“How’s your history paper coming along?” Jim asked.
“Fine,” Anthony said in a very irritable tone of voice. “Don’t ask me again.”
“Hey, sorry. It was just a question.”
“Well, don’t ask questions.”
Anthony lay down on his grandmother’s couch and closed his eyes. He was feeling extremely tired at that moment. He had only gotten about three hours of sleep the previous night and he been awaiting this moment for practically the entire day. If only Jim would just let him enjoy it.
“What about your science homework?” Anthony heard Jim ask him. “Did you get it done?”
“Jim, seriously!” Anthony growled, without opening his eyes. “Knock it off! Quit asking me about homework! It’s none of your freaking business!”
“Hey, I’m just trying to help man! I mean, you’re constantly forgetting to do your homework, so I’m just trying to help remind you!”
Anthony sat up and shot Jim a filthy look.
“I’m going to do the freaking science homework as soon as I wake up!” Anthony said. “And my math homework! And guess what? I was already planning on doing that like five minutes ago! Look, I didn’t need a reminder!”
“Well that’s good,” Jim replied. “Keep it up. Maybe you’ll get at least one ‘B’ on the next report card.”
Anthony rolled his eyes.
“Oh shut up,” he said. He then closed his eyes and lay back down.
“Well, my history paper is already finished,” Anthony heard Jim say. “I just need to revise it a few more times. I got all my homework done at school. Though I should probably look over it maybe one or two more times.”
“Hey guess what?” Anthony said, rolling over. “I really don’t care.”
Anthony heard a sound of footsteps coming into the living room.
“Hi boys,” Anthony heard his grandmother say.
“Hi Grandma,” Jim said.
“Hi Grandma,” Anthony very quietly and slowly.
“I made y’all some brownies,” Anthony and Jim’s grandmother said. Anthony heard a clanking sound coming from the living room table.
“Thanks Grandma!” Jim said.
“You’re welcome. Enjoy!”
After hearing him chew and smack on brownies for about a minute, Jim suddenly asked: “Don’t you want a brownie, Anthony?”
“I’ll get one in a minute,” Anthony muttered.
After a few more minutes of Jim smacking on brownies, Anthony heard a ruffling of papers. Oh great, Jim was going to talk about his homework some more. Couldn’t he have just a few minutes of peace?
“So my algebra homework was pretty tough, but I still managed to get it done. Mr. Traylor explained everything pretty well in class. I don’t know if I’ve ever told you, but Mr. Traylor is a pretty awesome teacher. He really knows what he is doing. Anyway, my science and English homework were both a piece of cake, though a lot of people kept on saying it was hard. I really don’t understand why-“
Anthony groaned.
After Jim went on and on about his homework for another ten minutes or so, he finally stopped talking and let Anthony get some rest. After Anthony dozed off for about three hours, he finally woke up and stretched his arms. Jim, who had been looking over his six page long history essay, looked at Anthony and smiled.
“You have a nice nap?” Jim asked.
“It was fine,” Anthony replied, yawning. “Wish it could have been a little longer though.”
“Great. So how about that homework?”
Anthony grunted.
“Look, I’m honestly not in the mood right now,” He said. “I still feel a little drowsy, and I just want to relax for a bit. Can you hand me the remo-“
“Didn’t you say that you were going to get that homework done right after you woke up?” Jim asked. “Going back on your word now?”
Anthony grunted again.
“Jim, I’m not kidding,” He growled. “Quit freaking acting like you’re in charge of me! I’m the freaking older brother and only I make the freaking rules! Knock it off right now!”
“Anthony, I’m just trying to help you!” Jim replied. His tone of voice showed that he felt slightly hurt. “If you would just listen to me for once, maybe you wouldn’t be struggling in school so much.”
“First of all, I’m not ‘struggling in school.’ I’m passing everything right now. I haven’t failed a class since fifth grade and that was because Mrs. Warner freaking hated me. Second of all, I’m the one who’s supposed to be helping you out. Once again, I’m the freaking older brother and I should be the guide here. Not you.”
“Sure, I’ll take advice from the guy who writes ‘I don’t know’ as an answer on an exam. Such great role modeling.”
