My Older Brothers

6

"So what'd we do now?" I ask

Me and Katie are standing outside of her house. We sneaked out, by that I mean we walked out the front door without telling anyone. But then again there's no one here to tell.

"Um... wanna go to the park?" Katie asks

I nod. "Yeah sure, but we're getting ice cream and you're buying it."

"Deal."

Katie and I get our bikes and ride to the park. The park is connected to the skate park. That's where Miles spends most of his time with his friends. I hope I don't run into him. As much as I like my brother, he can sometimes be embarrassing.

Like that one time when I went to Katie's sixth birthday party and he accidentally told everyone that I had a nightmare and peed my pants when I was four.

He's kinda like a mom who shows your friends mortifying pictures of you when you were little when they come over to your house.

A little outside the park is an ice cream truck. It's usually not crowded around this time. When we reach the truck we put our bikes down near it and order our ice cream. Katie and I are common customers so every employee knows who we are.

"Hazel! Katie! What can I get you today." Ed asks enthusiastically

Ed works here part time around summer. He goes to our school. He's a Junior. I know him because he's my sensei's nephew. He goes to the karate dojo and he usually gets first place in the championship for the boys league. He's one of our top scorers. He's been helping out a lot since our sensei's in the hospital.

"Strawberry ice cream for Hazel and chocolate for me." Katie says handing him her money

As Ed scoops the ice cream he starts to talk to us. "Hazel, are you ready for the karate championship this year?"

"Of course she's ready. She trains like a mad man. That's why she wins every year." Katie says

Ed raises his hand in defense. "Sorry, just asking."

"I think I'm ready." I say

Ed smiles. "You got this. Don't over work yourself."

"I'll try not to."

"You coming to practice later today?" he asks

"Yeah."

After he scoops my ice cream he hands it to me and starts to get Katie's. "I saw your brothers today." He says

"All of them?" I ask

"No two of them. Miles just came to get ice cream with his friends a few minutes ago and Beck came earlier with some girl from our school."

"Was it Vicky?" Katie asks

"I don't know. She had blonde hair and there was a strip of orange in it. I think her eyes were dark blue." He says

"Yeah, that's Vicky." I nod

"I thought you said your brother and that witch weren't dating." Katie looks at me confused

"They're not. Friends go for ice cream all the time. Me and you are the perfect example of that." I tell her

"They're going to date each other eventually. You and I both know it." Katie says

"Here's your ice cream." Ed says to Katie

"I would say thank you, but I don't really feel like saying it to you." Katie says taking her ice cream from him

Ed pretends to be offended. "You should be grateful to have a person as good as me to serve you ice cream." He says clutching a hand on his heart.

Katie rolls her eyes. "I would be better at it."

Ed smirks. "Is that a challenge little girl."

She narrows her eyes at him. "If you're willing to accept it."

"Fine. For the first month of summer I dare you to get a job working at this ice cream truck." Ed says holding out his hand for her to shake

"Kate" I say in a warning tone,"Think about it. Are you sure?"

Katie scoffs. "Oh I'm sure. This is just too easy. Challenge accepted" She says shaking his hand.

"See you in two weeks." Ed winks

We walk away and sit on a bench to eat our ice cream.

"Are you really going to work at the ice cream truck for the first month of summer?" I ask Katie

"I guess. I mean it can't be that bad. It's just a month."

"Have you ever worked at a job before?"

"No. But at least I'll be getting money for my beautiful hard labor."

"You have a short temper when it comes to irritating people"

"I'm pretty sure everyone does Hazel."

"So what are you going to do if you get an irritating customer?"

Katie turns to face me. "It seems like to me that you're only thinking of the bad side of getting this job. This could be a fun game. How about you name the bad things about this job and I name the good."

"Okay, lets see. You'll have less time to goof off, which seems to be a very important thing on your daily schedule since you do it every day."

"I'll make my parents proud." Katie says

"Your hand might freeze off from scooping ice cream."

"I get money."

"You have very bad commitment issues when it comes to working hard. You'll probably be late every day."

"I'll be helping those in need of ice cream.

"Don't take offence to this one, but you might lose the job before you can complete the dare. Which would mean all of it was for nothing"

"If I don't, I can prove Ed wrong and crush his already small ego."

"Oh that is good."

Katie smiles. "Now you're seeing things my way. The best way."

"I dunno about it being the best way to see things."

"It is. Who knows? They might give me free ice cream after my shift."

"I think I'd get tired of ice cream if I had it every day." I say to her

Katie gasps. "How?"

I think for a moment. How can I explain it in a way that she'll understand.

"Well it's like birthday parties." I start

"Birthday parties?" She asks confused

I nod. "Yeah. You only have one birthday a year and you celebrate with your friends and family when it's their birthday too. It's a treat. You don't celebrate a birthday every day and if you did you'd be sick of it."

I look at her to see if she's understanding. It doesn't look like it but I continue. "I usually get ice cream every once in awhile so it's like a treat. If you get it every day it won't be special to you any more. Just like with birthday cakes, you only get them on birthdays because they're a treat."

I kinda lost track of what I was saying but when I replay it in my mind it makes a little sense. Katie sits there quiet. Maybe she got it. Probably not.

"Sometimes I feel like you're too smart for me Haz" Katie says shaking her head

I sigh. "Sometimes I do too." I mumble

"What was that?" Katie says over her shoulder.

"Nothing, let's head to the park." I say standing up

We throw away our trash, put our bike in a safe place, and head to the park entrance.