My Big Brother
Four-year-old Edmund Pevensie bit his lower lip nervously. "Is school a scary place?" he asked his older brother.
Seven-year-old Peter Pevensie shook his head and smiled. "No, school's a good place. You get to learn lots and lots of new things, and make new friends."
"Are the grown-ups there scary?"
"No, they're nice grown-ups, like Mum and Dad.
"How many friends will I make, Petah?"
"Lots," Peter answered, and the bus jolted as if in agreement. "Maybe you'll even make a best friend."
" 'Best friend' means 'favorite friend', right?"
"Yes."
"But I can't have a favorite friend," Edmund said, after a minute of deep thought. His little voice was barely audible over the honking of ths bus.
"Why not?" asked Peter, as the bus jolted again.
"Because I already have one," Edmund told him.
"Who?"
"You," Edmund answered, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Peter smiled widely. "You're my favorite friend too," he told his brother. "My most favorite."
Just then, the bus stopped and the students of all ages began disembarking. Edmund looked nervous again, so Peter took his hand and said, "It'll be all right, Eddy. Mum talked to your teacher, remember?"
Edmund nodded. After a moment he whispered, "But, Petah, what if she doesn't like me?"
Peter helped Edmund off the bus, and they began to walk towards the dull grey school building. "She can't not like you, Ed," he said. "Anyone would have to be a beast to not like you."
"Mum said 'beast' is a bad word," Edmund reminded his brother.
Peter laughed. Edmund liked it when he did that; it was one of his 'I-like' sounds. "Mum only said that because Susan called you one when you pulled her hair," Peter said.
"But she eated my cake!" Edmund protested, pouting.
"Ate," corrected Peter. "And you two called Pax, so no fighting."
Edmund went deep in thought again, trying to decide whether it was worth telling Peter he'd kicked Susan under the table too. Apparently it wasn't, and so he said, "OK, Petah."
They were nearly at Edmund's classroom now. "Petah?" Edmund said, his voice uncertain.
"Yes, Ed?"
"What do I get if the lady says I'm a good boy?" Edmund asked hopefully.
Peter pretended to think. "How about ... we'll draw together?" he asked. He knew Edmund was going to say yes. It was a little game of theirs - Edmund would be on his best behaviour, and Peter would promise him something. It was the best way to get Edmund to behave. And whatever Peter promised, Edmund accepted because, as Susan said, Peter was always right.
(But Peter still didn't know hummingbirds could fly backwards. He thought they couldn't, but Edmund knew better.)
Jumping up in delight, Edmund said, "Yay! We'll draw!"
Peter nodded, laughing again. They were right outside the classroom now. "And you'll tell me all about your first day."
Edmund nodded, his face practically shining. Then suddenly it fell, and he said, "Can you come inside with me, Petah?"
Peter nodded, feeling a little sad. "Yes, but I can't stay," he said. He remembered the feeling; he'd felt that way on Susan's first day too, even if she was only a year younger. It felt a little like a strange sort of bereavement.
Edmund honestly doubted he would be able to enjoy in a place where Peter wasn't present, but he knew it would make Peter sad if he said so. Already Susan was sad because she and Dad both had the 'flu, and so she and Mum and Dad and Lucy couldn't come. So instead he said, " 'S all right, Petah. I'm a good boy."
"Yes, you are," Peter agreed. He smiled and continued, "Let's go in, Ed."
Just before Peter left to go to his own classroom, Edmund threw his arms around him and hugged him tightly, saying, "Bye bye, Petah. I love you."
Peter planted a wet kiss on Edmund's cheek. "I love you too, Eddy. Be good so we can draw today."
He tried not to look too sad when Edmund nodded seriously. Turning to leave, he prayed Edmund would be all right. It was his first time completely alone in a new setting, and Peter wasn't able to be there to help him.
*Yo dawg, I'm Page Break. What up, homie?*
Edmund watched a little sadly as Peter left, and then shuffled over to the desk where Peter had put his stuff. It had a clean and shiny top, and at once Edmund felt proud of it. Peter always chose the best for him.
