Actually for a school project, but...
This is all in Via's POV. Starts out third person, shifts to second, and then first, but it's all still her. It's kinda jarring, so you have to pause before reading 'then' and 'after'.
~0~
Before
He's always been in her life. As long as she can remember, he's been there, and she's loved him. Although there have been pictures of her when she was young, before he was born, she doesn't remember them. Her universe has always revolved around his, just like the rest of her family orbited around him. He's always been in her life, and she never noticed his deformities. She never understood why people said he was ugly, never understood why they stared at him when the two of them went out. That was the way he looked, and it didn't really matter. What had always mattered was that he was who he was, the boy who loved star wars more than anything else, and was good at science. Outside, he wasn't like the rest of them, but on the inside, there was nothing different about him.
Sometimes it hurt how he always got the attention, but she felt guilty whenever she thought that. He is often in pain, and he's undergone so much more than adults ten times older than he. Nothing she went through could even be half as bad as whatever he's experienced. Even if her parents aren't there for her, even if she can't get help from anyone, those are petty problems compared to his pains.
She's proud to call him her brother.
Then
You can't believe your luck.
You're going to stay
with Grandma for a while,
just you two.
It's the longest you've been
away from home,
but although you'll miss them,
Grandma is just so fun.
She'll do everything
with you, listen to you,
give you her attention.
You never get this much notice
Not without Auggie there.
The first night,
you two go out.
You feel strange, and at first,
you can't tell why.
You keep looking around,
behind you,
feeling as if something's
missing.
As you watch a stranger's face
as he passes by,
you realize: he didn't even give you
a second glance.
You had your glare
prepared for him,
ready to tell him off
when he stared,
but he never does.
It doesn't take you long
to figure out that,
without Auggie, no one
will stare.
Without Auggie,
you could be you, not just
'the sister of that deformed kid.'
You love him,
but now that you're out
and about, without him,
you realize that you don't
always have to live
with the stares.
You could live, on your own,
Without August,
invisible
to random strangers.
You won't have to
pretend not to notice
when people stare
after they see Auggie.
Friends will come to your house,
some day,
and won't run off
after they see him.
And you won't have to tell him
it's his fault
when it happens.
After
I don't understand. I mean, I was excited to see Auggie. I missed him, and I actually missed him more than I missed Mom and Dad. I could tell he missed me too, by the way he ran up to me to give me a hug. But, then, why did he seem different? He was exactly the same. He hadn't changed, but for this one second, I was a stranger. I was the stranger on the street, looking around, and catching sight of this boy with all these deficiencies. And I looked twice. I stared, and I did a double-take. And I hated myself.
It only lasted a second. One second he was Auggie, the next this stranger who looked different from everyone else, but the second after that, he was August again, and everything was all right. He was my lovable brother that I loved with all my heart. But it still hasn't properly disappeared. I still see him the way a stranger might. I understand, now, why people stare. I understand why friends would run after seeing him. And I feel horrible about it.
Why am I getting so selfish? I've never minded when Mom and Dad weren't there for me, because they were helping Auggie. I've never cared that they didn't have time for me. August needed them, and I didn't need them as much as he did. But then, why am I wishing he didn't take up all of their attention? Why am I suddenly wishing our lives didn't revolve around him, that Mom and Dad would listen to my problems as well, petty as they may be? He needs us, and none of this is his fault. He didn't ask for all these problems, and compared to him, I'm lucky. I shouldn't hate him for taking up our parent's time. But I do. I don't want to, I don't think I should, but I do.
This is a new school that I'm going to, and although my best friends changed and went separate ways from me, it's a new beginning. Barely anyone here knows about Auggie. They don't call me 'the sister of that deformed kid,' they call me Olivia. I've never been ashamed of August, and really, I don't think I am. But I don't want Auggie to come to school. I don't want people to know about him, I don't want to be called 'the sister of that deformed kid' again. I don't want to feel this way, but I do. I love Auggie, and I'm proud of him. He's been through so much, and yet he's so fun and lovable.
But I still want to be me.