The Windy Staircase

Brother for Sale

Brother for Sale

If days could be given ratings, Melody would rate this one slightly below zero.

At the moment, she is painting her nails (a task which in and of itself isn't particularly horrific. Quite the opposite actually; she thinks the shade of pink on her nails quite a lovely colour). The reason for the nail painting, however, is the true meaning behind her misery. For today, nine-year-old Melody James is to get a brother. A little brother. A brother from China, to be exact.

Melody has mixed feelings about this event. Her parents are currently in China getting the boy, so she is spending the weekend at the neighbor's house, which also happens to be the home of her very best friend, Winn.

"Did I get any on my skin?" Winn holds her hand out to Melody for inspection. Melody gives Winn's blue nails a perfunctory glance, not really focusing on the task at hand, which is evident from the mess she is making on her own nails. She shakes her head and Winn happily turns her attention to her next hand.

"Do you think he'll like me?" Melody asks suddenly, setting the wand back into the container of nail polish and leaning back on her hands, being careful not to let her newly painted nails touch the hardwood.

Winn looks up, the wand poised above her pinky. They are sitting on the floor of Winn's room, beauty products spread all around them in anticipation of the "make-over day" they are having until tonight, when Melody's parents come home, bringing the new brother with them.

"Why wouldn't he?" Winn responds. The tip of her tongue sneaks out from between her lips as she concentrates on her thumb.

"I don't know," Melody sighs. She has been thinking about this question nonstop since her parents had sat her down a few months ago and told her that they were adopting. "I don't even know if I want him to like me."

She wrinkles her eyebrows in frustration and stares down at the floor.

"Trust me, if he's anything like Asher, you'll want him to stay as far away from you as possible," Winn says darkly, flipping her head to get a brown curl out of her eyes.

Melody nods. Winn's little brother is six and thinks it's his calling in life to annoy Winn as much as possible. He frequently goes into her room when she's away and destroys everything in sight. When she retaliates, she's the one who gets into trouble because she is the "older and more responsible one", according to her parents. Needless to say, it is a bit of a one-sided vendetta.

"And just hope your parents still pay attention to you," Winn adds enigmatically.

"Why?" Melody asks her best friend.

"Because it's common knowledge parents only want another kid when their first isn't good enough!" Winn says. She closes the lid on the nail polish and begins blowing on her hands, trying to get the polish to dry faster.

"That's not true,"Melody says suspiciously.