After Roger dropped me off I exploded in the door to tell my parents the good news, nearly knocking a certain five year-old flat.

�Hey, Rikky, I-� he began, but I ran past him.

I jumped onto the stairs landing and hollered, �MUM! DAD! GUESS WHAT! I MADE VARSITY!!!�

And of course they all congratulated me and I talked about it for the rest of the night and all through dinner because I was feeling rather proud of myself. My parents endured it, because I was spoiled and they were too nice to tell me to shut up. Harry rolled his eyes and pouted because I kept interrupting whenever he wanted to say something. He picked at his food and dropped most of his peas on the floor, and when I ratted on him, he got scolded. Then he threw a glob of potatoes in my face, got yelled at again, and stormed up to his room, thrashing his Pikachu doll against the wall by its tail and wailing.

�Brat,� I muttered, far too used to Harry�s temper tantrums to let it interrupt my dinner.

Across the table Mum sighed. �He didn�t have a very good first day, you know.�

�Oh?� I asked, not particularly interested.

�He got sent home early by the kindergarten teacher for kicking some of the children,� Mum reported.

�Ha, no kidding? The li�l punk,� I sniggered.

�It�s not funny, Arik. Apparently all the other kids teased him because of, you know.� She gestured to her right eye.

�That kid�� Dad sighed, shaking his head and cleaning his glasses.

�He was pretty upset, actually,� Mum said, eying me. �Why don�t you go talk to him?�

I stared, incredulous. �What makes you think he wants to talk to me?� What makes you think I want to talk to him? Especially after how he woke me up this morning!

�Come on, Arik, you�re his big brother�you know he adores you,� Dad cajoled.

I screwed up my face.

�Go talk to him and you don�t have to load the dishwasher,� Mum offered.

�I�d rather load��

�Arik.�

�Okay, okay. I�m going.�

I trudged up the steps and leaned against the doorframe into the little boy�s room. He was sitting on the side of his bed, hugging his stuffed Pikachu and resting his chin between its pointy ears. The animal was a mark of how weird a little kid he really was; when I was his age I had a stuffed dog with floppy ears. But not, Harry, no, he has a bright yellow Japanese rodent�thing. To make matters weirder, after his accident, Mum sewed a little eyepatch on the toy to make Harry feel better about his.

�Hi,� I said.

He looked up at me and smiled. He�s always happy to see me, but as our only interaction is generally that of arguing and physical violence, I really don�t see why. �Hi Rikky!�

�Um�I heard you had an interesting first day?�

He let out an animated groan, and I could tell he had a lot to say. �Oh my gosh, school is SO stupid! They made me sit in the same spot ALL day. And they actually tell you when you can and can�t go to the bathroom! How do THEY know when I have to pee, huh?!� I tried not to snicker. �And the teacher kept yelling at me! She�s really mean. I think they should fire her.�

�Oh really?� I asked, amused.

He groaned, feigning sophisticated distaste. �Uh, YEAH. She�s fat and old and she smells yucky.�

�What about the other kids?� I asked, biting my lip to hide my amusement.

Harry�s one eye flicked downwards and he shifted his weight. �They should all go to hell,� he said decidedly after a minute.

�Harry!� I exclaimed.

�What? You say it,� he declared indignantly, scowling and sticking his tongue out.

�I�m older than you!�

�So? They should.�

�They made fun of you?� I asked.

�Yeahhh,� he drawled, rolling his neck and shifting, obviously upset but wanting to play tough. He grinned and added, �But I kicked them and they cried!�

�Heh, um, good,� I said, run out of brotherly things to say and itching to leave. �Uhh, you may want to get used to it, since you have to go to school for another twelve years. G�night, see ya tomorrow.�

�Wait!� He jumped off the bed and picked up a toy fire engine and dump truck. �Wanna play trucks with me? You can be the firetruck this time�Dad fixed the horn!�

�No, I, uh, have homework,� I explained, even though I didn�t.

