Mind Link

Kyle Furness took the usual left turn onto his street. He had not intended to go home yet. In fact, he still had a lot of thinking to do. But his feet had taken him in the general direction, and his stomach had coaxed him on. In truth he did not fancy going home when only Tayla was present. Surely a fight would break out, and Kyle was not in the mood to fight. His walks always put him in a calm state. It was nice to get away from people for a while. When he was alone, Kyle didn’t need to worry about what others thought. He didn’t need to time his facial expressions. Cody and Katie were good company, as were his other friends, but sometimes he grew tired of talking. He just wanted to stop and listen to his own thoughts, but people were always in his face, whether to impress or to annoy. Everybody wanted something.

Kyle reached the front steps and slowly made his way up them, his stomach growling for food. He knocked five times. Universal sibling code for open the door, I’m outside and don’t have a key.

Inside Kyle heard music shut off and a scuffling from the lounge room as Tayla made her way to the hallway. The lock clicked and the door swung open to reveal Tayla, Colin standing in the doorway of the lounge room. Kyle internally groaned; Tayla had company. His plan: get to the kitchen, don’t hover, then straight up to his room. Shoving past Tayla who quickly stepped aside, he walked past Colin who, staring him down, also moved aside. Walking quickly to avid confrontation, he passed into the kitchen. A chocolate cake lying on the kitchen bench quickly drew Kyle’s attention.

“You can have some if you want,” Tayla said from behind Kyle, making him jump, as he did not realise that she had followed him.

“Thanks,” he mumbled, not turning to look at her.

“Cody was here,” she continued. Tayla knew Kyle didn’t want to listen to her and found pleasure in annoying him, if only for a short time.

“Yeah?” He asked, still not turning around.

“Mm-hm. I told him you weren’t here. So he’ll probably be back later. Just letting you know.” Kyle heard her weight shift as she turned to leave. “Oh, and he might complain about his foot,” she laughed.

Kyle grunted a response.

“Fine, whatever,” Tayla said. “C’mon Colin, we’re not wanted here.”

“No, you’re not,” Kyle grumbled, still refusing to turn.

“Good to know,” Tayla snapped, “I’ll just take my cake and be on my way then shall I?”

“Yes, I think you’d better.”

Shoving past her brother, Tayla walked over to the kitchen bench and snatched the cake off the table. The gratitude! She was only trying to be friendly. Why did he have to throw everything back in her face? It was like he didn’t want to get along. Or he just enjoyed getting on her nerves. But she knew this would upset him, taking the cake when he was so close to having some would definitely set him off. Chocolate cake was Kyle’s favourite, just as it was Tayla’s. That was one thing they had in common, along with their hatred for the other.

Kyle folded his arms across his chest, trying to look unconcerned. She would pay for the cake. Who offers someone cake and then takes it away from right under their nose?

“Mum won’t be home for another couple of hours, and there’s nothing else to eat in the house, unless you want stale bread,” Tayla called from the doorway.

Kyle gritted his teeth. There was no point losing his head, he might break something. Better to wait until there were no witnesses, not that the scum counted for anything. Mariah would always believe Kyle over Tayla. But he could do without smashing the furniture, which was sure to happen. Tayla and Kyle didn’t often get physical, and for good reasoning. A house was no good to anyone as rubble.

Kyle breathed in deep then turned to face his sister, “That’s right, go around like you own the place.”

“Oh is that what I’m doing?” Tayla scoffed. “Well I suspect it’ll be a nice changed from you doing it everyday of the year.”

“What?”

“You heard me! You walk around every day like you own the world and everyone in it. But you wouldn’t even know which cupboard we keep the kitchen plates in, would you Kyle?”

Kyle felt himself flush, and Tayla smiled, knowing she had hit a nerve. Opening and closing his mouth like a gold fish Kyle waited for a suitable insult to form itself inside his mind.

“You know what Kyle?” Tayla started, tired of waiting. “I may not own ‘the place,’ but I do own this cake. I bought the mixture, and made it with my own two hands. So next time you want something of mine, how about asking nicely? Then maybe, just maybe, I might considering giving it to you.” She rolled her eyes, and turned away from her brother, walking back into the lounge room and placing the cake on the coffee table. Immediately, Colin swooped to collect a piece, stuffing into his mouth without mercy.

Kyle’s insides squirmed. His mother would never have allowed this, and more than anything, at that moment, he wished she were home. Turing away from his sister and her peculiar friend, Kyle left the kitchen from the side door. He stomped his way down the hallway and up the stairs to his room. It wasn’t about the cake, not at all. The cake was merely the subject of the argument, but the argument would have started even without the cake. The littlest things could set Kyle and Tayla off. Where to sit on the couch, what volume to have the T.V, whether the window should be open or not. Little, silly reasons, that spiraled into personal attacks on the other. And if fought for long enough, the two would simply forget what they were fighting about.

Slamming the door behind him, Kyle collapsed onto his bed. No, he should not have come home yet. And he was still hungry. He was sure, if he looked hard enough, he would be able to find a lone chocolate bar or Chuppa Chup somewhere in his room. But who knows how long they had been there for, and Kyle was too angry to look either way. His lay on his bed and closed his eyes, he needed more thinking time, as they say: Revenge is a dish best served cold.