend you mentioned?”

I nod in affirmation. Out of nowhere, without any caution, Kai flicks my forehead.

“Ow!” My hand comes up to the spot he’s hit. “What was that for?”

“For getting yourself involved with Britney and Alyssa.”

I huff in offense. “So?”

“So?” He mocks. “They’re not afraid to get physical, while you’ve never even hurt a fly your whole life. What if they take you down, huh? It’s two against one. What if Vernon wasn’t here waiting for Olivia to give him his swim equipments? Would you break out into a fight?”

Rarely does Kai criticize my actions, and when he does, I know it’s from a place of concern. Yet, I can’t help the defiance I feel. “I’m sorry! I wasn’t planning on letting it escalate that far. The girl looked like someone ran over her puppy and I couldn’t let that slide.”

He releases a sigh of defeat as his shoulders sag. In a clear, gentle v