✅ My Sister's Problem

27. Disapproval

"So how about you?" Lindy asked with a smirk, after talking almost non-stop for the two hours since I'd walked in the door. "Had fun while I was away?"

"Not so bad," I answered diplomatically. "Like, last week of school. You get a week more summer break than us. So there's still classes and stuff, still the popular kids boasting about going to some wild party over the summer or something. But nobody takes it too seriously. Haven't done much."

"You were late home today," she said. Almost like this was some kind of inquisition. She knew that I guessed she'd done something she wasn't supposed to, and was fishing for any suspicion that I had skeletons in my closet too. This time I had more than usual, but I was certain I wouldn't give her any excuse to find them. The things that Mum had said to me would be excellent blackmail material, but Lindy wouldn't even know the right questions to ask.

"Yeah," I answered with a shrug. "Practice. You can tell, I came home sweating like a horse."

"Oh, right. You were smiling so much I thought maybe you got a boyfriend or something."

"What? No, I'm not even interested in that stuff. Maybe in a year or two," I gave a shrug. I realised I was probably less mature than many of my friends, but I knew a whole bunch of people who'd ended up heartbroken because they rushed into dating when they didn't really know what they wanted or what they expected, and then found out that the boys weren't too mature either. I told myself that I wasn't going to let myself thing about something like that until I was sure I knew enough to approach it sensibly. And after the last few months, talking to Nadine and Haley about their relationships, I was really sure that I didn't trust myself to make big decisions.

"Fair enough. You're still a little kid, aren't you? What have you been wearing while I'm away?"

"Uhh... the same as always?" I mumbled in confusion. And then it hit me. "You mean for bed?"

"Mmm-hmm."

"Same as usual. Those SleepSafe things."

"You didn't think you got a chance to be more grown up while I'm not here? I know Mum's only making you wear them so it seems less like she's picking on me. But I know the truth. I know you're just a little kid. You wet the bed the night before I left, you just didn't get caught."

"No, I didn't," I said with a smile. "I know you put that stuff in my drink, but it didn't work. Just made me feel like crap all morning. Next time you try making a mad scientist potion, leave out the ingredients I'm allergic to. And for real, if you make me feel like that again I will be mad. You want to see what Mum thinks about trying to poison your sister?"

"But you won't say anything. Because you know what your friends would say if they saw those pictures."

I shrugged, trying to pretend I didn't care, but I knew she wouldn't buy it.

"So you still wore them without me here?" She went back to the previous topic. Maybe she thought I had given up on the previous topic. "You're saying Mum still thinks you're a little kid too?"

"Even more." This time I could tell the truth, kind of. It struck me as funny that she could be so close to something that would humiliate me forever, and completely miss the point. I couldn't resist seeing how much she would happily deny. "I think she enjoys treating us like kids, she misses when we used to trust her with everything and she likes having a little bit of that again. With you gone, maybe I got your share of being treated like a kid too."

"Right."

"Seriously. It makes her smile. Made you smile too. Why are you so happy to see me admit I'm still a little kid? But you're both family, and I like it when you're happy. Not like it hurts me, is it?"