Young Writers Society

Luckily, Evaline thought through this question before. "My sister," she said. She may not be the best spontaneous liar, but she was pretty decent at thinking of half-lies.

She didn't like that the spotlight was on her, though.

"And you? Where are you from?"

"I'm from the Isles," James answered. This lie, he'd already told dozens of times. It came out naturally. "To the west. Grew up a little off the coast of Seasnake Bay."

Evaline nodded, pretending to know where that was. He could've said a fake place and she wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

Not that he knew that, anyways.

She thought about asking what it was like to grow up there, but then decided against it because she wouldn't be able to answer if he asked the same thing.

"Any family?" she asked, punting him the same question.

"Well, yes, but no. They all passed," he said, looking down at the ground.

That lie was the easiest and yet the hardest to tell.

"A long time ago."

Silence fell between them again, save for the sound of their footsteps and Elliot's clops. Evaline never really knew what to say when someone passed, never mind how to comfort someone about it, even if it happened a long time ago.

"I'm sorry to hear that," she ended up saying.

"Thanks." James thought it would be better to change the subject.

"So - your sister? What's she like?"

Evaline chewed on this question for a little, reminiscing. She wasn't really her sister, but she may have been. Until she wasn't.

"She's... optimistic. And hopeful. But I don't think she knows what she wants."

"How so?"

She sighed, choosing her words carefully so they were vague. "She can't seem to pick a side. I can tell her one thing, but if someone else tells her the opposite, she can't decide what to do." Evaline paused. "And she runs away a lot. Like you."

James wasn't looking at her when he slow-blinked, but he looked to her with his mouth slightly agape, before it rested into the hind of a smile that didn't come anywhere near reaching his eyes.

"Oh, well she sounds lovely," he said. "It's a shame I'll probably never meet her."

Evaline stared daggers at him. "Ha ha, very f—"

She didn't have time to finish her response as something fast slithered in front of her, causing her to shriek in panic and lose her footing to avoid it. She tumbled forward, catching herself with her hands and quickly turning back around to see the perpetuator.

A snake. She didn't know what type it was, but it was definitely a snake.

She quickly crawled some strides back so she was next to Yoen, and although it still spooked her, she burned holes at the creature's eyes as if cursing it for making her look like fool.

James had the beginnings of a smile until Eve screeched. He searched the ground and the surrounding area for what scared her, and spotted the snake on the ground, slithering out into the open. It was a big black snake, but thankfully, not venomous.

He watched as Eve popped up and crawled back to him, and found a grin tugging at his mouth again. He fought it and kept his mouth in a straight line, but there was sure there was laughter in his eyes.

"That one won't kill you," he said. "But it still hurts to get bit. Good reflexes."

"Thanks," she grumbled sharply, getting back up to her feet and dusting the dirt off her clothes. She didn't need to look at his face to see that he was trying to repress laughter.

They walked again, leaving the snake behind. James let a moment of silence pass before breaking it.

“What’s your sister’s name?”

Evaline walked behind him again, this time looking at the ground directly in front of her instead the back of Yoen's head. Her shadow seemed to fade as some clouds passed over the sun.

"Alina," she said. She hadn't thought through the answer to his question, but she didn't need to. "Did you grow up with siblings?" she asked, then quickly added, "But you don't have to talk about your family if you don't want to."