Excerpt: The Misadventures of The Bug - Book 2

10: Rivalry!

• “Where… am I?”

“Feh. Of course you don’t remember anything.” She knew that voice immediately. Even through her barely opened eyes, she could see that her head was resting on the back of a comfortable set of long dreadlocks. It had been years – perhaps over a decade – since her big brother had carried her piggy-back like that.

So that begged the question… “why exactly… are you carrying me?”

She was surprised by how weak her voice sounded. What had she been doing that left her that weak? Weak enough that her brother had to carry her?

That was certainly embarrassing.

“You kinda’… passed out right after training today.” That was the voice of her companion, her best friend, Aoi Shinomori… or rather, “Zoe.” She didn’t use her real name outside of attendance role calls at school. She was pretty unusual for a Japanese girl – from her voluptuous body structure, to her habits, all the way to her demeanor – and it was one of the things she seemed most happy to flaunt.

Actually, Zoe was just plain unusual for a human being.

But then again… so was she.

“Pushing yourself way too hard again,” her brother added with that cynical, deep tone of his. “Had I known about that MMA club, I’d have forbade you to go.”

“Now Seth, you know exactly what would have happened if you did that.” Zoe giggled a bit; it was a habit of hers when she knew she’d said something that no one could refute.

“The two of you would have gone anyway.” He sighed a bit, then tilted his head just slightly to let his sister know he was talking to her. “Of course, I get the feeling Pilar might not have agreed to go along with it.”

“And why is that, Seth?” Pilar asked, her voice noticeably sharper, even with the smile on her face.

He grinned right back. “You’re too lazy.”
Her sharp little smile turned into an agitated grimace in seconds; Zoe and Seth seemed to have a knack for causing that to happen.

Pilar wanted to say something back. Truly, she did. But there wasn’t much she could argue there; she’d admitted as much in a previous conversation. She took a puff of air and blew a few strands of her pastel pink hair out of her face.

“Silence, you,” she said with a scowl.

“Anyway… I can walk now, so you can’ stop carrying me.” She was obviously back to her annoyed self rather quickly.

“Ah, that sounds more like you,” Zoe laughed.
“Oh come on, little sis’. I was just teasing ya’. Can’t I do that from time-to-time?”
“No,” she answered in her usually blunt way. “That’s my job.”
“Fine, fine. Be that way.”