Bad Luck: Hot Breading (Kailin)

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So of course he was home for the Thanksgiving holiday. All weekend. It didn't matter that there wasn't really a place for him to sleep anymore, Zach was pretty content with his overgrown self hanging halfway off the couch. It was actually quite a sight and he was sure that someone had taken a picture of it in the middle of the night.

But after all the hectic of dinner(of course Zachary helped Dev and Aura out with maintaining order, retreating to a corner when he became overwhelmed), it was actually a little bit quiet around the large house. Quiet enough that Zach could actually pull out a book and read. He was about halfway through Dance With Dragons, the 5th book in the SoIF series, and was finally getting to the good parts, the characters he'd been wanting to follow the most. Of course, later he would shuffle through the family bookshelves for the magazines that published his stuff; he'd made a promise to bring them to one of the students next time he went to visit Oliver at the Hammel dormitories.

But first, quiet time. And reading. And maybe some hot chocolate. If Savvy was around, he might make some for her as well.

[Kailin Bishop]

So everyone was pretty much home for the holiday, which meant Devlin, Aura, and Zach were around. 2/3 of those older siblings she was excited to see, which was Devlin and Aura. They were pretty much her parental figures. Zach was another sibling who, even after years of trying, she could never seem to find anything in common with. So today, while she wanted to spend some time with the elder siblings, she found she was unable to. They had all gone out while she was knocked out or at least, that's what she figured. The house was oddly quiet and it wasn't too early.

Kailin dragged herself out of bed reluctantly and put her hair in a messy bun to get it out of her face. She could feel that it was getting greasy after not washing it for about four days. Usually she could go a week without washing it before the oils started to make her glisten in the way she hated so much. Shower time for Kailin.

Coming out of the shower, she was far more miserable than she was going in. The hot water ran out about two minutes into it, and she had already lathered up her hair, so she had no choice but to continue. Shivering, she wrapped her robe around her and headed back to the room so she could change.

Fast forward twenty minutes, her hair blonde hair was blow dried fell flat against her back. She wore a long sleeved, fleece pj top, and matching bottoms. She was trying desperately to try and warm up. Maybe she should go downstairs and see if there was any hot chocolate...

On arriving to the bottom of the stairs, she saw Zach on the couch reading a book. She stopped suddenly, contemplating what she should do. They had a really... poor relationship and barely ever talked, but she wasn't rude. She couldn't just walk past without having at least a hello and offer him some hot chocolate.

"Uh, Hey." She said slowly, walking up and standing on one end of the couch. "What are you reading?"

[Deleted]

Zachary didn't even notice when his sister came down in her warm-looking pjs. It was rather cold, hence why he was curled up on the couch with his knees to his chest and his white-socked feet burrowing between the cushions. He flipped the page silently, not looking up until his mind was torn from that fantasy world with a few gentle words from a familiar voice.

Zach looked up, a bit dazed as he tried to re-integrate himself into reality. "Hmm….?" It took him a moment to realize that it was Kailin talking, much to his surprise. "….Hey." This was a bit awkward. But why should he be awkward talking to his own little sister?

"Oh, um…" Zach looked down at the book, closing it to show her the cover whist keeping a finger stuffed inside to save his place. "Dance With Dragons…." He stared for a moment, the assumed Kailin didn't know what that was. "Game of Thrones," he clarified.

He rested the paperback novel in lap, re-situating his legs so that he was sitting on them. "…A rare moment, huh? …I mean…It's pretty quiet, I wonder....where everyone went?" He rambled looking over his shoulders, halfway expecting JJ to be sneaking up just to spite him.

[Kailin Bishop]

"Oh that's pretty cool. I've always wanted to read Game of Thrones but I never seemed to have the chance to." Zach wasn't a sibling she usually conversed with as they just never found anything they enjoyed. Plus, Zach's power always freaked her out considering her immense fear of spiders. Having 'Spiderman' as a brother when hating the things didn't help much with their relationship. But Zach was right; there was no one in the house, which was a rare moment.

