STOIC

SIX

EMMERSON

Emmerson 10

Stoic 15

The joke was on him. Stoic got grounded. It was about time Uncle and Auntie put a leash on the wild dog. Stoic was grounded for about three months. Everyone tried to help fix what he had done. My mom made a nice dinner for Amelia’s family as an apology. Uncle Erik gave them two free metalwork jobs as compensation that he made Stoic do by himself, and Auntie Ida helped Landon with the medical stuff. My dad didn’t do anything. For some reason, he sided with Stoic, and so did Kenzo. But that was not a surprise—Kenzo and Stoic always had each other’s backs.

Stoic did break two of Landon’s teeth and his jaw. Landon looked funny without them for a while, but then Auntie Ida helped him get them replaced. He had a bandage wrapped around his head for a long time. With that said, Dickface was not allowed anywhere near Landon.

During the time he was grounded, Stoic picked up a new hobby. He was already good at making things out of wood, but this time, he was not making them for me but for exchanging. He started learning with an experienced carpenter and worked for him during the weekends. He was good. The furniture he made was surprisingly nice. Dad told me he was working on a new bed for me since I was growing so fast. I bet that would be my fall gift.

That winter was colder than usual. The snow covered everything, and we were stranded at home for most of it. Dad, Kenzo, Stoic, and Uncle Erik reinforced the roofs of both of our houses to make sure they would hold up for another strong winter like the last one. Ethan was not a muscle or hands-on kind of guy. Ethan has started to become more interested in studies, math, and books. I was sure he would be one of those people who would go for a long education and become a “professional,” like an engineer or a doctor.

It was July, and Amelia’s birthday was today. She was turning eleven. For some reason, Amelia decided to keep being my best friend. I was so happy she didn’t abandon me. We were the best of friends, and we were growing closer and closer every day.

Her moms made a birthday lunch for her and invited us. Dad and Kenzo were busy helping Stoic and Uncle Erik do something, so it was just Mom, Ethan, and me.

For some reason, funny, silly Ethan was always super quiet when he was near my friend. Maybe he didn’t like her. He never talked to her. Not even when she spoke to him. Nevertheless, he always tagged along with us. He was spending a lot of his time around us.

“Hey, Emmy!” I heard Landon call me with a big smile. I was glad he didn’t hate me. He never put his arms around me again, though. I was kind of glad about that.

“Hey, you!” I ran to him, stopping abruptly once I was close enough. Ethan followed me. “Where’s the birthday girl?” I couldn’t wait to see her. I made her a gift all by myself, and I couldn’t wait to give it to her.

“She’s in the backyard. Come, I’ll take you there.” Landon pointed at the backyard, and Ethan and I walked behind him. Mom stayed behind and talked to Ana, one of Amelia’s moms. Amelia’s backyard was much like mine but with more trees. It was a hot sunny day, but the tall trees made the perfect amount of shade.

“Amelia!” I let out a squeal and ran to her. As soon as I got to her, we gave each other a huge, bone-crushing hug. “I got you something!” I sang, doing a little dance as I gave her the small box.

“What is it?” She shook the box with both hands.

“You’ll have to open it to find out…” I sang it again. We chuckled, and she sat on the grass with the box.

Amelia opened the box and found my creation, my masterpiece. Mom had let me mend together some leftover fabrics, and I had made a small bag for Amelia. It was simple and mismatched, but it looked cool.

Amelia’s eyes lit up, “I love it!” A smile spread across my face.

“I’m glad you like it. When I get better at it, I’ll make you a better one.”

“Nah, this one is perfect. Can’t wait to use it!” She gave me another hug. I liked hugging her. She was the sister I always wanted.

She stood up, hung the bag on her shoulder, and pretended to model. “How do I look?” she said, pretending to flip her hair. It was funny because her afro hair didn’t move. I laughed and stood next to her.

“Say, I believe you are absolutely spectacular,” I said, trying to sound like a sophisticated middle-aged man. We laughed like idiots, and Amelia shifted to her side to look behind me.

“Hey, Ethan, I see you there!” Amelia screamed at him. I looked back and saw Ethan’s reddened face. He tried to stay out of sight but failed. Ethan turned around and left, annoyed, like always. Amelia laughed, she liked bothering him. He might be her Stoic.

That evening we had dinner with the Dokkens like we always did. Auntie Ida was dining with us that time. Mom had made so many biscuits that Ida and Erik took a dozen to go. I knew Stoic would eat most of them. He ate like a loose pig.

After everyone was done with dinner, I took a shower, and as always, Stoic sat with me on my bedroom floor to comb my hair.

“Emmy, a big window or sliding door?” The stupid question. He never stopped asking them.

He asked a stupid question, so I would give him a stupid answer. “A glass wall! A big one,” I said, spreading my arms wide. Like always, he nodded.

“Emmy, are you OK?” he asked while combing my hair.

Why was he asking?

“Yep, why?”

“Emmy, there’s something I want to talk with you about.” He was talking slower than usual.

“Yeah?”

Well then, just spit it out.

“It’s about… It’s something important.” He kept combing my hair. He was beating around the bush.

“Yeah…”

Any day now.

Stoic coughed, “I… well… you see. Guys, I mean boys and girls have some differences.”

“Yes…”

“And, sometimes, when a boy and a girl get older, they—”

“Have s*x?” I jumped in. Yep, my mom already taught me all about it. Super gross, if you asked me.

