The incident surrounding the ice trays continued to bother Erik for quite a while after his initial confusion, following him throughout the rest of the day up until the time he showered and went to bed.
While the white haired youth freely admitted that he tended to be forgetful, easily distracted, and was prone to daydreaming, he never once questioned his own sanity the way he was doing now. He was always aware of what he had done and when he had done it, his near perfect memory preventing him from forgetting what he had accomplished on that particular day. He knew for certain that he had used up all of the ice cubes within the trays and had even double checked before refilling them and stuffing them back into the freezer. By all accounts, it should have taken around an hour for the water to have frozen back over.
And yet, the liquid within the containers had become rock solid in about 30 mins, leaving Erik questioning his entire existence, mulling it over in his head for the rest of the night. It wouldn't have been that big of a deal if he knew the cause, but since he didnt, he could only speculate and ponder it endlessly.
(("It also doesnt help that even mom was clueless about the ice trays.")) Erik muttered internally as he stared up at the ceiling, lying in darkness. (("Claiming that there was more ice when she glanced in the freezer after dinner. Which makes even less sense."))
From the time it took for him to put the trays in the freezer to the time when his mother had checked the freezer, only around 20 minutes or so had passed. Their freezer wasn't anything special, just a standard one that hovered around 0°F, meaning that there was no way in hell that the liquid in the trays could have frozen over so quickly. Hence why Erik was so monumentally stumped, his brain sprinting in circles trying to find some logical reasoning for the new development. However, nothing came to mind, leaving him just as perplexed as he had been when looking through the fridge.
After a few minutes of thinking it over, the young man completely lost interest in the subject and started daydreaming about other things.
A little while later, he drifted off to sleep.
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Erik woke up at the break of dawn, the moment the glow of the sun pierced the sky and began to push away the darkness little by little.
As someone who always woke up at this time, Erik didn't feel any sort of lethargy or exhaustion as he kicked aside his covers and rose up from his bed, ready to start the day. It was going to be an eventful one as well, it being the day that the Fotia family moved from their home located in the middle of nowhere Texas, to the smaller, densely populated state of New York. Due to large changes going on at the place his mother worked, some sort of expansion and or modifications taking place, Erik and his sisters were forced to travel with Ellena as she moved to the NYC. They had been informed of this months in advance of course, so by the time the actual moving day arrived, everyone had already got all of their emotions out of their systems and were ready to make the trip.
Erik himself wasnt really sure about his own feelings on the matter.
Sure he was curious about what the big city was like, having heard tales from his mother about the nonstop traffic, loud noises, crowds of people, and the bombass pizza, however he still didnt want to part with the very home he had been raised in, the very place that had nurtured him and his sisters into the people they were today. While he was aware he had no choice, he had done his best to get his mother to let him stay and continue his homeschooling. Bargaining, reasoning, begging, debating, throwing temper tantrums. None of it had worked, his mother remaining steadfast on her position, claiming that it was all out of her hands.
After a month of trying, the white haired preteen had eventually accepted his own fate, annoying his mother less and less as the days went by. By the time the week of departure arrived, Erik had fully embraced the idea of moving, all resistance having faded away with the passing time.
Stripping off his night clothes, Erik donned a pair of grey sweats and sleeveless tshirt before packing the discarded clothing neatly into one of the many black storage bags that lined his room. Once he was sure that he had gathered everything thing in his room and hadn't missed a single item, he turned around and walked out the door, making his way towards Pagonia's room. He could already hear the his mother near the entrance talking to the movers, giving them instructions on what to move and where to move it, but he chose it ignore it for the time being, suppressing his rampant curiosity.
Darting up the stairs, the young adolescent darted quickly but silently down to the end of the hall, intending to wake the long haired twin without waking Chioni. The door was slightly ajar which made it easier to slip inside without being detected, the carpeted floor silencing his approach.
"OI, it's time to get up you silver haired troll," Erik said happily as he made his way into the room. "No more slee.....oh...she's not here."
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A moment of silence quickly followed before the youth turned around on his heels and walked back out, this time heading towards Chioni's room.
After rapping his knuckles against the door twice and getting no reply, Erik let himself in.
"You thought you could hide from...me? Oh. I guess they've forgiven each other," Erik remarked, changing switches quickly. "Its nice to see. Thought I might have had to beat some sense into them."
Deep within the room, lying on the ground cuddled together, were the two twins. Their night dresses were riding up on them, leaving them looking vulnerable and innocent as they snoozed the time away, not a care in the world. With such a peaceful ambience, it touched Erik's heart to see his older sisters getting along and a part of him didn't want to bother them, wanting to let them rest just a bit longer.
