Banana Pancakes

Rebellion (Part 3)

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Part 3

Rebellion

When we were ten, Kongpob dared me to paint the front half of my house pink.
It all started when he called me a "sissy."

I didn't know what it meant so that made him laugh even harder while he wrote out the word on a piece of paper for me to take home. I knew it wasn't the kind-of word I would be able to say to my grandpa without getting slapped, but I didn't know how bad the word really was at the time. The paper he wrote "sissy" on was stuck against my palm when I finally descended up the hill to my house. 

As if fate had planned it, I spotted my older brother standing outside our front gate surrounded by two guys. They were harassing him, sneering and spitting at his feet. Even from where I was at the time, I could see my brother trying his best to refrain himself. Alex had black belt in Tae Kwon Do, so the bullies didn't know they were about to eat the ground, while they were provoking him. Alex was about fifteen or sixteen at the time and the impending brawl was over some girl. Even back then, my brother was such a player.

Anyways, as the bullies started to shout profanities at him, Alex just stood there mediating. If you didn't know, people who have taken any type of martial arts go to all costs to avoid having to fight – which is why Kongpob fights like crazy; he probably couldn't take a martial arts class to save his life. My brother, on the other hand, wanted to give the bullies time to back off before they couldn't back off. 

I remember one of the guys throwing something at Alex's face while his friend laughed. Alex kept warning them, telling them to back off before it was too late. The taller of the two bullies started cursing at him. He called Alex a "punk" – Alex warned him to back off. He called Alex an "asshole" – Alex rolled his eyes at his cheap shot. Then, when he called Alex a "sissy" – Alex dismantled his arm, laying him flat on the ground while his partner ran down the street screaming, "You *puff* crazy strong!"

Selfishly, I burst out crying on the scene – not because my brother was in a fight, but because I had now confirmed that "sissy" was a bad word. It was a word bad enough for my usually calm and composed brother to go full Bruce Lee on those guys, so Kongpob calling me that was unforgivable. 

I never knew where Kongpob gets his curse words from when we were younger. No one in his family cursed like he did. Around that time, listening to Kongpob talk was like listening to an unrated version of a rap CD track after track. Even though "sissy" was a far cry from being regarded as a curse word, at the time, that's what I thought it was. I honestly thought it was worse than "bitch" until Alex finally explained me to what the word really meant to shut me up.

That's when I got mad. Running back out of my house, I ran all the way back to the park.

It was in the middle of a hot, sizzling summer. It was so hot that I went through about thirty water bottles that day and didn't even have to pee. My body retained all the water, making sure I wasn't dehydrated, because I had been playing at the local park with the neighborhood kids. When I came running back to them, after finding out what "sissy" meant, Kongpob was laughing like crazy from his place on the swing-set.

It was his brilliant idea to play truth or dare.

"Truth or dare?" Kongpob had asked me when it was my turn. 

Of course I chose truth, but Kongpob had scoffed in my face. "You're no fun. Gosh Arthit, you're such a sissy sometimes."

"Well – you are! Tell me when was the last time you did something you weren't told!" Kongpob exclaimed mockingly and had ducked under the swing-set of the playground when I came after him. The other neighborhood kids that were there burst out laughing as Kongpob ran around the playground, taunting, "Sissy! Sissy!"