The Plan

At first, I didn't know what to do. Victor was furious and could not express it. Hyacinth didn't quite understand what it was, but neither was he aware of how much his younger brother knew. My friend assumed that something had happened between us that would lead me to break down. He thought Hyacinth was playing with my feelings if for some reason he would be doing it right now.

Victor, although tired from work, delivered a rather strong blow to his brother's face. Fortunately, the latter managed to dodge. It wasn't the first fight between them, Hyacinth knew what to expect. Somehow he tried to reach him and calm his younger brother. It didn't work on Victor. I couldn't let the anger take him over completely.

Once again that day I had to stand between people who were close to each other and the subject of the dispute was a woman. It was hard to admit that in this case, it was me. Pretty pathetic isn't it? After all, I was aware that this conflict could eventually break out at some point. Trying not to make the same mistake I did in the morning, I didn't step directly between them, just grabbed Victor in the middle and tried to pull him away. When I finally made it, I stood in front of him and forced him to look me in the eye.

"Calm down!" I shouted at him in my mind.

"But…!" His reply boomed in my head.

"No 'but'!" This time I also used my power to suppress his emotions a bit.

He looked at me in surprise, with a soft reproach that I had done it. He felt really offended that I put Hyacinth higher than him in this situation. It probably looked strange from the outside, because we used facial expressions instead of gestures. Our family should be used to it. The older brother smoothed his clothes and straightened his hair.

"What are you crazy about?" he got at Victor.

"What did you lose?" he replied, gesturing violently in sign language. "What were you doing?! What have you done to Lulu?!"

Hyacinth took a long breath and didn't reply, blushing instead. I looked at him surprised, normally he would not show anything. He fought with himself and furiously at Ginny for that stupid idea.

"Are you suggesting something?"

"Look," I said to Victor, intervening and showing my black eye. "He just watched it. I separated the students at school and I got hit by accident," I explained again, wanting to avoid further wrong guesses.

"What was he doing here?" he asked.

My older brother and I looked at each other for a quick excuse.

"My birthday," I said.

"What about your birthday?" Victor looked at me doubtfully.

"Hyacinth wanted to know if he was planning something and if he could help me with something," I continued the lie.

"That's what you got me for. Hyacinth had never taken much interest in this. Just to give a gift, to say "Happy Birthday" and the duty is done in his mind." Victor was becoming more and more suspicious.

"And by the way, he stayed for dinner, which you should eat, too, he will warm it for you soon," I ordered, changing the subject.

Eating should smooth things over, right? At least I had hoped so, when Victor was eating dinner, Hyacinth decided to disappear as soon as possible so as not to provoke his brother. I walked him to the door, not quite sure how to act or what to say now. He didn't know either. It was completely new for me to see Hyacinth confused and insecure, he always appeared to me as that super cool who knows exactly what to say and do in a given situation.

"Lulu ..." he began, "about what happened earlier."

"And what happened?" I asked, pretending I didn't know what he was talking about. "Probably my eye will look even worse, it's good that we won't see each other then."

"If something will worry you about this, feel free to call me." He had resumed the attitude of a caring brother.

"No, what are you, I'll be fine. I'll just intervene from afar next time.” I smiled warmly.

"Take care, Lulu, that's all I ask of you," he said tenderly, too tenderly for him, and raised his hand as if to touch my face again. It was then that he noticed Victor staring at us who, if he could, would probably have made a very telling facial expression. Hyacinth just patted my head like he often did when we were younger.

"For now," he said to Victor. "I will leave without comment on your behavior, brother."

My friend just waved his hand at it and looked at me reproachfully again.

"You will not say anything? he asked mentally. I did not answer. "And do what you want and I don't believe you. If you don't want to tell me the truth, don't tell me," he said, shrugging his shoulders. He went to his room and slammed the door.

I woke up hearing my dad coming home after the night shift and convincing my aunt that he could safely look after me. I knew she would be back as soon as she could, to find out once again that it wasn't true. I waited for her to leave and quietly entered the living room, where Dad was sitting on the couch, yawning.

"Why are you awake, my little girl?" he asked, smiling. I missed it so much.

"I woke up when you came," I said, stretching out my arms and demanding a long hug.

Dad took me on his lap and held me for a moment, fighting overwhelming sleep and exhaustion at the same time. I felt his head drop from time to time and he began to fall asleep.

"Dad, go to sleep," I said softly and offered him a blanket.

"Sweetie, someone has to take care of you," he replied, lying down. "I'll call Ber ..." He did not have time to finish, he fell asleep.

"I'm four, I'm big," I told myself and went to make breakfast.

For a while now, I had a tucked bowl and my favorite cereal in a short cupboard that I would always have access to. The challenge was milk, to get to it I had to put up a chair and climb on it, and the refrigerator stubbornly closed the door when I wasn't holding it. After several unsuccessful attempts, I finally got the chair in before it slammed again in front of me. I screamed for joy and heard my dad turn over to the other side. I ate my breakfast with a triumphant expression on my face as I looked down at the refrigerator.

Now to work, I thought. Back then, helping my dad when he came back tired from work. Together with Mr. Shield, I sat down in the armchair and made sure that his mind was resting enough. It was often the case that, despite sleep, part of his mind worked, thought about patients, research results, alternative solutions, and steps he had to take to help them. I would then go in and silence it all, forced him to rest, and often spied at the same time.

I liked to look at his memories during these visits, especially about his mother when she smiled. Dad said that I was very similar to her and was glad that I inherited so many features from her, and not from him, but I thought that I must have the same things after him, but they have not shown up yet. He was happy then and said he couldn't wait to find out. And it never happened ... but you would be proud of me, Dad? Aunt and David have said so many times that you can tell that I am your daughter.

