03
You can’t choose your parents, so you’re
stuck with whatever you get.
But a brother? That’s a different story.
If I could choose, I was going to pick.
someone who was perfect for me.
He couldn’t be stupid.
Г
He’d screw everything up.
He definitely couldn’t be ugly.
Just looking at him would be torture, not to
mention being around him all the time.
Besides being kind, the most important thing
was that he had a good personality.
I was never dealing with a white–trash brother
again.
I searched all the orphanages in town, and
finally, I found him.
The look in his eyes was what sold me.
I’d seen enough creeps and monsters to know
that this kid would be tough to control later
on, so I had to start building a relationship
with him now.
“Here.”
I pulled a Starburst from my pocket and put it
in his long, slender hand.
“If you eat this, you’ll be my brother.”
“We’ve got tons of toys and snacks at my
house. I’ll share half of everything with you.
Wanna come home with me, big brother?”
No little boy could resist a cute little girl like
me, and he was no exception.
He carefully took the Starburst, but he
wouldn’t touch my hand, like he was afraid of
getting it dirty.
I grabbed his hand and held it tight, and ran
to show him off to my parents.
“Mom, Dad, I found the brother I want!”
He was pretty cute and clean, and my parents
liked him right away.
They asked him a few basic questions and
saw that he spoke clearly and politely.
He was a well–behaved kid, and they agreed
to my request.
“From now on, your name is Alex Sterling.‘
く
I yelled.
He had eyes as beautiful as the stars.
He nodded in agreement.
He got the room across from mine.
It was the room my parents were planning on
giving to Billy.
He sat to Dad’s left during dinner, where Billy
used to sit.
Slowly, he took Billy’s place in the family.
My parents got used to taking him with them
to all sorts of events.
Now, they were calling him “our son” in.
private conversations.
Alex started getting used to the change, and
with my encouragement, he became more
outgoing and confident.
Maybe his first impression of me made a big
impact on him.
He really did treat me like his little sister,
protecting me from everything.
Every night before bed, he’d tell me fairy tales
to help me fall asleep.
He’d sneak the food I didn’t like off my plate
and eat it himself.
If I tripped and fell, he’d be so worried that
he’d want to take the pain for me.
