The Step-Sister, Chapter One

Chapter One

Claudia Petrilli was not enthused when her father remarried. 

For years, she had reaped the benefits of being an only child of a single parent. Especially since her father’s job required a decent amount of travel. While that may have been lonely for some, Claudia thrived on the freedom it offered. Her house became one of the default places to party, as it was the perfect combination of parentless and slightly secluded in location. All it took was a five dollar cover charge at the door, and she made enough to hire a maid to put the place back together the next morning and to reimburse her friend’s older cousin for all the alcohol. Despite being a bit of an outsider who spent most of her time at the skatepark and didn’t care for the majority of her classmates, almost everyone knew Claudia’s name simply from the fact that she was a constant party host. It was ideal. Solid reputation, very little effort. 

Her curfew was practically nonexistent, even when her father was home. Since she was trusted to be home alone so often anyway, it was pretty easy to make him cave on the matter. As for grades, who cared? C’s got degrees, and Claudia had no interest in university anyway. She was going to travel the world, or become a skateboard teacher, or maybe a sexy bartender who raked in more money in tips than some ‘part of the system’ graduate who buried herself in student loan debt just to get an average paying job anyway. Whatever. She would figure it out.

And then, everything changed. 

Her father met one Amanda Porter, and they got hitched within the year. Amanda was everything Claudia’s father wasn’t. She was strict, and seemed to think that all the rules that her daughter Sara abided by should also apply to Claudia. As if. Then there was Sara, who was almost as much of a nuisance as Claudia’s new step-mother. The girl made a habit of bringing attention to certain things, with nonchalant comments like ‘You got in super late last night, sis,’ ‘So, how’d your big test go today?’ etc. 

Amanda and Sara moved in near the end of Claudia’s junior year. Sara was the same age as Claudia, which meant they ended up having a number of classes together. The step-sister was all skirts and blouses, almost exclusively in preppy pinks and purples; she was a total contrast to Claudia, who wore darker and more casual clothes. Plenty of classmates were amused at the step-siblings’ relationship, as the outfits were just the tip of the iceberg. The two girls were polar opposites. Neatly pinned up hair vs. messy ponytails, straight A’s vs. barely passing grades, and social butterfly vs. aloof outsider. 

Sara had no trouble making friends from day one, while Claudia ended up suffering from her new family’s existence. With double the people in their household, the parties had to stop. Not only did Claudia’s step-mother travel less, but Sara also couldn’t be trusted to keep her mouth shut. Even on the weekends where it was just the two high school girls, Claudia didn’t want to risk it. Amanda was starting to get to Mike in terms of rules and discipline, and throwing a rager was a lot different than staying out late on a weeknight. Dropping the nearly bi-weekly parties was an enormous pain. Claudia didn’t give a shit about the social aspect; it was more that she enjoyed being able to crash in her own bed at the end of the night, and now she had to deal with the inconvenience of a lumpy sofa or finding a ride if she didn’t feel like staying at someone else’s place. 

Summer had been a great escape, as there was less talk of curfew during the week and no one harping on grades. Sara had gotten a summer job, which meant that Claudia had the house to herself more often than not when the other three were at work. She didn’t even realize how much she missed the peace and quiet until she had it again, and it was equally nice to be able to fool around with girls she brought over without sneaking around and playing the ‘friend’ card. Claudia was a lesbian, and she wasn’t ashamed of it. The only reason she was partially ‘in the closet’ was because it was tactical. It wasn’t a huge secret at school, but it made things convenient at home when she went upstairs to “study” with a girl. Or, if said girl spent the night, no one batted an eye if they stayed in the same room for a sleepover. 

Now that school had started up again, Claudia was back to dealing with a strict step-mother and an overbearing step-sister. With an early birthday, Claudia had been eighteen for quite some time. It was a month into her senior year, she was technically an adult, and yet most of her family still treated her like a child thanks to how she was being painted more and more like the irresponsible and rebellious child compared to perfect Sara. Earlier curfews started being suggested, as well as an insistence on a ‘study hour’ after school. Her step-mother even proposed a wardrobe overhaul every now and then, testing the waters with the idea every now and then with the idea. And, with her father out of town so often, it was easier for the two new family members to make attempts at messing with her life. Of course, Claudia was having none of it, and would constantly blow them off. She stuck with on-committal responses to ‘suggestions’ without actually agreeing, and then just did whatever she wanted anyway once the conversation was said and done.

Claudia was excited for a weekend to herself. Both Mike and Amanda were going to be away for business through the end of Monday, and Claudia planned on making the most of that time. With no adults around and no expectations to at least check in every now and then, it was the perfect opportunity to stay at her friend’s place and figure out if they’d work well as roommates after graduation. The stars had aligned, as both of Erica’s parents were also out of town for a few days. 

Of course, Sara had to go and complicate things. Halfway through Claudia’s last class of the day on Friday, she received a text from her step-sister. ‘Mom said I’m in charge for the weekend. I expect you home right at 3:30, okay?’

Claudia almost scoffed out loud, but managed to bite her tongue when she remembered the history lecture currently going on. She was in the back row, not really listening, but that didn’t mean she wanted to draw attention to herself. Settling for an eye roll, Claudia flicked the text away and got back to the crude drawing in her sketchbook that was a lot more interesting than both history. As for her step-sister’s message, there was no need to dignify it with a reply. 

The moment the final bell rang, she hopped up from her desk and made a beeline to her locker to retrieve her skateboard. Finding Erica and company next, the small group all hopped in Claudia’s car and drove straight to the park. It was Friday, which meant the place would only get more crowded until the sun started going down. As usual, it was a solid combination of skating and sitting around shooting the shit. 

When the others decided it was time to hang out in the woods for a little bit, Claudia took the opportunity to step away and get her errand done. Smoking had never been her thing, and she also needed to grab some clothes and toiletries from the house for her extended sleepover. Maybe some booze and electronics, too, depending on how much room was left in her bag after everything else. 

The house was eerily quiet when she stepped through the front door. Strange. Sara usually played music when it was just her, or just the two of them home without their parents around. Claudia didn’t dwell on it for too long, nor did she call out to see if her step-sister was home. It would be a lot easier to get in and out if she could do so without unnecessary conversation, after all. Going over the mental checklist of items to grab, Claudia padded upstairs as quietly as she was able in case Sara was in her room and hadn’t heard her arrival. If she could avoid talking with the stuck-up girl, that would be ideal. If Sara wasn’t home, even better. 

Knowing which creaky floorboards to avoid from countless nights of sneaking in late, she made her way down the upstairs hallway and cracked her bedroom door just widely enough so she could slip through. Gently closing the door behind her, she finally turned towards the room itself. 

Claudia gasped.

What was waiting for her?

An empty bedroom, totally stripped of all her possessions?

Sara, sitting at Claudia’s desk in front of her unlocked PC?

Or a near exact replica of Sara’s room?

The decision has already been made; you can read Chapter Two here and influence future parts on my Patreon!