Grow Up
Time to talk
The name is Raphael. I'm 16 now and live with my dad and two brothers in LA. My mom is in rehab for almost a year already but I don't miss her too much. We were never close anyway.
Me and my dad get along quite well but my best friend is actually my older brother Gabe. He's 18 but we've been inseparable for as long as I can remember. Like real brothers, or that's what I once thought. But then there's my younger brother Mike, though me and Gabe always call him Mikey as he's only 13. But the problem is that he IS 13.
My little brother doesn't seem to have changed since he was 8. He's this bratty little daemon trying to make my life miserable with stupid pranks and jokes. I always hoped it was just his age and he would grow out of it but he never did and I'm starting to lose my patience.
And it's not only Mikey who is annoying me. My father and older brother seem to not notice that something is wrong with Mike! The kid is watching little-kiddie cartoons and still sleeps with a teddy! Well, I'm done with it. Mikey is gonna grow up; one way or another.
"Hey Raph, you know where the remote is? I wanna watch my cartoons."
I felt the remote behind my back being squished between me and the sofa. I knew I had to play this smart.
"No, but Mikey I need to speak with you for a minute. Brother to brother alright?"
He simply nodded but I could see how confused he really was. I decided to just say what I want from him directly. With my little brother there is no way of being gentle or patient because he will lose interest in merely seconds. His attention span is like one of a hyperactive toddler having eaten a full bag of sugar and he listens as good as one too.
"Okay, so I think you should start acting your age and quit being a baby. It's not funny anymore so stop it and grow up already," I said not too nicely because I really wanted the message to come across.
I expected him to pout or to be really angry or something like that. He doesn't handle criticism well. But he gave me this big grin and said: "But Raph I don't want to grow up."
I didn't understand. What was wrong with him? Why wasn't he just normal? And now he stares at me with that cheeky grin of his.
"So just because you don't want to grow up you stay an annoying brat?" He gets to his feet and smiles. "Yeah that was the plan. Now if you don't mind I'm going to look for the remote."
But I couldn't leave it there. Now I was just really curious actually, instead of annoyed at least. I needed to know.
"Wait Mikey," I say. "Explain. Where did you get that ridiculous idea from?"
Before he could say anything I told him: "I got the remote hidden so tell me or you can say bye-bye to your precious cartoons."
This seemed to help because he sat back on the couch again. He fidgeted a little as if unsure of where to begin. I didn't know why he was so nervous. I just wanted a straight answer, nothing more. How difficult could that be?
Me and my dad get along quite well but my best friend is actually my older brother Gabe. He's 18 but we've been inseparable for as long as I can remember. Like real brothers, or that's what I once thought. But then there's my younger brother Mike, though me and Gabe always call him Mikey as he's only 13. But the problem is that he IS 13.
My little brother doesn't seem to have changed since he was 8. He's this bratty little daemon trying to make my life miserable with stupid pranks and jokes. I always hoped it was just his age and he would grow out of it but he never did and I'm starting to lose my patience.
And it's not only Mikey who is annoying me. My father and older brother seem to not notice that something is wrong with Mike! The kid is watching little-kiddie cartoons and still sleeps with a teddy! Well, I'm done with it. Mikey is gonna grow up; one way or another.
"Hey Raph, you know where the remote is? I wanna watch my cartoons."
I felt the remote behind my back being squished between me and the sofa. I knew I had to play this smart.
"No, but Mikey I need to speak with you for a minute. Brother to brother alright?"
He simply nodded but I could see how confused he really was. I decided to just say what I want from him directly. With my little brother there is no way of being gentle or patient because he will lose interest in merely seconds. His attention span is like one of a hyperactive toddler having eaten a full bag of sugar and he listens as good as one too.
"Okay, so I think you should start acting your age and quit being a baby. It's not funny anymore so stop it and grow up already," I said not too nicely because I really wanted the message to come across.
I expected him to pout or to be really angry or something like that. He doesn't handle criticism well. But he gave me this big grin and said: "But Raph I don't want to grow up."
I didn't understand. What was wrong with him? Why wasn't he just normal? And now he stares at me with that cheeky grin of his.
"So just because you don't want to grow up you stay an annoying brat?" He gets to his feet and smiles. "Yeah that was the plan. Now if you don't mind I'm going to look for the remote."
But I couldn't leave it there. Now I was just really curious actually, instead of annoyed at least. I needed to know.
"Wait Mikey," I say. "Explain. Where did you get that ridiculous idea from?"
Before he could say anything I told him: "I got the remote hidden so tell me or you can say bye-bye to your precious cartoons."
This seemed to help because he sat back on the couch again. He fidgeted a little as if unsure of where to begin. I didn't know why he was so nervous. I just wanted a straight answer, nothing more. How difficult could that be?
♠ ♠ ♠
Okay so I know I told you this was a true story but actually I made some things up so the story is a little more interesting and because my little brother didn't want his name to be mentioned. So I made my main characters all boys, the ages aren't real and I added big brother Gabe. The names are actually from the three archangels (Michael, Raphael and Gabriel) because I couldn't think of anything better. And for your information: THE REMOTE WAS ACTUALLY HELD HOSTAGE :O