A few hours later (zero hours spent doing my homework and five spent gaming), I can say for sure that this is a load of crap.
In fact, my luck might be even worse than usual. I got my ass whooped online and now all I can do is to wait for those suckers on the school group to upload their homework so I can copy it and pretend like I give a damn.
Hopefully it will be enough for that crazy Miss Jimenez .
Meanwhile, I hear the door tinkle open.
"I'm home," my big sister says from downstairs.
"Welcome back," I reply, a little taken aback. Maybe her day was worse than usual? She doesn't usually greet me when she comes back home.
I look at the ring, suspiciously.
"This isn't you doing, is it? You are just a piece of metal and glass. I don't believe in you."
If I expected the ring to say anything, I don't hear any ominous laughter from the dusty corners of my room. I sigh in the dim RGB-lit space and decide to walk down to greet my sister, maybe even help her get dinner ready. I usually wait until she calls for me, but tonight I feel like helping.
As I walk downstairs, I notice she does indeed look a bit out of it. She has deep bags beneath her eyes and she immediately reaches for a chair.
"You're here," she groans, looking at me with her emerald eyes.
"Y-Yes." I'm not exactly used to getting recognized like that. Especially after a long day of work. "Are you alright?"
"Just a long and tiresome day, little bro. Come here." She opens her arms wide and I hesitate again. This could be just like this morning, when I followed Tina out of the classroom with a lot of hopes and she dashed them right away. But I can trust my sister, can't I?
I gulp and reach for her. She hugs me and releases a long breath against my chest. I can feel her breasts and the rest of her curves and I try not to think too hard about it. After all, it's not the kind of thoughts I am supposed to have.
Still, this feels nice. Really nice. Holding her.
It feels like I was caught in a knot for the longest time and now magically, I can finally… let go. I can let go and feel good, feel relieved.
"Thanks," she says after a while, withdrawing. "I needed that. How was your day? Did you do your homework?"
"Uh." I nod. "Yes, I did all that I needed to do." It's not a lie, technically. I don't really need to do anything, I will just have to copy it down.
She looks at me and shakes her head.
"Don't give me an obvious lie. But whatever, you will just copy it tonight like usual."
She knows about that? She smirks at my surprised face.
"Big sisters know everything. Especially about their little brothers."
I flush a little and withdraw from the hug.
"I will do it tonight."
"You better do it."
"I did clean up the kitchen and the living room, though."
"You did?" Her green eyes lit up and she glances at the floor. "You are right! Thank you so much! It has been such a long day and this helps a lot! Maybe tonight we can eat together like a real family!"
"S-Sure. I can help!"
"Give me a few minutes to get ready and then we can begin." She gives me another quick hug and disappears upstairs. I glance at her and then at the ring.
"This cannot be. She must just be tired or something."
But as the night develops, I find myself in a sort of parallel reality, one in which I have an actually good relationship with her. And she smiles at me a lot more. As we eat together, she opens up a bit about her job, how hard it is for her, and how she wants to better people's lives by preparing the best natural concoctions she can, to make them feel more relaxed and at ease.
I can only nod. My sister has hopes and dreams just like anyone, and it is easy to forget with how caught up in my own life I get.
Still, the night ends quickly as we both retire to our rooms… she has to sleep, and I have to finish my homework.
"This proves nothing," I hiss at the ring as I sit down, open the group chat and starts to jot down the notes for tomorrow.
But having a bit of luck would be fine.
Of course, that is me being ignorant. I have no idea what is in store for me. If I did, I would have cherished that last peaceful night with my sister.