Tuesday afternoon turned the dining table into a war zone again.
Fabric samples.
Laptop chargers.
Internship drafts.
Alex's aggressively organized notes spreading across half the surface.
Haley sat cross-legged in the middle of it all, wearing glasses she didn't need but insisted helped her "look professional."
"They do not," Alex inford her without looking up from the laptop.
"They absolutely do."
"They make you look like a Disney Channel intern."
"That's still branding."
This version of the sisters was becoming one of the strongest changes in the house lately.
Not suddenly best friends.
But aligned.
Competing less.
Respecting each other more.
Alex adjusted another section of Haley's digital portfolio while Haley flipped through mood boards beside her.
"You need more campaign examples," Alex said. "And less selfies."
"They're aesthetic references."
"They're your face."
"Which is aesthetically strong."
Gael walked into the kitchen carrying coffee just in ti to watch Alex physically close her eyes in suffering.
"I'm surrounded by marketing people now."
He handed them both drinks before sitting beside the table.
Then paused while looking over Haley's laptop.
The portfolio actually looked good.
Clean visual branding.
Consistent presentation.
Strong audience instinct.
Haley noticed him reading over her shoulder imdiately.
"That face ans judgnt."
"This face ans surprise."
She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"Rude."
"It's good."
The answer ca simply.
No teasing attached.
And sohow that affected Haley more than exaggerated praise would have.
Her expression softened slightly before she tried hiding it with attitude.
"Well. Obviously."
Alex noticed the reaction too.
Because lately Haley had started looking toward Gael automatically whenever sothing mattered emotionally:
approval,
reassurance,
confidence.
Then Claire walked through the gate carrying shopping bags.
Again without knocking.
At this point the gate had completely erased formality.
She stopped near the dining table and blinked once at the chaos.
"…Why does this look like a startup company?"
"Because Haley discovered ambition," Alex replied.
"It's exhausting."
Haley threw a fabric sample at her sister while Claire laughed softly and set the bags down.
Then she glanced toward the portfolio screen.
"Can I see?"
Haley hesitated.
Small mont.
Because confidence ca easier when nobody important was evaluating her.
Claire noticed imdiately and her expression softened slightly.
"I'm not grading you."
"That sounds unlikely coming from you."
Still, Haley turned the laptop slightly toward her.
Claire leaned down beside the table reading through the presentation pages more carefully than Haley expected.
Not dismissive.
Not indulgent.
Actually evaluating it.
Then:
"Oh."
Haley straightened instantly.
"What does 'oh' an?"
Claire looked up.
"It ans this is legitimately good."
Silence.
Even Alex paused typing.
Because Claire rarely praised things carelessly.
Especially work.
Haley blinked once.
"Seriously?"
Claire pointed toward the branding section.
"You clearly understand audience targeting and visual consistency." Then toward another page. "And this campaign mockup actually looks professional."
For years, Claire accidentally compared intelligence through academic structure:
grades,
discipline,
achievent.
And now suddenly she was seeing Haley succeed sowhere completely different.
That realization affected both of them.
User Comments
0 comments from readers