"Maybe they decided to go Christmas tree shopping? Since everyone is home for the holidays, it would be a perfect time to decorate it together?" Except Kailin loved choosing the tree... why would they leave her? Why would Devlin even think to leave her? She decided to dismiss the thought. Surely JJ wouldn't let them leave her. They may have been annoying younger brother's, but they were always considerate of her.

Standing there was getting really annoying, honestly. She acted as if he were some stranger, when she lived with him her entire life. Kales decided to sit down on the far end of the couch, and she turned to Zach.

"So it's been a while since we've talked... uh, how's college?" Perfect icebreaker, Kailin. She thought sarcastically.

[Deleted]

Truth be told, Zachary didn't like spiders either. How unfortunate that his own power creeped him out, especially the first few years after manifesting. Though he'd gotten used to it, how to ignore it, it wasn't any less creepy. Even now he could tell you how many spiders were living in the walls of this house, just from where he was sitting. Zach would never mention it, however.

Except maybe to JJ, if they were being especially annoying.

"It's a good read," he said simply. "Long, though." Very long, he'd probably be working on this one book for the rest of the year.

Zach shrugged, setting the book on the glass end-table. "I don't think so. Somebody would have said something." Savvy would have at least. More than likely they were just taking advantage of the weekend post-thanksgiving shopping specials.

There was a noticeable moment of silence between the two siblings, Zach unable to think of anything more to say, until Kailin joined him on the opposite end of the couch.

"It's good. Busy." His brows furrowed slightly while he took a semi-stressed breath. "Finals are…coming up." Which meant he was going to disappear off the face of the earth for the next couple weeks. "How's....how's school?"

[Kailin Bishop]

Kailin nodded when he mentioned the length of the book was long. It was one of the reasons why she didn't pick up the book. It would take far too long to finish the series. "Yeah, sort of what has kept me away from it," She said. "Have you watched the TV show they made for it? Because I might want to watch that to sort of see if I will like it as much as everyone says."

If it weren't the tree shopping idea, then they must have just went out for a family outing or something that wasn't too important. Kailin had no clue, but she decided not to question it. There would be enough time to question later on. She may have been able to stifle her growing curiosity now, but the minute they showed up, it'd be like a switch.

"School is school, really. I mean, i get good grades, but it is kicking my butt. Mid-terms and all. I sort of wish they would just get rid of them, ya know?" Kailin laughed rather awkwardly. She had heard down in Florida, some counties actually had done away with mid-terms and finals. Oh wouldn't that be the life.

"Hey Zach?" She looked towards her older brother, who looked practically nothing like her. Shaggy Dark hair and chocolate brown eyes, a thin lipped line and were his most prominent features, with a straight nose. She had the blonde hair, green eyes, a fuller set of lips, and a slightly crooked nose. Kailin bit her lip.

"Do you, uh, know if there is any hot chocolate left?"

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"I uh…have not, actually. I don't really have TV, so HBO is kinda…." Zach let that hang. He could probably find somewhere online that hosted streams of the show, but he usually got too caught up in his own things to remember to do that. "I hear it's pretty accurate. Like, the author himself had a hand in the production of it so…." Another trailed phrase. It was ridiculous how awkward he was around his own sister.

"You can always transfer to Kocher…" he suggested absentmindedly. Then he shot his head up with a slight flush. "I mean, I heard that, you know, some european countries didn't do finals anymore so….I'm not trying to send you away or anything, just…I don't know what I'm talking about, don't pay any attention to me…" Zach looked away, resting his forehead in his palm and hoping he didn't sound too much like an idiot.

His dark eyes crept back over to his pretty blonde sister, an eyebrow raised in inquiry. Then he broke into a gentle smile. "I think so. Actually, I was thinking of getting some myself." He let another pause hang between them before continuing with, "I..I could make us some…if you'd like."

[Kailin Bishop]

"You don't hear that everyday," Kailin admitted, twiddling with her thumbs a bit. Authors usually did not have very much say in script and things of the like, but occasionally you would find some that would also cowrite, which was awesome, because who better to write the script of a movie/television show than the author of the series? They know the characters better than anyone, and have a clear vision of what they wanted in their head.