“No! I mean, yeah, but… um …”

Hmm… he was mumbling. Interesting. “But what, Stoic?” I turned around to see his reddened face. I could see he was uncomfortable talking about s*x. Being the little brat I was, I was going to give him a hard time.

“Yes, people get interested in s*x as they get older. But not everyone is thinking about it the same way,” he said faster than his usual talking speed while shaking his head. Pfft, he looked funny.

“Are you thinking about it?” I wanted to see how long he would last until he lost his patience and sent me to hell.

“That’s… that’s not the point I’m trying to make, Emmy.”

“So, you are not?”

“Emmy, I… I’m not talking about me. I’m talking in general,” he said, and I studied his face. Yep, he was super uncomfortable.

“Do you or do you not think about s*x? It’s a simple question, Stoic.” I knew he was getting embarrassed. Stoic acted so maturely, but he was so easy to bother.

“Well, sometimes… Emm, the point is that some guys don’t have good intentions, so you need to be careful.” He wanted to wrap it up, but I wouldn’t let him.

“What do you mean?” I put on my “I’m dumb. I don’t get it” face.

“Well, sometimes girls want friendships, but guys are looking for something more….”

Oh, I knew what he wanted to say. Stay away from boys, little boys are the devil!

Nice try, Stoic.

He couldn’t scare me out of having friends. My eyes narrowed on him. He was trying to manipulate me since he couldn’t bully my friends anymore, or his ass would get grounded. He thought I was stupid. I was going to make the conversation impossible for him. I would make him pay for all he had done.

“What if the girl wants the same thing the boy wants, though?” I said, narrowing my eyes more. Got him. His eyes went from confused to angry.

“Emmy, you are too young!” That sounded like a warning.

“Who said we were talking about me? We’re talking in general, right?” He stayed silent. Gotcha!

“We’re not… Well, in part, we are… That’s…” He facepalmed and harshly stroked his eyebrows.

You are in my claws now, Stoic.

“Girls like s*x, too, you know…” I muttered matter-of-factly and gave my back to him. A smile was creeping onto my face, but he couldn’t see it. I was going to spin it on him fast.

“I know, but that’s for older girls only, OK?” I knew that.

“Yeah, I know. I’m so young. There’s still so much I don’t know…” I turned back to face him and gave him an innocent look with big puppy eyes. “But it’s good I have you to answer any questions for me, right?”

Fall for it, fall for it, fall for it…

He thought about it for a few seconds. “Yeah,” he affirmed with a nod while pulling my hair once more. He fell for it! I gave my back to him again. Now I just needed to come up with something that would make him want to run away from here.

“Great!” I said, rubbing my hands together like an evil villain.

“Now that we’re talking about this, and I only ask because I really, really don’t know…” I spoke while thinking, trying to come up with something.

“How… big… is… a p***s?” I said the word p***s louder than I needed to. Stoic stopped combing my hair.

HA! Mission accomplished!

I looked back and saw his face fall to the ground.

Pick it up, Stoic. Pick it up.

He was extremely red now. He needed to learn not to get himself into this kind of a mess. I turned away from him, trying to hold back my laughter.

“Um… Emm, I don’t think that’s…” he paused, coughing, “why…” His brain was malfunctioning. I laughed internally.

Oh, Stoic!

There was no way around it. He was gonna have to give me an answer. “Because I don’t know…” Again, I gave him the innocent face plus the “I don’t know, I’m too dumb” look combo. I should have been an actress.

“Everyone is different, Emm,” he said, scratching his neck. I nodded, and he breathed out in relief because he thought he was out of deep water, still combing my hair.

Not so fast, Stoic.

“I see. There’s no way you would know. OK then, how big are you? You must know, right? I mean, it’s attached to you.” I pointed my fingers at his pants.

Stoic’s face turned purple. “None of your f*****g business!” He covered himself with both hands, forgetting the comb in my hair as if I could see it from here. Pfft!

“Is it that small that you got so embarrassed?” I knew guys were self-conscious about their size. Mom told me. Mom talked with me about everything.

“Emmerson, I’m anything but small.” He was still purple, but he couldn’t let me believe he was below average. Nope, he had to rectify that. Interestingly big, the size of his ego, I mean.

I made my innocent face again. “But how can you tell? It’s not like you know how big everyone else is.” I kept playing dumb. He gave me a look of disbelief. He should have known by then that I was messing with him.

“Trust me, Emmy. I’m big.” Yep, a super big ego. Stupid boy. I gave him my “bullshit” face.

“Look, Emmerson, what’s important is that you learn to recognize guys that present themselves as friends but instead have bad intentions. You need to be careful, Emmy. Do not let anyone touch you inappropriately, okay? OK!” He stood and left before I could say a word, leaving the comb hanging in my hair.

“Go to sleep!” he said from the door before he closed it.

A big evil smile spread across my face. Now that I knew that s*x talk was Stoic’s weakness, I’d use it against him. Who would have known that the fastest way to get rid of Dickface was to ask him about p*****s and v*****s?

Well… it wasn’t as if I’d use it often. Kenzo and Stoic were about to start their training camp for the militia, and I might not see them for weeks at a time. For some odd reason, they were assigned to a different base, one that was far from here. Mom said their training would be more challenging there.

Just what those two needed—more muscles and fewer brain cells.

Great!