Alexis had noticed two things when she opened her eyes. One was that there were bandages and empty containers of rubbing alcohol littering the ground below her, making the carpet look like a sea of medical garbage. Two was that she was most definitely not in her own house; strange that these realizations came to her in that exact order. She sat up slowly but didn't make a sound.
It was second nature for her to assume that she had been abducted by aliens, and the last thing she wanted to do was wake them from their supernatural slumber.
She was lying on a couch that was most definitely not hers, sitting in a room that she had never seen before, and had a bandage on her head that she was fairly sure was new. Avoiding the empty band-aid wrappers and…erm...crayons on the floor? Giving the Crayola brand school supplies a suspicious glare Alex got up and walked toward what appeared to be the kitchen.
Although tempted to see if there was any candy on the premises, she continued past the kitchen into another hallway. Two of the three doors were open, and she heard voices coming from the first. Stealthily making her way toward it (and creaking with every step), she stood to the side and looked both ways before poking her head in.
It appeared to be a bedroom, as there was a bed, but other than that it was sparsely decorated. Much to Alex's surprise, Warren was sitting at the chair to a desk, bent over what looked like homework…and next to him stood the unmistakable form of Ellie.
Warren had also noticed two things when he opened his eyes for the day that morning. One was that Ellie was an exact replica of her sister, with the same light brown hair and blue eyes. Two was that not only did she look exactly like Alex, but she seemed to have inherited the same favorite hobby of annoying him every waking moment of his life.
"What's your homework about?" Ellie asked, ironically at about the same time Warren was mentally debating whether or not he would exchange one sister for the other.
"Can I see?" She asked again when he didn't answer.
Apparently none of her questions really required him to answer them though, as she carried out actions based on an imaginary situation in which he had chosen to give her preferred response. She climbed up on the bed next to the desk and peeked over his shoulder at the paper.
"Who's that?" She asked, pointing to a small illustration of a super-being accompanied by a paragraph.
"That's Radio-Man," Warren answered, glad to have a question he could answer easily.
"Wro-ong!" Alex sang from the doorway, suddenly unable to preserve her silence. "That's Sound-Syndrome, as distinguished by the sound wave-decorated cape as opposed to a radio transmitter on the wrist."
Warren started at the sound of another voice, and Ellie left the bed with a flying leap. Alex held open her arms for the little girl, who clung happily to her front like some variation of a four-legged spider.
"You're up," Warren observed bluntly, rolling his eyes but changing his label of the picture before she could see.
"Why yes I am, grand Capitano Obvious!" Alex gasped, apparently awestruck by his ingenious observation skills.
Ellie giggled and let go of her.
Upon righting herself to stand up to Alex's mid-thigh, she announced to her sister, "I'm hungry."
"What time is it?" Alex asked, directing her question at the now standing Warren and patting her sister's head instead of responding to her announcement.
"Lunchtime." He said simply, before stuffing his homework into a bag in the corner and pushing past her into the hallway.
Alex stared blankly at the corner behind which he had disappeared. She looked down at Ellie almost simultaneously to her sister looking up at her. For a moment there was nothing but silence as the sisters exchanged almost identical blank looks.
"Well that was rude," Alexis stated, before walking out the door after him, Ellie trailing behind her.