�Well, can I play in your room while you do it?�

�No, I need to concentrate.�

�But�!� he began, but I�d already shut the door and gone into my room to do imaginary homework. I called Roger and talked to him while hanging upside off my bed and flipping through a soccer magazine.

After a little while Harry stomped in and glared at me, arms folded. �That is NOT homework,� he snapped.

Upside down, I glared at him. �Get out of here, brat, I�m busy.�

�Who are you talking to, your giiirlfriiend?� he sang. My face went hot�how dare this creature interrupt a personal moment between Roger and me? Didn�t he know how completely insignificant his existence was? I flopped right-side up again and took a swipe at him.

�I bet you aaaare!� the demonchild continued. �Arik and his girlfriend sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!�

Roger could hear every word, and he was hysterical with laughter. Steam gushing between my ears, I jumped to my feet, leaving the phone on my bed, and rushed at him. �GET OUT!� I yelled, and he scampered into the hallway. I slammed the door with a kick and stomped back to retrieve the phone.

�Sorry,� I told Roger, who was still chortling.

�I love that kid,� he giggled.

I groaned excessively. That was easy for him to say: Roger was an only child!

We continued our conversation for a few more minutes, and I figured Harry had been subdued for the night, perhaps wrestled into a bath by Mum.

Then there was a soft click of another phone being picked up, and I expected to hear Dad telling me to get off the phone and go to bed. Instead, however, came strange oral noises�kissy sounds, blown raspberries, and a loud belch.

�I�ll call you tomorrow,� I told Roger. �If you�ll excuse me, I have a five-year-old to dismantle.�

The other phone in the house clicked off right before I hung up my end. I cleared the stairs in two hops and pounced into the living room, on fire. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a pair of little boy sneakers skid out of the room. My socks sliding on the wood floor, I flew after him, yelling �You little brat, get back here!�

He screamed and ran a loop through the living room, around the stairs, and into the kitchen, trailing a high-pitched yowl. He dove behind Mum, an innocent bystander washing plates in the sink, and hugged her legs. I lunged after him, but my socks slipped on the smooth floor and I crashed head-over-heels into the refrigerator. The contents rocked and clanged, I swore, Harry bawled, and my mother screamed, �ARIK SALISBURY REDDE! WHAT ON EARTH DO YOU THINK YOU�RE DOING?!�

I was on my feet in an instant, index finger aimed at Harry�s forehead. �Mum! I was on the phone with Roger and he started pestering me and being obnoxious�on purpose! Even after I told him to go away, he picked up the phone in the living room and started making stupid noises!�

Harry buried his face in Mum�s knees and burst into tears. �Arik�� Mum began disapprovingly, lightly stroking the back of his head.

�No!� I protested. �Mum, why don�t you yell at HIM? Don�t I deserve any privacy? Any respect? Mum, I was on the PHONE with my FRIEND!�

Mum shook her head. �Arik, he�s only five! You�re fifteen!�

�So what?! He�s such a spoiled brat!� I screeched.

Harry let out a wail. �All I wanted was to play trucks! He lied! He said he was doing homework, but he was just on the phone with his girlfriend!�

�Excuse me?� Mum sputtered.

Every inch of flesh from my chin to my ears went as red as my soccer shirt. �Mum, I was on the phone with Roger! I don�t even HAVE a girlfriend!�

�Well, I sure hope I�d know about it if you had a girlfriend!� she muttered. �But, Arik, would it have killed you to play with your brother for a few minutes?�

�Probably!� I spat, my arms folded and chin jutted. �Why are you yelling at me?! He�s the one harassing me!�

�Arik, you�re ten years older than him�you know better! Don�t you EVER chase him like that again!�

�But, Mum�!�

�NO, Arik! You�re fifteen! You could hurt him! Not to mention the fact that you could break something! You�re much too old to be rough-housing!�

I pouted, glaring venomously. God Almighty, if I heard you�re older than him! one more time I was going to get violent with a fork. �I don�t believe this.�

Harry let out a loud, meaningful sniffle, glancing at me piteously from Mum�s knee. Mum patted him, running her fingers across his narrow spine.

