Twinfinity: The Arena (3-4)

CHAPTER 3

A Noticeable Difference

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“What were you two doing earlier?” Carol Anne asked as they all sat down for lunch. Carol had made potato soup and Whitney was shoveling it in as if it were her last meal. Her silver eyes stared at nothing as her spoon made repetitive round trips from the bowl to her mouth.

“Just messing around,” Tommy said.

“Messing around how?” Carol Anne inquired. “For a while there I thought Whitney was going to have a heat stroke! She was laying out there sweating and panting like she was running a marathon!”

“Well,” Tommy said trying to think of an excuse. He knew that he couldn’t be honest with her because she was very protective and would freak out over the truth. “In a way she was. Whitney’s out of shape mom and we were jogging together. She needs more exercise.”

“You mean you were jogging in your head then? I hardly think that’s any way to get her in shape Tommy! If she wants to exercise then I’ll talk to Blake when he gets home and we’ll get her a treadmill so she can work out for real.”

“This is better. Trust me. Look at the way she’s eating,” Tommy said pointing at Whitney. “She’s not going to want a treadmill and working out ‘in my head’ is just as effective as doing it for real.”

Whitney slid her bowl forward. “More please,” she said. “Bread and butter too!” she added with a smile. “It’s really good, Aunt Carol.”

Carol Anne got up from the table with a smile on her face. She grabbed Whitney’s bowl, refilled it and brought it back to Whitney. Then she buttered a slice of bread and brought that to her. “Well this is different,” she said. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard her compliment my cooking. How come she’s not with you right now, Tommy?” she asked.

Carol Anne was referring to the fact that Whitney wasn’t currently piggybacking with Tommy. Whitney almost always ‘rode along’ with Tommy when he was around. She didn’t need to in order to eat, or move around the house, because she didn’t have to. She knew the layout of the house so well that she could navigate it without much effort, and using a spoon in order to eat was no big deal. The reason she wasn’t piggybacking at that point was because Whitney was reveling in her victory over Tommy and she wanted to do it without rubbing it in Tommy’s nose. Tommy knew this even though Whitney didn’t say before she withdrew from him. She didn’t have to, however, because Tommy was reveling in her victory too. He was proud of her.

He couldn’t tell his aunt any of that, however, so he just shrugged. “I think she’s happy, mom. I think she liked working out.”

Whitney continued to slaughter her meal as intensely as a dog goes after her owner’s shoe when the owner isn’t looking. She dunked her buttered bread into her soup and tore into it, and it was almost as if Whitney was privy to the conversation, because she did it with a smile on her face. It was a rare sight lately and Carol Anne definitely noticed. So did Tommy.

“Well just be careful, Tommy. You know how delicate she is,” Carol Anne said.

We are being careful mom, Tommy thought to himself as he scooped his own bite. We’re using fake swords and everything!

Whitney finished her second bowl and got up from the table. She walked over to the sink, turned on the cold water, and began splashing her face. Carol Anne got back up, grabbed Whitney’s bowl and spoon, and waited for Whitney to finish so she could rinse them.

Whitney rejoined with Tommy as soon as she cooled off in the sink. We gonna finish our battle, Tommy? She asked him. We still didn’t do your round yet. I got up to twenty three, but I’m curious to see how far you can get.

Well actually, sis, your score was a lot higher than that, he thought back to her. If you want to figure your actual score then you count every block you made until I scored my point.

So seventy-three then! she announced proudly. I already recounted them in my head and I blocked you seventy-three times!

That sounds about right, Tommy thought to her with a laugh. But we do have to be careful. Mom got a little worried about you. I guess you were breathing pretty heavy on the lawn chair.

Careful! She responded. There’s no careful in sword fighting!

Tommy scooped the last of his soup and stood up from the table. Whitney was eager to continue their experiment, but she wasn’t the only one. He was too. “We’re going back out,” Tommy announced.

“Not before you rinse your bowl you’re not,” Carol Anne said.

Tommy grabbed his bowl and rinsed it. Whitney went to Carol Anne and gave her a hug. “Thanks for letting us have some fun Aunt Carol,” Whitney said as she wrapped her arms around her aunt.

Carol Anne hugged her back, but she didn’t take her eyes off of Tommy. “It’s no problem Whitney. I think it’s a good idea for you to get some exercise even if it is just jogging in your brother’s head.”

Whitney turned her head toward Tommy and smiled which was a pretty rare sight. Whitney almost never liked looking at herself through his eyes and, for the past couple of years, almost never smiled. The family was trying so hard to keep the talents of the twins a secret that Whitney was virtually never allowed to go anywhere. She had been fighting the caged rat feeling for so long that she was beginning to give up on the idea of having any kind of freedom.