The Way Home Looks Now

I AM ONLY GONE LONG ENOUGH TO GET THE EGGS.
Ba had asked me to stop by the Minute Mart after school, but I had forgotten and come straight home, only to have to leave again. I ride my bike, but with the eggs I have to ride fast slow-slow enough that the eggs won’t break but fast enough that I won’t get in trouble. When I turn the corner to our street, I see my sister, Elaine, sitting on the steps. She had been inside when I left, but now she is outside, holding her binoculars.
“What are you doing, Laney? Looking for birds?” Laney usually looks for birds in the morning, but really, for her, anytime is a good time.
I move past her to open the door. The knob turns slightly but then stops hard.
“We’re locked out?” I ask, trying to make it sound like it’s not
a big deal. Elaine draws a quick, sharp breath of air. “I came outside to
get my binoculars. I knocked but…” She stops.
“Do you think you locked the door on your way out? Or did the door lock behind you after you left?” I say the words a little more harshly than I mean to.
“I don’t know.” Now, for the first time, Elaine looks frightened. “I knocked and rang the doorbell, but I guess she didn’t hear me.”