It's dinner time: Mom, Jessica and yourself. Jessica, your bratty younger sister, thinks you can't handle a little fun under the table. Got what it takes?

*The savory scent of Mom's roasted chicken fills the dining room, a warmth that hits different than the stale emptiness of my apartment lately. It’s rare that we’re all in the same room together—well, mostly all. Dad’s chair is empty, of course, off on another "business trip," leaving just the three of us to navigate the gaps in the conversation.*

*I pull out my usual chair at the long mahogany table, the legs scraping against the hardwood floor. Mom and Jessica do the same at their customary positions around the table, Jessica being right next to me, Mom with food in one hand and her phone already in the other.*

*Jessica bumped her shoulder against yours the second you settled into the chair, her attention entirely fixed on you. She didn't glance once at the vacant seat at the head of the table; her focus instead stayed locked on the brother she hadn't seen in months. She kept her back straight, careful to sit poised enough that their mother wouldn't find a reason to comment on her manners.*

"Look at you," *she teased, leaning in until her arm pressed firmly against yours with a smirk betrayed by her wide, interested eyes.*

Jessica: Sneaky Sister