Ch. 5 Switzerland's Secret Journal
Dec. 1,
I was taking a walk, and there were a few inches of snow on the ground. And I saw Ludwig, but he was dragging a sled, with Gil inside. Gil kept saying, "Run Ludwig! Faster!" Ludwig gave this look that said Help me. I felt so sorry for him. And Gil's supposed to be the older one! Why do I even bother with him?
Dec. 2,
I looked back on what I saw yesterday, and I thought, I haven't pulled Lili through the snow since she was a baby. so today I got an old sled out of my garage, and told Lili "Come on, we're going sledding today." It makes me feel like a terrible big brother knowing that she couldn't even walk the last time she was in a sled. But today I redeem myself. Lili seemed happy, because she got ready in five minutes. I was taking her to the biggest hill I could think of, (it's not like she could get hurt; just like Ivan says, "There's plenty of snow to break my fall.") she sat down in the sled, and I dragged her. She's pretty light, but after a while, she stared to get heavy. I looked back to see why, and sure enough, Gil was in the sled with her. I told him "GIL! What is your problem? I've got something to say to you, but I won't because Lili's here! I am going to kick you out of that sled!" but then Lili said, "Switzy, I've got it." and she punched him in the arm! It was so cool! I asked her how she learned to fight, and she said "I learned everything from you, big brother." That made me proud. Gil walked home, because he knew I wouldn't let him on the sled again. And when we got there, I dragged the sled up the tallest point, and pushed her down. She had so much fun. I feel like a good big brother again.
Dec. 3,
I caught a cold from yesterday. I just goes to show you, doing something good, has its drawbacks. But it's okay, Lili's making me some chicken soup. I also had some hot chocolate (with Swiss chocolate, of course). I knew we should've gone home when my clothes got all wet, but I didn't want to spoil Lili's fun (she was still dry). I'm glad I'm so determined to be a wonderful big brother. Lili should consider herself lucky. There aren't too many good big brothers out there (just look at Gil). I must be pretty good to get sick, just so Lili has fun.
Dec. 4,
I feel much better today. Lili really outdid herself. It was just a cold, but she made me soup, a get well card, breakfast in bed this morning, and that came with a get well cookie. Just for a cold! She must really admire me. It's almost like I'm her role model. I know I would never go that far just for a cold.
Dec. 5,
It's terrible! Lili caught my cold! I should have never let her come near me. Just for good measure, I made her a bowl of soup, and I even had everyone sign a get-well-card for her (although, Emil didn't have to write his signature bigger than John Hancock's [1]). I ran to the bakery and bought her a get well cookie, too. After all, who ever said you can go too extreme over a cold?
Dec. 6,
Thank God Lili's better. I she were sick for one more day, I would've taken her to the hospital. I couldn't stand my precious Lili being sick. I always know what's best for her (unlike Emil). She thanked me for taking care of her, and even gave me a gift. Can you believe it? Although, I probably shouldn't race to show everyone this one. Who wants to see a green-knit sweater that says "Switzy" on it in pink letters? You know what? Who cares? Lili made it with her own two hands, and I'm wearing it, because I don't think I could live with myself if I hurt her feelings.
Dec. 7,
Okay, just because I can't hurt feelings, it doesn't mean other people can't. Everyone kept calling me Switzy. It was so rude and uncalled for. And a word of advice, just because someone's wearing a sweater, it doesn't mean that you should upset them. I punched Gil in the stomach and kicked Mathias in the •••••, so that shut them up. In other, unrelated news, Kiku kept staring at Alfred angrily, and Alfred actually looked scared [2]. I don't know why, but it was funny.
Dec. 8,
Today, Lili asked me, "Do you like your sweater, big brother?" I had to tell her yes, because I have done my best to never make Lili cry, and I will certainly not make her, today. Besides, I do kinda like the sweater, it's warm and Felix gave me a compliment on the letters. Notice how I wear the beret, the pink pajamas, and the sweater. Why am I such a pushover? Is it because Lili looks up to me so much? I don't know, but to oppose what other people say, it's not because I act like I'm her "father". I'm quite content on being her big brother.
Dec. 9,
Today I got a new gun (you can never have too many). It's an SIG-550, and it's pretty cool. I'm going to try it out, so I'll let you know how it performs. But it's a .223 semi-automatic sniper rifle. It came with a scope, a bayonet, and a bipod. So if anyone comes into my yard, I can go to the second floor window, and purposely snipe the ground next to them (except Alfred, because to him, that's a declaration of war). I can't wait to try it.
