Hello! This was written for round one of The Word Limit Competition by Taragh McCarthy. The exact ages of James and Al aren't important, but I'd put Al somewhere between four and eight, and James is somewhere between seven and eleven (before he goes to Hogwarts). I hope you enjoy it!
James was so sick of bringing his brother everywhere. Today had supposed to be a chance to jump in the deepest part of the pool over and over with Fred, pick on Roxanne until she was ready to scream, and have fun without his siblings around. But no. As he raced to the door, his mum had been compelled to say, "Wouldn't it be fun if you took Al with you?"
No, he wanted to say. It wouldn't, but Al was already giving him that hopeful look, and Mum was exchanging looks with Aunt Angelina, so James had grinned and agreed.
At the pool, Fred wanted to go straight to the deepest part, as they always did.
"We can't," James said. "We have him."
Fred groaned. "We can still go on the slide."
"Can I go?" Al asked eagerly.
"No! Babies aren't allowed." They glared at the younger boy, who sulked over to the kiddy end. Ignoring him, the other two raced to the slide where James could still watch his brother like he was supposed to, but it took less than an hour for him to forget Al was even there.
All at once, three lifeguards were blowing whistles and one had jumped in. James wondered what stupid little kid could have possibly wandered over to the deep part. Suddenly the lifeguard was back at the surface with a little black head flopped over his arm. It had been Al.
James raced over, glad no one yelled at him to walk. He slid down on his hands and knees next to Al while the lifeguard tried to push him out of the way. His little brother wasn't moving. "Al," he said frantically. "Al!"
Almost immediately the boy started coughing and sputtering. James knew it had been his doing, not the lifeguard pushing on his chest.
"Are you okay?" James asked. Al tried to reply but kept hacking when he opened his mouth. "It's okay," James insisted.
"Just breathe, kid," the lifeguard said.
"Breathe in. Breath out," James repeated until his brother could open his eyes properly. "What were you thinking, Al?"
His lip quivered. "I just wanted to be like you," he said. "I don't want to be a baby."
James normally made a rule of not touching Al unless he needed punching, but he made an exception. As his little brother started to cry, James leaned in and gave him a hug. "You aren't a baby," he promised.
"I'm not?" Al asked, wiping his eyes with a fist.
"Of course not," James replied. "At least, you won't be if you stop crying."
Al smiled. "Does that mean I can go down the slide?"
"Sure."