I smiled at the thought of my aunt always coming back later, complaining that "the same thing again" and bringing us dinner. Only when I grew up did she believe me that I had already eaten breakfast and that everything was fine with me. I decided to visit her soon, maybe before my birthday.

I remembered it lying on my bed worrying about the situation. How much would I give so that I could use the power on myself and allow myself to sleep without any remorse or contemplation? I sighed heavily, and couldn't help but think about what happened between Hyacinth and me, though nothing really happened. It was a big deal to me, I had a crush on him for so many years, even if it was all because of Ginny's stupid experiment.

Even though it's been an entire weekend since that, including my two nights of sleeplessness, it still felt so fresh in my mind. I chuckled as I recalled his touch on my face, different from what I usually know. For a moment he didn't see a sister in me. And it could all end up with a kiss. On the one hand, it would make me happy, on the other, I saw in my head how much chaos it could bring into our lives. I was afraid that if that happened, my relationship with Hyacinth would be completely devastated. I did not see a positive solution to this situation.

I wanted to talk to Victor about it, but he was offended and furious with me. If we saw each other during those two days, I didn't even have to read his mind to know that he didn't want to have anything to do with me at the moment. It wasn't that we never quarreled and we had arguments between us, but we usually made up quickly. But it wasn't usually about Hyacinth either, it was really serious then.

According to Victor, I should get him completely out of my head, and he shouldn't even consciously treat me differently than his younger sister, lest I accidentally hurt myself. I was nervous, I really didn't like being with him, even in a short-term conflict.

I rolled over and looked at my watch showed three in the morning. I figured I'd have to get up in three hours anyway, so I might as well bake cookies in that time. Usually, it helped the nerves.

I chose a simple recipe that did not require the use of a mixer, so as not to make noise in the apartment. I kneaded the dough and added chocolate drops to it, with certainty that everyone will like it. While baking I was entering a kind of trance and I didn't notice how quickly those few hours passed and the number of ready-made cakes was growing. I finally had to get ready for work. I packed quite a lot of my products from the first batch, because they had already cooled down, and I left the rest for Victor, hoping that despite the quarrels, he would be tempted by them and treat them as a sign of peace.

When I entered the school, there were already a few students who had nothing to do with themselves at home. So they would come to study or just get some peace. However, I was surprised when I saw Max with crying-swollen eyes outside the office door. I smiled sadly and walked over to him.

"Tough weekend, huh?" I asked, inviting him inside. He shook his head sadly. "Mine too, but I have cookies," I said.

I opened the window to ventilate the room and started making coffee. I also offered one to Max, but he declined. I put the cookies on a plate and set them in front of the young man. I also read in his mind that he would like to tell me something, but he was too embarrassed to start talking. So I turned and looked out the window at single students heading for school.

"I talked to Kathy and broke up with her," the boy said uncertainly.

I was surprised, I didn't think any of them would come to a confrontation, let alone take such a serious step. I smiled at him and encouraged him to continue. He was furious and desperate at the same time. He had lost his first love in a rather terrible way and was aware that it might have made him lose his friend. Max demanded an explanation from his girlfriend and did not let go when he saw the slightest sign of a lie.

It turned out that he and his teammates made a bet, which will manage to have two boys at once for the longest time, and the interschool tournament was a great opportunity to spot their goals. I thought it cruel and terrifying for young people to think of such things. The boy in front of me wanted to know if she would have even noticed him if he hadn't been an easy target. Chris would be her first choice. Another unexpected hit to him. He was nervous with her, with his friend, that girls preferred him, with himself, that he couldn't be as cool as the other was. And a broken heart hurt, just like that.

"It's hard for me to tell you anything, Max," I replied, sitting down in my chair. "I can't heal a broken heart, only time can do it. But I admire you for your courage." He looked at me surprised. "Confronting Kathy was certainly not easy, especially since the truth was so cruel." - I smiled.

"But he still feels like a fool to let myself be so fooled," he said dejectedly.

"At least there are two of us." We both turned and were surprised to see Chris entering my office. "But our friendship is more important," he said loudly and brought the album to Max's lap. "Cookies?!" he remarked suddenly and asked if he could help himself.

"Sure," I murmured, surprised, and watched the further development of events.

Chris sat back in the other chair and ate my pastries while thinking about what he had found. It happened that I didn't close the door and he was eavesdropping for a while. For him, it was also a revelation, but he decided to pretend that nothing had happened and that he was already planning how to cure both himself and Max out of love for this girl. He had been through it, too, but he directed his anger and frustration towards Kathy and her perfidy, but he knew it wasn't worth wasting time on her anymore.

The friend was more important to him, and that is why he took the album with him while completing the task I had commissioned on Friday. In it, he collected their joint photos, newspaper clippings about their joint successes in the team, and various souvenirs from their common path. Max did not know about its existence, so he looked at it in disbelief and emotion. Chris really didn't get a person to attach so much importance to memories.

"Max, you've tried these cookies before, they're so good," Chris said and held one under his nose. "Here you are or you will be moved too much. Where did you get it?"

"I baked myself," I replied with a smile, seeing their case turned out well.

"Really so tasty. Can I have some more?"

"Of course, you can even take some for later if you like, I'll give you a container," I said, standing up.

"No need, Chris will eat anything before we even get to class," Max interjected, breaking out of his lethargy.

The youths looked at each other and laughed. Although they will probably remember this situation for a long time and lose their trust in their peers and relationships for a while, at least they have strengthened their friendship. When they left, they invited me to the next game, and I smiled to myself, hoping that maybe this week would not be so bad after all.