“Hey, at least I was being honest. Plus, it wasn’t my fault that Mrs. Tindall barely taught us anything about Stephen F. Austin.”
Thankfully, Anthony and Jim didn’t argue much longer after that. Jim soon gave up on trying to get Anthony to do his homework and just stopped talking to him altogether. Anthony watched television for the next four or five hours of so, only stopping briefly to eat their grandmother’s lasagna dinner. Anthony finally got to his homework around ten o’clock that night. Because their grandmother didn’t really mind them staying up late (even on school nights), Anthony had all the time he needed to finish the homework.
Anthony spent over two hours getting his science homework done (only about forty percent of the two hours was actually spent on the homework) and he was feeling extremely tired afterwards. Because Anthony did not want to put himself in the same position as the previous night (despite the fact that he lost sleep the previous night by spending several hours reading manga), he decided to call it a night right then. Because his math class wasn’t until seventh period, he pretty much had all day to get the rest of his homework done (at least then he wouldn’t be distracted by television or manga). Anthony already knew that Jim would criticize him the next morning, but he hardly cared. It was his homework, not Jim’s.
Anthony had completely had it with Jim trying to act like he was Anthony’s guardian. Just because Jim was smart enough to skip two grades and be in the exact same grade as Anthony, Jim seemed to think that he was the one who was in charge. Anthony reprimanded Jim practically every day about this, but Jim just never listened to him. Jim just refused to let Anthony be the older brother.
If only he would just keep on skipping grades until he graduates and leaves, Anthony thought as he stuffed his (poorly) finished science homework in his backpack. That way I can just be an only child.
Just as Anthony expected, Jim asked Anthony about the homework as they walked to school the next morning and he went into conniptions when he found out it wasn’t all finished. Anthony just sighed as he listened to Jim’s two minute rant.
“’I’ll get it done right after I wake up,’” Jim said, impersonating Anthony in a rather insulting way. “See if I ever believe you again.”
“Oh, shut the hell up,” Anthony said. “Go worry about all your freaking honors classes.”
“If you fail the next report card, don’t whine about it around me.”
“I told you already that I haven’t failed a class since fifth freaking grade. Shut. Up.”
Anthony and Jim continued to argue up until they made it to their junior high school. They then argued some more after they were inside the building. Jim just didn’t want to give up on trying to make Anthony feel bad for not finishing the homework.
“Just wait until we get to eighth grade,” Jim grumbled as they walked through the halls. “You won’t get away with crap like this. You will fail if you refuse to do your homework. Trust me.”
“Isn’t that what you said to me about seventh grade last year?” Anthony replied. “And sixth grade the year before? Jim, put a freaking sock in it.”
Anthony and Jim both kept walking until they made it to their home economics classroom. Anthony and Jim’s first period home economics class was the only class that they had together (mainly due to Jim taking all honors classes). Even then, Jim gave Anthony a headache practically every single day. Home Economics was the class that Anthony liked to spend either relaxing or doing work for another class (mainly because Mrs. Reese was extremely lenient and was willing to take late work at any time), but Jim always reprimanded him whenever he wasn’t paying attention or doing the home economics work.
“When will cooking skills ever help me in life?” Anthony once snapped at Jim as he tried to focus on his English notes.
“Umm…when you cook food in the future,” Jim replied as he finished up his paper about handling a stove. “Are you just going to eat out every single day when you grow up?”
“Yeah, I can live with that.”
Jim rolled his eyes.
As Anthony and Jim waited by Mrs. Reese’s room they suddenly heard a sound of chattering and loud laughter coming from down the hallway. They both took a look.
The popular kids were all walking down the hallway. Brian McClain walked in the very front with a giant grin on his face.
“Oh no,” Anthony said, sighing. “Here comes trouble.”
“It’s way too freaking early for this,” Jim groaned.
“So then Jerry starts crying like a baby,” Brian was saying to the rest of the popular kids. “I mean, what the hell? It’s not my fault your parents don’t give you enough-oh hey, look who we’ve got here!”
Anthony gulped.
Brian walked up to Jim and peered over him.
