When Maru got home she could hardly contain her excitement. She wanted to barge into her half-brother's room and tell him everything about Taylor. But knowing Sebastian, that was not an option. She had to be smart and maybe a bit cunning about this. So she went to her room, locked the door and started to formulate her plan to be a matchmaker for her gloomy step-brother and the bright newcomer. As time passed, and she discarded idea by idea, she realised that she may be in deeper waters than she's prepared to swim. She needed some sugar to get her brain working. As she was rummaging in the cupboard for some snacks, she heard Sebastian approaching the kitchen, probably for some coffee. Well, she couldn't let this opportunity go to waste, so she decided to set her non-existing plan into motion.
"Oh, hey, Seb" she said casually, opening a bag of hazelnuts.
"...Hey" he replied grumpily after a few seconds, seeing that there was no more coffee left.
As he started preparing to brew a new portion, Maru was acting like she was looking for something in one of the cupboards.
"So… How's your new project going?" she asked, just like she usually did when she wanted to initiate some kind of conversation with him.
Sebastian didn't want to answer. He didn't like talking to her and he knew she was just trying to be polite and wasn't actually interested in it. These shallow, superficial conversations were just a drag but he promised to Robin that he'll try to be nicer to Maru, even if he hated that idea.
"It's…" he started with a sigh, "...not too bad, I guess. Should be finished with it in a couple of hours. Maybe tomorrow morning, the latest."
"That sounds great" she said with an enthusiastic voice, getting a bowl she didn't need from the cupboard. "Do you have a new job in line after that?"
"...No…" he grumbled in response, waiting for the last drops of coffee to drip in the pot.
"You know, I met one of the new neighbours today" she said, trying to sound as neutral as she could.
The only response she got was a grumble. She expected him not to show any interest in new people, so she just decided to continue talking.
"Isn't it exciting? First, the farmer taking over the old farm, and now a new family up here" she asked, knowing she won't get a response.
"Not really" Sebastian unexpectedly replied. "The farmer is weird and boring."
"Oh… I mean… He just likes different things than you or me, I guess" Maru mused. "But I think you'll like this new girl more than the farmer" she said, when finally Sebastian turned to face her with a sarcastic expression.
"And why do you think that?" he asked with an annoyed voice.
"She had the logo of that band in her shirt. The one you also like, that abyss one" Maru replied bluntly. "So at least you'll have something in common."
Squinting his eyes and furrowing his brows at his half-sister, Sebastian unceremoniously turned around, and got back to his room.
"Did… did I already mess this up?" Maru asked herself, folding her arms.