"And I was only kidding," She stated simply. Kailin loved Hammel, and she had so many good friends and family here. She'd never leave because of finals and mid-terms. Sure they were a nuisance, but Kailin always passed with flying colors. She may have been blonde, but she was far from stupid.

"Anyway, if it wouldn't be any trouble. I mean, I could always help you if you wanted?" Kailin didn't just want to sit there and be waited on. She was fully capable of doing things herself, and it made her feel bad if she didn't at least offer to help.

[Deleted]

"Well….that's just what I heard." It was something in passing he heard about, but he was still more interested in reading the books that watching the show. Maybe he should sit down and watch it one of these days? Maybe with….if Kailin wanted to watch with him, he'd like that. But, of course, he probably wouldn't have time for it for another while.

Oh…kidding? Well then, now he not only looked and sounded like an idiot, he felt like one as well. He chuckled, the red continuing to color his cheeks. "I uh….yeah. Sorry…" While Kailin and Zach clearly shared the same genes in regards to intelligence, he was still so much slower on the uptake than his sister. Kailin was much more clever, he thought.

He smiled and started to sit up, letting the blood flow back into his legs. The pins and needles would probably start soon. "It's alright," he assured her. "It's…well it's only hot chocolate. I think I can manage." Zach set down his book, a bookmark saving his place, and traipsed to the kitchen.

Now…where was it? He opened the cabinet and pulled out what he thought was the hot chocolate mix that his mom always bought. Two mugs of water and a microwave later, Zach held the steaming cups in each of his hands, a spoon sticking out from each of them. He scuttled carefully back to the den, his feet already well into that annoying prickling from having gone numb. "Here…" he said, holding it out to Kailin.

[Kailin Bishop]

He was so awkward at times, which made no sense to her. Kailin was bubbly and always sought attention, while he... he was the introvert. He was like Lany, in a sense. But Kailin actually spent quite a bit of time with Lany. Every Friday night they would watch Spirit, and talk about the week's occurrences, but not Zach. They never shared a room, they were of the opposite gender, and he was seven years her senior. There probably would always be a gap between them, which made the blonde slightly saddened.

"You don't have to be sorry," She tried giving him a reassuring smile, and she adjusted on the couch, as if to get up to start making the hot chocolate, but she fell back down when Zach quickly told her he was capable of doing it himself. She nodded, and waited until he went into the kitchen before getting up and browsing the selection of their in-home library of sorts. It was just a few book shelves on the wall, with books that have accumulated over the years. At hearing the 'ding' of the microwave, Kailin took herself back to the couch.

Zach brought out two mugs of hot chocolate, or what looked to be hot chocolate. The smell, however, was not that of a steaming mug of the delectable liquid. In fact, there was absolutely no smell at all. Confused, Kailin grabbed the mug hesitantly and gave a soft thanks.

Testing out the drink with a quick sip, Kailin almost wished she hadn't. It tasted of hot water and starch. Kailin almost failed to keep it in her mouth, but she forced herself to swallow.

"Uh Zach, you sure you used the cocoa mix?" She turned to him and placed the mug back on the coffee table, trying to rid her mouth of the taste by washing it down with a bottle of water that was found on the coffee table. If it was Zach's well, she was sorry, but not really sorry.

Even despite the disgusting taste, she found herself laughing. Mistakes like this only happened in the Bishop household, it seemed. Never a dull moment, even when nobody was home.

[Deleted]

It was true that Zach wasn't one to initiate conversation 90% of the time with people he didn't know and 75% of the time with people he did. It wasn't so much that he didn't want to talk to them, he just had a lot going on in his head that distracted him from thinking, "hey! I wanna talk to you!". And even if he did occur to him, Zach was awkward enough that sliding into any topic would look forced and unwelcome.

"Heh, yeah," he agreed with a sideways smile. "Sorry…" Zach made a face. How dumb was he for apologizing for apologizing? He shook his head, lowering it and still smiling nervously, the red in his face not getting any paler.

The lack of a hot chocolate smell was lost on Zach, he himself was lost in his own head, just going through the motions of making the beverage while replaying the last few scenes from the book he just read in his head to distract him from his tingling feet.

