Alice pressed her ear against the door as she did before.This time there was no whispering,only a deep but quiet snore.Jordan had to be sleeping.Alice pressed her ear against the door harder,almost flattening her ear completely.Alice had no idea why she was doing this,but the cat seemed to like it as it kept purring contently while it watched her.So Alice listened.She heard a rustle,feet lightly touching the floor,then soft footsteps.The snoring continued.Alice frowned,the rare occurrence of reason resonating within her fogged mind.Wait a minute,the snoring must be from Jordan,but there's footsteps so...someone else is inside?,thought Alice.She wondered who it might be.A long list of names and people ran through her mind,each consecutive one increasing in unlikeliness.Jordan,Mom,Dad,her child-mind-big-brother,Santa,elf,Neil Patrick Harris,dwarf,the list kept going down.Alice peeled her ear from the door and sat there in front of it,lost in her dreams once again.Bunny,the Joker,pet shop owner,a door?Alice looked up as the door opened with a whisper.In the doorway stood a frightened looking girl in a T-shirt and pajamas.When she opened her mouth,the voice that emerged was filled with the pureness of the young and untried,laced with a sadness and wonder.The girl asked,"W-who are you?"
Alice quickly stood and brushed her clothes.She curtsied to the girl and whispered,"Your Highness." The girl continued to stare at her with large,unblinking eyes.The eyes of one who was scared.She asked again,more timidly,"Who,um,a-are you?" Alice replied,"Alice The Cat-Lover the first,or Alice,like in Wonderland with rabbit and mean cards.But I prefer Alice because people keep calling me Alice which I don't like.So call me Alice but never Alice." She smiled at the girl,whose eyes slowly blinked at the odd response.They both stood there and looked at each other.Alice surveyed the girl.She was more than a head shorter than Alice,who was of middling height.The girl's raven hair did not reach past her neck,but her fringe would have nearly covered her eyes if not for the fact they were bigger than most girls.She stood uncertainly,almost shy of the stranger.She looked barely older than ten.What struck Alice the most was that the girl's eyes had a slight but noticeable curve around her eyes which gave her a somewhat feline appearance.Alice loved her already.
The girl shifted her feet,eyes now cast downwards.She said,"You talk funny.Are you okay?" Alice replied,"Right as rain.Feeling great.Ready to start another adventure." The girl's lips twitched slightly,which made Alice chuckle.She knelt to look the girl in the face and asked,"What's wrong?Shouldn't you young ones be full of life and happiness?Brightening up everyone's day like a million-watt light bulb?I was happy when I was as small as a titch like you." The girl shook her head and mumbled,"But i'm scared of the grown-ups." Alice nodded,looking thoughtful."You better be scared.Be scared of everything.Don't be hush-hush and vegetably.Let it out all dam like.You'll feel better talking to someone.Like me!" The girl giggled uncertainly,which gave Alice a thrill.The girl whispered,"You're funny." Alice replied,"I'm not funny,I'm sage like,Yoda and Gandalf and Kung Fu master types.I ooze advice and stuff." The girl really smiled now,but it disappeared as quickly as it came.She asked somberly,"So I talk to someone?Like counselling?" Alice patted the girls's shoulder,which made her flinch.Alice praised,"Exactly,young padawan.The grasshopper ate the bamboo.Let it out,and you won't be scared anymore.Say,before I feed the cat,what's your moniker,your designation,your name you little sad thing?" The girl looked up and answered,"I'm Jackie,Little Sister, Jacqueline."
"I'm Jordan's eleven-year-old-sister,and you must never tell him you saw me or he'll kill you and your friends."
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