Big Brother Blues

      It was a lazy Sunday when I was in my room, reading some books and listening to one of my many CDs with my Zomutt, Akari, sleeping peacefully by my bedside. I flipped through the pages of The Magic Paw until I heard a soft knock at my door. Frustrated, I sighed and slammed shut my book. I trotted over to the door and swung it open. I saw Becka, holding a new plushie. I squealed in delight and snatched up the plushie, and found that it weighed much more than a regular plushie would. I heaved the furry, yellow plushie over to my bedside and panted as I dropped it. "What kind of plushie is that?" I questioned, wiping the sweat from my cheek.

      Becka laughed and strode over to the plushie, then picked it up again. She chuckled, "Kobai, this isn't a plushie. This is your little brother, Twilight!"

      My eyes widened. I gasped, trying to speak, but nothing came out. I was speechless. Why would Becka do something like that? Didn't she know how much I loved being spoiled and being an only pet? Would I be the reject now? What if my new sibling is stronger than me? So many questions swarmed around my mind, but I ignored them. I squinted to see what kind of pet that would be called my brother. I saw two long ears sticking out from the head and two frightened eyes. The instant I saw the ears I knew what it was. A Gelert. Not only a Gelert, but a baby Gelert! "So... This is..." I muttered angrily, trying to smile, but I couldn't.

      Becka grinned and shouted, "Yes! Your little brother! Aren't you happy?" She set Twilight down onto the ground, and the scared little Gelert shivered as he stared into my angry eyes. Twilight yelped in fear and hid behind Becka's leg.

      "Oh, I'm so excited. It seems that this... Twilight kid is, too," I replied, turning my back to them and slowly made my way to my bed. I flopped over and wondered what to do. In the middle of my thoughts, I felt something furry plop over next to me. Startled, I looked over and saw Twilight smiling sweetly and curling up next to me. I sat up and scowled. Gee, this kid gets used to people very fast, I thought, rolling my eyes furiously. I lifted my paw and swiped Twilight off my bed. The Gelert landed on the ground with a loud thump. I heard him give an undelighted squeak. I chuckled.

      Then I heard Twilight giggle, "Zomutt!" That wasn't good. I leaned over the bed and saw Twilight tugging on Akari's tail. I gritted my teeth and slapped Twilight away from my petpet. Twilight thudded against the wall and fell onto his belly.

      "Never tease my Zomutt," I stated firmly, picking up Akari and stroking him. Twilight grinned up at me.

      "Never, never!" Twilight repeated, jumping up and down, then trotting circles around me. To top it off, the little beast leaped up onto my bed and tackled me, and I fell backwards into my dresser. All my clothes flooded down onto me.

      I threw a shirt off of my face and yelled as loud as I could, "Get out of my room, now!" Frightened, my brother darted out of the room. I groaned stressfully and stood up. I gathered up all my clothes and stuffed them all back into my dresser, then continued reading books and keeping a watchful eye out on my door, just incase the insane Gelert might try to run in once again.

      I didn't see Twilight again for the rest of the night, except at dinner time. And, boy, was Twilight a slob. He chewed with his mouth open, all the crumbs falling onto the dinner table or flying into someone's eye. He couldn't cut his own meat, so when he tried to, it ended up slipping onto the floor. Twilight constantly spilled his apple juice and ate faster than I've ever seen anyone eat. I was so thankful when I was excused from dinner and allowed to hide in my room once more.

      Then Monday came, a school day. I put the straps of my green backpack onto my shoulder and sighed as I looked down at Twilight, wearing his fire faerie backpack backwards. Instead of the backpack being on his back, it was on his belly. I tried to ignore him as I walked down the streets towards our school. But I just couldn't. He was always behind me, and he was constantly stepping on my heels. Whenever that would happen, I'd whip my head back and glare at Twilight, then he would just lower his head and squeak, "Sorry..." To make things a bit worse, whenever we saw a school bully, Twilight would say cruel things about them, such as how ugly they were, in a loud enough voice so the bullies could hear. I almost got beaten up by a Darigan Ixi when Twilight yelled something about how strange his horns looked.

      It was like relief from leaving the dinner table the night before as we reached the school. Then we could finally depart! I patted Twilight on the shoulder and said cruelly, "Well, Twilight, this is where I go to my class and you go to yours! Bye!" As I was about to slip away, I saw my friends standing in a group. They were all looking at me like I were insane, and they kept pointing at me and whispering things. At the same moment, I felt someone cling onto me.

      I saw Twilight wrapping his arms around me, snuggling his head into my fur and saying, "You're the best brother ever!"

      I blushed and growled, "Gee... thanks..." I looked around and saw nearly everyone staring at me and laughing, or making fun of me. Both of them were extremely embarrassing. I blushed more and more, until I couldn't take it anymore. I shoved Twilight off of me and made a run for the bathroom.

      After a few tears flowed freely from my eyes, two of my best friends came in. Koyi, a shadow Lupe, asked, "Hey, Kobai, it's alright. Who was that little Gelert anyway?"

      I looked up at Koyi and growled, "My new brother! He's so annoying... I've known him for two days and I already hate him!"

      My other friend, Yoko, a starry Kau, gasped, "Really? You've been an only pet for so long! What's your brother's name?"

