Chapter 22

“Hey,” the older sibling said, still faintly confused, waiting for the young boy to catch up before resuming the walk towards the school door.

“You left earlier than me,” Rowan remonstrated, looking faintly hurt, as if their roles had somehow been reversed, as if he expected to be the one that arrived earlier and Charlie was to be the one always running late.

The other child shrugged, the tote bag they carried heavy with textbooks.

“Thought I’d try and get this over and done with as quickly as possible,” they said, gesturing towards the doors as they approached.

“You didn’t get in until late, right?” Rowan said. “I mean, you know what happened, yeah?”

Again, Charlie shrugged, and regretted the gesture as the bag hit them in the side.

“I got back earlier than Dad,” the older child offered with a whimsical smile.

The young boy laughed, pulling at the straps of his backpack, freeing one arm so it hung loosely from one shoulder.