“How’s it going, Burleson?” Brian said with an even nastier grin than before. “Looking good today.”
“Umm…hi, Brian,” Jim said weakly.
Anthony cringed as he watched the confrontation. He already knew what was coming.
Being the smartest kid in the entire seventh grade (and probably the entire school), Jim had to deal with daily battles. Anthony really didn’t understand why it was considered “cool” to pick on smart kids. Was it because the other kids were jealous of Jim’s intelligence? Was it because there’s some documented ritual that “cool kids” must bully the “nerds?” Did these kids just think it was ridiculous to see a ten-year-old already in junior high school? Anthony would probably never know the answer.
What really didn’t help was that Jim was also very small for his age. He was ten years old, but he looked like he was about seven. Not only did this give the popular kids more fuel to use against Jim, but it made it much easier for the kids to hurt him. Jim’s body was so small and weak that it was very easy to inflict bruises on him, something that the popular kids knew all too well.
Anthony wished Jim could be homeschooled, but that was entirely out of question. Their parents were almost never around (due to being major workaholics), and their grandmother had just retired from her job as a waitress three years earlier and didn’t want to do anymore full-time work. Jim basically had no choice but to just endure all of the torment. This was another big reason that Anthony often wished that Jim could graduate sooner.
“Mind if I ask you a question?” Brian asked Jim.
“Umm…kind of,” Jim replied.
Brian and a few of the other popular kids chuckled.
“Well, I’m going to ask you anyway,” Brian said. “You got any of the teacher’s phone numbers?”
“What?”
“Have any of the teacher’s numbers? Aren’t you ready to hook up with them yet?”
The popular kids all laughed.
“Ah, shut it, Brian. You’re not freaking funny.”
“Oooooooooh,” The popular kids all said in an insulting tone voice.
Brian grabbed Jim by his hair and pulled him forward.
“Oww!” Jim hollered. “Stop! That freaking hurts!”
“You leave him alone!” Anthony shouted, stepping towards Brian.
“Oh back off, Gnat!” Brian shouted.
“Get lost, Gnat!” One of the other popular kids shouted.
“Go bother someone else!” Another kid shouted.
Anthony sighed.
In third grade, Anthony had been so desperate to make a friend (something he had never had), that he began trying his absolute hardest to get people to like him. He had seen “class clowns” before and saw how much other kids loved them, so he started going out of his way to become one himself. Unfortunately, his jokes were so lame (something even he admitted to himself) that most students rolled their eyes whenever he tried to act even a little funny. In the end, Anthony not only failed to make any friends, but he caused almost his entire grade level to see him is a major annoyance. From that point on, Anthony was seen as a very irritating bug that would never leave you alone. A gnat.
Even though he had dropped the “class clown” goal by the end of third grade, Anthony was still hated on even to that day. The other students almost never took him seriously. Even if he was trying to help his little brother from being bullied.
“Anyway,” Brian said, looking down at Jim. “Burleson, I’m only curious since the teachers kiss your little butt all the time. If only Mrs. Reese would love up on me that way. I’d take that all freaking day long.”
Brian wrapped his arm around Jim and put him in a headlock. Jim was about to scream, but Brian put his fist towards his face. Jim stayed completely silent.
“I’d keep quiet if I were you, little boy,” Brian said. “Or your nose may never feel the same way again.”
“Let go of him you big jerk!” Anthony shouted.
“Stay the hell out of this, Gnat!” Brian shouted, clutching Jim’s neck even tighter. “Or you’re getting it worse!”
Anthony wanted to do something, but he knew he couldn’t. Brian was not a large kid, but he was still very athletic. He was the star of both the football and baseball team and lifted weights almost every single day. Anthony didn’t even like sports. If Anthony ever tried to pick a fight with Brian, it would practically be a suicide note.
“Come on, give me a number!” Brian said to Jim, as he continued to choke him. “You got Mrs. Reese’s number? Come on, tell us! Don’t leave us all out!”
“Let…go…of…me,” Jim said, gasping for breath.
“Oh looky here, I found a neck hair. Oh, wait…”
Brian covered Jim’s mouth in order to cover his very loud scream. Anthony’s eyes widened in shock.
