Hello, world! I'm not completely off of hiatus yet, but today just happens to be the first anniversary of the day I posted the first chapter of Unexpected Ties, so I had to squeeze out something!
Maya glanced around to make sure nobody was watching, her sharp, stormy blue eyes narrowed as her head darted from side to side, carefully tip-toeing through the nearly empty hallway towards the science room. Lucas was just outside the lab with his back to her, oblivious to her presence.
The two of them were staying late after school to work on a science project that they had been assigned, and the blonde had more than a few tricks up her sleeve for her brother.
Lucas was stooped down tying his shoe when Maya reached him, still unaware she was there. Grinning, she carefully calculated how she would have to jump to land on his broad shoulders, and then, with catlike movements, sprang.
"Hey, Ranger Rick, whatcha doin'?" she chirped smugly, her legs and arms wrapped expertly around his neck, as if she'd done this many times before. Lucas jumped nearly a foot in the air, a very un-manly yelp of surprise escaping his lips.
"Maya?!" he cried, relaxing slightly. The blonde could feel his shoulders still tensed, and choked back her laughter.
"Did I scare ya, Hopalong?" she asked, sliding down his back with ease and landing lightly on the hard tile floor.
Lucas gritted his teeth, emerald eyes narrowed in a glare. "No," he said dryly, "How do you even do that, anyways? You're like a cat or something!"
Maya flashed him a mysterious smirk. "I have my ways."
Her younger brother rolled his eyes. "Come on, Shortstacks," he grumbled, holding the door and beckoning her inside. "It's going to be a long afternoon, isn't it?"
Maya grinned, walking into the lab with her chest puffed out in pride. "See? You get me! Oh, we're just getting started."
"Oh, great," Lucas breathed, rolling his eyes so hard it looked to Maya that it would hurt. "This'll be fun."