Weekend Freewrite - 11-9-2019: Single Prompt Option
He didn't particularly like me. Why should he? Maybe it was because he rarely spoke to me. Maybe it was because we had nothing in common. At least that's what I thought. Whatever it was, I tried to stay out of his way. After all, he was a grown up. But I was in awe of him. He was 10 years older than me and stood 6ft. tall. I'm talking about my brother.
But first, I have to tell you that I loved peanut butter and jelly (PB&J) sandwiches. Even more than I loved tuna sandwiches. And I LOVED tuna sandwiches. And both with a small 5cent carton of milk. There was nothing in the world better than that.
4th grade, first day of school. I picked up my brown-bag lunch my mom made overnight and walked with my sisters. Then they ran ahead of me.
Suddenly, a boy approached from behind and said, "Hi," then grabbed my lunch and ran. At first I was in shock. First time that even happened to me. I looked, but didn't see what direction he went or if I recognized him. He had to attend our elementary school because it was the only one in our neighborhood.
Running the rest of the way to school, I thought about the things that were going to happen to me: would I see him again; what if he recognized me and told the other students; and what was I going to eat for lunch. Of those, losing my lunch was the most upsetting.
You see, if you weren't on the free lunch list, you couldn't eat unless your teacher sent a note to the cafeteria staff. If I asked the teacher, she would send a note home for my parents to apply for the free lunch program. Seemed everything evolved around what to do about this thief.
So my decision was final. DO NOTHING and wait until I get home to eat a snack.
I was glad I didn't see that boy the rest of the school day. But things didn't end there. When I got home, there was nothing in the fridge to eat until my mom arrived home and cooked. I was so hungry I started crying.
At some point you're going to ask, what does this have to do with your brother?
Well, my brother walked in and caught me crying. I just couldn't take it any more. I had endured the most awful day.
"Girl, what's wrong with you?" he said. So I spilled it. Every single detail. Through tears, laughter, and hiccups, I told him. "Did he hurt you?" he continued. Drying my eyes, I answer, "No, just took my lunch." Then he said, "as long as he didn't hurt you, you'll be alright." Somehow I felt a bit better. And I asked him not to tell our parents.
Next morning, my brother said he would walk with us to school. I was the only one not excited. He told sisters to walk with their friends. Then we walked silently two blocks before turning down this narrow street that led to my school. My brother asked where it happened.
I pointed to the spot. He found a large stick and placed it in the brush behind a tree, then said "You see where this stick is? When he comes toward you, drop everything and run get it, then hit him as hard as you can. Give him two good whacks if you have to."
Later that night, my brother asked, "Do you need me to go again?" With confidence, I replied, "Nope. I handled it." I still had my secret weapon hidden in the bushes. I walked the usual route the next day, but didn't see the boy.
Then a couple days later, a voice said, "Can I eat here?" I looked up and the boy who took my lunch was standing at table. I didn't know what to say except, "Yes." He then said, "Do you want a carton of milk?" I was unsure of his motive but said, "Sure." I wondered if he took someone's else milk or their money to buy two cartons.
.Image by Wokandapix from Pixabay
He acted like nothing had happened. So I did the same. Sitting there not knowing what else to say, I finally told him my name. He told me his was Jesse. Then I asked if he wanted half of my sandwich.
What happened next was something I never expected. Jesse said, "Yeah, I'm so hungry. I haven't eaten since last night."
I shared my lunch with him whenever he didn't have any. And he shared his milk. Sometimes he'd only have one milk, but we shared that. Come to find out he liked PB&J too. Jesse and I became friends all the way up through end of middle school. He then got an after school job to earn extra money. I lost touch when his family moved away.
What my brother gave me was more than a stick. He gave me confidence and taught me how to deal with people. And I didn't hit Jesse that day. I quickly grabbed the stick and said, "My big brother gave me this to whack you with. Do you want it or my big brother to come tomorrow, and he's 6 ft. tall? Jesse said, "No," then turned and ran to school.
Looking back on that episode in my life now, I do admit it seemed a bit harsh of a resolution. But it surely was effective!
Two things I'm now sure of that I didn't know then. First, no situation is ever what it appears on the surface; and second, my once nemesis turned best friend was the catalyst that brought me and my brother together.
Four years later, my big brother came to visit us and brought his beautiful baby girl whose name was the same as mine! Imagine that. My big brother.
Thanks,
@justclickindiva
Happy rest of the week everyone with whatever you are working on.
SOURCES:
a) JustClickin logo created at CoolText.Com
b) Unless otherwise noted, all photos taken by me with my (i) Samsung Galaxy 10' Tablet, & (ii) FUJI FinePix S3380 - 14 Mega Pixels Digital Camera
c) Purple Butterfly part of purchased set of Spiritual Clip Art for my Personal Use
d) All Tribe logos used with permission of Tribe Discord Channel admins.
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