“…there it goes,” Brian said, chuckling.
The rest of the popular kids all howled with laughter.
Brian let go of Jim, causing him to collapse to ground. Jim clutched the back of his neck very tightly. He was clearly in a lot of pain.
“You’d better have a number for me later, Burleson,” Brian said. “Or else it’s going to be much worse.”
“Get Ms. Rollins’ number while you’re at it!” Another kid shouted. “I really want some of that!”
“Yeah, why do you get all the fun?” Another kid shouted. “You probably need a stool just to get to the teacher’s faces!”
The popular kids all laughed loudly again.
At that moment, the bell rang. The popular kids turned around and walked off, still chuckling. A bunch of other kids who had gathered around to watch also walked off with giant smiles on their faces.
Anthony rushed over to Jim and helped him off the floor. He was still in major pain.
“Are you okay, man?” Anthony asked.
“I’m…fine,” Jim said, moaning slightly. “Just bleeding a little.”
“That freaking…I just wanna’…Errrggh!! If only I was at least a foot taller than him. He’d really be sorry right now.”
“Wouldn’t change the fact that he has more muscle than you.”
“You aren’t actually going to get a teacher’s number, are you?”
“Of course I’m not going to! That’s freaking stupid! Honestly, it wouldn’t even matter. He’s going to pummel me later even if I got all of the numbers in the whole freaking school.”
“God…I just…I can’t stand it anymore. That pile of crap really needs to learn a lesson. All of them do. Picking on my little bro like that…argh!! I just wish I could…”
“Dude, just drop it! Bickering about it isn’t going to change a thing. Just forget about him.”
“How the hell do you tolerate that crap? Don’t you want to do something about it? Don’t you want somebody to stand up to those bastards? I know you can’t, but…don’t you…”
“Nobody in the school gives a crap about me and telling an adult will only make things worse. Who the hell can I freaking go to?”
“Who the hell are you freaking talking to?! You’ve got me! You’re older brother! Your older brother who has your back!”
“Yeah, you totally had my back a few minutes ago.” Jim rolled his eyes as he spoke.
Anthony sighed. “I really wish I could do something about Brian. But…but you know that he-“
“That he could easily snap you like a twig. Yeah, I know. That’s why I don’t depend on you to help me out.”
“But…but that’s what I should be doing! Because I’m your older brother! It should be my job to guide you and help you out!”
“Yeah, that’s the way it should be. But that’s not at all what I’m seeing.”
“I try my hardest to help you! But you never seem to listen to me!”
“But you’re just as weak and afraid of those guys as I am! Hell, I think you’re even more afraid of them than I am! What can I get from going to you?!
“I…I just want to be your guide! That’s what older brothers do!”
“It’s pretty hard to look up to somebody who doesn’t give a crap about their schoolwork.”
“Why are you bringing that up?! I’m talking about the bullying! Not freaking schoolwork! What the hell does that have to do with anything?!”
“It just says a lot about your character. I want to see you as somebody I can depend on, but it just isn’t happening. If you could stand up to the popular kids, then maybe I would see things differently. Even if you were still lazy and irresponsible. But there really isn’t anything you do about that. It’s not your fault. It’s just…it’s just…it’s just who you are…”
Anthony was completely silent.
“Anyway,” Jim said. “We’re late to class. We should’ve saved this conversation for later.”
Anthony wanted to remark that Mrs. Reese hardly cared about attendance, but he couldn’t. Too many thoughts were flying through his mind. A very uneasy feeling began to form in the pit of his stomach.
Jim’s comments stayed in Anthony’s mind for the next several hours. Anthony’s feelings of stress and sadness became greater with each passing minute. He just couldn’t believe that things had to be this way.
As irritating as Jim could be, Anthony still cared about him very much. Anthony still wanted to be Jim’s guide. He still wanted to be Jim’s role model. He still wanted Jim to look up to him. He still wanted Jim to see him as an older brother.
