A Nice Change

I grinned like an idiot, humming to myself as I chopped garlic. The sharp, fragrant smell filled the kitchen. Dinner was almost ready, and for once, I was actually looking forward to it.

"Okay, what's with the face?"

I jumped, the knife slipping. My older sister, Olica, was leaning in the doorway, a laundry basket on her hip and a smirk on her face. "You look way too happy. It's weirding me out."

"Shut up," I said, my heart starting to calm down. "I'm just making dinner."

"Uh-huh," she said, not buying it for a second. She walked over and peered into the pot. "Because you're always this cheerful after school. Usually, you come home looking like you just sat through a three-hour lecture on paint drying."

Ouch. She wasn't wrong.

"School's just been... better lately," I mumbled, scraping the garlic into the simmering sauce.