The early morning sun rose over Keron to rest on my face, causing the glare to hit my angry-looking yellow eyes. I shrieked in pain, waving my fist in a futile attempt to stop the glare. In fact, I knocked over my glass of orange juice; it flooded the already messy kitchen table, invading my homework and staining my purple backpack. "Shit!" I swore, knowing that if my father heard that, I would be flayed alive.

"Garuru!" My father's deep voice boomed from his study.

I jumped out of my skin. Am I in trouble? I thought worriedly. Father's wrath, when ignited, could scare a full-grown, battle-hardened soldier.

"You can't sleep over at the twins' house tonight," he commanded.

I let out a deep breath of relief. "Why not?" I asked meekly, trying not to sound too defiant.

"Your mother is coming home today. I want you to be home from the twins' house early. I don't care if the twins are taking a long time to say goodbye," father demanded as he marched from his study.

I finished packing my backpack. "Yay! Mom's finally coming home!" I exclaimed, excited. I ran around the kitchen table. "What is his name? What color is he? Please tell me, dad!"

Father chuckled. "Garuru, I think he's red. Anyway, his name's Giroro."

I stopped in my tracks. "Giroro. That's a boring name," I complained. "I thought mom would have picked something more exciting."

"Maybe, Garuru." Father placed a hand on my shoulder. "I'm off to work. Have fun at the twins', okay?"

I saluted. "Garuru, reporting for duty!"

Father patted my head. "That's my son," he said proudly, and, picking up his briefcase, nodded farewell. He slammed the door shut.

"Garuru! Come on! Let's go!"

The twins had finally arrived.

"Garuru! Hurry up!"

I dashed out. "Hey, Zeruru, Zaroro!"

"How are you doing?" the twin blue Keronians asked in unison. "And can you sleep over?"

"Sorry, I can't," I apologized. "Family business. I need to be home by three."

Zaroro looked downcast. "That's okay. You still get to meet our little bro. Zeroro is so cute!" Her big, sky-blue eyes widened exponentially.

Zeruru seemed nonplussed. "He is not cute. He's annoying."

Garuru shook his head. "Stop fighting, you two. Let's go."

000

We trudged up the very long drive to the twins' mansion. It was a warm, dry day and we were baking in the lack of humidity. "I think we'll stay inside today," Zaroro puffed.

"Hey, at least I have all those toys new from Pokopen. I have a Rubik's cube!" Zeruru exclaimed in a sing-song voice.

"Garu. What is a Rubik's cube?" I wondered aloud.

Zaroro and Zeruru stared at me momentarily—sometimes they forgot that my family was poor compared to them. "A Rubik's cube is a puzzle where you have to match all the colors on one side. It's hard, but Zeruru's good at it. I think he'll be a spy in the Keron army when he's older."

"And what do you want to be, Zaroro?" I inquired.

"I want to go into the medical corps," Zaroro replied. "And you, Garuru?"

"I want to be a sniper!" I declared.

"And from the way you handle the BB gun," Zeruru responded, "You could be one."

The twins' mother, Domota, greeted us in the entryway. "Hello, Garuru-kun."

"Good morning, Domota-san," I replied politely.

A little blue tadpole peeked out from behind Domota's skirts. "Zero," he squeaked.

Zaroro picked up her brother. "Garuru, meet Zeroro."

"Zero," Zeroro squeaked again.

"Can I hold him?" I asked. I couldn't resist. The little blue Keronian was adorable.

"Zero."

Zaroro caressed Zeroro's head before she passed him to me.

"Zaroro, Zeruru—can you watch Zeroro while I get food for lunch? We're running low," Domota asked after an agonizingly long silence.

"Sure," Zeruru answered. Once Domota was out of earshot, he added. "Come on, guys, let's do a chant. We haven't done our resonance for a long time."

"Garu garu garu garu," I began.

"Zaro zaro zaro zaro," Zaroro came in.

"Zeru zeru zeru zeru," Zeruru joined in.

