Beyond Words

2. Earlier That Day

The day had started smoothly.

I had helped my mom unpack some boxes—we had finished moving our last belongings the day before yesterday. She kept telling me how much she appreciated my (unsolicited) help, how mature she found me for my eleven years. Then, she had to set up her office. She told me she no longer needed my help, so I went to see my little sister, Iris, in the basement. She was sitting in front of the couch, surrounded by toys, puzzles, stuffed animals, and whatnot, with her back to the TV where images of anthropomorphized animals were playing.

"Hi, sweetie," I said to her.

"Romy!" she exclaimed, reaching out her arms for me to pick her up.

"Ro-ma-ne," I corrected her sharply as I lifted her off the ground.

"No, Romy," she responded in the same tone. "Rooo-myyyy! Ro-ro-ro-my-myyyy!" she chanted, making my ears ring.

"You're annoying, you little beetle."

She laughed loudly. I sat down on the couch with her on my lap.

"Where's Mommy?" she asked, looking around with interest.

"In her office," I replied.

"Why don't she come play with us?" she whined.

"We shouldn't bother her," I told her.

She shrugged and decided to tell me in detail what one of her stuffed animals had said to her doll. Her babbling exasperated me, and I sighed, knowing she would soon stop. I focused on the TV, then grabbed the remote before the little demon could seize the opportunity to mess everything up. I changed the channel—the ridiculous animal show didn't interest me any more than it did her. Iris saw that I didn't care about her babbling and started playing distractedly with my white braids. I had just begun to get interested in an episode of Discovery, about a rare insect species, when Mom burst into the room, probably on another one of her whimsical ideas.

"Iris wanted to see you," I said before she could say a word.

"Oh, sweetie, come see me."

Then she took Iris in her arms, completely ignoring me as she always did whenever Iris sought her attention. Then I felt Mom's heavy gaze on me, but I ignored her, filled with jealousy for Iris.

"You should go outside," she finally said.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because," she sighed. "You're 11 years old, you can't stay in front of the TV all day doing nothing."

"I'm fine with Iris," I lied spontaneously, keeping my eyes fixed on the images on the screen.

"No, you need to get some fresh air, play outside, make friends..." she listed. "It's un-healthy," she quickly added, emphasizing the syllable "un."

Then she grabbed the remote from my hands and turned off the TV.

You know what's unhealthy? Making a point to ruin my hobbies just to annoy me, I wanted to retort.

"Come on, outside, girl," she ordered.

Then I exploded:

"I'M SICK OF YOU LISTENING TO EVERY WHIM OF MY SISTER!"

"Change your tone immediately," she said calmly.

I continued my tirade, ignoring her authoritative words.

"SHE GETS TO DO WHATEVER SHE WANTS! I CAN'T EVEN WATCH TV WHEN I WANT, AND I ALWAYS HAVE TO BE 'THE BIG SISTER'." (I even mimed quotation marks.)

"To your room, now!" she said, taking my hand and dragging me towards the stairs.