My Sister’s Keeper
All eight-year-olds can be a pain sometimes. My little sister Annie, for example, copies everything I do. When I’m hanging out with my friends, she embarrasses me with her silly, immature jokes. And she wants to tag along with me all the time.
The other day, Mary and Dana invited me to the mall. They are two of the most popular girls in my middle school, so I was thrilled when they asked me to join them. We would walk to the mall, catch a movie, have something to eat, and play games in the arcade room. Sounded great. The only problem was that my parents were going out too, and my sister couldn’t be left home alone. So, my parents made me take her along.
I asked my sister to promise she would not embarrass me. I let her borrow my hair clips as long as she would just stay quiet. She promised not to embarrass me and to be quiet.
Though I could tell that Mary and Dana didn’t like the idea of having my sister around anymore than I did, it felt pretty good to be walking over to the mall with them. Mary has gorgeous hair and an amazing figure. Dana has awesome dance moves and wears the coolest clothes. I know that appearances are not what really matters, but I wanted to fit in with them, so I braided my hair, wore my new top, and my favorite necklace and earrings.
When we got to the mall, we could choose between a Disney comedy and a science-fiction movie. I would’ve rather seen the funny movie, but went along when Mary and Dana picked the other one. My sister kept whispering questions all through the movie, and I didn’t quite ‘get it’ either, but I pretended I liked it, for Mary and Dana said that they loved it.
After the movie, we went to the food court for some pizza. The pizza was good, but I wasn’t feeling too well by then. Even right there with them, I felt left out. Mary and Dana kept giggling and talking to each other about some boys a few tables away. Then Mary said something into Dana’s ear. I thought they were just being rude, until they asked me if I wanted cookies for dessert. We gave my sister some money, and asked her to go over to the cookie counter to get some chocolate chip cookies.
When my sister left the table, Mary and Dana told me their plan. Their idea was to ditch my sister and go meet the boys, who were in the arcade room by then. That’s when I felt all mixed-up and torn inside. I wanted these girls to like me and to think I was one of them, but to abandon my little sister in this huge mall?
I said in my head a brief prayer for guidance, but before I knew it, Mary and Dana took my hand and we dashed from the food court to the arcade room. Once there, we said ‘Hi’ to the boys, and Mary and Dana started playing air hockey. I stood by the hockey table, waiting for my turn to play. My stomach was churning, and it wasn’t because of the pizza. From where I stood, I could see the cookie counter across the food court. And, crouched underneath it, I saw Annie. She looked so small and scared. I felt awful.
When I told Mary and Dana that I was going for my sister, Mary asked me, in a mocking tone: ‘What are you, your sister’s keeper?’
Dana didn’t even look up as she said: ‘Whatever,’ and kept on playing.
That did it. I ran over to the cookie shop. Annie was crying, sobbing, her shaking hands still holding a bag of cookies. I apologized.
‘I’m so sorry, Annie. Let’s go home, ok?’
‘But what about your friends?’ She asked, teary-eyed.
‘Mary and Dana are not really my friends,’ I told Annie, and myself.
‘They wanted to ditch you,’ I added.
‘They did, huh? Well, we’ll ditch them,’ said Annie, and we both laughed.
Walking back home, my little sister and I ate all the chocolate chip cookies. When Mom and Dad arrived, I overheard Annie telling them what had happened at the mall. She sounded excited, as if she had been out on an adventure. That’s when I noticed that my stomach was not churning any more. I felt deep inside I had done the right thing after all, even though I didn’t wait to hear an answer to my prayer.
Am I my sister’s keeper? You bet I am!
