Little Brother's Eyes

The next morning I woke up with the box in my arms. I held onto it all night. Having it with me made me feel less miserable. It keeps reminding me that Kuki and I had our first kiss with each other.

After fixing myself up, I went downstairs and saw a nice set of breakfast on the dining table. And my mother was in the kitchen, cooking.

"Good morning, sweetie!" She greeted.

"Morning" I replied, "Where's dad? And Joey?"

"Your father set off to work early today and Joey is still asleep"

"Oh"

"Now, go have breakfast"

"I'm not really hungry…"

"Now, now, Wally! Breakfast is the most important meal of the day!"

I didn't bother to argue with my mum. She was a strong woman. So, I just walked over to the table and took a pop tart. After that I settled in the living room and ate. I didn't realize it but my mum was watching me from the kitchen. And next thing I knew she stopped her cooking and sat beside me. When she did she just stared at me. And I stared back.

"What's wrong?" She tapped my knee once.

"What do you mean?"

"You've been acting different lately. I've noticed. Now, what's wrong?"

" There's nothing wrong, mum…"

"Oh come on, there's no use to hiding it. I can sense it completely. And besides, my son does not drink or smoke unless he has a problem"

"It's just typical teenage hormones mum…" I lied, "The cigarettes and beer are just all part of it"

"Wallabee, don't lie to your mother. I know you have a problem and it's been bothering you for months"

"…It's nothing, mum…"

"Fine, you won't tell me? That's just fine. I'll just use my mother's intellect"

My mom wrapped her arms around me and started making sounds noting that she was "studying" me. I have to be honest I didn't feel awkward. Nor did I feel humiliated. At school I was Wally the Australian tough guy and rebel but at home, I was Wallabee, the mama's boy and family guy. When my mom finally let go she stared at me.

"You're missing someone, aren't you?" She said.

I froze for a second, amazed at her mother's intellect. I didn't believe that such things existed but she definitely had one.

"Why would you say that…?" I asked her.

"Wally, believe me. You, Joey and your father are all the same, very predictable and it's easy to sense your problems. Or at least, easy for me. I can hug each one of you and list down all your problems in just a blink of an eye" She laughed.

I smiled at her.

"Now," She tapped my knee once again, "Tell me who she is"

"I'd rather not talk about her…"

"Sweetie, I'm your mother. You can tell me anything"

"I know…and I will tell you someday…just not now…"

"Okay then. You can tell me when you're ready" She said, "But I just want you to know that you are a fine young man and I'm not just saying that because I'm your mother. And this girl, whoever she is, would be very unlucky to have a loss like you" And with that, she went back to cooking.

I thought about what she said for a minute. Then I realized, she was wrong. If Kuki is the girl, then it's not her loss. It's mine. And it will always be mine...

A few minutes after the talk I had with my mum, a little blonde boy came running down the stairs. "Wally!" He said as he gave me a hug. This guy is my little brother. His name is Joey and he isfive years old. I've always been fond of the little tyke. What can I say? It's brotherly love. He loves me like a big Koala and I love him like a little Wombat. Believe it or not, he has been one of the best at cheering me up for the past few months. And he wasn't even doing it on purpose. After giving me a hug, he greeted my mum and sat on the table to have breakfast. After that we played together, since I had nothing to do for the rest of the day. It was fun. Hanging out with my little brother actually helped me feel joyful despite my "situation".

"Come on, I'll buy you ice cream" I turned my back on him and kneeled, allowing him to climb onto my back. I had fun carrying him on the way to the ice cream shop. He was a typical little brother, annoying in a funny way. As I walked he kept talking about how much girls annoy him. I smiled as I listened. Joey reminded me of myself when I was a kid.

"I want a banana split!" He said ten minutes later at the ice cream shop.

"You little creep" I laughed as I purchased my sundae and his banana split. After that, I took his hand and we searched for a table to sit in. That was when my delightful day turned into a nightmare.

"Wally! Hi!" Kuki greeted as she came up to me.

"Uh…hi…" I replied.

"Hey there, Joey" She kneeled and greeted my little brother. Like I said, my little brother reminded me of myself and we were more similar than I thought. When Kuki greeted him, he blushed and hid behind me. Kuki giggled.

"Come on, you guys" She said, "You can join me and Chad in our table"

I didn't want to but we ended up doing so anyway. I sat across Kuki with Joey by my side, and he was across Chad. As usual, I avoided looking at the couple in order to save myself form a painful emotion of jealousy. But still, I kept looking at them. And my chest tightened whenever I would see Chad's arm around Kuki.

"Are you Kuki's boyfriend?" Joey suddenly asked Chad. He laughed along with Kuki.

"Yeah, I am" He said nicely.

"Why are you her boyfriend?" Joey continued.

"Because we like each other very much" Kuki said to him playfully.

"But shouldn't your boyfriend be Wa-" Joey stopped talking when my hand grabbed his arm. My grip was loose enough to avoid hurting him, but tight enough to get him to stop talking.

"Something wrong, Wally?" Kuki asked me.

"No…" I said. "Eat your food, Joey" I said to my little brother to make him forget about Chad and Kuki. He fell for it. When he started eating, he didn't stop and he didn't ask any more questions. I felt envious of him. I wished it was that easy to get distracted…

That afternoon, I walked home with Joey beside me, and his tiny little hand was holding on to mine.

"Wally?" He called.

"Yeah?" I smiled.

"Why aren't you Kuki's boyfriend?"

My smile disappeared when I heard this. Instead I frowned. I wasn't in the mood for this.

"Waaaallllllyyyy" He called to get my attention.

"What is it, Joey?"

"You didn't answer me! Why aren't you Kuki's boyfriend?"

I sighed, "Because I'm not, Joey…"

"What does that mean?"

"It means Kuki and I are not boyfriend and girlfriend"

"But don't you like Kuki?"

"I do…of course I do…"

"And doesn't she like you?"

"Of course she does…I'm her friend…"

"Then why don't you ask her to be your girlfriend?"

"…Because she loves Chad" I said painfully, "But she only likes me…

"How do you know? Did she tell you?"

"No, Joey" I said as I started to get annoyed.

"Then how are you sure?"

"JOEY!" I snapped as I let go of his hand and turned to him. For a second I wanted to scream at him…but I didn't… "Kuki can't be my girlfriend…" I said, "Because she belongs to someone else…"

I stared at my little brother for a while. And as I looked into his eyes, I realized that he had noticed the tears filling my eyes and he heard the breaking of my voice. That moment, he understood how I felt. He walked up to me and took my hand and we continued on our way. After what happened, the short walk home was a quiet one.