Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou?

Posted on Sat Jul 30th, 2011 @ 5:17pm by Cadet Senior Grade Chance Conradi & Commander Oralia Zeferino

Mission: In Our Time of Need
Location: A Cafe on the Promenade

Bothered, Oralia Zeferino checked her watch again. The Cadet Chance Conradi was supposed to meet her - fifteen minutes ago. Leave it to her brother to leave her waiting. She was just about to tap her commbadge to have the Cadet located when, lo and behold, he slid into the cafe, barely keeping his balance as his boots lost traction on the smooth deck.

He was a sight: black hair that curled every so cutely around his ears and forehead, stunning blue eyes, every bit as handsome as Oralia was gorgeous, and a smile that, during high school, had landed him in trouble more times than not. They had good genes and it showed. Chance flashed his charming smile, first at a server as he ordered a coffee, then at his sister and took a seat next to her. "Sorry, I'm late. Had a late night."

"Studying already?" Oz smirked and sipped her coffee, knowing very well that the likelihood he'd been studying was high - but she doubted it had been anything academic that he caught his attention. She was guessing alien anatomy was more along the lines of what he'd been examining.

"Well... you know...," he shrugged with one shoulder and winked at her. "Do you really want the details?"

"Good god, Chance! You've been here... what? Two days?"

"And you've been here... what? A few months?" He mimicked her mannerisms. "And you've already got a boy all moved in and everything."

"Well...." His statement caught her out and left her without a comeback. Irked, she sipped her coffee again. "He hasn't completely moved in... yet. Whatever, Chance. That situation is just a...," she searched for the right word, "you know...," she shrugged with one shoulder, "...um...." To her brother, it was obvious she was searching for a way to downplay the situation and yet not downplay it.

"Stuff it, Ozzle. If you're letting him invade your space and touch you, let alone move in with you?" He scoffed and paused while a server brought him his coffee. "Face it, he's got your number."

"Shut up, Zircon," Oz warned him and deftly avoided the elbow-to-the-ribs that her brother attempted to catch her with. Zircon was the shortened version of the family's (ok, the sibling's) nickname for their youngest brother: Cubic Zirconia. They'd dubbed him this when his brothers had realized his initials, CZ, were the same as the old fake diamond-like synthetic. Somehow, that had tickled the kids and the nickname had stuck. "Hey, if you're going to revive 'Ozzle', I'll use Zircon. And I'll kick your ass if any of my minions pick up on that nickname, dear brother."

"Okay, okay," Chance held up his hands in surrender, "No more Ozzle; no more Zircon. Have you told Mom and Dad about the Boy?"

"No, and I don't see why I should right now."

"Uh-huh. I see that going over oh-so-well with Mom." Chance's brows rose as he shook his head and drank his coffee.

"Mom'll never know." She changed the subject to something much easier: "When do classes start?"

"Today. I should be heading over there in a few minutes," Chance checked his timing and nodded. "Yup, couple more minutes. Hey... Oz...," he gave her a sheepish look, "Can we keep the whole family ties thing under wraps?"

"What? I'm not good enough to be your sister?" He smirked at her and she laughed, nodding. "Yeah, whatever. Just stay out of my Brig."

"Oh, come on! You make all the fun places off limits!" Chance smiled at her then kissed her cheek and headed off for class.

_______________________
Lieutenant Commander Oralia Zeferino

Cadet Chance Conradi