Anna Banana Bread
Title: Anna Banana Bread
Table: 2 - prompt 049
Summary: Abby and Anna bake a loaf of banana bread the day before Anna leaves for college.
Rating: Safe for everyone.
Wordcount: 860
A/N: Unbeta'ed and written very quickly.
Anna stood staring at the three violins on her bed. She wondered how many violins the other music majors were going to bring to school. Probably not three, she decided, taking the beat up antique she keeps meaning to restore and putting it in her closet. That left two, would that be OK? One violin for her day to day practicing, and her nicer one for performances. She still couldn't decide, when there was a knock on her bedroom door.
"Yeah?" she called, distracted.
The door opened a crack and a hand holding a bunch of brown bananas appeared. "Anna Banana," called her sister, Abby, in a sing-song voice. "I have a bunch of bananas for Anna Banana."
Anna rolled her eyes, "I hate that name," she said opening the door and letting Abby in. "And those bananas look gross."
"No," Abby insisted, "they're perfect for making banana bread. Come help me."
"I don't have time."
Abby rolled her eyes. "Bring both violins. And come help me make banana bread. It'll be a good snack for driving down to Pennsylvania tomorrow."
When Anna didn't look convinced, Abby added "When's the last time we baked together?" She said it quietly, sadly, so that Anna couldn't say no. Anna knew she was being played, but couldn't resist the thought of one last kitchen creation with Abby.
The twins made their way downstairs to the kitchen. Silently Abby grabbed a bowl and loaf pan then, without needing to speak, Abby got the dry ingredients while Anna got the wet. They never had to speak, they just knew instinctively what the other was doing.
They were still quiet, beginning to measure the ingredients, when Abby said reluctantly, "I'm going to miss you when you're gone."
Anna gave a small smile, "I'll miss you too."
"No you won't," Abby disagreed. "You'll be in college, making new friends and doing new things and I'm going to be stuck here in Stoneybrook. Going to community college." Abby couldn't fit more derision into the words community college.
"Abby, you could have gone away too."
Abby didn't have an answer for that. She just shrugged. She'd been counting on a soccer scholarship. Recruiters from several colleges had come to watch her and a few other girls from the SHS soccer team, but time went by and there was no offer. Abby got depressed and decided that maybe college wasn't for her after all. This was a decision she regretted the moment it was too late to apply.
Anna continued, "You'll have Claudia with you."
Abby shrugged. "Yeah, I'll have Claudia at school. Then I'll come home to this big empty house."
"Mom..." Anna started before Abby cut her off.
"Do you think mom is actually going to work less once your gone? I'll go days without seeing her."
Anna sighed. She knew Abby would beat herself up for not applying, but nothing she or their mother said could get through to her those months ago.
"There's always next year."
Abby ignored that. "Anyway. It's not like I know what I want to do with my life. All I like to do is cook and play soccer, and it's been determined I'm not a good enough soccer player for college."
Anna rolled her eyes as she watched Abby expertly beat an egg into a cup of buttermilk. "Yeah, but you're an excellent cook."
"It's in our genes, remember?"
Anna got quiet for a moment and studied Abby slowing pouring the milk mixture into the flour mixture. Abby mixed for a while, then out of the blue said, "I'm going to try cinnamon in it this time."
"What about cooking?" Anna ventured. Three years ago, Abby declared that no normal family eats take-out as often as they did. So she took it upon herself to become the family cook. It wasn't just banana bread. Abby learned to make meatloaf that tasted nothing like the gross dry meatloaves she'd always had. Abby could make pasta sauces that were to die for. She made these chicken croquets that, when Anna realized she wouldn't be having them until Christmas break, practically made her weep.
"What about it?"
Anna made an impatient 'tch' sound. "You could go to culinary school."
"I've thought about it. Mom would never go for it."
"Why not?"
"Because she left her own job as a chef. There has to be a reason."
"That had more to do with Dad dying than anything about being a chef," Anna argued. "You know that."
Abby poured the batter into the loaf pan and put the bowl down. "What if I'm not good enough?"
"That's bullshit loser talk, Abby. And you know it. You won't know if you're good enough unless you try. Haven't you spent your life in sports, hearing coaches say motivational shit like that? Hasn't any of it sunk in?"
Abby was quiet. "Maybe there's a culinary program at Community?"
Anna smiled. "Atta girl."
"Yeah," Abby nodded slowly. "I could be a chef, right?"
"Yes!" Anna said excitedly.
Abby shrugged, "maybe."
Anna rolled her eyes, but couldn't help noticing the smile on Abby's face as she put the bread pan into the oven.
