“Are you excited about tomorrow?”
“Hell, yes!” I grinned. Tomorrow was one of the most important history competitions at our school. It was going to be an open debate. I was more excited than nervous. My brothers were coming to watch me. “I can’t wait. Honestly? It's going to be the most momentous competition.”
Di chuckled, shaking his head.
“What?” I asked.
He pressed his lips together, trying to hold it in. When I cocked an eyebrow, he gave in.
“It was just funny how you used the wordmomentous.”
I rolled my eyes, laughing with him.
For a bookworm and a history nerd, we got along well. Then I sensed him tense slightly and look away. An uncomfortable feeling clenched in my gut.
“Hey, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing! I mean, I’m cool, everything is fine,” he fired the words too fast, like Bren always did when he was lying. He wasn’t fooling me. I knew all my brothers tells and I'd picked up Di’s in the last few months.
“You know you can talk with me about everything. I’m your big brother.”
“You’re only a year older.”
“A year and a half.” When he didn’t reply, I added, “If you don't want to talk to me, you can always speak with one of the others or with our father.”
He stayed silent, and I didn’t push. Sometimes, forcing someone to speak will only pushes them farther away from you. I knew this from experience.
“Do you want to play some games in the living room?”
“Yeah, sure.”
We sat on the couch, and I loaded up his favorite racing game. It wasn't my first choice, but it was fun. Usually Di was way morecompetitive, but tonight he was making careless mistakes, which meant I won every time without trying.
“Wanna hear something absurd?” I asked.
“Did Bren do something again?” He smiled, barely, but I took that as a win.
“You know it! He tried to prank Wild yesterday, put a raw egg in his orange juice, and extra-hot pepper on his mashed eggs. I’m talking volcanic.”
“What happened then? I can imagine Wild’s reaction,” he started chuckling, but the best part hadn’t even begun.
“That’s the thing. Wild didn’t sit in his usual place. King did. When he tasted the mashed eggs, he choked, started coughing, and reached for the orange juice. Bren tried to scream a warning, but it was too late. King drank it and spilled everything across the table. And it was a sight to be seen – there was even an additional surprise waiting for King."
“What?” Di asked.
“Glue on his chair.” Di was laughing now, holding his stomach as tears streamed down his face. “You can imagine King’s reaction after that.”
“Bren is such a troublemaker!”
“Yeah, but we love him for the way he is.”
Di threw a strange look at me, and I asked. “What?”
“Um, nothing. I mean, you’re always a bit reserved with everyone. Hearing you say that... it’s nice.”
“I’m reserved, yes. It doesn’t mean I don’t love my brothers. That includes you, in case you were wondering.”
I was trying to figure out what made Di different from the others. I felt comfortable around him, more than usual. Maybe it was how he listened. Maybe it was just that he saw me. Or maybe it was all just him.
