Listening to Jack
Part 4
Emily woke up the next morning, feeling muddled and confused. For some reason, she had a hard time remembering exactly what she’d done the day before. She knew she’d had a perfect day, and that everything had been amazing … but exactly what had been amazing about it, she couldn’t say for sure. She honestly didn’t know. She vaguely knew she’d done something with her twin brother Jack, which seemed odd, but for the life of her she couldn’t remember what they’d done together.
But the more Emily thought about it, the less confused she felt. After all, the day had been just perfect. That, she knew for sure. And thinking about her perfect day made her very, very happy. So why did she need to worry about the details?
As Emily dressed for school, she noticed that putting on her bra was surprisingly difficult. It was weird, but it seemed like her breasts were bigger. She needed to rummage around in her underwear drawer for a couple of minutes before she could find one that she could wear comfortably … a red, lacy one that barely managed to contain the curves of her breasts. Emily stared at her breasts for awhile in her bedroom mirror, wondering if they would burst out of the bra. She giggled. I kind of hope they do, actually,, she thought with a wicked smirk, as she began to run her fingers lightly over their swells and curves. She let out a soft sigh of pleasure as she played with her tits, thinking again about how perfect yesterday had been … and then, she finished getting dressed, throwing on a plaid skirt and a red blouse, which also struggled to contain her ample cleavage. She didn’t see a matching pair of panties in the underwear drawer, so she didn’t bother putting any on. She didn’t think she’d need them, and besides, they just seemed like they’d get in the way.
Emily stopped herself. In the way? What? she thought, feeling a bit bewildered. That seems kind of … oh, never mind. It doesn’t matter. And besides, they’ll get in the way.
Smiling, Emily headed downstairs to breakfast. Jack wasn’t at the table, which wasn’t really surprising, but Emily found herself a little disappointed by that. Her mother wasn’t there, either, which Emily did find surprising. Her mother was practically a fixture at the kitchen table in the morning, always trying to whip up “something a little special” for Emily’s younger brother Todd, or for Emily’s dad, if he happened to be around. Emily couldn’t remember the last time her mother hadn’t greeted her in the kitchen before school with a friendly wave and a cheerful smile, asking her if she had anything special planned for that day … it was more than a little weird, not seeing her there.
The only person at the table was Emily’s younger brother Todd, sloppily dressed in a gray hooded sweatshirt and jeans. He’d been busily slurping and shoveling some kind of purple-and-red cereal loaded with sugar into his face as Emily walked into the kitchen … however, as he turned to look up at his older sister, he’d practically dropped his spoon as he stopped to gawk openly at her tits, his mouth open in surprise and wonder. Emily shot Todd a frosty look, and he turned away, his face reddening in embarrassment.
“Jesus, Todd,” Emily snapped at her brother, “you’re such a little fucking perv. Grow up already, huh?”
Todd didn’t say anything. He just kept eating his cereal, afraid to look up at his sister. Emily smiled coldly.
“Finish up quick, loser,” Emily said to Todd. “I’ve got to get to school a little early today.” She opened the fridge, looking for some more yogurt. But she realized suddenly that she wasn’t hungry and she felt great. So she decided she didn’t need any breakfast. Slamming the refrigerator door, she turned to face Todd, arms folded over her chest—no sneak peeks for you, perv, she thought, still feeling more than a bit mad at him … and then she noticed what was sitting on the table, next to Todd’s bowl of cereal.
A pair of familiar headphones.
And two small white boxes, each box just big enough to hold a pair of new headphones.
“Um, Jack said the headphones, uh, they’re for you,” Todd mumbled, not bothering to look at Emily. He stared determinedly at his cereal, like it was the most amazing meal he’d ever eaten, not daring to glance over again at his sister. “And the boxes, um, they’re for you, um, too. Except, uh, you aren’t supposed to open them. You’re, um, supposed to deliver them. Jack said, um, you’d, uh, know what he means.” Todd shrugged, pretending to be indifferent. “’Cause I sure don’t know what he was talking about.”