�Arik, go play with your brother.�

�No!� I yelped.

�Arik Redde, you go play nicely with your little brother or you�re grounded, do you hear me?�

I started�my parents had never actually grounded me. However, they�d threatened before, and I knew it meant no phone or hanging out with Roger. Bad things. I bit my lip, wanting to howl in protest but afraid to tempt my mother. Fists clenched, I spun on my heels and stomped out of the kitchen.

�NICELY, Arik, do you hear me?!� Mum called after me.

I burst into Harry�s room and sat down on his bed, arms folded and fuming noxiously. In a moment Harry bounced in, all trace of his pathetic weeping gone. Very deliberately, he cocked his head and stuck his tongue out at me.

The little snot. All his wailing had been an act�once more, he�d been faking.

�I hate you,� I growled. He shrugged and dropped to his knees on the floor.

�You want the dump truck or the fire truck?� he asked, offering me the two toys.

�I don�t freaking care.�

He wrinkled his nose. �Potty mouth.�

�Shut. Up.�

Harry dragged a pink convertible out from his closet. �Fine, then you get this one.�

�Why do I get the pink one?� I snapped.

�Because it�s the one Cassandra uses when she comes over, and she�s dumb like you.�

I scowled�Cassandra was his snippy little girl friend who lived down the street. We were not fond of each other.

�No way,� I protested.

Harry took a large gulp of air and bellowed, �MUUUUUUM ARIK�S NOT PLAYING WITH�!�

I leapt off the bed and clamped my hand over his mouth. �Shut up!� I hissed, but it was too late. From downstairs my mother yelled �ARIK, DO I HAVE TO COME UP THERE?!�

I yelled that she didn�t and settled cross-legged on the rug, feeling like a pot ready to boil over but determined to get through this play session without losing my phone privileges. The bane of my existence eyed me slyly like a lizard, his freckled face split by a smirk.

He doesn�t even want to play, I realized, he just wants to get me in trouble.

Nonetheless we began to �play.� He zoomed the car around the rug, making �vroom� and horn noises with his mouth and mowing down imaginary pedestrians.

�Vrrrrrmm!! Watch out old lady, fire truck coming through! Oh no! SCREECH! Wham! There goes another one!� he squealed, acting out a fire truck mauling an old woman.

Oh. My. God, I thought, horrified. This child is a psychopath.

I moved my pink convertible for the first time, pushing it towards the �scene of the accident.� �Um�woo eee,� I mumbled, attempting an ambulance siren.

�What are you doing?� he barked indignantly, straightening up.

�Rescuing that poor old lady you just ran over.�

He snorted. �Why?�

�Why not? You were pretty mean, whamming her like that. What did she ever do to you?�

Harry rolled his head on his neck, suddenly passive. �Well, no one liked her anyway.�

�Why not?� I asked.

�She was weird.�

�Why was she weird?�

�She looked funny,� Harry decided. �Smelled funny too. She didn�t have any friends.�

�Why didn�t she have any friends?�

Harry shrugged. �She was weird,� he repeated.

�Will she live?�

He shrugged again. �I dunno. Should she?�

�Yeah. Let�s just say she only broke her leg. She�ll be fine.�

He smiled. He plucked an imaginary wisp of a person off the carpet and tucked it in the backseat of the convertible. He took the car from me and rolled it under his bed, making siren noise. When the patient was safely into the hospital he straightened up again and yawned.

�I�m tired,� he said. �I�m gonna go to sleep.�

�Oh,� I said, not daring to believe it was over. �Okay.�

He walked over to me and put his arms around my neck, pressing his lips against my cheek. �Nighty-night, Rikky.�

I ruffled his hair. �G�night, buddy,� I said, and escaped.

I went to bed feeling a strange mix of melancholy and contentment, but somehow not the least bit angry anymore.

He really was a weird kid, I decided.

Chapter Eight...