Intermission - Working for it (Part 1).

It was only supposed to be a 30 minute nap at best, but Isabelle didn’t hear her alarm and ended up sleeping for almost two hours straight. When was the last time she pulled an all-nighter? She didn’t even do it to study, but this time she HAD to finish the video in time. She did, thankfully. It was sent, so she only had to wait for a response.

When her eyes opened and she began to regain consciousness, the first thing that her ears caught was the sound of laughter. Two people, in Oliver’s room, the other was a girl. Who?

“What!? That move has invincibility!?” the girl asked, baffled.

“Yep.”

“That’s cheap!”

“It is.” Oliver laughed.

Was that… Noelle? It was, wasn’t it? What was she doing here? Isabelle checked her phone again, but she had no messages from Noelle, and she was sure they had no plans to meet that Sunday.

Isabelle’s first instinct was to get up from her bed and go say hi, but she stopped herself before she even got her head off the pillow.

“So you play card games, too?” Oliver asked.

“Only a little bit. I have two younger cousins who are super into it, so I have a deck to play with them. They’re really the only people I play against, but building a deck is in itself fun.”

“Isn’t it pretty expensive?”

Ugh. Oliver was always so worried about money. Okay, Isabelle couldn’t blame him since they didn’t have all that much to spend, but his frugal nature bordered on being cheap.

“There are some stupidly expensive cards,” Noelle said, laughing. “Like 200 for a piece of painted cardboard. But I just play with what I get in the booster packs. I’ve gotten lucky a few times and gotten some really good cards, though. My cousins were super jealous.”

Isabelle smiled. Oliver and her used to play cards when they were kids, but it would be better to say they collected them, as they never learned the rules.

There was this one time they both bought one booster pack each. There was a card Isabelle really wanted and she prayed she got it. According to the store owner, it was on the rare side, so she should lower her expectations. Do you know what happened? Oliver got it. Isabelle was green with envy.

The store owner was even more shocked, and he offered to buy it from Oliver for like $40. Can you believe that? To kids, $40 is a fucking fortune. And do you know what her idiot brother did?

He gave the card to her.

Isabelle’s smile went away. She got up from her bed and went to her desk. She opened the bottom drawer and pulled out a small box. Her own card collection was there, untouched for years but kept in sleeves because the store owner said it kept them in good condition. She searched for the card. It was still there. A blonde girl in an odd, blue and pink witch hat with a magic circle in the background.

Isabelle pursed her lips and sat on the floor of her bedroom, staring at the card. Hearing Noelle talk about it made her remember she had it.

She stayed in her room, hearing Oliver and Noelle’s lively chatter. She didn’t want to interrupt, she wanted to give them time alone. Besides, she didn’t feel much like seeing anybody at the moment. Her chest felt heavy, her lip quivered and her eyes got watery.

She heard Noelle leaving and Oliver going with her to wait for a cab. Good to know her brother was a gentleman. But then she heard Oliver return. His steps were heavy. He closed the door to his room and, almost immediately after, Isabelle heard a soft thud, like someone had thrown a pillow against a wall. Then a grunt.

“Dammit…!” Oliver muttered. Isabelle’s heart froze.

Did something happen? Did they fight? They were having such a good time just now! Or maybe it wasn’t a fight? Isabelle couldn’t even think of anything that could make them argue, so maybe it was unrelated.

No, wait.

There was one thing.

Isabelle rubbed her eyes and went from her room to Oliver’s. She knocked on his door and called to him.

“I’m busy, Isabelle,” he said. His voice sounded… off, depressed.

“No, you’re not. I’m coming in.”

She opened the door and found him sitting at the edge of his bed, back slouched and with his elbows resting on his knees. His expression could’ve made anyone think he was pissed, and in a way they’d be right. Oliver was furious at himself, Isabelle knew. He rarely got visibly angry at others, but when he was frustrated with himself he’d get like that.

“What happened?” Isabelle asked, closing the door behind her. “Did you fight with Noelle?”

“So you were awake?” He asked, but it sounded like he didn’t care about the answer.

“I… Yes. You guys were playing here when I woke up.”

Oliver nodded and said nothing else.

“Come on. What happened?”

“Nothing,” he said. “Nothing happened,” he grunted. He was so visibly upset he couldn’t even hide it.

“Then why are you like this?”

“...” Oliver shook his head. “It’s not important.”

“...” Isabelle felt her eyes water. “Th-There was a time,” she started, her voice close to cracking, “when we used to tell each other everything. I fucked that up, I know. It’s my own fault. So I know you won’t believe me when I say this, but I want to go back to that, Oliver. I want my brother back. What do I have to do to make it up to you?”

Her body felt numb and heavy with guilt. She’d cut the bridge herself, and now she was asking him to let her fix things? He would tell her to go away, that he still hadn’t forgiven her. He might act like there was a semblance of normalcy between them, but it was clear. Her brother held his grudges, if silently, but she was speaking from the bottom of her heart.

Isabelle wanted her brother back. The one who treated her well, the one who always played with her, the one who told her his secrets, the one she could tell her secrets to… The one who cared for her more than anyone else.

Why the fuck did she ever think she preferred strangers over him?

Right. Because he would always be there. But she was wrong. And if she wanted her brother back, she would have to start working for it. And at this point, Isabelle was willing to do anything.

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