Hot Pocket Money
Hailee stomped into the kitchen, her phone clutched in her hand like a lifeline. "Mom, this is so unfair!" she declared, tossing her bag onto the counter with a dramatic thud.
Her mother, Susan, looked up from chopping vegetables, a crease appearing between her brows. "What's wrong now, honey?"
"Taylor! He gets twenty-five bucks a week and I don't get anything!" Hailee pouted, tapping her phone screen to show a picture of her perfectly manicured nails holding a trendy iced coffee.
Susan sighed. "Hailee, we talked about this. Taylor earns his allowance. He washes the dishes every night and helps out in the yard on weekends."
Hailee scoffed. "Dishes? Seriously? That takes like five minutes."
"It takes longer than five minutes," Susan corrected, "when you leave half the pots crusted with food."
Hailee crossed her arms. "And yard work? It ruins my nails! I can't exactly be pulling weeds in these." She gestured at the phone screen again, zooming in on the glossy pink polish.
Susan raised an eyebrow. "Honey, you manage to take perfectly good pictures of yourself holding coffee cups and ice cream sundaes. I'm sure you could handle a pair of gloves."
Hailee opened her mouth to protest, then closed it again. She knew her mother had a point. While her Instagram feed overflowed with meticulously curated photos showcasing her flawless 19 year old beauty and trendy outfits, her contribution to household chores was, well, lacking.
"Look," Susan said, softening her tone, "I appreciate how much effort you put into your appearance. But responsibility is important too. Taylor takes pride in doing his chores well. That's why he gets an allowance."
Hailee slumped into a chair. "So what? Am I just stuck here, phone zombie supreme?"
Susan smiled faintly. "Of course not. You could always ask Taylor if he'd be willing to share his chores, or maybe even train you on how to wash dishes properly."
Hailee's face brightened. "Hey, that's actually not a bad idea. Maybe I could take over some of the yard work too, if I wear those ugly gloves."
Susan chuckled. "Progress! And who knows, maybe Taylor will offer you a cut of his allowance if you do a good job."
"Thanks a lot Mom!"
Hailee wasted no time making her way towards her brother's bedroom, all the while wondering how he might react to her chore sharing proposal. Taylor was eighteen, a goodie too-shoes and always making fun of her, and this would just give him more ammunition. But to be fair she never stopped teasing him about him being her unpopular younger brother so perhaps it was only fair that he constantly sought to extract his own revenge.
Nevertheless, the whole situation was really annoying her. "Ugh, why did I have to post that picture from the beach?" thought Hailee as she made her way down the corridor to Taylor's room, "It was the perfect sunset, great lighting, my hair looked amazing... But of course, Sarah had to zoom in and comment, 'Didn't you wear that same shirt last week? #recyclequeen.'"
Hailee's face burned just thinking about it. Recycle queen?
Every time Hailee has scrolled through her feed after that she had been acutely aware of the repetition. Same jeans, different pose. Similar top, different day. Her 'aesthetic' suddenly felt less trendy and more... predictable. That stupid comment from Sarah was driving her crazy and she was determined to remedy the situation no matter how many dishes she'd have to scrub.
Taking a deep breath, Hailee stood outside her brother Taylor's room, her soft fingers hovering hesitantly over the worn wood of the door. This was definitely not her comfort zone, but the lure of pocket money outweighed her pride. Knocking twice, she waited.
The door swung open to reveal a grumpy looking Taylor. "What do
you
want?"
Hailee tried her best to project a casual facade. "Uh, hey. Can I come in?"
Taylor stepped aside, his bedroom a stark contrast to her meticulously organized space and the supposedly good job he did around the house. It seemed cleaning the rest of the house left him with no energy for his own bedroom. Clothes were strewn across his desk and a half-eaten bag of chips sat precariously on the edge of his bed. He gestured for her to sit, a flicker of curiosity in his solemn grey eyes.
Taking a seat cautiously, Hailee plunged straight into her plea. "So, about your allowance..."
Taylor raised an eyebrow. "What about it?"
"Mom told me you earn it because you do chores and stuff," Hailee mumbled, her cheeks warming.
"Yeah," Taylor chuckled, leaning back in his chair. "Dishes, yard work, the usual."
"Right," Hailee swallowed. "Well, I was wondering..." She paused, formulating the next part in her head. "Look, I know this sounds crazy, but would you be willing to... maybe let me do your chores for the next month?"
Taylor's jaw dropped. "Do my chores? You? Seriously?"
Hailee nodded fervently. "Yes! I mean, I'm serious. I'll do everything perfectly, you won't even have to lift a finger."
Taylor narrowed his eyes, a mischievous glint appearing in them. "So, what's the catch? You wouldn't be doing this out of the kindness of your heart, would you?"
Hailee fidgeted with her phone strap. "Well, you see," she began hesitantly, "it's just that... keeping up my online presence is, uh, expensive. New clothes, manicures, you know the drill. You wouldn't want me to be seen wearing the same outfit twice on my feed, would you?"
Taylor's grin widened. "I'm not interested," he said, delighted to be disappointing his vain older sister. "That's my only source of income," he explained.
