L O S T

2

Joseph looked over at the fence, and immediately lost his joy. "Ugh."

Leaning against the fence, with a wide grin sat his brother, Nickolai. At first glance, you wouldn't be able to tell they were brothers. They both looked wildly different. Nickolai, although older than Joseph by a few years, had hair the color of midnight, and striking blue eyes.

He leaned against his hand, his eyes darting between you and Joseph. "Oh, don't stop on my behalf, please. I rather enjoyed watching you both dance around."

"Shut up." Joseph muttered, immediately letting go of your hands.

"Hey." Nickolai waved at you, with a smile. "Tending the garden again, I see."

"Yup. As always. With an audience." You looked at Joseph, and his cheeks grew pink.

Nickolai joined you and Joseph in the garden, his boots also mindful of the veggies and flowers that bloomed nearly seamlessly in the front yard. "Are your parents home?"

"Not yet." You walked over to the garden shed sitting in the corner of the yard, under a giant oak, and you opened the door. "They called me last night, and said they won't be home for another week."

Joseph grabbed the door, peering in as you set the watering can on a shelf, the garden shed stocked full of tools, fertilizers, and odd equipment. The shed was at least twenty degrees hotter inside, and you hustled to get out of there as soon as possible, before you roasted.

"Joseph, dad is looking for you."

"Aw, what now?"

"He said he needed to talk to you. Something about school."

"Ugh. Come on..."

"Speaking about school, don't you have an assignment due in a week?" Nickolai asked.

You turned, watching as Nickolai stared down at Joseph with a raised eyebrow, his hands on his hips, staring down at his younger brother.

"We were just talking about that. Right?" He looked to you for support.

"Uh, yeah. Yup. Homework." You nodded.

"Uh-huh." Nickolai's eyes narrowed.

"I'm serious." Joseph raised his hands defensively.

Nickolai crossed his arms, still staring at his brother. "You know, I think I heard that one before."

"We were just talking about it, before you came by, Nick." You defended Joseph, looking at the tall teenager.

Nickolai hummed, and you watched as he visibly relaxed a bit. "Alright...I believe you. But only you." He looked at Joseph. "You're lucky this time."

"Quit acting like dad."

"Who else is going to keep you in line. Dad's busy. He's got a town to run." Nickolai reminded him. "Besides, we've got a sibling that look up to us. We need to set a good example."

"Speaking of siblings, how is Sarah doing?"

"Growing like a weed. Won't stop." Joseph smiled, looking at you. "Her birthday is coming up next month, right?"

"Yup. At least you remembered something."

You quickly exited the tool shed, and looked at the two brothers, shutting the doors and locking them again. "So, what did you decide on doing, for your assignment? The clocktower? The history of the Tournament?"

Joseph's face went a bit pale, and he looked to you for help. You shook your head. "I cannot help you on this one."

"Come on." He seethed under his breath, while Nickolai leaned in. "What are you studying?" He asked again.

"Uh, well...its..." Joseph said, quickly.

"No, come on. Tell me. If it's so important, why can't you tell me?" Joseph went quiet, looking between you and Nickolai.

Nickolai's eyes narrowed again, and Joseph cracked. "Alright, fine! We're...studying the castle—"

"No." Nickolai barked. "Absolutely not."

"Ugh, not you too! You're supposed to be my cool older brother, not some goody-two shoed adult."

"One of us has to be responsible, and keep you in check! I said no. Dad said no. The entire city voted no." He looked at you. "It's far too dangerous to get close to that place. Just do a report on her garden, or maybe on our family's history. Something other than the castle. Why don't you just ask some of the other kids what they're doing?"

"I'm not going to do what they're doing, Nick." Joseph scoffed. "I'm more original than that."

"Not as original as you think." He chuckled under his breath. "Seriously, though, I think you should do something other than worry about that castle sitting on the mountain. That place is getting torn down by next month, from what father talked about."

"Father this, father that. It's never what you think." He protested. "It's my report, Mine and--"

"Did you even ask the poor girl what she wanted to do?" Nickolai countered, gesturing to you, standing beside him. "You always take the initiative."

"She's fine with it! Right?"

"Uh—"

"Joseph, that's enough."

"I am so tired of you telling me what to do! You're not our dad."

"No, but I am older than you. Therefore, you listen to me."

"Only when our parents aren't here!"

"Do you see them here? No? Well, then that means you have to listen to me." Nickolai said with a smug face.

"Ugh! You're impossible."

You tuned them out, focusing on the garden, and the winds coming from the mountains instead. They did this a lot, and you were used to it by now. Nickolai was the placebo father, in their real dads absence as he worked in city hall. He's used to watching over Joseph and their little sister, but that bad habit carried on with everyday conversations.

After all, their father was the mayor, and these two boys were your next door neighbors.

"—After all, you lost that tournament because of your attitude." Their argument continued, as the winds picked up.

"I-I did not! I tripped! My shoelaces came undone."

"You're only saying that because it was Hayner you lost to." Nickolai reminded him. "Your cockiness got the better of you."

You watched as Joseph's face went red.

"I-I did not!"

"Oh. Yeah. Right." Nickolai scoffed. "There's always next year. You have plenty of time to practice."

"Can you just shut up?" Joseph snapped, like every other time they've argued. Joseph's face got red, his eyebrows scrunched up. "All you do anymore is nag, like mom!"

"You better respect your mother."

"Why, because she isn't yours?" Joseph retorted coldly.

"You guys, quit it." You stepped in, before things got too rowdy between them both. "Why can't you get along?"

"He makes it impossible to get along with." Joseph started, but you cut him off quickly with a glare.

The winds picked up a bit more, a huge gust of wind shaking the trees and the flowers around your feet. You noticed for the first time since the two boys began to argue that the sky had darkened considerably.

"It looks like it is about to rain. Come on, let's go inside before we all become soaked."

"It's not going to rain." Joseph looked up, glowering at the sky like the clouds insulted his pride.

"Go inside, you dingbat." Nickolai sighed, shaking his head in disapproval, once again, as you shuttled the two boys into your foyer, just as a thick rain poured overhead.

If you knew it was going to rain, you wouldn't have wasted your energy watering the plants...

Ce La Vie.