Like Mother; Like Daughter

Abbi finally emerges from the bedroom a few hours later dragging her suitcase behind her. “I booked a flight at three and there’s a taxi waiting out front so you should hurry and pack your stuff.” I stand staring at her till she reaches the door. She’s about to leave the room when I snap out of my shock. “Hey!” She keeps walking. I run into the hall and grab her arm. “Stop ignoring me! Why are you being such a jerk today?” “Me? Being a jerk?” “Yes!” I reply, “You’ve been ignoring me all day!” “Yes!” She says, “I have. You know why? Because I don’t want anything to do with you! You cheated. Everyone’s gonna think we’re cheaters. I’m not, you are! I don’t associate with cheaters!” She turns and starts walking down the hall.  “I just wanted to make you happy,” I whisper. She whirls on me. “HAPPY!” she shrieks, “ You think my sister cheating is going to make me happy!! ” “I thought you would be happy if we won.” “ I don’t care about winning! ” she yells back at me. “ I don’t care that...

The next morning I wake up to the sound of the alarm clock going off in the next room. Slowly I get out of bed and stumble to turn it off.  At the sight of the empty beds, everything from the night before comes rushing back. Oh no. Abbi is so mad at me. Where is Abbi? “Abbi?” I call. She’s not in the bedroom or the bathroom. I even check the closets but I can’t find her. I pick up my cell phone and click on her contact. I hold the phone to my ear as it starts to ring. She doesn’t answer. I decide to text her. Morning! Where’d you go? After thirty minutes, there’s still no response.  I spend the rest of the morning trying to call Abbi and staring at a muted TV. It’s almost noon when she finally comes back. I slam my phone down on the coffee table and storm towards her. “ Where were you!!! ” I  yell. “ I have been trying to get ahold of you for hours!! ” “I went out to breakfast,” she replies, sliding past me. “ And you didn’t think to tell me!! ” “Oh I thought about it.” ...

I open the door to the hotel room, expecting Abbi to be waiting there for me, furious. Instead, I walk into an empty room. The sound of the shower is coming from the bathroom. I sigh and plop down on the couch. I reach for the remote and turn the TV onto Food Network. While I wait for Abbi to finish in the bathroom, I watch Sugar Rush and think I am so glad I'm not on that show. The sound of the water stops abruptly and I steel myself for Abbi’s wrath. The door opens and Abbi, in a different set of pajamas stalks to the bedroom, ignoring me. She slams the door and doesn’t come out. I stand up to follow her but when I try to turn the handle the door is locked. I rattle the doorknob and bang on the door. “Abbi!” I call, “Let me in!” There is no response. I groan and smack the door before turning and pulling the couch out into a bed. I slept in the living room that night. Good thing my toothbrush and face wash stay in the bathroom. Hope you like it! -Daughter

In the lobby, the cameraman from the show was waiting for us. He stood when we entered, eyeing us in our slippered, pajamed state “Please follow me,” he said, his voice cold. Abbi looked at me confusion on her face, I tried to mirror her expression as we followed him into a sperate room. I walked in and stopped short. The brick masters, as well as the host, were there. They all wore grim expressions. My heart pounded and my hands were cold and shaky. The cameraman offered us seats and we sat down. “Hello Kris, Abbi.” Brickmaster Jamie said. “Hi,” we replied. Jamie leaned forward in his seat. “I’m sure you are very excited about your win today,” he said Abbi nodded enthusiastically. I nodded along with her. I knew where this was going and I was not looking forward to it. “However,” he continued, looking at Abbi, “I’m afraid it was not a genuine victory.” Abbi looked at him confused. “What do you mean?” she asked glancing at me. “Kris, do you know what he’s talking about?” I struggled ...

"And the winner's are . . . Kris and Abbi!!" Abbi squealed and threw her arms around me. I laughed and squeezed her tight. Everyone applauded, clapping us on the back, giving us hugs. I felt a small wave of remorse, but it disappeared when I saw Abbi's face. I had never seen her so happy, and instantly I knew. It was worth winning on a cheat if it made my sister happy. Later that night in the hotel room we were still celebrating. "I can't believe we won!!" Abbi squealed. "We didn't even get to finish and we still won!" "M-hmm," I said nodding. I could barely believe she hadn't noticed the changes I made to it. I guess they were small enough that she couldn't tell. The phone rang in the kitchen. "I'll get it." Abbi stood and hurried to answer it "Hello? Oh, okay. Sure, we'll be right there." She hung up, turning to me. "Someone is here to see us. They're waiting in the lobby....

“Time’s up!” The cry echoed through the room, resonating in my ears and making my heart pick up speed. I dropped my legos, making sure to bump the bottom of my structure, turning it so the un-finished part faced me. I held up my hands pretending to be done. I high-fived my sister, who was my partner on the show, doing my best to look normal. Discreetly, I gathered the pieces that the structure would need to be completed and stuffed them into my pocket. We all rolled our builds to the middle of the room. Abbi looked nervous, we hadn’t finished ours. I squeezed her hand reassuringly. I was going to fix it. We all stood in the middle of the room. Our builds were against the wall to my right. I excused myself for a moment, and while everyone was focused on the brick masters, I snuck around the corner and assembled the legos I had brought with me. As I walked back over to the group, I stuck it onto our build. Making sure no one was looking, I rearranged a few things. There, it looked ...