Locks and Keys

"Key, are you okay? You're looking a bit pale?" Lock asked, glancing over at me from the driver's seat.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just a bit cold." I lied, which was odd for me, because I never lied to my twin, but I didn't want to tell him in front of our siblings.

"Turn up the heating if you want to." He suggested, still looking skeptically at me from the corner of his eye. I did as he suggested so that he would just go with the lie I told him, making him look away and focus on the road ahead of us.

"Key, will you play with me when we get home?" Jo-Jo asked from behind me. I turned in my seat to look at her; she was looking back at me with her big brown eyes with the locks of her dark fringe fell into her eyes.

"I can't straight away, honey, I have lots of homework to do first, and then I can play with you."

"Don't worry, Jo-Jo, I'll play with you when we get home. Maybe I can plait you hair and make you look like a movie star." Lucy offered. Over the years in the States, she had developed an American accent, as had Jo-Jo. I had refused to neglect my accent and it had only become more prominent over the last three years, rather than deteriorating like Jamie's had – he still talked with a British accent, but some words had a Southern American twang to it and used some American slang that we had picked up over the years.

Jo-Jo squealed happily and began talking to Lucy about the style she wanted. For a three-and-a-half year old, she was quite eloquent in the way she spoke, using words most toddlers wouldn't know at that age or even a few years older. She was a very intelligent child and was definitely going to get somewhere in life, unlike her stupid older brother, cough, Lock.

"What work do you have to do?" Lock asked me.

"I have an English essay to write, Maths work to finish and I need to compose or write a song for music." I replied whilst rubbing my forehead from the strain of how much work I had to do. "What about you?"

"I have Maths, same as you, and I also have Physics stuff I need to revise for an upcoming test."

"Already? We're still in the first week of school!" Jamie exclaimed from the back of the car.

"This is A Levels, little brother, this is what you have to look forward to in two years." I said, rolling my eyes.

"If I have tests every week for A Levels, I think I'll pass." Jamie stated, before returning to his phone.

"What work do you have Jamie?" I asked.

"I just have to complete a table for biology and that's it." He responded, distantly.

"Oh, how I miss GCSEs." I said wistfully, making Lock roll his eyes.

"No you don't! You love not having to do science, because science is a waste of your life, apparently." Lock recited. I had told everyone in my family all throughout GCSEs how much I had hated science and how I couldn't wait until I never has to do it ever again.

"That's true, but I do miss the small work load." I countered and Lock nodded his head in agreement. I decided to take it upon myself to use the aux wire to put on some music, in the otherwise quiet car. It wasn't long before Taylor Swift was belting out the lyrics to 'Long Live' from her 'Speak Now' album and all of us, apart from Jamie, were singing along with all the words. I had taught my family well.

We were in the middle of singing 'Family is Family' by Kacey Musgraves, when Lock pulled into the driveway of our house.

"All right, everyone out." Lock announced, opening his door and swinging his legs out of the car. We all followed, apart from Jo-Jo, who was still strapped in. I grabbed my bags and got out the car, before opening the back passenger door and unstrapped Jo-Jo. When I was done, I hauled her into my arms, closed the car door and carried her into our house. Lock closed the front door behind me. I dumped my bag on the floor and Jo-Jo wriggled trying to get out of my arms. I let her down onto the carpet and she ran into the kitchen after Lock.