Just some usual frustration (2/2)

The distraction that the ego shooter brought to Sophie did wonders for her mood, especially when she actually got to shoot someone.

Few veteran players had the patience to carry her through her first few rounds, some of them getting even particularly nasty in chat.

One player in particular kept belittling her to return to the campaign and learn how to aim, at least until she hit him right in the face.

Friendly fire wasn't really what she had planned for, but her experience with single player shooters seemed to pay off and after a while, it became just fun.

Time flew by and before she realized came time for dinner.

Not that Sophie had planned to give her father the satisfaction of a clear victory by apologizing for something that was his fault.

'So you admit insulting Karen was a mistake?'

Her jaw muscles clenched at that thought.

"Like I would tell her that! I'd just let dad off the hook."

Even if standing her ground would have consequences, she couldn't just let the real offender get away.

This time it wasn't on the voice inside her head to complain, instead gave her empty stomach an opposing opinion.

'Well, desperate situations require drastic measures.'

[---][---][---][---][---][---][---][---]

Her teeth digged into the end of her pen while her eyes wandered over the empty pages of her note block without aim.

The clock had ticked past dinner and Sophie's reserve of snacks emptied at an alarming rate.

She would have to buy fresh supplies soon.

Too bad she couldn't afford them.

It was past nine when Sophie wondered if Jacob might have already returned.

Her other friends had ignored all messages and while Sophie worked on her homework, continued her stomach to growl.

Things didn't look good.

Sophie was in the middle of collecting the empty packages of her last reserve of chips and sweets when someone knocked at her door.

Before she could wonder about the possible suspects came the voice of her father from behind it, reigniting the fading flame inside her from anew and that despite the hesitant undertone of him.

"Sophie… can we talk?"

She almost jumped to her feet.

"No! I will not apologize! Neither to you nor her!"

Shutting the debate now down was for the best.

"That's not… why I'm here. I'm here to…"

As if he was here for anything else!

"Here for what? To admit that you were the one stealing my chocolate? Again!"

A brief moment of silence followed, and Sophie almost thought to be wrong with her conviction.

"… yes."

Now that took all wind out of her sails.

"You know… Karen had a really awful day. Yet she still wasn't angry. Not at me for hiding, nor at you for screaming at her."

Hearing that description of Karen's reaction caused one of her eyebrows to raise.

"She actually asked me to talk with you, since you didn't show up for dinner. And, to make the first step, considering your day wasn't the best either."

There followed the second.

"I know you and Karen don't get along. Just… try to understand how she feels about that situation. What would you do if someone talked to you like you did with her?"

Now that was something she could answer with a certainty, that can only come from an identical situation in her past, and to have that reflection now applied to her own actions hurt on a whole different layer.

'Probably punch them…'

As much as she doubted Karen's supposedly exemplary behavior, there wasn't much to reason against the points he made.

"Just come over. Your dinner is still there. No conditions attached."

With much reluctance opened Sophie the door and faced her father with a mask that tried to hide her sour mood.

"Fine! But I won't apologize! This is no admission of guilt. I just… admit that I could have… perhaps, worded my accusation less harsh. Okay?!"

The nodding of her father was enough of an answer, and Sophie moved past him before she might think about changing her mind, if just to escape the prospect of having to admit her mistake towards Karen.

"By the way. Sophie, you might not possibly know where Jacob is? It's already half ten."

That was a good question, yet she felt herself growing spiteful as response to the concern he voiced and a dry chuckle escaped her lips when she answered with a rhetorical question.

"I don't know. Perhaps he broke his neck on the still loose step outside?"

She saw his confused reaction while looking back at him.

"Oh please. I bet it would have been long repaired if Jacob fell over it."

Her father didn't seem amused by her accusing gaze.

"That's not a fair comparison, and you know it. That aside, are you not concerned? I couldn't reach him on his phone either."

Sophie threw a last look at her own device, before reaching it to him with a smug smirk on her lips.

"So you will cut his pocket money like mine for coming home so late?"

The clueless expression on his face told her everything she needed to know, and so she turned to move back to the living room for the still pending apology she owed while almost expecting Jacob to burst in through the door, like in a bad soap opera.

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To Sophie's surprise stood her meal still steaming on the dinner table, with Karen sitting on the opposite chair in an obvious half sleep.

