SUZIE

Why was everyone fawning over Lucy? Sure, she was not even a year old, yet that did not mean all the attention should go to the little girl. Susan groaned. Daddy loved Lucy and Edmund (the two youngest Pevensies) and ignored Peter and Susan. Mummy thought Peter and Susan were old enough to start acting as responsible kids that protected their siblings from harm. Maybe Peter liked that role, but Susan did not want to be put aside. She desired to be the center of attention. She was still five years old (Susan had turned five last week.).

Susan scrunched her nose as she peered into Lucy's crib. The small figure was sleeping, enveloped in too many blankets. She snored and drooled a little as she rolled to her side. Most people would be distracted by the baby's cuteness, but Susan was smarter than that. She realized that Lucy was out to get her. Why else would her room be filled with baby toys and decorations? Why else would she be forced to wake up in the middle of the night because of Lucy's horrendous wails? Her parents were trying to replace her with this thing, and Susan hated it.

She needed to think up a plan quick. Slowly, Susan got out some paper and the beloved crayons of the household. On the paper, Susan wrote the words "How to Get Rid of Lucy". Her letters were huge, and Susan's spelling was not great, yet the five year old still continued.

"1. Yell"

Smiling, Susan thought of how her parents despised her making too much noise, especially when Lucy was asleep. It would be perfect. Lucy always cried when anyone made noise. If Susan constantly kept Lucy crying, Mummy and Daddy would get annoyed and give her away. It seemed perfect until the five year old realized that her parents would hear her waking up Lucy. Susan would only get in trouble. The girl huffed at the unfairness of it all as she wrote down the next item in her list.

"2. Hit"

If Susan kept on hitting Lucy, the baby was sure to bail on her own. She would leave, and then, Susan could be the precious angel of the Pevensie family. Lucy would not steal the spotlight. Susan did not care how much the baby cried. Susan was the adorable girl of the family, not Lucy. Still, there was still a risk of Susan getting in trouble. Lucy was always under Mummy's and Daddy's protection. The only time Lucy was more than three feet from Mummy and Daddy was when she was asleep. Fortunately for Susan, Lucy was asleep a lot (too much in Susan's opinion). All the baby seemed to do was eat, cry, go to the bathroom, and sleep. Susan sighed. She turned her attention back to the paper in front of her.

"3. Ed"

On the side, she added "Pete?" not entirely sure of her elder brother's opinion of the menace. So far, Peter seemed to adore Lucy (for some reason Susan would never know), but Susan did not think he would mind getting rid of the brat.

On the other hand, Edmund (Susan's younger brother) despised the little baby. He was only two years old, yet his hatred showed clearly in his eyes. He always glared at Lucy, envious of Daddy's attention of her. Edmund was supposed to be the youngest, in his opinion.

The paper was filled, and Susan picked it up to pin it on the wall. She was ready to follow her list and finally get rid of the attention stealer. However, as Susan got up, she tripped on the crayons scattered all over the floor. All of a sudden, Lucy started crying. Susan closed her ears in frustration as she looked at her knee. Her skin had ripped, and blood was pouring out slowly. It hurt too much for the five year old, and tears started to drop from her eyes.

Mummy and Daddy ran through the door of the room immediately to Lucy. Susan twisted her face in anger. She was the one hurt, not Lucy! Then, Mummy picked up little Lucy and held the baby against her chest. Mummy patted Lucy's back whispering lullabies and went out of the room. Susan was furious. Mummy had forgot her again! Lucy was nothing but trouble.

Nevertheless, Daddy approached Susan and sat on the ground next to her. Susan grinned as she saw a bandage in Daddy's big hand. Maybe Lucy did not direct all the attention away from her. Daddy cleaned the wound and put the bandage on it while Susan remained still of shock. Did Daddy really care, or was it all an act? Susan had assumed her parents stopped caring about her once Lucy was born. They had stopped paying attention to her most times.

Daddy smiled at Susan as he put his hand in her hand, "What happened?"

Susan looked down at the ground ashamed, "I fell."

However, Daddy only chuckled lightly. He saw the paper in Susan's hand and took it. Susan followed Daddy's eyes scanning the paper. She bit her lip. She would be in so much trouble.

"Susan," Daddy looked up from the paper (Susan was surprised he could read it all that fast.), "do you want to tell me anything?"

The little girl knew that it was no use lying to Daddy, "Lucy is mean."

"How?" Daddy looked at her sternly. However, Susan noted that he did not seem angry.

"She stole my room," Susan started, looking around the room, "Pete, you, and Mummy."

Daddy looked surprised as he calmly asked, "How did she steal Peter, Mummy, and I?"

Susan could not believe Daddy did not notice the obvious yet, "You all like her, and you stopped liking me."

The five year old started crying in Daddy's chest. Susan could not deal with it anymore. Lucy was almost a year old, and Susan knew she would only steal more of Susan's life as time progressed.

"Suzie, we never stopped loving you," Daddy said into Susan's hair. Susan liked the nickname Suzie. It was what Edmund called her (For some odd reason, Edmund still could not pronounce Susan.), and the name made her feel young.

"Lucy is just a baby. She will grow, and she needs an amazing elder sister to teach her everything. I know you are still little, but I promise Lucy and you will have so much fun. You just need to wait a little."

Susan sighed. Daddy's argument was convincing, but not convincing enough for the stubborn five year old, "But when Lucy grows up, you will still love her more. She will still be the same."

Daddy only hugged Susan as he replied, "I love you as much as I love Lucy. As she grows, she will learn. For example, do you remember when Ed was little? He had to learn to talk and walk. Lucy is already crawling. She will be ready to play with you in no time."

Susan groaned, "But Ed is a boy. Lucy is a girl."

However, Daddy did not appear to get the difference as he continued, "Lucy will always be Lucy, but she will grow into a big girl like you. It is just like how you are still my little Suzie."

"I am?"

Daddy smiled, "No doubt about that."

Joy coursed through Susan's veins as she snuggled further into Daddy's chest. She was still Suzie, and she always would be Suzie no matter how old she becomes. Suzie was the irresponsible, fun baby that was obsessed with attention. Susan, the same person, was the motherly figure out of the four siblings. The beauty was that Susan could be both people in harmony. She would never change.

Even in Narnia, sometimes Susan would overwhelm herself with taking care of her other three siblings. However, whenever Peter, Edmund, or Lucy called her Suzie, she would smile to herself. Suzie was a symbol of happier times. Suzie was their life in England. Suzie was the child in Susan. Suzie was a bundle of memories that never stopped growing.