Gavroche Thenardier contemplates the woman in the kitchen before entering her domain. She sings along to the pop song softly playing on the radio as she works, her thick, messy plait bobbing to the beat. The seventeen year-old boy pockets his phone, saunters in, and leans on the breakfast counter. The woman, his eldest sister Eponine, barely acknowledges his presence, concentrating instead on precisely slicing vegetables for their dinner.
"Hey, sis..."
"No, you're on dishes duties, Gav. I'm cooking your stupid ratatouille, so you're doing the clean-up. You're not gonna weasel your way out." She doesn't miss a beat, coring a red bell pepper and cutting it into thin pieces.
"But I wasn't gonna! I just heard some news from Courf," he explains while eyeing the goat cheese on the counter.
She swats his hand before his fingers could dip into the soft cheese, and snorts at her brother's pouting countenance. "You always have news from Courf. He's worse than a fishwife with the way he gossips."
"You might find this interesting though," he teasingly nudges her.
She raises an eyebrow, but continues on her work, already picking another vegetable while waiting for her brother to relay his news. "Well? Out with it then."
Gavroche takes a deep breath before speaking. "Enjolras is back in town."
Eponine's rhythmic chopchopchopchop falters for a heartbeat before regaining its stride. Gavroche studies her expression intently, but can't read it. She scoops her eggplant slices and dumps them into an empty bowl.
"Oh. Okay then. Pass me that zucchini, please."
He stares at his sister, jaw dropping to the ground. "Really? That's it?!"