He had just plopped down in his seat when a chubby boy with brown hair and gray eyes waddled up to him and said, "That's my place."
Edmund stared at him, trying to figure out whether he was a friend or a foe. He had once heard his mother telling his father that, for a child, he was a fairly good judge of character. He didn't know what it meant, but he knew that this kid meant trouble.
"What're you staring at, squirt?"
Edmund blinked, took a moment to collect his thoughts, and said, "You're not nice."
Taken aback, the boy said, "And you're a girl. Now move, this is my place."
Still with his rear firmly planted on the seat, Edmund said, "Nuh-uh! Petah picked it out for me, so it's mine!"
"It doesn't have your name on it," the boy replied with a sneer that reminded Edmund of a squished slug he had once seen in the garden.
He took his brand-new, sharpened-to-perfection pencil out of his favorite bag with the lions on it, and drew a stick figure on the top left corner of his desk. His pencil hovered in midair for a moment as he tried to recall how to write his name - he was sure Susan had taught him - but he gave up after a bit and said to the waiting and watching boy, "But it has my face on it."
The boy said, "That's ugly."
"So are you," Edmund answered, sticking his tongue out. Peter always praised Edmund's drawings. So what was wrong with this boy?
"You're a girl," the boy repeated. "You look like one too."
"No, I don't," denied Edmund hotly. "But you look like Sluggie."
"Who's Sluggie?"
"The dead slug in my garden. Petah said it was killed by a hawk."
"Who's 'Petah'?"
"My big brother. He's much nicer than you."
"I bet he hates you. You look like a girl," the boy said spitefully.
"Nuh-uh!" Edmund contradicted. "Petah loves me very much. I'm his favorite friend. He said so."
"I bet he was lying," the boy said. "Who'd love you?"
"Petah doesn't lie!" Edmund said shrilly. "He loves me, and Mummy and Daddy and Susan and Lucy do too! And Daddy says Eustace does too, even if he doesn't let me play with his toys!"
(Edmund wasn't too sure about the last two parts - Lucy couldn't speak in proper sentences yet and he was quite sure Eustace loathed him. But the boy had to know that Edmund was quite loveable, thank you very much.)
"They're all lying."
"You're lying. You're a nasty liar and I'll tell Petah about you so he can come and pull your hair. He's even better at pulling hair than I am." This one fact Edmund was exceedingly proud of. Peter was useful to have around in a fight.
"He sounds beastly."
"You're beastly. Petah is my favorite big brother and he's not beastly at all. He's the bestest big brother ever."
Fortunately for Edmund, the teacher rapped her ruler on the desk before the boy could respond, and said, "Good morning, little ones. I am Miss Patricia Mary Ann Violetta Jean O'Connor, but you may refer to me as Miss Patty. You are all gathered here today so that, together, we may start on the path of knowledge and learning. It is my pleasure to be able to assist you in your quest to master your minds and your intellect. May you all succeed."
Edmund stared at her with his mouth slightly open, feeling utterly bewildered. He hadn't understood a word. She sounded like Daddy when he talked to important people. He used long words then. Even Peter didn't understand those words.
Quickly, so that Miss Patty wouldn't ask him what he was doing, the the boy who had been taunting Edmund ran and sat down at the free desk meant for him. Edmund smirked in satisfaction, happily tuning himself out when the teacher started asking people their names and other useless information. Peter had already told him what to say, so he needn't worry. ("Hello, my name is Edmund Pevensie. I am four years old. I like lions and drawing, but I don't like snow and tattletales.")
If Edmund had turned around in his seat just then, he would have seen the boy's thoughtful, no-good expression. But he didn't.
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To Peter's acute dismay, when he picked Edmund up in the afternoon it looked as if he'd been crying. He looked tired and miserable, and he clutched Peter's hand tightly enough to cause concern.
"What's wrong, Eddy?" Peter asked as they walked back to the bus. "Didn't you like it today?"
Edmund shook his head. "No," he said petulantly. "I hated it. Everyone was a beast." He seemed to have forgotten that the word was forbidden until he reached age 7.
