Claire started the engine, and we rolled out of the driveway, cruising down the sunlit, palm-tree-lined streets of suburban California.
As the minutes passed, I got bored looking out the window. My gaze lazily drifted to my side, landing on Alex.
Because I changed the timeline by taking over a slightly older Luke, the dynamic was different. Alex was my little sister now. But because she was an absolute genius, she had skipped a grade, meaning we were both currently suffering through 7th grade together.
She was sitting perfectly straight, reading a thick, intimidatingly large hardcover book. I noticed she wasn't wearing a uniform—just a casual, neat sweater and jeans like me. That's convenient, I thought. No itchy school uniforms to worry about.
I continued to observe her quietly. I had to admit, she was a really stunning girl. Even at this young age, she had a very cute, beautiful face. Her nose was small and button-like, and her face had a lovely, soft almond shape.
She was wearing her usual thick-rimmed glasses, which honestly didn't make her look like a typical 'nerd'—instead, they gave her a mysterious, confident aura. It was like she was a serious, tiny CEO trapped in a middle schooler's body. It was unique.
Without realizing it, a small, genuine smile formed on my lips.
Alex, who had the peripheral vision of a hawk, suddenly snapped her book shut. She turned her head, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose, and glared at me.
"Cut the staring, creepy brother," she said, her tone sharp and defensive. "What? Are you thinking of something mean to say about me?"
I blinked, pulled out of my thoughts. The old Luke would have probably thrown a piece of gum at her or made a dumb face. But I wasn't the old Luke. I was a tired guy who just wanted a peaceful life, and picking fights with a genius little sister sounded like way too much effort.
I leaned back in my seat, resting my head against the window, and replied casually, "Hmm? No. Just looking."
"Looking at what?" she challenged, her eyes narrowing.
"I was just thinking that my gorgeous little sis is focusing so hard on her studies," I said, my voice smooth and relaxed. "Seeing you work so hard... it actually makes me proud as a big brother."
Alex froze.
The silence in the back of the minivan was deafening. Even the radio seemed to get quieter.
I just sighed internally, maintaining my lazy smile. It's actually crazy, I thought. She is the exact same grade as me, but her smartness is astonishing. She's always topping her class while the original Luke was eating dirt. She deserves a little credit.
Slowly, Alex's eyes narrowed into incredibly sharp, suspicious slits behind her thick-rimmed glasses. She leaned forward slightly, analyzing my face as if looking for the punchline to a very bad joke.
"Okay, who are you and what have you done with my brother?" she asked, her voice dripping with pure skepticism. "Did Mom put you up to this? Are you trying to trick me into doing your math homework? Or did you eat something off the floor again and it finally damaged your brain?"
I just chuckled softly, crossing my arms behind my head and leaning back into the seat. "No ulterior motives, Alex. No angle. Just a genuine observation. You work hard."
Alex stared at me for a few more seconds, completely thrown off by my calm, unbothered demeanor. She was waiting for the prank.
But I just sat there, looking out the window like a retired old man enjoying the breeze.
She awkwardly cleared her throat and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, her defensive wall still fully raised but her brain visibly short-circuiting trying to process this new version of me. She wasn't used to genuine, articulate compliments from anyone, let alone me.
"Well... fine. Weirdo," she muttered, quickly hiding her face back behind the cover of her book. "Just don't expect me to write your history essays. But... I guess if you're completely failing at fractions later, I might point you in the right direction."
She quickly shot a side-glance toward the front seat, eager to deflect the awkward tension away from herself. "At least one of us has a working brain. Unlike someone in this car who just selfishly does whatever she likes and only cares about boys."
Haley, who had been aggressively texting, suddenly perked up. She spun around in her seat, glaring daggers at Alex.
"You bitchy little nerd, don't include me in your boring chats!" Haley snapped, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "This adult lady has a lot of important social works to do today, unlike you two boring losers."
"You're not an adult, Haley, you're just fifteen," Alex retorted, her confidence back in full swing.
"I'm mature for my age!"
"Okay, kids, enough! We are here!" Claire interrupted loudly, pulling the minivan to a halt along the curb. She turned around, pointing a warning finger directly at me. "Alex, Luke, get out. Have a good day. And please, do not create any problems today. Especially you, Luke. No running into walls, no eating things you find on the ground."
"Got it, Mom. Have a good day," I hummed lazily, grabbing my bag.
I opened the sliding door and stepped out into the warm morning air, Alex following right behind me. We started walking together toward the school entrance.
I paused for a second, gazing up at the high, modern establishment. The architecture was sleek, the lawns were perfectly manicured, and the facilities looked top-tier.
Wow, I thought, adjusting the strap of my backpack. My new family is really well off. This place looks more expensive than my college campus.
As we walked, Alex subtly nudged my arm, dropping her voice to a secretive whisper.
"Hey, you know, Luke," she murmured, looking around to make sure no one was listening. "About Grandpa Jay's upcoming wedding..."
I raised an eyebrow, looking down at her. Because I only watched the pilot, my timeline knowledge was a bit fuzzy, but I vaguely remembered an older guy married to a very loud, very attractive woman.
"I think that hoty-moty Colombian girl he's marrying is going to do something hilarious at the ceremony," Alex continued, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "I mean, don't you think it's really weird? Grandpa marrying someone younger than his age? She's practically Mom's age!"
I turned my head, my eyes catching sight of the massive, perfectly green football field on the right side of the campus. A few kids were out there tossing a ball around. My mind immediately drifted to how nice it would be to just lay on that turf and take a nap.
"Oh... it's not that new," I hummed casually, tearing my eyes away from the field to look at my sister.
I slipped my hands into my hoodie pockets and shrugged. "I mean, lots of rich men do things like this. They get older, they find a new, young, beautiful girl, and they fall in love. It's a tale as old as time."
I paused, looking up at the clear blue sky, and decided to drop a little bit of philosophical wisdom just to mess with her. "Hmm... maybe 'love has no boundaries.' Who are we to judge Grandpa's happiness, right?"
Alex stopped dead in her tracks.
She stared at me, her jaw slightly open, completely dumbfounded by my response. She had expected me to make a gross joke or just agree with her gossip. Instead, I sounded like a tired, wise old man trapped in a teenager's body.
"Uh..." Alex stammered, her eyes wide. "Uh... maybe. Maybe you're right."
She looked at me as if she was seeing a completely different person. Which, honestly, she was.
The warning bell for the first period rang loudly across the courtyard.
"Well, I'll see you around," I said, giving her a lazy two-finger salute. "We'll meet after classes, yeah?"
"Yeah," Alex nodded slowly, still staring at me in bewilderment.
With a small smirk, I turned and headed down the left hallway toward Class 7-C—the class for average students. Alex, naturally, turned right to head toward Class 7-A, the advanced honors program.
I walked into my classroom, headed straight for a desk in the very back corner by the window, and sat down. Dropping my bag on the floor, I crossed my arms on the desk and rested my head on them.
Let the lazy middle school life begin.