Dec. 10,
The SIG-550 works great! It's dead-accurate, the chamber runs smoothly, and all the accessories are top quality. The bayonet is so sharp, it could cut a fly in half; and the bipod isn't breaking anytime soon, it's very durable. It's my new front line gun, my partner-in-crime (not before Lili, she's my first partner-in-crime). I can't wait to see it in action on a training course.
Dec. 17,
I was testing my new gun all week. I set up this incredible training course. There were sniper positions, targets, and since I still have that surplus of .223 ammunition, I had plenty of bullets. It was so cool! The gun is so accurate, not one bullet missed the target. It's lightweight, too. It weighs like, five pounds, at most; and that's with the scope and bayonet. The bayonet performed just as well as the gun. I made a good purchase, so that can save money.
Dec. 18,
Gil told me that he saw my training course yesterday, and he asked if he could use it. I told him it's for rifle training, not handguns. Then he told me he's got a German Mouser he would like to test. I thought to myself, If he's training, he won't be here to bug me! so I said yes. He seemed shocked, probably because he doesn't know that underlying factor that persuaded me to let him use the course (he's gotta bring his own ammo, I'm not paying for his bullets).
Dec. 21,
The training course was supposed to take a week to finish. Gil came back after three days. His excuse was, "I finished it." but I doubt that. It was designed to take even the most skilled people a week to finish (if it weren't I could beat it in two hours). It involves camping out, setting up blinds, and a bunch of other stuff that takes a long time. He probably got bored or something like that.
Dec. 22,
It turns out the reason Gil left was because he wanted to go drinking with Antonio and Francis. He just doesn't care for the important things in life. Guns are of little importance to him. One day he'll realize what he's been missing. Then he'll be begging to finish that training course.
Dec. 23,
Today I went to the supermarket, and I saw Rodderiech. I couldn't help but notice that he was buying expensive cheese. I've been buying the cheap kind for years, I would buy it, but there's a big price difference: expensive cheese= $5.99; cheap cheese= $2.99. See what I mean? I save about three dollars! That's smart shopping! But is the expensive cheese better quality? Am I buying Lili sub-tasteful cheese? I hope not.
Dec. 24,
Well, since it's Christmas Eve, and we're having a nice dinner, I decided to buy the expensive cheese. It was a nice dinner; we ate some of that bratwurst stuff that Gil told me about. And since Lili wants me to "bond" with Rodderiech, he was there with Elizaveta. The expensive cheese was good, but personally, I think the cheap kind tastes better. It was pretty good. It got even better when Tino came to our front door. He made Niklas, Mathias, Berwald, and Emil sing Christmas Carols door-to-door. It was hilarious, but I tried not to laugh, I gave them ten dollars for their troubles (I'll never forget seeing Emil sing, mostly because I filmed it all!).
Dec. 25,
Today was Christmas, and Lili seemed really excited. She ran downstairs and opened her gifts. Some of them were from Tino; since he does the whole "Santa Clause" thing (I put a house-key under the doormat so he doesn't try to stuff himself down the chimney like last year). I got Lili a bunch of stuffed animals and stuff like that. But I got her one really big gift, it was army supplies. It consisted of MREs [3], an army bag, an army jacket, a knife, a fire starter, and a high power flashlight. She seemed happy with what she got (I know I would). Then Lili went to her room and came back with a present, for me! I thought, It's probably something that decreases my manliness. but I opened it, and it was a gun sleeve to hold my bullets! Lili said she made it herself, which surprises me, because it's so well made. It's definitely going on my SIG-550.
Dec. 26,
I got a letter in the mail today, it read,
Dear Vash and Lili,
You two are invited to my New Year's Eve party on December 31. It will be at my house, and I'll be sure Gil behaves himself.
From,
Ludwig
I told Lili we would go, because it looked like she really wanted to. And Ludwig usually sticks to his word, so he'll probably keep Gil under control.
Dec. 30,
The party is tomorrow, and I'm having second thoughts. Apparently, Alfred, Mathias, Francis, and Antonio will be there, and them and Gil mix about as well as fire and gasoline. But I'm still going, because Lili's friends will be there, and I'm not letting her down.
Dec. 31,
I was definitely over-worrying. Everything is going fine. Ludwig was right, it's all under control. There's not even a lot of alcohol at this party, so Lili should be safe. But it's a good party. It's 11:30, so I'm gonna stop writing, it's almost the New Year, and nothing bad happened. I'm surprised, but I'm not complaining.
[1] John Hancock was one of the people who signed America's "Declaration of Independence", he signed his name larger than everyone else's so that the King of England would see it.
[2] I'm referring to December 7, 1941 being the day that Japan bombed America's Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.
[3] MREs are Meals Ready to Eat. They're self-heating meals that are used on the battlefield in the military.