I don't own Home Alone
Linnie McCallister had no idea about her older brother's whereabouts when she noticed a bright light flashing into the distance of the empty field. She turned her head and noticed Jeff holding onto the polaroid camera before disappearing back into the school building. She was about to call out his name, preferably to take a new photograph without her into the picture, but he seemed to be in a bit of a haste. It seemed like some of her siblings, with the exclusion of Megan, had been staying after school lately. Buzz tutoring some students, much to every siblings' surprise, Becky and Jeff helping with the school newspaper, and Linnie helping out with the French Club. She felt that it had been a very productive meeting, especially when the members of the club finally agreed to raise money for the school through a bake sale.
Now that the meeting was over, she believed that she could spare some time before officially going home. Taking in her surroundings from the empty field, she took a deep breath and breathed in the fresh spring air and closed her eyes. There were times when she preferred to have some time to herself, especially when there was a lot of tension at home. Ever since Megan's accident, Linnie had been present through their fights when Kate voiced her concern about having Megan off the soccer team. Linnie was not aware of what the final verdict was, perhaps she would find out when she got home today, but it had created a bit of distance between mother and daughter. That wasn't the only distance that Linnie was experiencing, for she felt that it was happening between her and Becky as well.
It was a terrible feeling, especially when Linnie had no idea of what she had done and that her sister wouldn't even talk to her about it. Linnie had truly wanted to confront her sister's silence but she never found the will to do so. Whenever Becky was confronted about something, it seemed like she would evade the whole situation. Such situations had happened in the past, especially when Becky 'borrowed' something from her and she found out about it days later.
However, this silent treatment was something that Linnie thought was immature coming from her sister. Why give someone the silent treatment when they didn't do anything? Especially someone who was a family member? That was a question that had been bothering Linnie for weeks and it had taken her a while to convince herself that she hadn't done anything wrong. If Becky wanted to be immature then it wasn't Linnie's problem but her sister's.
"BOO!"
Linnie let out a squeal as her eyes popped open when she felt someone grabbing her by the shoulders. She whipped her head around and noticed Lucas behind her. "Don't do that!" she scolded him before a chuckle took over her lips.
Lucas walked around her and took a seat next to her. "I didn't think I'd find you here Lin," he said to her.
"I did have a club meeting today," Linnie said to him, "and you...had band practice yeah?"
"Yup," Lucas answered as he leaned against the bleachers and rested his back, "my ears are still ringing from all the noise."
"How tragic," Linnie teased, "but I guess it was worth it, now with the football game coming up in the summer before vacation."
"It is going to be the event of the year," Lucas stated, "though I guess it will not top what happened at the soccer game."
At the mention of that, Linnie remained silent for a moment. After her sister's fainting, she had felt her stomach drop. Her sister who always had a strong demeanor had looked so weak right in front of her eyes. It was true that she had been overworking herself throughout the soccer game of the season to the point where it wasn't worth it. There were moment where Linnie herself felt overworked with school, but she always made some time in the day to take care of herself.
"How if Meg doing anyway?" Lucas broke Linnie out of her thoughts.
"She is doing alright," Linnie answered him, "she's not looking forward to come back to school next week but..." she paused as she held up a stack of papers that she had collected from Megan's teachers. "I'm making sure that she doesn't fall back in her schoolwork."
"At least she has a sister looking out for her."
"One of has to," Linnie said matter-of-factly as she tucked the stack of papers into her bag, adding a bit more weight than it was before. "Speaking of which, I have to get home soon. Mom is probably wondering where I am."
"You still haven't told her about us?" Lucas asked her.
That was something that Linnie had been debating. It was one thing keeping this away from her siblings, but her parents was a whole other thing. Upon her parents' needs that they had for their children, it was only to focus on their schoolwork during their high school career. Buzz had broken that rule when he got himself a girlfriend and since Megan had no interest in anyone in her class and Jeff and Becky were private about their whereabouts, why couldn't Linnie experience in having a significant other?
Slowly, she turned around and looked at Lucas. "Don't get me wrong but I do want to tell them," she said as she clung tightly onto the strap of her bag, "but I have to do it when the time is right. Mom and Dad have been mostly worried about Megan and I don't want to add this to their worries?"
"This?" Lucas echoed her words, feeling that he hadn't heard her correctly. "What you think that this is a mistake?"
Linnie's mouth stood agape when he took the words that she said out of context. "What? No!" she exclaimed and shook her head at his words. "Why would you think that I meant it that way?"
"Because it has been months ever since we have started going out and you haven't said a word," Lucas pointed out to her, "where I have."
"What?" Linnie almost gasped when Lucas said that. "You told your parents?"
"Well yeah! What am I supposed to say when I get home later than normal?" he asked her.
"You know that your mom will talk to my mom about it, right?" Linnie reminded him.
Lucas looked up at the sky and let out a sigh. "Do you know how hard it's for someone to find out about a secret from someone else?"
"And you know this how?" Linnie asked him.
Lucas folded his arms across his chest and looked ahead of him. It had been a tough vacation for his family in their trip to Montréal, especially when he found out about his mother's whereabouts and caught her cheating with one of the hotel staff. Taking a deep breath, he took his bag in his grip and looked at Linnie. He was not going to open that chapter in his book during this moment. "Just think about what I said," he stepped down the bleachers and walked away from her before glancing over his shoulder and saying, "I'll see you later Linnie."
