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TOE Short Story :: Gender Bender – Part Three

kirsten (:

by Kirsten (age 12)

::If you haven’t yet, read Gender Bender – Part One and Part Two::

4

On the drive to Aunt Silvia’s house, the family was quiet. “It’s so lonely without Jacob.” I broke the silence. “We’ll see him tomorrow morning. Your grandma, aunt, and cousins are coming too.” Mom said from shotgun. “He’s coming home tomorrow morning?” I leaned forward. “No, We’re visiting him in the hospital.” Mom turned the radio on. A song from The Beatles blasted from the radio. I leaned back in my seat. “Looks like a rainy day today.” Dad said turning on the windshield. Rain plopped against my window. The faint rumble of thunder and occasional lightning were the only noises we heard for the rest of the way to Aunt Silvia’s house. When we got there, we ran through the rain to the door.

I rung the doorbell. It turned out that the stuff in my room and Jacob’s were alright when the fire was put out. Some things in the kitchen and bathroom were too. But mostly everything in my parent’s room got burned. Luckily the suitcases were in the outside shed, so the fire didn’t go near them. Dad pulled out the suitcases and Pepper’s cage from the trunk. Pepper loved to wander around in the car. We didn’t need the cage for her when we went in the car. My cousins, Anita, Andrea, and Adam, answered the door and let us in. Anita was ten, Andrea was five, and Adam was two. Aunt Silvia took our suitcases and put them in the guestroom. Mom and Dad were going to sleep in the guestroom, and I was going to sleep with Anita, who was the only child with a queen-size bed. My mom let Pepper wander around the house. “You poor darlings… ” My aunt said, handing my parents a cup of coffee. “Jas, wanna go play Barbies?” Andrea asked me. “Sure, Andrea.” I answered. I followed Andrea and Anita to her room, which she shared with Adam. “Adam is asleep, so we can’t play in here,” Anita informed. “Your room, then.” Andrea led the way holding a box full of Barbie clothes and dolls. We sat undressing and dressing all the Barbies. “Jasmine, how old are you?” Andrea asked. “Thirteen… ” I answered, unsure of how I felt giving my age to a five-year-old. She was counting on her fingers until she looked at me again. “Ya know,” she finally said, “I’m eight years younger than you.”  “Ooh, you’re smart,” I said sarcastically. Adam strolled into the room a while later. He was holding a bag of Cheerios. He was a big fan of Jacob, and his football skills. “Where’s Jake?” he asked. I didn’t really know how to answer a two-year-old’s question. “Uhm… he… is playing football,” I said instead of the truth.

5

It was the middle of the night, and I slouched in the bubble chair with the newest Nancy Drew book. Reading always got my mind off things. I couldn’t sleep anyways with Anita’s stupid snoring. I wondered what Jacob was thinking about right now. Well, maybe not RIGHT now, but today. I wondered about how immature it was of him to run off. I hope he’s okay, though, I mean, it’s impossible for him to die because of a pole. But I doubt that he even got hurt because of a pole. This all doesn’t seem right. Probably something else happened that Jacob didn’t want us to know about. He must of told the coach what happened. But he probably lied about it. If he’s awake when we see him tomorrow, I’m going to talk with him. He’s my twin; he will tell me. I got up, put the Nancy Drew book on the nightstand, and slid in bed next to Anita. Anita rolled over on her stomach. I finally went to sleep around two. In the morning, my cousins, aunt, parents, and me all squished into my aunt’s six-seat Kia. When we got to the hospital, we had to check in with the nurse. My parents talked with the nurse for a while until Jacob’s doctor came in to talk to us before we went in to see my brother. “Is he alright?” my mother asked. “He’s fine. But he has a broken arm, some bruises, cuts, a black eye, and bump on his forehead.” The doctor, whose name was Dr. Simmons, replied with care in his eyes. “Is he awake?” I asked. “I think so,” said Dr. Simmons while motioning for us to follow me. I cheered inside my head. We walked into a room where Jacob sat in a bed. He looked AWFUL. A big huge bump that looked like a humungo pimple stood on his forehead. There was a cast on his right arm and bandages everywhere. My mom ran up to him and smoothed his hair. We all ran to comfort him. My grandma, who met us there, gave him a big teddy bear that said “Get Well Soon” and some flowers. “Uhm… guys, can I talk with Jacob alone for a bit?” I asked after twenty minutes of visit. Everyone nodded and left until me and Jacob were alone. “Now, it’s like we’re not even twins. Haha.” I tried to laugh. “Yeah, with all these cuts and stuff.” Jacob showed me his cuts. “Are you sure what Mom told me is what happened?” I asked. He didn’t reply, so I added, “Then… that’s not what happened.” He looked nervous. “That’s not what happened,” he finally hesitated to say.

March 11, 2009 9:15 pm

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