Something was burning.
Cassidy sighed as she set her damp backpack down.
"EliJAH!" Cassidy yelled. "Did you try to cook something?"
"Oh crap." Her fourteen year old brother darted past her. "My garlic bread!"
Elijah was a freshman, and a much better cook than Cassidy. They didn't look too much alike, but all the Clemontes had the same honey-brown hair to tie them together.
"Hi, Cass! How was school?" He asked from the kitchen.
"Fun. Whatcha making?" Cassidy answered.
She trailed after him into the kitchen as he pulled out a loaf of slightly over toasted bread from the oven, the edges black.
Eh. They'd just cut that part off.
"Italian night." Elijah replied. "Lasagna pasta bake is already done. I was just waiting on the garlic bread."
"Nice job, dude." Cassidy messed up his hair and he scowled, pushing off her hand.
"Where's Lucy?"
"I think she's coloring. She came off the bus looking upset, but she won't tell me what's wrong."
"Thanks, Eli. I'll bring her down to eat."
Cassidy walked down the hall to Lucy's room, her eyes scanning the pink, looking for the 7 year old. Her vision caught on a blue shoe, poking out underneath the bed.
Found her.
Cassidy dropped down and wriggled underneath the bed, silently sending up a prayer that she would be able to get back out again.
A little lamp illuminated the space and revealed the upset little girl.
"Hey, Luce? What happened?" Cassidy asked.
"Danny pulled my hair. He was making fun of my braid." Lucy cried.
Cassidy wanted to kill Danny. For making her sister cry, and also because that braid had taken her 20 minutes to figure out along with three YouTube tutorials.
"I'm sorry... sometimes kids can be really mean." Cassidy said, dumbly.
"Danny is my friend! I don't want him to treat me like some dumb girl!" Lucy exclaimed.
"Uh, what?" Cassidy asked, confused.
"Harper Williams says that when boys tease you, they like you. Like, like like. And I don't like Danny like that! He's my friend!" Lucy wailed.
"Hey. That is not okay. If he keeps teasing you, then tell him you don't like that. Don't let him get away with that. Boys that really like you will be nice to you." Cassidy promised, hoping that she wasn't lying to a sweet innocent child.
"What if he doesn't want to be my friend anymore?" Lucy sniffled.
"That's okay. You have lots of other friends to play with until he comes around. Okay? Danny will figure it out eventually." Cassidy reasoned.
That was pretty vague, but the seven year old nodded, and rubbed her eyes, wiping off some of the tears.
"C'mon. Eli made noodle stuff, and if you are really good and do your homework, we'll watch a movie."
Lucy's eyes lit up.
She scrambled out from under the bed and Cassidy heard her footsteps echo in the hall.
Cassidy groaned and shoved herself out from under the bed, hitting her head on the bar.
She winced, grateful that her shirt had stayed down so at least she didn't have carpet burn.
Cassidy walked into the kitchen to find Eli handing Lucy plates from the cupboard, her little body darting back and forth between the table and him.
"When's Dad coming home?" Lucy asked innocently.
"He'll be home soon. Let's eat so he doesn't have to worry about us, okay?" Cassidy told her, sitting down at the table.
"Thanks for dinner, Eli."
"Thanks, Eli." Lucy repeated, obediently.
Their dad worked at an office in town, closer to the stores than the residential developments.
They weren't bad off, but their dad, he just.....
Was forgetful.
Cassidy forgave him though. Raising three kids by yourself while working wasn't really something anyone signed up for.
Cassidy did the dishes since Eli had made dinner and Lucy had set the table.
The water in the sink splashed against the dishes.
Her mind replayed the splashing sound of water crashing onto her bag.
Cassidy blinked fast to keep her blurry vision from becoming a meltdown.
"Henderson is brand new, and even he can see that you need help."
It stung. She had been friends with Xander when they were kids.
Just like Lucy and Danny.
"Cassidy is just really stuck-up. Someone needs to get laid."
Laughter bounced through her mind, but it wasn't the kind that came from happiness. It wasn't even hers.
She turned off the water.
And tuned out the memories of the idiots at school.
It didn't bother her.
They didn't bother her.
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