"I'm not asking you, Emma, I'm telling you. You have to take your brother with you to the party this weekend," I heard my older sister Fiona say in a commanding tone.
"Why the hell should I? C'mon Fiona, it's the first party before my Senior year starts at Wheaton. Why should I take a dweeb who's going to act like a lost puppy the whole night?" I responded back hotly.
"Because Kevin doesn't make friends as easily as you do and it'd be good for him to meet people when he's first starting college; that's why. And why are you calling your brother a dweeb?"
"Cause he totally is. He's a dork and awkward."
"Oh honey, you have been really ignoring him, haven't you? Probably cause you were too busy hoeing it up at school rather than studying."
I scoffed at her retort before and acted super insulted before I found a nearby pillow on the couch and threw it at her. I probably should have been actually mad at her comment, but I knew she was mainly saying it in jest. Besides, it wasn't like she was completely wrong. I couldn't help it that so many guys were into a hot cheerleader like me. I mean, who could resist saying no to a hot guy coming up to you and asking you out? Especially if he was tall, muscular, and confident.
"No, I'm not some sort of terrible older sister. I haven't completely ignored him. I just know that he's still just a total dork," I finally replied back.
"Well, if you weren't ignoring him, you would know that he joined the lacrosse team and it's really helped him grow, mentally and physically. He can still be shy though, and he is joining a new school. A school that his older sister already goes to and knows everyone," Fiona calmly said back.
"Alright, alright, fine! I'll talk to the dude about it. When did you suddenly become all naggy?" I softly said back, clearly irritated but without the energy to fight anymore.
I knew Fiona was doing her best so I didn't want to push it. She was just our older sister, but since she was almost 10 years older than me, she always had that authoritative parent personality. I guess she didn't really have a choice when our parents died in a car accident when I was still in Elementary School. Fiona took total responsibility for us and even dropped out of college to help raise us. I loved my sister more than anything for that, but that didn't mean I never got upset or annoyed at her.
I wanted to forget all about my brother Kevin and the party and just watch TV in the living room, but I felt Fiona's eyes just staring at me. I finally looked over at her and I saw her motion to our bedrooms with her eyes and head. I replied silently with an expression that just screamed, 'what, now?' to which she indicated, 'yes, now'.
I groaned and stood up and gently tossed the remote control at her as I walked up the stairs. I couldn't believe she was making me do this. It was my senior year too! Why was she obsessed with ruining it for me? I got decent grades the whole time in college and I was looking forward to taking a more relaxed senior year. Just because my brother chose to go to the same school as me doesn't make him my responsibility. Wasn't he an adult now too?
I tried to frantically think of a way out of this when a light bulb suddenly went off in my head. I knew how I could get Kevin to not go to the party and also not have Fiona blame me for it.
Ever since we were little, whenever we disagreed, we always did rock-paper-scissors as a fair way to decide who wins. Unbeknownst to him though, I figured out his strategy of how to play years ago. If I wanted to make sure I won, I could easily manipulate what he chose. I was smart about it, so I made sure to not always use it so he wouldn't catch on. For emergencies like this though, I could use it to my advantage. I smiled to myself as I approached my little brother's door and knocked.
"It's open," I heard him say from inside.
I opened the door and saw him at his desk with his computer. He seemed to be playing some sort of game and didn't even make eye contact with me when I entered. Oh yeah, definitely still a dork. I told you Fiona, but no, I don't know my own brother apparently. I waited for him to turn and acknowledge me or something but he just continued clicking and playing his game.
"Hey, I need to talk to you about something. Can you pause the game?" I said while I tried to hide my annoyance.
"I'm playing online, I can't just pause it."
"Oh whatever, just go somewhere where you can't die or something."
I saw my younger brother move his character someplace and I finally saw him swivel his chair towards me. Fiona said he joined the lacrosse team and got more physically fit, but I didn't see it at all. He wore an extra-large t-shirt and some baggy shorts, but he still looked like the skinny kid I always knew growing up. I knew it would be a total disaster if I had to watch out for him at the party.
"Did Fiona talk to you about this party I'm supposed to go to this weekend?" I said flatly.
"Yeah! She said that you'd take me with you and introduce me to some people," he responded excitedly.
"Listen, you're my brother and I care about you, but I also care that this is my Senior year. It's the first party before the semester starts so it's super important that it starts off right. This is my last chance to get one of the Avengers to notice me and I won't be able to do that if I'm looking out for my kid brother the whole night," I said coldly.
"Ok well, first, I'm not your 'kid' brother. Secondly, do you know what an Avenger is? Cause I have a feeling we have two very different definitions," I heard him reply confused.
"Shut up Kevin, this is serious. Can you just tell Fiona that you don't want to go? I can totally make it up to you later, I promise," I replied a bit more empathetically this time.