Zach lowered himself back into his spot on the sofa by the time Kailin had tried her drink and complained about it. His brows furrowed together, obviously confused, but now he thought about it, he couldn't say for certain that he had used the cocoa mix. "I think I did, I'm not that…um…careless…" Though as he said it, Zach brought the fluid to his own lips and tasted….something horrible and obviously not hot chocolate.

HIs eyes went wide and he covered his mouth as he tried not to spit it out instantly. "That's….that's horrible!" he exclaimed in a hoarse voice, eyes wider than saucers. He set it down on the end-table and lapped his tongue a few times, trying to force the taste from his mouth. "Hey..!" he protested with a slight gag. "That's mine!" A grin appeared over his face and he leaned across the couch to steal it back from his little sister. "Hand it over! That stuff was…awful!" Despite it all, he was laughing as well along with her, his eyes crinkled up with mirth. It was just…so stupid, it was ridiculous.

[Kailin Bishop]

"You're the one who made it!" Kailin giggled, taking another sip from the bottle in her hands, keeping it just out of reach of her older brother. "Therefore I should have first dibs!" She was simply teasing, all in good fun. Kailin had never been this giddy, or laughed this hard with Zach before, and well, she found it to be a nice change.

Finally, she handed the water bottle to Zach, her giggling more contained at that moment, but her smile was bright. She took that moment to examine the concoction that her dark haired sibling managed to create, and well, it looked absolutely horrid. Were those... bread crumbs?

They were found in golden-ish crumbles, and no way were those graham crackers. It would have tasted better if they were graham crackers. And Mom always had bread crumbs in a jar, usually beside the cocoa mix, in the pantry.

"Zach, I think you put bread crumbs instead of hot chocolate." She held the cup up to him. "I mean, mom always keeps the two together, so it was a simple mistake."

At least she could cross off 'Having a cup of hot breading with Zach' off her bucket list.

[Deleted]

"So? That…that mean I get dibs!" Then he put on his dignified face. "Besides…I'm older." As if that meant anything. He held his proper big-brother face for a total of three seconds before he broke it with his meek little smiles and chuckles.

Zach took the bottle when Kailin handed it to him, taking in a long drink to wash away the taste of whatever horrid monstrosity he'd managed to concoct while being a space case. His eyebrows shot up when Kailin revealed what the mystery ingredient was to their hot beverage.

"Bread crumbs?" He inspected his own cup, thinking she might be pulling his leg. "Well…what do you know?" Zach took Kailin's cup when she held it out. "Um…well, that was…embarrassing…" And it showed. His cheeks were a very lovely shade of strawberry over this incident. Zach looked up again at his sister. "I…I can remake it, if you want?" he offered with an awkward smile.

[Kailin Bishop]

"Oh no, I think I have to supervise if you remake it. I don't want you putting that jar of dirt Savvy saved for years in the pantry, into hot water. We'll do it together, buddy." Kailin teased him gently, sticking her tongue out childishly. He was seven years her senior, but with things like this happening, with them giggling and laughing like they were, you almost wouldn't tell. She was only an inch shorter than her older brother, also, so it added to that fact.

"Well, after that, I'm really craving hot chocolate now," The blonde said and grabbed Zach's cup, quickly maneuvering around Zach towards the kitchen. She set the cup in the sink, deciding to wash it later. She needed to wash the taste out of her mouth first.

She figured he had followed her, so she went towards the pantry and grabbed the hot chocolate (Smelling it before she turned around) and called out to her eldest brother. "Get new mugs and fill them with water, yeah?" While doing so, she set the cocoa on the counter, and leaned back against the granite.

[Deleted]

"I…I see how it is," Zach tried to pout, but pouting wasn't his thing. "Don't trust your big brother. Thin he gonna…ok, yeah, I lost it." He chuckled at his own inarticulateness. Zach couldn't remember when the last time they laughed together like this was. Kailin must've been just a little girl.

Zach nodded, following Kailin off the couch and to the kitchen. "Yeah, me too actually," he agreed. Kailin barely had to ask, Zach was already pulling two new mugs down from the cabinet. "Which one you want?" he asked, holding up the mugs. "His Lordship" or "Adventure Time Jake"? "