"But why?" asked a surprised Peter. "Did someone hit you?"
Edmund shook his head again. "No, but a boy said I look like a girl, and he eated my lunch."
Peter tried to ignore the anger that washed over his seven-year-old mind. He didn't even remember to correct Edmund. "But where was Miss Patty when this happened?"
"A boy got sick so she took him to the nurse," Edmund replied. He stayed silent as Peter helped him get on the bus. When they were settled in their seats at the back, he spoke again. "Petah, I don't want to go to school anymore. It's a beastly place."
Peter put his arm around him. "What did you say, when the boy said you looked like a girl?"
"I told him you would beat him up," Edmund answered stoutly. "I said you were bigger than him and so you could hurt him real bad if he annoyed me."
"Really?" Peter's anger was replaced by a strange warmth near his heart. It felt good to know Edmund trusted him that much.
"Yes," Edmund answered him. "And then he said his brother was bigger than you, so I said you could still beat both him and his brother up if they annoyed me. You can, right?" he added as an afterthought.
Peter nodded. "Yes. I would beat anyone who annoyed you," he told his brother solemnly.
"Good," said Edmund emphatically. "I'll tell him that. Then he won't lie to me again."
"He lied? What did he say?" Peter was curious as to what a kindergartener could lie about.
"He said you don't any of you love me. But you do, don't you, Petah?" Edmunde asked, looking only slightly anxious.
Peter's hold around Edmund's shoulders tightened. "I love you very much," he declared. "Even more than-" he tried to think of something huge, "-even more than there are stars in the sky." Then he added, "And so does everyone else."
Edmund snuggled into Peter's side. "I knew he was lying," he said, sounding relieved. He looked up at Peter. "He's bad, isn't he, Petah? Mummy said it's wrong to lie."
Peter nodded, his face very serious. "It is. And he is."
"Petah?" Edmund said. "I'm hungry."
"We'll eat when we get home," Peter answered distractedly. He didn't seem to be listening anymore. For a moment Edmund thought Peter might have caught the 'flu as well, but then Peter blinked and said, "Ed, can you show me that boy tomorrow morning?"
"Yes," Edmund answered, surprised. "What will you do, Petah?"
Instead of answering, Peter said, "And don't tell Mum about him, OK?"
"Why not?" asked Edmund, feeling more perplexed by the second.
"Mum'll worry if she thinks you're not happy," explained Peter. "And she's already worrying about Su and Dad."
"OK, Petah," Edmund said, looking up at Peter with the utmost respect and admiration. Peter acted so grown-up, just like Daddy. And he looked after everyone so well. In that moment, Edmund made a decision - he wanted to be just like Peter when he grew up.
Their stop came and they got off, Edmund putting a smile on his face for his mother and Peter holding his hand tightly.
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The Next Day
Edmund smirked at his nemesis. "I told you so," he said smugly. "Petah will do it again if you annoy me."
The boy, who sported a black eye with an ice-pack held against it, grunted incoherently. He was in his own seat a safe distance away from Edmund's, and he had no plans of changing that anytime soon.
Elsewhere
"PETER PEVENSIE! He is just a child, how could you punch him like that? And in the eye, too!" The Headmistress looked absolutely furious.
Any other time, Peter would have cowered. Not today, though. "But, Miss Lillian," he said. "Edmund's just a child too." In his mind it sounded like a very grown-up to say, and he was sure it would work.
It didn't. "Regardless of that fact, Peter, I did not expect such violence from you. Why didn't you talk to Miss Patty?"
Why didn't he? Peter didn't know, and he said so.
"What do you mean, you don't know? Listen good, Peter Pevensie - I am letting you off today, but only today. If this happens again I will have a talk with your mother, you understand?"
Peter nodded, but didn't break eye contact. She had to understand that he would protect Edmund at all costs, even if it meant repeating his offence.
It was Peter's first time in the Headmistress's office and he hadn't enjoyed a minute off it, but it was all worth Edmund's tight hug when Peter went to pick him up, and his squeal of, "He didn't say anything to me today, Petah! I love you!"
Al-nihaya
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