“Mum,” Lily called out when she entered the house from school.

There was a short trip that all students were to participate. It was a trip to a homeless shelter in the next city.

Their coordinating teacher asked the class to vote between the museum and volunteering at a homeless shelter. Most of the students weren’t big on museums so, volunteering was their only option.

Lily and Sarah were excited about it. This was something that wouldn’t be too new to them, seeing as they did something like that some weeks back. They were more excited than everyone in class.

The trip will last for two days. They will visit at least three homeless shelters in two days and then come back on the third. The day of the trip is tomorrow, and she wants to let her mum know in time. She was going to Sarah’s house later in the evening after she had packed her bags.

Daisy most of the time works in the afternoon till evening or morning to late afternoon. Rarely at night. She’s a nurse at a local hospital in town and they barely have enough staff to share the shifts with.

It was barely five in the evening but no sign of Daisy when Lily came inside.

“Mum?” she called out to her mum again and no response. “But mum should be back by now,” she said to herself.

Lily went to her mum’s room and no trace of her there, she went out downstairs to check again but let out a loud shriek. Her eyes were wide open as she looked at her older sister who had a huge grin on her lips.

“What in the world is wrong with you Cory?” she placed her hand on her chest. Her heart was racing so fast, it could win a relay.

“What? Why do you look so scared, girl?” Cory rolled her eyes and went down the stairs. She tried so hard to conceal the laughter that was ready to burst through her.

After the little scare her sister gave her, Lily huffed in obvious annoyance and walked down the stairs behind Cory.

“Seriously? What’s wrong with you? Why would you scare someone like that?” Lily asked, already angry that her sister didn’t seem fazed about what she just did. “What if I went into some kind of ‘scare-shock’ ?” she asked, trying to think of what being so scared could cause.

“Sorry,” Cory said, her voice didn’t seem too apologetic but Lily wasn’t ready to start some fight with her sister this late afternoon. “Why are you looking for Mum?” she asked.

“Did you see Mum recently?” Lily asked.

Cory sat on the kitchen counter and raised a brow. “I asked first, so answer”

Lily shook her head.

“There’s this trip we’re going to at my school and I want to tell Mum since we’re going for two days,” Lily said to her.

Cory looked at Lily with brows furrowed and lips pouted to the side. Like she was in thought.

“What kind of trip is it? What’s the purpose?” she asked.

“Giving back” Lily sat on one of the stools “No one wanted the museum, so this was the only option” she shrugged.

“But not to you?” Cory got down from the counter to get herself some juice and something to eat. “Want some snacks?” she asked Lily.

Lily nods her head in response.

“Did you see mum?” Lily asked again.

Cory walked back to the counter with a carton of juice and some chips.

“Mum needed to get some more groceries” she handed her a cup “Would have assisted her but I came back today and was feeling so tired and muscle-cramped. Mum suggests that I took some rest,” she said.

Lily watched as Cory put less juice for her and more for herself. Lily pouts and tries to grab the carton but Cory is quick to pull it away from her grab.

“Weren’t you taught to be content with your food and drinks?” she batted her eyes.

“Give to Ceaser what belongs to Ceaser” Lily leaned on the counter and tilted her head to the side for a bit.

“You deserve that portion, so take it like that,” Cory said in an older and different tone.

Lily shrugged. “Sure ma’am”

They sat down in quiet, just scrolling through their phones.

Something occurred to Lily, so she put her phone down and watched her sister.

“Where were you again?”

“I was on a trip”

“What’s it about?” Lily asked, curious to know what it was all about.

“You know I am almost done with high school and I applied to a few schools and according to the advisors, we the students are encouraged to take trips to each university applied for to get a taste of how things work there, whether or not I get into them” she explained.

Lily nods her head, looking impressed by how the strategy is used.

“That’s actually good though. How did the trip go?” she was interested to know what it was like and probably get some tips on how to enjoy a trip regardless its purpose.

Cory had a bored look on her face, she raised a questioning brow.

“You don’t care, do you?” she asked.

“I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t” Lily responded.

Cory looked at her for a second, trying to see if she was telling the truth. She knew this of Lily that when she’s trying to cover up something, her lips twitch no matter how hard she tries not to let it be visible or she’ll constantly rub the left side of her nose.

Neither of those was happening.

“It was okay though” she shrugged.

Lily looked at her sister with eyes expecting her to continue her story. “And?” she asked when Cory made no attempt to continue.

“You want the full story?”

“Sure” Lily frowned.

Corry narrowed her brows. “You’re sure it’s not because of this trip you’re going to?”

Lily rolled her eyes. “It’s part of it, but I also want to know how you felt about it. What emotions were evoked, who you met, was the purpose of the trip met, and all those”

Cory smiled. “So this is like some sister bond?”

“Yeah, it is. Will you tell me now?” Lily pleaded with her eyes.

“Hmm, okay. So, on our wa– holdup. I need you to answer this. Truthfully” Lily nods for her to continue “DO you really like spending more time with Sarah than you do with me?”

Lily was caught off guard by the question her sister asked. She hadn’t really thought about this that much. She loves her sister and Sarah equally but doesn’t really have an answer to her question.

The real question here is ‘Does she really want to hang out with her sister as much as she does with Sarah?’

“I… I don’t know if I have an answer for that” she said. She noticed the expectant look on her sister’s face. It wasn’t just the expectation of getting any answer but it was one that expected a positive one.

“Really?” she raised both brows, looking awkward and unsure.

“I… err” Lily sighed frustratingly. “Look, I can’t say anything about what you asked. I don’t want to answer anything just to get favor from you or Sarah but what I can say is you enjoy the company of those you spend it well with”

Cory’s lips formed a ‘o’

“I hope I didn’t hurt you with my words, that’s the only explanation I have to the question”

Cory shook her head. “Oh no, the answer is actually perfect. Thanks for the honesty,” she smiled and Lily smiled too.

She felt her heart swell with so much joy. Lily couldn’t explain the reason for a joy but it felt like she solved some kind of mystery for her sister and it made her feel good about it.

Cory went ahead to explain how her day went and what happened during the trip. She mentioned some fun moments they had, some that scared them to the bones, places they visited, and tips to enjoy the trip. Their conversations were filled with laughter and shrieks and more laughter.

Lily couldn’t remember the last time they both sat down to talk as sisters. They both have individual lives but Lily felt they should do this more, maybe then they might be closer to each other.