But even Anthony knew that doing so was out of question. A really smart kid like Jim had no reason to want guidance from a loser like him. Jim was the one with the brains, the wisdom, and the experiences. Jim was the one more fit to be the role model. Perhaps he was the one who was meant to be the older…
Anthony smacked himself in the face.
No! No! No! He thought. No! No! No!
Anthony refused to just admit defeat like that. There had to be a way. There had to be something he could do.
After another hour of these thoughts piling in his head, Anthony headed to lunch. He didn’t even care about the fact that the cafeteria was serving the disgusting tuna salad sandwiches for lunch that day (if only the cafeteria served his grandmother’s tuna salad), he wouldn’t have been able to taste anything at that moment.
As Anthony walked towards the cafeteria, he heard a very loud commotion coming from behind him. He turned around and nearly dropped his lunch money.
A crowd of smiling and laughing students were gathered around Brian and Jim. Brian was standing up and grinning while Jim was kneeling down and gasping.
Anthony felt a flood of fury pour throughout his body. That fury, however, was also mixed in with a little determination.
That does it, Anthony said, as he rushed towards the crowd. That does it, you freaking bastard. You’re gonna’ freaking get it.
As Anthony neared the crowd, he managed to get a better look at Jim. Jim had two bruises on his face, both of his eyes were blackened, and his lips were swollen and bloody. Anthony’s rush of fury rose so much that he thought his head was going to burst.
“Come on, Burleson!” Brian was saying. “Don’t give up! I know you can hit me at least once!”
“I’m…not…going…to…hit you,” Jim said very weakly.
“Okay, my turn again!”
Anthony shoved his way through the crowd and raced towards Brian. Before Brian could strike Jim again, Anthony shoved him very hard.
“LEAVE HIM ALONE!!” Anthony shrieked.
Brian stared at Anthony for a few seconds and then chuckled.
“Gnat, why do you always need to get in the middle of things?” Brian asked, still grinning. “Why don’t you buzz off and go annoy somebody else? We’re in the middle of a game here.”
“NO!!” Anthony screamed, shoving Brian much harder. “HELL FREAKING NO!! I’m sick of it! I’m sick of your crap! I’m sick of seeing my little brother go through all this! You knock it off right now or else!!”
“Oooooooooooooh!!” The group of kids all shouted.
“Hit him in the face, Brian!” One kid shouted.
“Squash that gnat!” Another kid shouted.
“Or else what?” Brian asked Anthony. “What the hell are you going to do?”
“I…I…I…” Anthony stammered. Sweat began to run down his back.
“A boxing match? Is that what you were about to say? I’m down with that. I’ve never boxed before, but I’d like to try it out.”
Anthony gulped.
Crap, crap, crap, crap, He thought. Look what you’ve got yourself into.
Brian grabbed Anthony by the front of his shirt and flung him against a nearby wall. The group of kids all followed, laughing and shouting words of encouragement for Brian. Anthony was so terrified that his body was completely stiff.
“You’ve made a big mistake, buddy,” Brian said with one of the nastiest grins that Anthony had ever seen.
Yeah, I know, Anthony thought. His heart was beating so fast that he felt like he was going to pass out. He began to wish that this would happen.
Brian lifted back both his arms to strike both of Anthony’s cheeks at the same time (something Anthony had seen him to do to Jim several times). Anthony closed his eyes very tightly.
After about a second, Anthony heard a very loud holler. He immediately opened his eyes.
The hollering noise was coming from Brian. Jim was back on his feet and was twisting Brian’s arms behind his back. Anthony was so shocked at what he was seeing that he stared in a daze for a few seconds.
“LET GO OF ME YOU LITTLE TURD!!” Brian screamed. “YOU’RE GONNA’ BREAK MY ARMS!!”
Several kids stepped forward and tried to attack Jim, but Jim swiftly kicked anybody that came near. He kept his hands grasped tightly around Brian’s arms.
Anthony was at first surprised that Brian was not fighting back. However, it became clear that Brian was in so much pain that he could hardly even move. Anthony couldn’t help but suddenly smile a bit.
“ANTHONY!!” Jim shrieked. “RUN!!”
