Chapter 11

On the bus ride to their first day of school, Olive was so nervous she couldn’t relax.  Would everyone like her?  Thanks to her parents, she wound up with the loser trait, and she was so sure everyone would know.

“Get a grip, Ollie” Turner rolled his eyes, but before he could say anything else, Olive had socked him in the shoulder.

“Ol-ive,” she pronounced, “Ollie sounds gross.”

Turner rolled his eyes.  He didn’t really have a lot of friends at school and he was worried his sister would think he was a loser… How was he supposed to be a good big brother if he didn’t have an entourage?

One thing was for sure.  She would be a way bigger loser than he was.

But Turner was wrong.  Suddenly, he had more friends at school.  Everyone was asking about his cute little sister.  Boys that hadn’t ever really been nice to him joked with him like they were old friends.

“Why didn’t you tell me your little sister was cute?!” they all seemed to ask in their own ways.

When Olive tried to sit with Turner at lunch, he just glared at her.  Olive looked at her plate and fidgeted under the table.

“So, how—“ She began timidly.

“Would you just go?  Gosh you’re such a loser.” Turner was hotheaded

Instead of crying like she wanted to do, Olive stood up quietly, looked fixedly at her brother, and walked away.  She ate lunch alone.

 Meanwhile, Gussie had taken an extra day off since he was an elder now.  Elynne and Gussie spent the day giggling and making jokes about how well he had aged.

“I really do like the grey hair,” Elynne purred.

“Oh come on, Elynne” he laughed and pulled her close.

“The kids are in school until this afternoon…” Elynne looked up at Gussie through her lashes, “So…”

“One step ahead of you,” they shared a knowing smile, and headed to the bedroom.

Later that day, Elynne decided that it might be good for Olive to get involved in an after school program.  She had been so nervous.  Maybe ballet would be a good activity for her to make some friends.

Turner worried about Olive when he didn’t see her on the bus that afternoon, but he kept a stern face.  He couldn’t believe all the boys his age thought she was cute.  His sister was gross.

He played with Suri until Olive got home.  She was at the table doing her homework, and Turner slid quietly into the chair across from her.  They worked on their homework together like nothing had even happened at school today.

After dinner, Olive got a surprise.

Pato, the doll she had had since she was a baby, was real!  She had always pretended he was her friend as her toddler, but now he was here!

When she tried to introduce him to Turner, it was instantly obvious that Turner could not see him.

“You’re just trying to be like me so you can fit in.  Suri is real.  Pato is not.” And with that, Turner stomped off to his bedroom.

“Now I know how he felt,” Olive sighed looking at Pato.  Pato shrugged.  “I know, Pato… not much you can do about it.”

Turner slammed the door to his room, and cried once he was sure no one had followed him.  It was his birthday today, and nobody had remembered

…except for Suri.  Oh well.  They’d get a good look at him in the morning.

Except they wouldn’t.

There was a note from their parents saying that they had been lucky enough to win a two day vacation.  It was the weekend, and there was food in the fridge.  They’d be alright.  Turner punched the wall…

Olive came up behind him wide eyed.  “Uh…”

“Shut up!  Shut up!” Turner hissed.

“Newsflash… they’re gone.  They don’t have to know.” Olive rolled her eyes.  “Remember how they’d been talking about remodeling the kitchen?”

Turner nodded.

“Well, they have the money, and they were going to remodel it this weekend, but then the trip came up.” Olive smiled.  Somehow her brother had gotten lucky.

“You’re a genius, Ollie,” Turner messed up her hair and then called the contractor that her parents always used.

“Oh yeah.  Mom and dad bought you a present for your birthday.  It’s in their room, but I can help you move it if you want.”

Suri’s eyes widened.  “Turner, this is exactly what we need!” She jumped up and down ecstatically.

He smiled and hugged her tightly.  Everything was going to be just fine.  Turner worked at the chemist’s station for several hours that night, but the potions he concocted would only be good if he wanted to pull a prank on someone.  He sighed, and eventually gave up when he burned his eyebrows.

He peeked in on Olive before finally turning in for the night.  She was so smart.  He was really going to have to try to be a better big brother.