      I clenched my fists with anger and growled, "Twilight. He's the most annoying person I've ever met."

      Yoko and Koyi tried to calm me down, until eventually they convinced me to come to class. I walked inside the classroom, hoping that I wouldn't see Twilight for the rest of the day. The first hour of class was alright, until I heard a knock at the window. I turned my head and saw Twilight waving at me and smiling. I slid down in my chair and growled. He would never leave me alone.

      Then the horrible happened: lunchtime. I nervously walked into the room with my lunchbox clutched tightly in my hand. Yoko and Koyi were right behind me. I took a deep breath and sat down, looking over my shoulder to see if Twilight was there. I hoped with all my heart that he wouldn't find me. Yoko sat down, scanning the room briefly, then muttering, "I don't think he'll find you. There has to be a couple hundred pets in here."

      I nodded, believing Yoko. I opened by lunch box and pulled out an apple, when I suddenly heard Twilight shriek. I shut my eyes tightly and muttered under my breath, "Please don't find me, please don't find me..." I slightly opened one eye and looked over my shoulder. I saw a chubby, cruel looking baby Skeith holding Twilight upside down and shaking him. I was about to get up, when I felt Koyi grab my arm and sit me back down.

      "No, you don't like him, right? So he gets what he deserves!" Koyi grumbled, narrowing his eyes at me.

      "Yeah, but Twilight still doesn't deserve that!" I snapped back, yanking my arm away from Koyi's grasp. I marched over to the bully and grabbed Twilight out of his hand. Setting my little brother back down, I yelled, "You never do that to anyone ever again, alright?"

      Without a word, the Skeith scrambled off. I turned to Twilight and smiled. Twilight hugged me and screamed, "You're the best big brother ever! Thank you!" I blushed nervously once more, forgetting that, of course Twilight would do this to me.

      I once again shoved him away, but this time, I whispered in his ear, "No problem. Now don't get picked on again, alright?"

      Twilight nodded and happily trotted away with a joyful grin worn on his face. It felt pretty good to stand up for someone else, instead of having someone else stand up for me.

      But Twilight's annoying behavior was far from ending. When we walked home together, he was constantly talking about his boring experiences at his first day of school that he thought were so great. He would also wave at anyone who went to our school who passed by. When we got home, he was constantly following me around the house and talking about all his new friends. I wasn't used to having people follow me instead of me following other people. I never knew anyone who wanted me to be so interested in their life. Twilight seemed to really look up to me, and I wasn't sure that I liked that.

      When I was brushing my teeth and getting ready for bed, Becka walked over to me and asked, "So you don't really like Twilight, eh?"

      "Um... Not really. No, not at all," I replied honestly, lowering my head a bit.

      Becka sighed, "Well, I'm not sure that I like him myself. He's a bit rude and bossy, and is constantly asking for the most expensive things! Not even you ask for such outrageously priced items that he does!"

      I shrugged and grumbled, "Yeah, well, that's just the way he is, huh?"

      Becka slowly nodded, then silently walked away.

      As I turned back to the mirror to finish brushing my teeth, I couldn't help but feel that the conversation that I just finished having would change everything.

      Well, things went about the same for the next few months, when it was around my birthday. Twilight was constantly annoying me, embarrassing me, being a slob, getting picked on, and just being himself. But everything changed when it was my birthday party. Becka was constantly telling me that she had the perfect gift idea in mind, and that I'd love it. When she kept reminding me of this, I was more and more excited for my birthday.

      When it was time for my party, Twilight and Becka were missing. I ignored their absence and had some fun with my friends, hardly ever stopping to think about the whereabouts of my family.

      We were playing pin the tail on the Kau when Becka walked through the door, a wide grin spread across her face. She walked over to me and said, "Alright, Kobai, ready for your present?"

      I nodded, excited. I couldn't wait for my great gift! "Yes, yes, I am!" I shouted happily.

      "Okay, this is it: you're an only pet again!" Becka cried joyfully.

      My eyes widened and my heart pounded. Did she mean... Did she send Twilight to the pound? I blinked back the tears. I was just getting used to the little guy... I actually sort of liked him... I seemed to be his hero, as he was constantly telling me that he didn't know what he'd do without me. The truth sunk in slowly and painfully. My heart ached. Why would Becka do that? I shivered as I imagined poor little Twilight locked inside a small, cold cage, wondering what was going on... I was so upset that tears streamed down my face, and I ran inside my room and commanded all my guests to leave.

      A week after my birthday I decided to ask around and see if anyone knew where Twilight was. I probably asked about a hundred people until I came across a Christmas Acara who told me that they knew what was going on with Twilight. The Acara told me that he was adopted a few days after he was sent to the pound by a forgetful, unloving owner. Twilight got sick with the Neezles, and his new owner was too poor and careless to cure Twilight or even take him to the Healing Springs. Twilight's new owner hardly ever comes home and leaves Twilight all alone. Twilight's sickness had gotten so bad that he is unable to move, and breathing is extremely difficult for him now.

      Since that day that Twilight left my side and I had heard what was happening to him, I walk outside and gaze up at the starry sky and think that Twilight is looking up at the same stars... but then I remember that he can't.

The End