A Girl in a Yellow Dress

A Girl in a Yellow Dress

"Hey, Annie!" calls my older brother.

"Hi Tom," I say putting some of my books in my locker.

"You know what's for dinner?" He asks that every day, Tom is such a pig.

"Stew, momma told me to rush home and help her. So I have to go, you coming?"

"Sure, give me a sec." he says opening the locker next to mine. Ever since the start of this year we've had neighboring lockers. Our sister, Sara's locker is on the other side of the school. Sara's what you might call a bookworm she has academic clubs to attend every day of the school week and when she's not at school she's at home in one of her books. We don't see her much and being a senior she's definitely looking forward to "getting out of here" as she calls it, at the end of the year. I'm not looking forward to her going, though.

Tom on the other hand is a junior and an overall fun guy. He's friends with nearly everyone in town and in times of war a guy like Tom is... well, hard to come by.

I'm a freshman living in a small and poor town with my momma, brother and sister. No papa, that I know of. Though momma says Tom looks a lot like him, dark hair that matches his eyes, lean build, and pretty tall - overall rather handsome. And Sara has a mix of both our parents dirty blonde hair, slightly taller than Tom, and extremely skinny. I look like my momma having straight blonde hair, lean but slightly thick boned, and well kind of short.

"Hello... Annie?" Tom calls from right next to me.

"Hmm?" I respond.

"Oh, you been thinking again, well don't hurt yourself."

I punch him in the arm. He looks at me, raises one eyebrow, and suddenly picks me up and puts me over his shoulder. I pound on his back, I'm sure he's smiling.

"Put me down!... I'm wearing a dress!" After I said that he reluctantly put me down and was still smiling when I found him walking beside me again. "Don't do that." I mumble embarrassed.

"Do what, smile?" he said grinning from ear to ear.

"No, pick me up like that, you're bigger than me and it's not fair." I pout.

Tom laughs and I suddenly have enough courage to ask him something that's been bothering me for a while, "Hey Tom?"

"Yah?"

"Why do you think papa left?"

"Annie..." he says like he did when I was little and I used to spill the milk carton all over the table.

"What? No one ever talks about it, not even momma. And I want to know."

"Well Annie I don't know. And I don't care. He left us and he's not coming back."

I knew this would put him in a bad mood but I didn't know it would make him this mad. I realize that we're almost home so I decide to cheer him up. "Hey look Tom. We're almost there, your bottomless stomach will be full soon."

He gives a little half-hearted chuckle, says, "Yah." and looks away.

Once he sees the food he'll be in a better mood ... I hope.

"It's about time you got here Annie! I've been waiting. Here chop up some carrots." Momma wakes me up from the sad reverie Tom unintentionally brought me into.

"Alright Momma." I call enthusiastically as Tom sulks past me to his room.

"Thomas would you like to help?" Momma calls after him.