I’m bad at giving gifts. I’m supposed to know what people want, but if they want it so badly, why don’t they buy it? Of course, you don’t pay for a gift, unless your child gives it to you. Anyways, if someone’s well-off, you have to give them something that you think they’d want, but don’t know they want. I’m bad at empathizing, so it’s hard with family I’ve known for my life. Then, there’s Lily.
Lily’s my twin sister. We actually aren’t very close. Yeah, we live together, but she’s interesting, for lack of a better word. She’s really energetic the majority of the time, but I never know what mood she’ll be in. Sometimes she’s upbeat and chipper, other times she’s irritable and angry. Sometimes she won’t leave me alone, other times she acts like I don’t exist. You get the picture, she’s unpredictable. Many days, I can’t even talk to her because she’s locked in her room, usually working on something.
She is great with computers, though. This Christmas, I thought I’d buy something based on that. The problem with this? I know nothing about computers. I mean, I’m great with the software I use to edit and review footage I collect, and I’m great with the equipment I use for investigations (I actually built my current set by hand), but that’s it. I’m not one of those people tech fails around all the time, but that’s probably because I don’t bother to mess with things enough for them to fail. The only person I know with enough computer knowledge for me to consult is Lily herself, so this was going to be difficult.
It was hard for me to even start to talk to her. For a full hour, I approached the door to her room. Then I panicked and turned around. I did something else to put off the task. Then, I’d come back and do it again. After I saw that hour had passed, though, I sucked in a big breath, ran right up to the door, and tried to throw open the door. It was locked, though, and I’d built up some momentum. So, I slammed face-first into the door.
“Who is it?” Lily said, who probably thought this was a regular knock.
I was clutching my nose in pain, but I couldn’t go back now. “It’s Peter.” I said in a voice that was almost a wince.
“What is it?” Lily shouted back.
I realized I had no idea what I should say. I’m bad at on-the-spot conversation with my parents, let alone Lily. But, again, it was too late to run away. “Need any computer stuff?” I blurted out.
She was silent for a little bit, but she responded eventually. “Why?”
I don’t lie. I’m terrible at it, and I really hate doing it, but sometimes I wish this weren’t the case. Mostly this is because of cases like this, where it would be useful. But, because of this, after a few seconds of fumbling over what to say, and clutching my nose in pain, I shouted, “I’m getting you a Christmas present!”
I heard her jumping out of her chair and running for the door. I was just about to run when she flung open the door. I thought she was angry, then I realized she was laughing. “You, you should’ve seen your face!” she said, grinning and red-faced. “Oh, man, that was priceless.” I stuttered and stammered for a few seconds before she came to my rescue. “I’ve always wanted a Raspberry Pi,” she said, “hope that’s enough. Please don’t come back.”
With that, she turned and closed the door, and I heard her lock it again. That was all I got out of her, and that was all I really needed. I don’t know much about them, but that suggestion has helped me pick out a gift. So, there we go. Problem solved.
I know this wasn’t about an investigation, but it’s the Christmas season, and I’m supposed to blog about myself too, so forgive me. On the plus side, my family’s moving to a town that’s supposed to be very haunted next month, so I should have much more to tell soon. I hope that you enjoyed this first entry, and if you did, please tell your friends about it!
Carter's Compendium 