Twelve

Katie is fed up with the little, orange Nerf darts even before they start flying. Her boy cousin not only has an armful of the little projectiles, but half a dozen guns to go with them. He hands her one and calls her team.

“What? No. There are no TEAMS. I’m not playing.”

“Me either,” says her sister as the girl cousin calls her team.

“Oh, come on,” he pleaded. “Look, you get a big gun.”

“Fine. But if you shoot me, you will die. I don’t care if you’re on my team or not. You. Will. Die.”

He just laughs. Katie sighs and goes back to writing. The girl cousin runs from the room, squealing as she escapes. Her bother gives chase.

“I hate Nerf Wars,” says Katie’s sister.

“Me too.”

All Katie hears is the thonk of Nerf weapon discharges and bickering. There’s also a bad smell which is putting her off. All right, downstairs. Katie liberates her laptop and ducks under the fire of combat to make her escape. She plops onto the couch, stretching out on her stomach. Just as she gets the pillows positioned perfectly beneath her torso, the kids troop downstairs.

“No. No. No. Upstairs, both you!”

Katie’s girl cousin protests and she hates to do it, but Katie insists they both must go. The boy camps out behind the couch, firing a round every few seconds. She tries to move upstairs but the kids promise to follow her. Then the kids start arguing over which one is most entitled to stay near her. Katie takes the bickering as long as she can before she’s had enough. She confiscates all the weapons and deposits them in her aunt and uncle’s bedroom, covering them with a pile of laundry. The boy is nearly in tears when she returns to the basement.

“Nerf War is over.”

“They’re MY weapons!”

“Sorry. Peace has broken out. No more guns.”

The boy throws a fit, so Katie sends him to pick up all the Nerf darts from all over the house. He pouts and snivels his way through the procedure. The girl has gone quiet but stays near Katie. The bullets are taken to the boy’s room, and when he emerges once more, he’s armed with two new guns.

“Hand ‘em over.”

“NO!”

“Well, then put them away. No guns.”

“THEY ARE MINE!”

“You may have them in your room, but they are not to leave there. Nerf War is over.”

He sulks back to his room. His sister chases after him.

“Oh, crap. One of them is crying. Hey, can you check on them for me?” Katie asks her sister.

“Uh, sure.”

“If it’s her, tell her I’m sorry I had to be stern with both of them, but he’s being bad enough without accusing me of favoring her. If it’s him, tell him to buck up.”

She nods and goes upstairs, pausing at his door only long enough to peek. When she returns she is grimacing.

“She’s crying really hard under her covers with the lights off.”

Katie sighs. “Gosh. I’ll go.” Katie feels like beating herself over the head.

“Hey,” Katie crawls onto the bed, careful to not crush any limbs. “You okay?”

“He’s being a butt!” the little girl says between sniffs.

“I know, sweetie.” Katie hugs the little girl. “I’m sorry he got you in trouble. You must hate that. I know I did when I was your age. I still don’t like being in trouble.”

“He always gets me in trouble.”

“My little sister was the same way.” Katie sighs. “I’m so sorry, sweetie. I’m not mad at you and you’re not in trouble, okay? I just had to be that way so he wouldn’t say I was being unfair. If you ever want him to stop, just leave. Come get me and say you want him to stop. I’ll always listen. I completely understand.”

The girl nods and sniffs. The two first-borns lay on the bed for a while until the younger of the two has stopped crying.

“I have homework. Will you help me?”

“Sure.”

The girls leave the room and as they pass the boy’s room he is on his bed, a Nerf rifle aimed out the door, his eye to the sights.

“Put it away,” says Katie.

“It’s in my room.”

“It is pointed outside your room with the door open. Put it away. Now.”

He pouts but does as she says. Katie puts a protective hand on her cousin’s back and leads her downstairs. They work through the homework and some piano practice and soon forget all about the grumpy boy upstairs.

Katie sighs as she sinks further into dreamland. Her cousin did ask her to help with her brother, Katie just wasn’t listening because she didn’t use words. Stupid. You have to be smarter. The little girl reminds Katie of herself at that age so much that she marvels she could have been so stupid. She never just asked an adult to help, she always thought she could control the situation on her own and only gave out nonverbal pleas for help. Katie makes a silent promise to be smarter, more sensitive. Being a big sister again is going to mean getting back in touch with her inner eleven year old. Katie shivers. Eleven was confusing.