Anthony hesitated for about a second, but then immediately took off running. The group of kids were so focused on Jim and Brian that they hardly even noticed Anthony running off. As soon as Anthony was a several feet away from the crowd, he looked around.
Jim suddenly let go of Brian and let him fall to the ground. Brian was clearly in so much pain that he couldn’t even get back up. Though it was hard to tell from such a far distance (as well as with Jim’s swollen lips), Jim appeared to have a giant smile on his face.
Several of the kids began to charge at Jim, but everyone immediately stopped after hearing a loud shout. They all turned to see Mr. Jemison, the vice principal, marching towards them.
Not wanting to see what played out next, Anthony took off running to the cafeteria. He could hear Mr. Jemison’s loud shouts from the inside.
For the next two hours, Anthony began to cringe wildly as he thought about Jim. He had never gotten in trouble at school before. Would the principal believe him? She had to, she just had to…
As Anthony walked to his eighth period class (Texas history, Anthony’s most hated class), he passed by a group of students who brought up Brian McClain’s name. Anthony stopped in his tracks and listened very closely. According to the students, Jim had been let off the hook while Brian was suspended from school for a week.
The students, of course, made this sound like a bad thing (and began to shout at Anthony for eavesdropping), but Anthony hardly cared. A smile remained on his face throughout his entire final class period (even after Mrs. Tindall reprimanded him for having only a paragraph of his history essay done).
After the final bell rang, Anthony raced over to the front hallway, where Jim was waiting for him. Jim’s face was heavily bandaged, but the large smile on his face showed that he was in no pain whatsoever.
Anthony walked over and wrapped his arms around Jim. Jim did the same. After hugging each other for about half a minute, they let go.
“Is it true?” Anthony asked. “Are you really off the hook? Brian is suspended?”
Jim nodded.
“Did you really think Mrs. Flynn wouldn’t believe me? Let me tell you, Anthony. Being a teacher’s pet really has its benefits.”
Anthony smiled.
“It sure does,” He said.
“Let’s get out of here,” Jim said. “I’m starving. I think there’s still some brownies left over from yesterday.”
As Jim and Anthony made it to the sidewalk, Anthony said something to Jim that he never thought he’d say.
“Thanks for saving me, man.”
“Don’t mention it,” Jim said.
“But…but remember that I’m still the older brother. Even after what happened back there. I still have your back.”
Jim chuckled.
“Anthony, you’re two years older than me. Of course you’re the older brother. There’s not really anything I can do about that.”
“Yeah, I know. But don’t think I can never help you out. Even if I can’t really do much.”
“You at least you tried to stand up for me. It was the best you could do. And I appreciate that.”
“You’re welcome, man.”
“But don’t stop now. Keep it up.”
“You know that Brian’s going to come after you as soon as he’s back, right?”
“Yeah, I know. And I’m up for the challenge.”
“I’ll still be there to back you up.”
“Well thanks, man. Though we probably won’t have to worry about Brian for a while. Even after he comes back, he’s probably going to be having a hard time feeding himself let alone throwing a punch.”
Anthony chuckled. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“So, what homework do you have today?”
“Oh come on, Jim. Not right now.”
“Hey, I’m only asking because I care about your grades! I want you to at least make it to eighth grade next year! Did you at least finish the math homework from yesterday?”
“Yeah, I got it done during my English class. Thankfully Mr. Stevens wasn’t here and we had a sub. She barely even looked at us today.”
“Awesome. At least you kept your word there.”
“What about your homework?”
“Well, I finished my algebra homework in class. It was pretty easy. Though I’ll probably look over it again later. The only other class I had homework in was English, but I already turned that in. I also turned in my history paper today, so I’m pretty much in the clear there.”
“Wasn’t that paper not due ‘till next week?”
“Yeah. But the earlier the better.”
“Sure, I guess.”
“Anyway, I don’t really have anything to do tonight other than look over that algebra homework. I guess that means I can finally watch some TV. Maybe Battlestar Galactica is on.”
Anthony smiled.
I’ll always be there for you, bro, Anthony thought as he and Jim made it to their grandmother’s driveway. Whenever things get hard. Just…just be sure to give me a hand if things get a little too hard.
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