WARNING: This chapter is very short, sorry about that. I didn't want to force extra content just to make it longer. I'll be posting another chapter later today to make up for it.
"So… what class do we have next?" I asked casually.
"You— they— the principal?!" Lucas stammered.
"Yes, Lucas, that happened. Now, class?"
"Geography," Will mumbled, still shaken.
"Dude, your sister scares me," Dustin admitted in awe. "She just threatened the principal into submission."
"She protected us," Mike said quietly, admiration in his voice.
"Is she really your sister, Lucas? Because your personalities couldn't be more different," Dustin asked.
"Her last name is Sinclair, last time I checked," Lucas said, clearly annoyed by Dustin's commentary.
"Really? Because she's brave, and you're not. She's strong, you're not. She's a genius, you're not. She's funny, and you… you just think you're funny," Dustin continued, counting on his fingers.
"She is my sister! My little sister!" Lucas snapped, clearly offended.
I laughed. "Actually, Lucas, our parents never told you this, but we found you in a trash can when you were little. You're adopted. Of course you can't compare to my biological genes."
"As if," Lucas shot back. "If anyone was adopted, it would be you."
"I'm not sure," Dustin added helpfully. "I can keep listing the reasons if you want."
"Okay, okay, I get it!" Lucas snapped. "She's my sister!"
"Barely," Dustin shot back. "I mean, she just intimidated the principal into reconsidering school policy."
"I did not intimidate anyone," I said. "I merely… explained consequences."
Mike snorted before he could stop himself. "That was terrifying."
"Thank you," I said proudly.
Lucas groaned. "I can't believe you're proud of that."
I shrugged. "Confidence is important."
""After that, she earned it," Will added, sounding more confident than before. I think the shock made him blurt out his true thoughts, without his usual shyness holding him back.
"Well," Dustin said with a grin, "if you ever decide to take over the school, I'm joining your side."
"Count me in— I mean, us," Mike added quickly.
We all stared at each other for a moment.
Then we burst out laughing.
Everything hit us at once, and the tension finally broke. All their fear, the stress, the adrenaline — all of it seemed to dissolve into laughter. And once one of us started, the rest couldn't stop. Every look at one of us set us off again.
In the end, we were extremely late to Geography class.
But I think, after everything that happened, I officially joined the party.