Eager Beaver

Chapter Twenty-Two - Double Babysitters

Kianna sat me on a stool on the counter, the two stools seemed to indicate this is where Laurie and Zach had breakfast every morning. My hand was being held by Kianna and her's was so soft. I hadn't really had a girl hold my hand before, besides my Mom of course. My feet swayed back and forth as my cheeks flushed. A white metal box with a red cross on it sat between us as she dug through it. She pulled out a bottle and a box of bandages, then she took what looked like the longest and sharpest pair of tweezers I'd ever seen.

"You said there was a pebble in there somewhere?" Kianna asked, giving the tweezers a clack.

"Uh huh." I whimpered, worried she was about to dig into my flesh with the pointy tool.

Kianna picked up the spray bottle and gave the tip of the tweezers a spritz, cleaning it. She used her thumb to rub mine. "Coopy." She said kindly, giving the bottle a little shake. "This will sting a little.". I pouted. I wanted to put on a brave face but this kind of thing always made me a little anxious.

"Okay..." I said, feeling my heart beating faster. I felt her tighten her grip on my hand as she brought the bottle closer.

She spritizted the bottle again and the cold burning alcohol felt like it was burrowing into my cuts. Visibly wincing, I looked away from her and tugged my hand. She kept it firmly in place. "Good job Coopy." She told me and rubbed my thumb again. "You really are a brave boy, the bravest beaver in the lodge."

I nodded, but could feel my face flushing deeper. The sting only lasted a second, and it felt silly to get so worked up about it. Kianna was treating me just like a little kid who had an ouchie. I suppose that's what I was to her. "Really?" I mumbled trying to regain my composure.

"Yeah. You know Zach wasn't this brave when he was a beaver." She told me as she let my hand rest on the table and pulled out the tweezers.

"Really?" I repeated, a little surprised. Zach always seemed so grumpy I never really thought of him as a scared kid.

"Zach would whine and cry at the littlest things, always tattling and running away." Kianna reminisced whimsically. My attention diverted, she took the tweezers and with precision lifted up a small pebble from out of the cut. She held it up so I could see. She had taken the pebble out so quickly I barely noticed. Was she telling me about Zach just to distract me?

She took the box of bandages and pulled out a pink one with Piglet from Winnie the Pooh on it. I let out a deep breath, relieved that the painful part was over. Kianna secured the pink bandage to my hand and smiled. Then, she leaned forward and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "Feel better now?" She asked and let go of my hand.

My face was deep red and blushy. Kianna had just kissed me! Only my Mom and Dad gave me kisses! She must have thought it would make me feel better, which it did of course, but it wasn't how I thought my first kiss with a girl would go. "Yes!" I managed to squeak and looked away, trying to stop blushing.

Kianna giggled at me and patted my head. "Why don't you go play with Laurie then?" She asked me. "I think he's a little excited. He's in the boys room."

I nodded groggily, rubbing at my eyes as I turned on my heels and began to shamble my way over to the stairs. I was still very tired, the whole emotional ordeal with Nate, and my Mom, and now Kianna draining me even further. I glanced over my shoulder, noticing that the older girl was still following close behind me - chaperoning me. I blushed, my mind still on the kiss. Did that count? It had only been on the cheek, and I hadn't kissed her back. Still, it had made me all fluttery inside - and not just in an embarrassed way. It was a new feeling altogether. I didn't know what to make of it. Did Kianna like like me?

I shook my head, putting the silly thought out of mind. Of course Kianna didn't like like me! At least not like that. She was what? Thirteen? Fourteen? I was only eleven. Worse, she must have thought I was only five or six! That's what everyone else at school thought. She had just been trying to console me - treating me no different than she might an adorable injured puppy or a blubbering baby with a booboo.