Helena W.

How to Train a Brother

“NO”!!!! screamed Toby. It was a late Saturday night and Maya was babysitting her two younger brothers. “Pleeease go to bed” whined Maya. It was almost 10:00 and Toby and Jackson refused to go to bed. Maya brushed her dark brown hair out of her face and rubbed her bright green eyes. Her parents were going to kill her if the boys were up when they came home and probably wouldn't even pay her. “Creeeeeeak” went the door. They were home! Maya ran over to the boys and shoved them under the bright red blanket.

“What’s all this mess?” boomed Dad in his loud voice.

“Ummmm, we made a fort,” trembled Maya.

Her mother reached out a hand filled with crisp bills. Maya’s father placed them in Maya’s sweaty hands and started strolling upstairs. Maya sighed and led the boys up the back staircase. That is what Maya Peterson experiences every single day.

The next morning Maya rolled over in her warm covers while her dogs licked her feet and her rabbit and cat nibbled her hair. ¨HAH HAH HAH!¨” screeched Jackson's Tickle Me Elmo as Maya jumped up in despair.

Toby was holding their dad's biggest hammer over Maya's glass bank from the trip to Japan with a big smile on his face. BAM! The bank shattered to the ground and the pieces shone in the light.  Maya slammed her head into her pillow and cried for hours.

Much later, Maya came down for breakfast and stretched her long legs out on the couch. She slipped five pieces of glass on the table to hint her parents about the bank incident. She grabbed three granola bars and devoured them while grabbing her black bag in one arm and Jackson in the other and dashed out the door. Jackson was rubbing his hands together, desperate to ride his shiny new hoverboard to preschool to show his friends.

Maya grabbed her hoverboard and they rode of to Oakwood Preschool. Toby has been able to walk to school himself for exactly three days, two hours, and seventeen minutes. He had been timing it with the stopwatch from his grandma. But on his way to school he actually started feeling guilty about breaking his sister´s bank. His eyes watered as he remembered the joyful look on her face when she got it and let out a long sigh. The wind blew his light brown hair into his eyes as he stared at the faded brick building. His blue eyes shifted, hoping to see his two best friends. His red sneakers bounced on the pavement as he jumped into the school.It was hours later that Maya walked out of the school followed by her two friends Erica and Christy. After picking up Jackson they were going to work on a poster for their science project at Maya’s house. On the sidewalk of Oakwood Preschool Maya spotted Jackson painting rocks on a tarp and waved.

“ I have to be at Tio’s Tacos by 6:00,” said Erica. She was obsessed with her new job and had the food critics coming  next week. However, Cristy was happy to accompany Maya for the afternoon. As they opened the door, Jackson jumped into Maya's arms, paint covered hands and all. Ten minutes later the girls flopped down on Maya's bed and poured over their global warming poster for hours. But one thing was strange. It was quiet. No dancing, stomping, yelling or even crying from the boys. Something was wrong.

The girls went downstairs to get a snack. The boys were sitting quietly with arms folded at the golden brown table. “Dearest sister, may we borrow a blue marker?” questioned the boys hopefully.

“Sure, just don't touch our poster,” said Christy, grabbing a handful of crackers.

A smile spread across Toby’s face as she said those words. He walked up the stairs with Jackson by his side. He ran his fingers along the metal rail. As he trotted into Maya’s as quiet as baby mice he glanced at the poster.“CRASH!”

The second Maya heard that sound she ran upstairs as fast as a cheetah. Blue paint covered their clothes as they dashed into the room, two green dogs licked the floor while Maya whimpered sadly.

She was horrified. The permanent paint stained the walls like a ocean. Jackson grasped a blue marker that wasn’t so blue anymore. “WHAT IN THE NAME OF #*&%#* IS THIS!!!!!!”  screamed Mom. She was as red as a pepper. She hated messes and was bursting with anger.

The boys were grounded for three months and had to pay for wall paint. A few days later, Dad came home with a lock for Maya’s room and the boys gave Maya a can of mint blue paint. “I guess the boys won't be going near any paint for a while!” joked Maya.