And in the mingled voices, there was a high pitched "zero zero zero zero."

We burst out laughing. "You're right, Zaroro. Your little brother is cute," I choked out.

We walked up the marble stairway towards the playroom. I, as I always did, marveled over my friends' wealth. The crystal chandelier loomed over the dining room and the tiled floor glittered under our feet. "So," I said, to break the uneasy silence, "you said you got in some new stuff from Pokopen."

"Yes!" Zaroro replied. "A toy called a slinky. They're like coils and—monkeys in a barrel, and wind-up battleships."

"What is a monkey?" I asked, feeling really stupid.

"It's a Pokopenian animal," Zeruru answered. "Curious-looking animals, that's for sure."

We entered the playroom to find toys littered all over the floor. "Zeroro, were you in here?" Zaroro asked, shaking her head.

"Zero."

"Can he say nothing but 'zero'?" I snorted. The little chanting of 'Zero zero zero' was getting on my nerves.

"If we say Garuru enough, he'll start chanting Garu," Zeruru retorted. "Is that what you want, Garuru?"

"Garu," Zeroro said simply.

"Great, just great. I hope Giroro isn't like this," I groaned.

The twins looked back at me. "Who's Giroro?"

"My little bro. He's red—and cute. But not as cute as Zeroro," I said quickly.

"Garu," Zeroro peeped.

000

Around 2:30 Keron time, we sat drinking dekopon juice in the sunlit garden. "I'll have to head home soon," I said, regretfully. "Mom's finally come home."

"After what? Like, two months?" Zeruru asked.

"Take some of the roses in the garden for her. They're full in bloom right now," Zaroro added. "Your mother will surely appreciate them." She grabbed the pruners. "What color? Red or blue or purple?"

"Red. That's the color of Giroro," I replied.

Zeroro looked longingly at the blue rose just out of reach of his teeny, baby hands. "Garu?"

I carefully plucked the blue rose. "It's the same color as you," I said.

He let out a muffled "thanks" from behind his surgical mask.

Zaroro gave me the bouquet of roses. "I'm sure your mom will love these."

I stood up, anxious to get home. "Well, I'll see you guys tomorrow. If I get father's permission, I might be able to sleep over."

"Call us up tonight. I want to see Giroro," Zaroro replied.

000

I pulled out the key to the house. I had gotten there a little before three and I hoped that father and mother were not home yet. I unlocked the door and walked into the kitchen. Yesterday I had gotten mom's favorite chocolates and had placed them on a table. I walked to a cabinet and pulled out a vase. I appreciated Zaroro's skill with cutting flowers. They were the perfect length.

I placed the flowers on the kitchen table along with the chocolates. I also pinned up a banner that I had made. WELCOME HOME MOM AND GIRORO, it declared. I had written it in my best penmanship.

After what seemed like hours, I heard the door open. "Garuru-kun!" my mother's sweet voice resounded from the hall.

I ran to greet her. "Mama!" I exclaimed, running into her arms. "It's been so long!"

She walked into the kitchen. Her violet eyes took in the sign, the flowers, and the chocolates all at once. "Oh, Garuru—you're so sweet."

"Giro!" A sing-song voice exclaimed behind mother.

A little red frog with a skull on his belly peeked at me with a boldness that I had not seen in Zeroro. His eyes were big and round like mother's. I had to say, I was a little disappointed that he had not inherited father's eyes—my eyes. It really took away from him—he would grow up looking tough if not for those great big eyes.

Mother bent down to whisper in my ear. "Look, Garuru. He's mimicking you."

I directed my gaze at Giroro again. I watched as he scrunched his face, attempting to grit his eyes. Finally, he succeeded. He was so angry-looking; I could not help but laugh. "Father—Let Giroro on the battlefield with a gun and I think he'd scare the enemy away."

"Two military men. I'm proud," Father said, a pleased tone in his voice.

"Garu." Giroro held onto my hand. "Garu."

I picked up my little brother, and in that one little moment, signed the non-existent consent form for the life-long misery of being the first born son.