hey sis -pia-

Pia shook her head. "No," she told Petra, "they wouldn't let me. Mom and Dad, I mean." She didn't elaborate, figuring Petra could put two and two together. She wasn't going to complain about her past when Petra's had obviously been much, much worse. "I was home schooled in Ughdarras.

She'd probably have to talk to her therapist later about the small bubble of irritation that surfaced as she stopped herself from talking about how disappointed she'd been as a child. Here she was, over ten years later, still feeling resentment. Petra had suffered unspeakable things and Pia was irritated that even now her own struggles were second place. It was embarrassing and sickening, and Pia was glad she'd spent the last decade working on keeping her own emotions under wraps.

"I'm just gonna go grab my stuff," Pia said, running upstairs to grab the bag with her school stuff in it.

three cheese chicken cavatappi with crispy chicken
2 orders of steak won ton tacos
southwest steak salad

"Oh," Petra said. She wasn't stupid, and it didn't take a genius to figure out why their parents hadn't let Pia go to school at Redfern, despite it making little sense. While the recent attack on the school did show that it wasn't the safest place in Amelia, Petra had been taken from a friend's bedroom. There were no safe places in Amelia, and sheltering kids only made them less prepared to deal with that. "That sucks."

She saw a little glint of something in Pia's eyes, only for an instant. Bitterness? Whatever it was, it was gone as suddenly as Petra noticed it. If Pia was bitter over something as small as not being able to go to the school she wanted when she was little, she was wise enough not to say so out loud in front of Petra.

"So," she said, once Pia had returned with her bag. "What do you do around here, anyways? Besides work." Ever since Petra had gotten out of the organization, she'd been at a loss with what to do with herself. Her upbringing hadn't exactly prepared her for a normal life on Martha's Vineyard. She'd felt more at home breaking into Deilig and killing guards than she did applying for a job and hanging out with her sister.

"Well, there's a little shopping district in town," Pia said, suddenly wondering what she did do with her time that was worth mentioning. "A couple bars, the beach is an obvious one..." She and Petra walked toward the door and Pia switched off the lights in the house.

"There's the boating... um..."

The sisters left the house and walked outside into the morning air. It was windy, like usual, and the air carried salt from the sea, giving the entire island a very beachy feel, even when you were inland like they were.

After a few moments Pia finally said, "I actually don't get out much," with a laugh. She found it hard to bond with the other teachers, and while she felt a strong connection with her students, she obviously couldn't hang out with them outside of class. "I teach, coach sports..." Her entire life kinda revolved around being a teacher.

"Huh. Guess we actually do have something in common, then," Petra said dryly. She had traveled a bit since she was freed, saw more of the world. But during the majority of her time in Nadar she'd kept to herself, not getting out much at all. Not that there was anything interesting to do in that gods forsaken jungle.

She tried to picture herself lounging on the beach with Pia. The thought was so absurd it almost made her laugh. Having fun on a beach was like an alien concept to her. The bars might have some potential, though.

Pia smiled.

The two sisters continued their walk to campus, and then each of them did their own thing (after Pia showed Petra the way, of course). After they were done they got that ice cream they'd talked about.

All in all, it was a good start to their new relationship, and Pia would remember it for years to come.