Careful to not wake her up and delay the apology as long as possible, sat Sophie down in front of the pot spaetzle.

A supply of cheese and grilled onions stood aside the still empty plate.

With joy took Sophie a good portion for herself before closing the pot with care.

Filled with anticipation for the deliciously divine portion of heaven, that's soon to grace her tongue, Sophie got unfairly interrupted with the full spoon at halfway to her mouth, by a loud sound from outside the house.

It almost seemed like an explosion happened, yet she couldn't see anything through the window from her position.

Karen must've heard the same, and Sophie hurried to shove the spoon into her mouth before the opportunity left.

"Sophie? Where's your father? What happened?"

Her blue eyes looked stressed and tired when locking with Sophie, which was reason enough to believe her father's claim.

Sophie cherished the cheese and spaetzle in her mouth, but her earlier behavior left now a bitter aftertaste.

There was only one solution.

At the sight of Karen's almost panicked expression, swallowed Sophie her meal early, and if just so, she could savor the next bite.

"He probably left to get Jacob. Perhaps the tires finally exploded when he drove too fast over the curb. Anyway, I just wanted to… apologize for screaming at you earlier… that was really aimed at the actual thief. And at my friends… and dad for forgetting to repair the steps."

Not waiting for a sign of acceptance, Sophie returned to her meal, now with nothing to distort her taste.

"It's alright, at least you…"

Sophie felt herself reminded of an old sitcom as the two missing came in, with Jacob supporting their father, who limped with one leg, and Karen, who stopped whatever she wanted to answer Sophie, to jump up in concern.

"Sebastian? What happened?"

Her brother helped to put the injured down on the couch, before disappearing into the kitchen, his eyes purposely not crossing with her own.

Jacob returned soon with a cool pack for the knee, while Karen tended to the big baby lying on the couch.

"Nothing, I only stumbled. Is just a scratch."

The words of her father couldn't fool Sophie. She knew exactly what happened.

"You fell over the loose stair, right? I guess you could call that karma."

Her smirk grew only bigger as he scratched himself nervously.

"Ugh… actually, I stumbled over the next, because I jumped the loose."

Sophie almost spit her food out at the picture in her head. A closer look at her father made the scene only more vivid, seeing the scratches at his palms and on his cheek.

He must have dived face first, just like she did, just that he faced a different way before ramming the nose onto stone.

Speaking of things to hit faces, there was another one in the room who had experiences with that today.

"Hey, Jacob. Can we talk?"

The smallest blonde head at the couch twitched as she addressed him, but refused to look up from the cool pack he held.

"Coach Warren confiscated all our phones! I wanted to message you, but he refused to return them, even after we were done!"

That wasn't exactly what she wanted to talk about, yet it was good to know.

'Not that it explains the rest…'

Their father must have had enough of the events today, seeing how he reassured her cowardly brother, as if he had to be protected.

"Leave it for now, Sophie. I've seen the messages. It must annoy you how they kept you hanging, but you heard Jacob. It was not on purpose."

With a little help from Karen moved he upright, displaying his scratches like heavy injuries he got from a battlefield.

"You can talk tomorrow. Let's just end this day with a little late time television and family time."

Not that his belittling didn't make her grind her teeth, but he was right; the day was already long enough and dealing with that topic now would only haunt her sleep with more overthinking.

A hungry look at her plate revealed that she had already emptied it, yet that the rest would still be too much for her brother. So Sophie divided the rest of the spaetzle between them.

"Fine, but at least eat something, Jacob."

Her brother looked hesitantly at the plate she shoved in his direction, as if she was just trying to lure him into punching distance.

"Why would I be angry at you? The last time I saw you, Warren carried you away like prey he just caught, and that against your will."

That seemed like it was enough to convince him, albeit his blue eyes still darted away when he came to take her offer of peace.

Sophie crossed her arms while their father broke the awkward silence by turning the television on. Broadcasting one of those boring talent shows she despised.

"Hey, Jacob. Come over, they're showing the old episodes of The Terrific Talent. You can eat on the couch. I make an exception for once."

The excitement spread over fast as Jacob joined the two on the couch.

Sophie took her plate as well, but turned towards the hallway when she saw the ridiculous next contender.

All three had a smile on their face when she took a last look at them together.