"Too bad that cant happen," Erik said, an evil grin spreading across his face, an idea popping into his head. "Let's wake them up with a bang."
Swiveling around on the tips of his feet, the mischievous youth sprinted as quickly as he could down the stairs and into his room. Fishing through one of his many black bags, Erik pulled out something he had gotten from his mother during one Christmas, a small silver whistle capable of shattering the ear drums and soul of those who were close enough. Slipping it around his next, placing it next to the bronze sun necklace, he darted back up the stairs towards Chioni's room whilst making sure to avoid his mother. He was almost certain that this was something his mother would DEFINITELY approve of, but it was also something she would whip out her phone to record and he'd rather save his sisters the embarrassment.
Once he was in the room, he calmly closed the bedroom door and walked into the center of the room, whistle placed near his mouse.
"This is for waking me up that one time with a bucket of ice water," Erik said with devilish smirk. "You two deserve what you're about to get."
Placing the whistle in his mouth, the young man inhaled sharply before exhaling with as much force as he could muster.
TWWWWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!
The ear piercing shrill quickly filled the room and even began spilling out with just how loud it was, the sound easily reaching the rest of the house, alerting both the mother and the workers. To the two sleeping however, it was as if a bomb had gone off as their bodies rocketed up, eyes filled with alarm and confusion as they quickly looked around. It was clear that any trace of drowsiness disappeared as they lifted their hands to cover their ears.
"DAMN IT ERIK!!! WHAT THE HELL??!!" Pagonia screamed, attempting to be heard over the screeching of the whistle.
"WHATS WRONG WITH YOU, DAMN LUNATIC!!??" Chioni followed up as she rose up to her feet.
Erik wasnt sure why they bothered to yell, considering that he himself could hear everything just fine. Sure the noise was loud but it hadn't affected him in the slightest, it sounding more like music to him more than anything else. His hearing had always been top notch yet nothing had ever been truly loud enough to bust his eardrums, the whistle being no different.
"FINE, YOU WANNA KEEP GOING??!! THEN FACE THE CONSEQUENCES!!!" Pagonia shouted before both she and Chioni launched themselves forward, tackling the white haired youth onto the carpeted floor.
There, the three of them began a playful scuffle as the two sisters attempted to pin the white haired youth to the ground. Hands and feet were thrown around, pillows were tossed, and screams and giggles became abundant as the 3 of them continued to wrestle. None of them were willing to give up the higher ground nor were they willing to lose as the energy continued to rise.
Downstairs, Ellena could hear the joyous giggles and constant banging of the walls as the siblings roughhoused, the sounds of friendly rivalry reaching all the way down to even the workers who moved in and out of the two story home.
"Umm, can I leave you guys to it for a second?" Ellena asked politely, flashing a smile as she slowly backed towards the stairs. "I have to take of something real quick."
The taller worker, a dark skinned male of around 30 or so, didnt answer for a second, having been momentarily stunned.
"Yeah. It's no problem," He said as he watched the woman turn around and bolt up the stairs, her sneakers slipping off.
After the man was sure the woman had exited the area, he looked towards his fellow worker with a wide grin. "Shes quite the beauty isnt she Mike?"
The man named Mike gave a quick nod as he grabbed marked things down on the clipboard in his hands. "Indeed. Shes a fine woman, Jim."
"Reminds me a bit of my own wife," Jim said nonchalantly.
"No. Your wife is ugly Jim," Mike said casually, making his way into the kitchen.
There was a moment of silence on both ends before Jim finally spoke up.
"Fuck you Mike."
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Ellena darted up the stairs two at a time, nimbly shooting towards Chioni's room the moment her foot hit the top floor. She had every intention on stopping them, knowing full well that they needed to focus on the job at hand. While they could afford to mess around for a bit, she would rather use the time to double check everything and assure they wouldn't miss anything.
"Oi, what the heck are you guys doing in here?" the white haired mother asked as she stepped into her daughters room. "Why are you play-"
She was cut off midsentence by a pillow thrown to the face, one chucked by Pagonia, of whom had thrown it full force towards Ellen with knowing intent.
"Ha, take that you old hag," Pagonia said happily before getting tackled onto the floor by Erik.
"Old hag huh?" Ellena muttered as she pulled back her hair, putting it into a ponytail using the hair tie on her wrist. "I'll show you how old I am right now then. Cause it on no-"
Once again she was interrupted midsentence, this time by a flip flop hitting her in the nose.
"Yall are dead!!"
Without waiting any further, the mother jumped into the fray, jumping onto the top of both Erik and Pagonia while also dragging Chioni down with her.
"GET REKT YOU INFANTS!!" Ellena shouted as the four of them continued to go at it.