Hamish and Anabiel sat at the breakfast table. They were trying to eat, but both very nervous. They nibbled a little at slices of toast. Meanwhile, Darius was banging down on the table with both his hands. He had grown so much over the last few years. When Mary went over to help him eat his food, the twins glanced at each other with scared little eyes.
Today was the day that they had both been looking forward to and dreading at the same time. It was the first day of kindergarten. They would be happy to learn and meet new friends, but they were scared at the same time.
"You'd better eat up, don't want to be hungry on your first day of school!" said Mary in an overly cheery voice. Hamish and Anabiel looked away from each other and focused on eating.
Fifteen minutes later they stood at the bus stop with Mary and Darius. The school bus pulled around the corner. They gave their mother one last hug as the bus pulled up next to them. As they climbed onto the bus, they held each others hands. The bus doors closed behind them, shutting them in.
The inside of the bus was teeming with children. Almost immediately, a little boy came up to the pair of them.
"Hi, i'm Jack." he said grinning.
"You have three brother's and your dad is on vacation!" Anabiel blurted out. The boy looked terrified at this. Thankfully, Hamish stepped in.
"I'm Hamish and this is Ana." he said, sensing that this boy was scared of his sister. Jack leaned over Hamish's shoulder and whispered,
"How did she know that?".
"She is smart and figured it out." he replied. This didn't seem to comfort the boy.
Anabiel was distraught. Her skill didn't impress people, it only scared them. What should she do? Thankfully, another girl came up to her.
"Hi, i'm Izzy."
"I'm Anabiel, but you can call me Ana."...
And so Anabiel learned her first lesson on the bus before school started. It was very effective. She didn't mention her deduction ability to anyone else that day.
The door to the Watson house swung open. There were two ear-piercing screams of "DADDY!" as Ana and Hamish tumbled down the stairs. John gathered his children into a giant bear hug.
"How was school today?"
"It was fun!"
"I met friends named Izzy and Emma and Lauren..."
"I played football with my friends!"
The next question John asked was risky. "Did you have any problems with your deduction ability?" he asked, trying to sound as carefree as possible.
"Nope!" said Anabiel cheerily. John grinned and hoisted her onto his shoulder. Hamish shot Anabiel a suspicious look behind John's back, but didn't say anything. He would let Anabiel handle this. However, he couldn't stop thinking about why she had lied to John. Why wouldn't she tell the truth? Perhaps she didn't want john to worry. Yes that must be it. However, Hamish couldn't help thinking that there was something more...