Anthony had fallen asleep when he heard a knocking on the passenger window. He opened his eyes and saw Joel on the outside of the window. Anthony yawned and pressed the unlock switch.733Please respect copyright.PENANAVgnpztksyt
"You doze off or what?" Joel asked after he got inside the car. "I knocked on the window for a full seven seconds."
"Yes, I fell asleep," Anthony said, starting up the engine. "It's my day off and I should be using it to get some rest. Not picking you up from school."
"Well, if people would stop leaving broken beer bottles in ditches, I would have my bike."
"Well, if you would get a license, you wouldn't need a bike."
"Ha ha, not funny."
Anthony drove his car out of the high school parking lot. The traffic on the highway was even worse than he expected. What a great way to spend his day off.
"You know that my basketball game is today, right?" Joel asked.
"Have I ever forgotten?" Anthony said, slowly moving the car forward.
"I'm just making sure. I mean, people forget things sometimes. Heck, I almost forgot to put on underwear this morning."
"Great."
Anthony pulled into the junior high school parking lot and picked up Daniel and Elijah, who had gotten into a ridiculous argument.
"He was only called Zolo in that stupid edited version!" Daniel shouted. "He was called Zoro in the original anime and the manga so his name is Zoro!"
"But that 'stupid edited version' was the first version I ever watched!" Elijah shouted. "I grew up calling him Zolo! So to me, he's Zolo!"
"But it's not right!"
"Who cares if it's right? It's the version I grew up with, so it's the version that I prefer! You liked it when it came out, so why are you now calling it stupid?"
"That was before I saw the original version! And the original version is much better!"
"Yeah, in your opinion!"
"Boys, please calm down," Anthony said, trying not to get frustrated. "I'm really not in the mood for a bunch of noise."
"Well he is wrong," Daniel said.
Anthony drove away from the junior high school and headed to the elementary school. Hannah was waiting right by the parking lot. As she got in the car, Anthony noticed a Band-Aid on her knee.
"What happened, Sweetie?" Anthony asked.
"I tripped at recess," Hannah said.
"Ouch. Were you okay?"
"I scratched my knee. And I bruised my elbow. "
"Did you have to go to the nurse?"
"Yeah, that's where I got this Band-Aid."
"Are you okay now?"
"Yes, Dad. I'm fine."
"Good."
"Are you sure your fine?" Joel asked Hannah. "Are you sure you don't need somebody to kiss your boo-boos?"
"Shut up!" Hannah shouted.
"Hey, you better be nice to me! It may only be April, but Santa Claus keeps his eye on you all year! He may be putting you on his naughty list right now!"
"Leave me alone!"
"Joel, stop bugging your sister," Anthony said, sternly. "And act your age."
"What, I can't have a little fun?" Joel replied.
After about fifteen minutes of driving through traffic (and about eight minutes of dealing with a headache), Anthony finally made it to his neighborhood. He pulled into the curb of his driveway, exhausted. As much he wanted to go inside the house and get some more rest, there was something else he needed to do. Something much more important than rest.
Daniel, Elijah, and Hannah all got out of the car and walked inside the house (Daniel and Elijah continued their argument). Joel stepped out of the car and turned to Anthony.
"You're not getting out?" Joel asked.
"I have a little errand to run," Anthony said. "I'll be right back."
"Does it have something to do with Uncle Jim?"
Anthony put his head on his forehead. His headache was starting to come back.
"I'll be right back," He repeated. After that, Joel turned and walked back inside the house.
Anthony pulled out of the driveway. Once he reached the highway (the traffic hadn't died down), his cell phone began to ring.
"Hello?" Anthony said as he answered the phone.
"Hey Anthony," Ellen said in the phone. "Joel just told me you had to go run some sort of errand. Does that mean you're-"
"Yes, I'm going to go check on him right now."
Ellen sighed in the phone.
"Please don't force him to do anything if he doesn't want to."
"I'm not sure if I can make that promise."
"Please, Anthony. If he's already upset about something, it's best not to make him even more upset."
"I'm going to do whatever it takes to make sure that he's not upset about anything. Just like always."
Ellen did not respond.
"I'll see you in a little bit," Anthony said. He then hung up the phone.
I only want to do what is best for him, Anthony thought. If that means forcing him to do something that he doesn't want to do, then so be it. After all, he is my little brother.733Please respect copyright.PENANA2pr9zrZbpE