My sister worries about Freya a lot. And though she knows that telling Freya not to do something is the fastest way to make her dig in her heels, her motherly instincts kick in and she can’t help herself.
"This isn’t dressing up." Freya blows a bubble. "This is me being myself. Also, cool jewelry, Mum. You’re not as b-o-r-i-n-g as I thought.”
Yeah, no prizes for guessing what her favorite word is.
Briar and I look at each other.
Her face says, 'See what I have to put up with?'
I shake my head at her subtly, hoping she’ll get my message and not launch into one of her mum tirades. It’s the fastest way to get my niece to retreat to her room and sulk.
'Course Freya is much younger now than when Briar had taken to dressing similarly. But the kid is years ahead of her peers in terms of emotional maturity.
I make full use of my status as her cool auntie to not preach and instead, flash her a smile. "You look good."
"I don’t dress up to look good." Freya sniffs. "It’s a form of personal expression."
Ugh, you can’t win with a ten-year-old.
"Well…expressed, then."
She looks at me like I said something insulting.
I change the topic quickly before I put my foot in my mouth again. "Want to hang?"
"With you?" She scoffs.
I have the day off, and if she’s not at school, I can use the time to bond with her. Perhaps, she’ll relax enough to tell me a little more about the bullying she’s facing. She doesn’t confide much about it to Briar, and it’s my sister’s most pressing worry at the moment.
"We could go to Camden Market." That’s the spiritual home for goths in London. She loves the vibe there. As do I.
Her face lights up, then she pretends not to be interested again. "Only if we can get bubble tea. And liquid nitrogen ice cream. Oh, and check out the Doc Martens shop?"
Damn, the kid can negotiate. Thankfully, I’m her favorite auntie, also her only auntie, so I can indulge her.
“You bet."
Genuine excitement courses through her eyes.
"Cool." She turns to Briar. "Can I, Mum?
Briar looks uncertain. "You’ve worked hard all week, Harper. Don’t you want to use your day off to get downtime?"
I wave my hand in the air. "Hanging out with my niece is the best downtime. Besides, I’ve been wanting to sample some of the food from a Brazilian food pop-up there."
"See, Mum?" Freya cries.
Briar purses her lips. "I’m not sure, Freya. You still should?—"
"Pleeeease?" Freya drops the 'cool' act for a second, folding her hands together under her chin like she’s negotiating for her life. "Please, Mum. Please?"
Briar frowns. "Your homework?—"
"All done," Freya says, tossing her head so her dark hair hits her shoulders.
"No way." Briar sounds genuinely surprised. "The whole packet?"
"Uh-huh. It was too easy." Freya pops another bubble with her gum. "The teacher spends all her time explaining things I already know. It’s so bo-o-r-i-n-g.”