Table: 2 - prompt 049
Summary: Abby and Anna bake a loaf of banana bread the day before Anna leaves for college.
Rating: Safe for everyone.
Wordcount: 860
A/N: Unbeta'ed and written very quickly.
Anna stood staring at the three violins on her bed. She wondered how many violins the other music majors were going to bring to school. Probably not three, she decided, taking the beat up antique she keeps meaning to restore and putting it in her closet. That left two, would that be OK? One violin for her day to day practicing, and her nicer one for performances. She still couldn't decide, when there was a knock on her bedroom door.
"Yeah?" she called, distracted.
The door opened a crack and a hand holding a bunch of brown bananas appeared. "Anna Banana," called her sister, Abby, in a sing-song voice. "I have a bunch of bananas for Anna Banana."
Anna rolled her eyes, "I hate that name," she said opening the door and letting Abby in. "And those bananas look gross."
"No," Abby insisted, "they're perfect for making banana bread. Come help me."
"I don't have time."
Abby rolled her eyes. "Bring both violins. And come help me make banana bread. It'll be a good snack for driving down to Pennsylvania tomorrow."
When Anna didn't look convinced, Abby added "When's the last time we baked together?" She said it quietly, sadly, so that Anna couldn't say no. Anna knew she was being played, but couldn't resist the thought of one last kitchen creation with Abby.
The twins made their way downstairs to the kitchen. Silently Abby grabbed a bowl and loaf pan then, without needing to speak, Abby got the dry ingredients while Anna got the wet. They never had to speak, they just knew instinctively what the other was doing.
They were still quiet, beginning to measure the ingredients, when Abby said reluctantly, "I'm going to miss you when you're gone."
Anna gave a small smile, "I'll miss you too."
"No you won't," Abby disagreed. "You'll be in college, making new friends and doing new things and I'm going to be stuck here in Stoneybrook. Going to community college." Abby couldn't fit more derision into the words community college.
"Abby, you could have gone away too."
Abby didn't have an answer for that. She just shrugged. She'd been counting on a soccer scholarship. Recruiters from several colleges had come to watch her and a few other girls from the SHS soccer team, but time went by and there was no offer. Abby got depressed and decided that maybe college wasn't for her after all. This was a decision she regretted the moment it was too late to apply.
Anna continued, "You'll have Claudia with you."
Abby shrugged. "Yeah, I'll have Claudia at school. Then I'll come home to this big empty house."
"Mom..." Anna started before Abby cut her off.
"Do you think mom is actually going to work less once your gone? I'll go days without seeing her."
Anna sighed. She knew Abby would beat herself up for not applying, but nothing she or their mother said could get through to her those months ago.
"There's always next year."
Abby ignored that. "Anyway. It's not like I know what I want to do with my life. All I like to do is cook and play soccer, and it's been determined I'm not a good enough soccer player for college."
Anna rolled her eyes as she watched Abby expertly beat an egg into a cup of buttermilk. "Yeah, but you're an excellent cook."
"It's in our genes, remember?"
Anna got quiet for a moment and studied Abby slowing pouring the milk mixture into the flour mixture. Abby mixed for a while, then out of the blue said, "I'm going to try cinnamon in it this time."
"What about cooking?" Anna ventured. Three years ago, Abby declared that no normal family eats take-out as often as they did. So she took it upon herself to become the family cook. It wasn't just banana bread. Abby learned to make meatloaf that tasted nothing like the gross dry meatloaves she'd always had. Abby could make pasta sauces that were to die for. She made these chicken croquets that, when Anna realized she wouldn't be having them until Christmas break, practically made her weep.
"What about it?"
Anna made an impatient 'tch' sound. "You could go to culinary school."
"I've thought about it. Mom would never go for it."
"Why not?"
"Because she left her own job as a chef. There has to be a reason."
"That had more to do with Dad dying than anything about being a chef," Anna argued. "You know that."
Abby poured the batter into the loaf pan and put the bowl down. "What if I'm not good enough?"
"That's bullshit loser talk, Abby. And you know it. You won't know if you're good enough unless you try. Haven't you spent your life in sports, hearing coaches say motivational shit like that? Hasn't any of it sunk in?"
Abby was quiet. "Maybe there's a culinary program at Community?"
Anna smiled. "Atta girl."
"Yeah," Abby nodded slowly. "I could be a chef, right?"
"Yes!" Anna said excitedly.
Abby shrugged, "maybe."
Anna rolled her eyes, but couldn't help noticing the smile on Abby's face as she put the bread pan into the oven.