Fairylicious (Fairylicious)

            She said that all the time. My hair was red, bushy, and flowed halfway down my back. No one would have to kill for it. I'd give it to them gladly. My hair was a pain to take care of. Aunt Jeanie was right. I hadn't run a brush through it because it had gotten tangled and brushing it would hurt.

            "You're getting older. You're a preteen now. You have to take a little pride in yourself, dear."

            I smiled and nodded. That was all I ever did when she gave me "advice". She was still holding me close to her and I felt awkward. I needed to think of something else to say. "Uh, where are the kids?"

            Her face brightened then. All you had to do was mention her eight-year-old triple terrors and she almost became human. "Oh, well Penelope and Priscilla are at their piano lessons and Francois is at violin. They're so talented for eight-year-olds."

            I thought my cousins had the dumbest names, the result of my aunt's attempt to be fancy. "Aww," I moaned. "I was hoping we could play today."

            "They don't have time to play all the time. There's a time to work too. You should really think about taking some lessons or developing a hobby," my aunt said, running her fingers through my tangles.

            "Leave that child alone, Jeanie. And what kind of lessons? Are you going to pay for them? Of course not," Nana said before Aunt Jeanie could even answer. One thing I loved about my Nana was that she was direct and to the point.

            Aunt Jeanie left my hair alone. "Well, excuse me for trying to help my niece become cultured."

            "She takes lessons for all kinds of things at her school," Nana said.

            "Oh, yes, at the GATE Center," my aunt said, rolling her eyes. She only did that because her children hadn't been selected to go there. The GATE was the Gifted and Talented Educational Center.

            "Hi, Reagan," my aunt said, dismissing me. I stepped back gladly.

            Reagan stood and stared at Aunt Jeanie. She probably disliked her more than I did. Aunt Jeanie pulled Reagan closer to her. Reagan didn't like to hug anyone but me and Nana, but that didn't stop Aunt Jeanie from almost squishing her to death.

            "You are just the cutest little thing. You know, you look just like me when I was a little girl."

            I didn't see how that was possible. Reagan had red hair, although it was straight and not unruly like mine. She also had pale skin and freckles like me. Aunt Jeanie's hair was black and she was tan and not cute at all. I was used to people fawning over my little sister's looks. Often times her cuteness made her bad behavior forgivable.

            "Have you been behaving yourself?" Aunt Jeanie asked Reagan. What kind of question was that? When did Reagan ever behave?

            Reagan's answer was short and sweet. "No." At least she told the truth.

            "We're going to work on that, aren't we?"

            "Sure, Aunt Jeanie," Reagan answered unconvincingly.

            "Okay, everybody to the table," Nana said, carrying over the tray of sandwiches.

            "Bex, grab the lemonade from the fridge please."

            I got the lemonade as she placed a bowl of potato salad on the table. We ate and the conversation was civil enough, mainly because I blocked Aunt Jeanie out as she went on and on about her kids and her rich husband. Aunt Alice, who was single and had no children, didn't seem interested either. She talked a little about her job. She was a photographer and traveled all over the world. I loved hearing about her work. The things she saw and the places she went were interesting, but at the same time, I hated her job for taking her away from me. Next week she would be leaving for an assignment in Australia that would last three weeks. I wished I could tag along and be her assistant. The two of us joked about that from time to time, but I knew that Nana would never let me miss that much school.