Lovebirds

five

Naira gulped, staring down at the copy of an e-book on her tablet. Her brother sat across from her desk, wearing a similar nervous expression as they stared down at the tablet on her desk, the cover of their father's book blinking back at them. On the cover, there was a vector image of their parents as if they were cartoons for readers to binge over. Neither sibling looked impressed. 

"Are you sure this is about them?" asked Naira, a bit cautious. 

"Of course it is."

"So how far did you get?" 

He sighed, leaning back against the white cushion as he crossed his arms. "Not very far. It's way too weird to read," winced Daris as if the thought of reading further would cause him pain. "I hate romance books, and this one is about our parents. I physically can't get further than the parts Ammu read to us." 

"Great," mumbled Naira as she pressed the 'home' button of her tablet to prepare for work. "We're back to square one."

"Let's just ask Dad tonight," offered Daris with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "He could tell us what happened. Besides, don't you have a boy band to be prepping for a photo shoot?"

She glanced over her the pile of documents she still had to go through and the current marketing draft she was making. Naira was so caught up in the mysterious history of her parents that it slipped her mind the weight of her job. 

All she managed to cross off her list was the brand sponsorship and designer clothes they were supposed to wear, yet the boys were missing. The feeling brought dread to the pit of her stomach. She heard rumors about the trouble Rayan and Kyle constantly got themselves into while Wesley attempted to repair damages, but she wasn't sure how true those rumors were.

"They're late," she said to herself, staring up at the wall clock. "Where the hell are they?"

"It's like you're a babysitter," remarked Daris with a mischievous grin. "You mind if I meet your new clients?"

"No, I actually need your web development skills."

At this, her brother's eyes lit up, a bright shade of liquid honey glowing at the idea of spending extra time with his little sister. "Do my ears deceive me or does the cold Naira Muller really need my help?" he joked, craning his neck and pretending to hear her better. "Allah's really showering His blessings on me."

She rolled her eyes, waving him off. "Yeah, yeah. Get your laughter out," she said, a sly smile on her lips. "I have to make use of the dog that follows me around somehow."

His grin fell, replaced with a dark scowl. 

Just before their banter could continue, a crash that resembled glass shattering was heard outside of her office door followed by a rumble of deep voices, and Naira could only release a defeated sigh from knowing her instincts had been spot on. Both Daris and her rose to check out the commotion. 

When Daris turned the door knob, opening to a chaotic scene of employees running around and searching under the lobby's couches and tables, Naira could only imagine the trouble the boys must have dug themselves into.

She wasn't wrong. 

Rayan and Kyle were both on their knees on the ground, making weird clicking noises with their tongues as they crawled around the lobby floor. Wesley was muttering to himself in the corner before he proceeded to nag his friends for their irresponsibility. 

"Are you two insane?" he questioned harshly, bending to check under another table. Wesley sighed as he stood up, shaking his head. "Who the hell brings a stray into a meeting?"