His Favorite Masterpiece

Lily Martis had been singing all afternoon. Not that anyone had asked her to. She had woken up with a song stuck in her head, and by breakfast, she had decided it deserved an audience. Since nobody had volunteered, she had appointed herself the performer and everyone else the audience. Unfortunately, her audience wasn't particularly grateful. Standing before her bedroom mirror, Lily held a hairbrush like a microphone and conducted an imaginary orchestra with her free hand. She swayed to the music, occasionally pausing to admire herself. Halfway through the chorus, she stopped. "No, no, no. That note was terrible." She cleared her throat and started again. Louder this time. Down the hallway, Adrian Martis stared at the same page he had been trying to understand for twenty minutes. He read the first sentence. Lily's voice floated through the wall. He returned to the beginning. Another note followed. Adrian closed his book. He had nothing against music. He simply preferred choosing what he listened to, rather than being held hostage by his sister's determination to become the next international superstar. He glanced at the clock. Five minutes passed. Then ten. A particularly enthusiastic note shattered what remained of his concentration. "Unbelievable." Adrian pushed back his chair and marched down the hallway. Lily's bedroom door stood slightly open. Through the gap, he found her performing before the mirror, completely absorbed in her imaginary concert. "Lily." Nothing. "Lily!" She continued singing. He pushed the door open. "Could you please keep it down? I'm trying to study!" Lily turned, her hairbrush still raised. "What?" "You're being too loud." "I'm singing." "I've gathered that." "Then why are you asking me to keep quiet?" Adrian stared at her. Sometimes, arguing with Lily felt like trying to reason with a wall. Unfortunately, this particular wall had an attitude. "Because I need to study." She shrugged. "Don't be boring, brother." Before he could respond, she turned back to the mirror. Adrian watched her for another second. "Do whatever you want." "I intend to!" He left, closing the door behind him. Lily smiled at her reflection. Problem solved. She lifted her hairbrush and resumed her performance. Several minutes later, Adrian had barely managed to read two sentences when another voice joined the noise. "I think the neighbours deserve compensation." Adrian froze. Then Lily shouted, "CALEB!" A burst of laughter followed. Adrian leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling. Of course. Caleb had arrived. If Lily was the reason peace disappeared from a room, Caleb was usually the reason it never returned. The two had been inseparable for years. Their families had been close long before either of them could remember, and growing up together had given Caleb an unfortunate amount of confidence when it came to provoking her. He knew exactly which words would annoy Lily. He knew how long he could tease her before she snapped. And he knew precisely when to run. "Come back here!" Lily shouted. "Why? So you can sing for me again?" "I will deal with you!" "Your singing has already dealt with me!" Their footsteps thundered past Adrian's door. He shut his book. There was no point pretending he was going to study today. --- Lily raced after Caleb, determined to catch him before he escaped. He was already halfway down the hallway, laughing as he glanced over his shoulder. "Caleb, stop running!" "Why? Are you tired?" "No!" "Then keep up!" She increased her pace. Caleb turned the corner, and Lily followed, nearly losing her balance as she tried to make the turn too quickly. His laughter died for a split second. He reached back instinctively, catching her wrist before she could stumble properly. "You okay?" Lily steadied herself and blinked at him. For a brief moment, neither of them moved. Then Caleb released her wrist and grinned. "Careful, superstar. I'd hate for you to injure yourself before your world tour." Lily's expression changed instantly. "You're impossible!" "And yet, you keep chasing me." "Because you keep annoying me!" "Sounds like a personal problem." He took off again. Lily followed, determined to make him regret every word. They finally stopped near the staircase, where Caleb leaned against the railing to catch his breath. Lily stood before him with her hands on her hips. "You know you're a nuisance, right?" "Yes, miss." He even gave her a little bow. "I hate you." "As if." He straightened, still smiling. Lily glared at him, searching for a reply sharp enough to wipe that irritating expression off his face. Nothing came to mind. That was another infuriating thing about Caleb. She could threaten him, insult him, or announce that she would never speak to him again, and he would simply smile as though she had told him a joke. It was impossible to stay angry with someone who never took her seriously. Or perhaps, she admitted reluctantly, someone who knew exactly how to make her laugh even when she didn't want to. Not that she would ever tell him that. "You're so annoying!" she called as he started walking away. Caleb lifted a hand without turning around. "I know!" Lily rolled her eyes. One day, she promised herself, she would get revenge. Proper revenge. She would discover something that genuinely annoyed him and make sure he regretted every insult he had ever thrown at her. Until then, she would simply have to endure him. A truly terrible fate. She returned to her bedroom, retrieved her hairbrush from the bed, and examined herself in the mirror. Now, where had she stopped? The chorus. Of course. She lifted the hairbrush again. --- Caleb was on his way to the next room when Lily's voice drifted into the hallway once more. He stopped outside her door. She was singing the same song. Again. He shook his head, fighting a smile. She had always done that. Whenever Lily was happy, she sang. When she was excited, she sang louder. And when she was determined to annoy someone, she sang as though the entire world had paid for front-row tickets. Apparently, today, Adrian had been the unlucky recipient. Caleb glanced through the open doorway. Lily was swaying before the mirror, completely unaware that anyone was watching. She had a small, triumphant smile on her face, as though the imaginary audience had finally given her the standing ovation she deserved. He should have made another joke. He had several ready. Instead, he found himself watching her for a moment longer than necessary. There was something about seeing Lily like this that always made him feel strangely at ease. She could turn an ordinary afternoon into a ridiculous performance and somehow make it seem as though there was nowhere else he would rather be. The thought caught him off guard. He looked away. Ridiculous. She was Lily. His oldest friend. His favourite person to annoy. The girl who threatened to destroy him at least twice a week and never remembered where she left her hairbrush. There was absolutely nothing unusual about that. "CALEB!" He turned towards her voice. Lily had spotted him in the doorway. "What are you doing there? Were you spying on me?" "Spying? Please. I was checking whether the neighbours had started packing." She grabbed a pillow. "GET OUT!" Caleb burst out laughing and hurried down the hallway before she could throw it at him. Behind him, Lily shouted another threat. He didn't bother answering. He was still smiling when he reached the stairs. For Lily Martis, it had been an ordinary day. She had sung, argued with her brother, chased her best friend, and threatened him more times than she could count. Nothing unusual had happened. And tomorrow would probably be much the same. After all, Caleb still lived close enough to annoy her. And she still had plenty of songs left to sing. Neither of them had any reason to suspect that the smallest, most familiar things between them might one day become the hardest things to ignore.