Emily wasn’t sure either, at first. Quickly, she snatched her own headphones off the table, before Todd had a chance to touch them. Once the headphones were securely stowed in her purse, though, she found herself staring curiously at the two boxes, unsure of what they were. Tentatively, she reached out for the boxes … and as soon as she touched them, she nodded confidently.
“Of course,” Emily whispered to herself. “So obvious. Jack, you’re brilliant.”
Emily scooped up the boxes with great care. She looked over at her younger brother with slight annoyance. “I’m going now,” she said to Todd. “These can’t wait. So finish up, or you can walk to school.”
“Fine,” Todd said in a sullen voice. Abruptly, he pushed the unfinished bowl away from himself. “Breakfast isn’t the same without Mom making it, anyway. You see her this morning?”
“No,” Emily replied. She casually put on a jacket, and took her iPod of her purse, clipping it to the collar. “Maybe she went out or something.”
“I guess. But it still seems weird.” Todd grabbed his bag, and looked warily at the boxes, still averting his gaze from both his sister’s face and her splendid bosom. “You want me to carry those for you?”
“Don’t. Touch. Them,” Emily replied icily. “Just get the door. The boxes are important, I’ll take care of them.”
Emily drove Todd to school in stony silence, with Todd riding in the back – the boxes sat gently on the seat next to Emily instead. Todd looked pissed, particularly as Emily dumped him off by the entrance to the school nearly forty-five minutes before the bell was scheduled to ring, but he didn’t voice his displeasure. Emily caught the glowering scowl a few times on his face when she checked the rearview mirror … good, she thought proudly. Serves you right …
Taking a spot close to the entrance, Emily hurried inside, carrying the boxes with her. She headed to the lockers on the third floor, which all belonged to the senior class. The hallways, mercifully, were empty. Emily walked briskly to a locker she normally avoided like the plague, and without hesistation, she began to work the combination lock that held it securely shut.
Click. Click. Click. Effortlessly, the lock slid open. Emily knew it would. She didn’t know the combination – not consciously, anyway – but the numbers seemed incredibly obvious to her, for some reason. Besides, she could practically feel the tumblers inside the lock clacking and sliding around while she turned the dial. She didn’t know why opening the locker was so effortless … but it was, and it seemed right to her. So she didn’t question it.
A pile of books sat on the top shelf of the locker. Emily neatly slid one of the boxes on top of the pile, and then closed the locker, making sure to click the lock shut.
Emily headed downstairs, to the second floor, and did the same for another locker, one she also knew well, although it certainly wasn’t one she avoided. Quite the contrary. But as with the locker on the third floor, while she didn’t know the combination to the lock, the dial spun easily between her slender fingers, and it fell open. She placed the box on the floor of the locker, next to a pair of gym sneakers, where Emily knew it would be noticed, and then pushed the locker door closed.
Emily looked about nervously. The hallways were still empty and silent. Still, she walked cautiously down to the stairwell, away from the locker and heading for the first floor ... slipping on her headphones while she walked. She plugged them into her iPod, and switched it on. By the time she’d made it down by the cafeteria, she was smiling happily, peacefully listening to the odd, dissonant tones screeching through the tiny earbuds, oblivious to their harsh, shrill sounds, like the shrieks of a dying demon, oblivious to the fact that they didn’t even sound close to the songs she kept loaded on the tiny device. But that didn’t matter much to Emily. Content, she took a seat at an empty cafeteria table, waiting for her friend Donna before they headed off to homeroom …
… and she looked up at the clock, slightly puzzled.
It was so very, very early.
She didn’t remember why she’d come to school so early. It wasn’t like she needed to be at school so early, for any reason …
Shrugging, Emily sat and waited. She didn’t mind waiting. Besides, it gave her a chance to listen to more of her music, and to wear Jack’s special headphones even longer.