"Derek! It's tomorrow!" Amelia Shepherd shouted happily. Thirteen-year-old Derek groaned and opened his eyes to look at his youngest sister standing in his room, again...his still semi-dark room as the sun had not even completely risen yet.
"Get out of my room, Amy!" Derek growled, "We are not going to the park until after Dad gets home from work, so leave me alone!" He was not exactly thrilled that his father was letting Amy tag along when they went to Central Park to test the model boat that he and his father had built together. With four sisters and a father who worked long hours to support the family Derek didn't get a lot of father-son time.
"I am trying to sleep up here!" Derek's friend Mark yelled from the top bunk where he often slept, "Get lost shrimp!"
Amy's eyes filled with tears and her lower lip trembled. Derek sat up and quickly thought of a way to calm her before she went crying to their parents. He was worried that his father may cancel their plans if he thought that Derek had been mean to her. Their father in particular has a soft spot for 3 ½ year-old Amelia, the youngest by 7 years. The fifth Shepherd child was an unexpected but not unwelcome addition to the family. When his second youngest sister started kindergarten his mother had gotten rid of the crib and most of the baby clothes that she had been holding onto thinking that it was safe to assume that her family was complete. Less then two years later Amelia was born.
"Don't cry Amy," Derek pleaded, "after breakfast you can help me finish painting my boat so that it'll be dry when Dad gets home from work, then we'll go to the park. Go watch cartoons until Mom gets up."
"Okay!" Amy replied, smiling again. As she walked towards the door Derek couldn't help laughing when he noticed her outfit. She was wearing her shiny red rain boots with white polka-dots, a pink tutu over yellow shorts, and a Hello Kitty t-shirt. Her long dark hair like his own was pretty hard to keep tamed, especially in the summer when it liked to frizz up, but usually his mother or one of their sisters would braid Amy's hair or put it in a ponytail. On her own Amy only managed to get about half of her hair in a scrunchie and the rest was pushed back with a plastic princess crown.
"Nice outfit, Amy." Derek said, knowing that she was still too young to realize she was being teased.
"I dressed myself!" Amelia said grinning.
"Noo...I never would have guessed." said Mark sarcastically.
As Amy happily walked towards the living room Derek got up and headed to the bathroom. He still wasn't happy about being woken up so early but at least he would get to take a hot shower for a change. The rest of his sisters were still sleeping so he was first. Amy may be a pest but every once in a while she gave Derek a reason to appreciate having her around.