Loving the Enemy

Coming home

Sorry for the overwhelming Australianness it fades out eventually but I'm Aussie and there's not many books with us so there you go that's my logic. I hope everyone enjoys it and feel free to hate on/love Phillips.

"Ari!" My brother Benny called out as soon he saw me emerge from the arrivals hall, dragging my suitcases full of luggage.
"Hey little bro how are you?" I said, messing up his hair the way I knew he hated.
"Shut up Ari, you're only 10 months older than me"
"Really kids? You've barely been together a minute and you're already annoying each other"
"It's called being siblings Mum" I said
"Woah what's wrong with your voice? You sound so weird" Benny asked, confused. He hadn't heard me speak for years now, all out communications being done through texting and email while I was away at boarding school.
"It's called an Australian accent, maybe if you left America one time you'd know more about it"
"Maybe if you'd stayed put you wouldn't know either" me leaving had always been a sore point between us, Benny hadn't understood why I'd wanted to go to a boarding school halfway across the world, even if I had a scholarship there.
"Yeah well I'm here now" I said, end of discussion. We walked to the car, Benny chivalrously carrying my bags for me when I'd dumped them in his arms. On the long drive from the airport to our house Benny brought me up to speed on everything that he hadn't told me, there wasn't much, just some gossip about his friends- Squints was dating Wendy Preffercorn after kissing her last year, Betram was failing maths, Smalls was in the extension English class. We reminisced about our childhood together and laughed at some stories Benny told. Apparently he'd made up some dream about the great bambino to explain his sudden decision to jump Mr Myrtle's back fence 2 years ago, I don't see why he couldn't have just told his friends that I told him to jump it. I remembered Mr Myrtle, he taught me to play baseball and I was saddened when Benny told me that he's now blind.

"Why didn't you just tell them I told you to?"
"Umm... Well... they don't really know I have a sister"
"What?! You haven't told your friends I exist?"
"I haven't told anyone. It'd been too long to fess up about a secret sister"
"Why didn't you just tell them about me right at the beginning?"
"It was just after my best friend had moved away and I was really sensitive and it seemed like everyone I loved was leaving me and I know people would've teased me about it mercilessly of they'd known. My enemies would've had a field day" internally I scoffed, since when did a 17 year old have enemies, but externally I said
"I'm sorry my leaving impacted you like that"
"It's ok sis, I'm just glad you're back"

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When we got home I unpacked all my stuff into my old room. It was exactly as I'd left it, purple walls and stuffed toys. I shoved my stuffed toys into plastic bags and buried them at the bottom of my wardrobe. I pulled out my photos and set about decorating my walls.

Pictures of me and my friends, my baseball team, me meeting Steve Irwin, me at Uluru, me at the Big Banana, me at the Opera House and climbing the Harbour Bridge. My friends and I celebrating Australia day, covered in southern cross and Aussie flag stick on tats, not being able to decide on red, white and blue or green and gold. Us leaving Poppy's at the Australian War Memorial. A photo of Julia Gillard with a cartoon moustache and devil horns that we'd drawn on in red sharpie.

A whole lifetime of pictures without my family or my brother, I'd been gone so long that I had stopped bothering to celebrate the 4th of July, I considered myself an Australian and had plans to change me citizenship to solely Aussie when I turned 18. I felt out of place here with my family in my country of origin.

At dinner that night I just highlighted how out of place I was, asking for proper food. I missed sausage rolls and pies and snags on the barbie. My mum have me a shocked look when is doused my steak in tomato sauce only to realise it was ketchup and scrape it off. Benny asked me what a pavlova was when I asked if we could have one for dessert.

I went to bed, missing the sounds of cicadas that were always present at night during summer, wondering what tomorrow and the start of a new school would bring.