Are We Being Invaded?:

After dinner, Lyle and I did our homework. I couldn’t focus tonight, however. I put my green and pink pen down on my notebook. I turned to my brother.

“Lyle, are we under invasion?” I asked. He didn’t look up at me.

“I don’t know,” he said.

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

“Claudia, you know what Kat told us.”

I nodded. “Yes, I know. But what do you think? If you had to pick a say, what would you say?”

He paused and looked up at me. “Why?”

“Just answer the question!”

Lyle made a face at me. “Okay… I don’t think we’re under invasion until we have further proof.”

“And if we don’t get it?”

Lyle shrugged at me. “Then we aren’t.”

I sat back against our tan couch, pouting. “That’s not the answer I wanted to hear!”

Lyle dropped his pencil on his notebook. “Look, I don’t know the answer that you want!”

“Can’t I have a clear yes or no answer on the question?” I sighed as I folded my arms across my chest. “God, that so hard?”

“Just finish your homework!”

I mocked him under my breath as I picked up my pen and got to work. Fine then, if Lyle wasn’t going to give me the answer I wanted, I’ll just have to go elsewhere. And I know exactly where.

As Lyle did the dishes, I looked for Kat in her office. She was grading papers again. At first, I thought about leaving her alone to do her work. But, the question wouldn’t leave me alone. So I figured that I would get this over with. I knocked on the door.

“Yes?” Kat asked without turning around. I slowly stepped into the room.

“Are you busy, Kat?” I whispered.

“I have to get this papers to the students by morning,” she said.

“Will you be up late?”

“It appears that way. Why, what’s wrong?”

I shook my head. “Nothing. It can wait. Good night.”

“Night honey.”

I turned and walked down the hall. I went into the bathroom, took a bath, and changed into my pajamas. I thought about the invasion question as I helped myself to my marzipan that I bought today while looking out my window. Nobody can give me a straight answer. They are either scared or uncertain. Or in Lyle’s case, just wanted me to shut up so he can do his homework. Kat’s too busy right now. Looks like I’m gonna have to wait and see what happens next. I sneered as I decapitated my marzipan horse and chewed on it. My seven-year-old brain hated it at the time. I always wanted to know everything. Ugly truth or not. I just had to know. Kat told me that wasn’t always a good thing, but I just had to know anyway. That’s how a kid’s mind always works.

When I finished half of my marzipan, I went into the bathroom and brushed my teeth. The question still sat heavy in my brain. Are we being invaded or not? I just have to know. I carried that thought all the way to my bed. I hid my treats back under my bed and shut my blinds. I packed up my schoolbag, picked out my clothes for tomorrow, and turned off my light. I shut my eyes to try and sleep.

Several hours later, I held a tap on my door. I slowly opened my eyes and squinted in the darkness. My door was opened a crack, letting in a little bit of light into my room.

“Yes?” I whispered.

“Claudia?” I heard Kat whisper back in the darkness. “You still awake?”

“Yes. Why?” The door swung open, letting in more of the hallway light in my room. I squinted and shielded my eyes.

“Too bright,” I complained.

“Sorry baby,” Kat whispered to me. She lightly shut the door behind her.

“What did you want to talk to me about ?” she whispered. I sat up in my bed.

“Are we being in invaded?” I asked.

“How do you mean?”

I shrugged at her. “Has Germany been invaded by the enemy?” I asked. I noticed that Kat’s face grew serious in the dark. She walked over to my bed and lied down next to me. We looked each other in the eye. I had never noticed that Kat had such strong and pretty navy blue eyes before.

“Yes,” she admitted. “This country is being invaded by the enemy.”

“Who’s the enemy?” I asked. Kat gave me a little smile and gently tapped me on the cheek.

“There are so many rumors,” she said. “Nobody really knows the truth anymore. They are just going on speculation.”

“So, you don’t really know either?”

Kat shook her head at me. “But, we will learn something soon enough. You just have to be patient and hope that the worst never occurs.”

I gave her a puzzled look. “What is the worst?”

“Let’s hope that we never have to know.” Okay, she basically told me what Lyle said to me hours ago. But, it wasn’t annoying or a way to get me to shut up. Kat just simply didn’t know the answer. Kat gave me a little smile.

“Anything else you want to know?” I shook my head at her. Kat smiled at me.

“Good night now,” she said.

“Night!” I said. I lied back down in my bed and began to shut my eyes.

“And Claudia!” I heard Kat speak up.

I opened my eyes. “Yes?”

Kat glanced over her shoulder at me. “I know about all of those goodies that you’ve been hiding under your bed. I would advise you to find a way better to invest your money on something other than sweets.” I looked at her with big confused eyes as she closed the door behind her. Unbelievable! How did she know?

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