I couldn't keep the smile off of my face the next morning. It started as soon as I woke up and remembered what had happened the day before. I curled up and basked in the memory for a while, but somehow I didn't feel the need to stay in bed all morning. I felt annoyingly cheerful and full of energy.
The Sunday morning breakfast table was a scattered affair. Dad was still sitting down when I arrived, though he'd finished eating. Mom was in the process of washing up their breakfast dishes and cleaning up the kitchen. Riley didn't seem to be around yet.
"Morning," I greeted them.
My voice came out in such a happy tone that it would have made me consider violence if it had come from someone else so early in the day. My parents shared a look and I almost giggled out loud at their obvious confusion.
"Good morning, Anna," Dad finally said. "You must have slept well."
"You could say that."
I didn't really care how baffled they were at my behaviour. They were barely even on my mind, despite being in the same room. My thoughts remained centered squarely on the member of the family yet to appear. I hummed softly to myself as I poured out a bowl of cereal.
"Do you have plans for today?" Mom asked.
The tone of her voice suggested that she was trying to work out the reason for my good mood. Her suspicion would have irritated me if she had merited any significant amount of my attention.
"Nope. No plans."
I put the milk back in the fridge and sat down at the table. I ignored my parents' stares and chewed on my cereal. It tasted better than usual to me.
"Anna... is there a boy?"
I couldn't help myself this time; I laughed. Yes there was a boy, but no I had no intention of telling Mom and Dad about him.
"Isn't there always?"
That wasn't what they wanted to hear. I still didn't care. They could yell at me if they wanted, but nothing was going to get to me. I was immune to bad feelings.
"We just want to make sure you're being careful."
"Am I ever careful?"
It was probably fortunate that Riley made his appearance before my casually chosen words got me in trouble. Personally, I had more intimate reasons for being glad to see him. Just the sight of him made me squeeze my thighs together involuntarily.
He seemed to sense that there was a certain amount of tension in the room, but then that was nothing unusual. It probably confused him more that I was still smiling. I was always the first to succumb to negative emotions.
"Morning," Riley said, trying to pretend like he hadn't walked in on the middle of anything. "What's for breakfast?"
Mom hesitated for a second, then jerked back to her instinctive 'mother' persona.
"Good morning, sweetie. I can make some eggs and toast if you want. Or I think there's some bacon in the freezer."
"Eggs and toast are fine."
Riley sat down at the table and let Mom cook up his food. I didn't even try to stop my gaze from coming to rest on him. He glanced back at me and shook his head slightly. I wasn't sure what he meant to communicate, but I probably would have ignored him even if I could have figured it out. If he wanted me not to look at him, he was out of luck.
Mom was over by the stove making Riley's breakfast. I assumed I'd be off of her radar for a few minutes, but once she had a small break she turned back to me.
"You should maybe think about cleaning your room today, Anna."
I was amusing myself by watching my brother squirm under my gaze and try to pretend like he didn't notice me staring. It was kind of cute. I was sure he'd have words for me once we were alone.
"'Kay, Mom," I said, hoping she'd shut up and leave me to my game.
Unfortunately, my short response drew the rest of my family's attention. They all waited for a few seconds as though assuming I was going to do something more dramatic.
"Well, uh, good then," Dad put in. "Having an organized room will be good for you. Help keep you focused."
That was bullshit, but I let it slide. Dad felt the need to fill a silence sometimes, and that was often when he spouted his most inane thoughts. I was still busy staring down Riley, making sure to flick my gaze around just enough that our parents wouldn't notice anything amiss. He was actually starting to blush.
"I'm going to go take a shower," Riley announced suddenly.
He stood up from the table and started walking away without waiting for a response.
"Honey, your food's almost ready," Mom called after him.
"I'll get it later, thanks."
I forced myself to sit quietly and pretend like I didn't care one way or the other if Riley left. At least his odd behaviour helped distract Mom and Dad from mine.
"That was weird," Mom said once Riley was gone. "I've never known him to not want breakfast. He's been a little moody lately though."
"Maybe he and Anna switched bodies," Dad joked. "It would explain a lot."
That sort of comment would have bothered me on any other morning. In this instance, I was still emotionally untouchable.
"Does that mean I get to be the good kid now?" I asked, my face a picture of innocence.
Mom and Dad shared a look.
"Finish your cereal," Mom said.
I grinned as I scooped another spoonful from my bowl. I couldn't help feeling like I was winning for once.
****
My usual aversion to doing what I was told continued to evade me throughout the day. I didn't particularly want to clean my room, but I also didn't hate the idea enough to get in a fight over it. I decided that maybe it had just been a long time since I'd been in a genuinely good mood. Maybe finally getting what I wanted had mellowed me out when it came to certain other facets of my life.
I put on some music in my room and opened up the windows before beginning to tidy up. I started with picking up the dirty clothes that lay scattered across various parts of the floor, as well as throwing out any items I found that I had no interest in keeping. Getting the floor cleared up and vacuumed was the main thing. It would give more of an appearance of progress than anything else I could do.
I sang along to my music as the mood struck me. My door was open, but I was pretty sure no one was in earshot. I got sufficiently distracted by my task and my singing that I didn't notice Riley sneak up to my room. I turned around at one point and he was just there watching me with a small smile on his face. I didn't feel any embarrassment at being caught singing poorly. My mind immediately went other places.