Chapter Eight – The Biggest Little Sister!

“No,” Aurora said. “You need to eat otherwise you’ll be hungry, and if it goes on for too long, you’ll end up sick.” She placed a hand on Maple’s shoulder and carefully spun her much smaller sister around and had her sit back down at the dinner table.

Maple started to eat, but her eyes quickly lost focus and she was soon staring out into the void while silently shovelling food into her mouth.

Aurora nodded. Good enough.

On leaving the kitchen, she sighed and picked up some clothes left on the floor. “Teddy! Are these your pants?”

“Pants were invented by capitalists to force the proletariat into confining and imprisoning their legs, just like how society confines and imprisons them into being labour for the elite!” Teddy shouted.

She was not wearing any pants at the moment.

Aurora sighed, picked up the pants, then tossed them to Teddy. “Jeans are the working man’s pants, shut up and put those on. Or at least don’t leave them lying in the middle of the floor! What if Maple tripped on them? Or worse, used them for something?”

Teddy blew a raspberry at her, but she did take the pants and run off with them.

Aurora shook her head, then scanned the house. Athena was reading on the couch, being quiet, and Trinity was… hovering around the little mini trash can from the bathroom?

She almost went over to see what that was about. Trinity doing something usually led to some sort of trouble soon after but…

Aurora wondered if she had to.

Ever since she’d been born, it felt like she was the one who was given the task of taking care of her sisters. Emily trusted her to do it. And it felt nice to be trusted like that. It felt nice to boss the others around a little and be in the right about it too.

But it was also a full-time job. She didn’t often have a minute to herself.

What if… she just didn’t?

There was a small twist in her gut at the thought, but also… well, nothing ventured, nothing lost, right?

She didn’t make a fuss about not helping anymore. She just settled down on the couch and stole the remote, then turned the TV to some celebrity gossip channel. She didn’t know any of the celebrities, not even the heroes, but it was still interesting to find out who knocked up whom, who was very publicly going to attend the Endgame that was still not settled, and which starlet was going to play in the next blockbuster.

Aurora pretended not to hear the clatter of noise from the kitchen. Maple was in there, wasn’t she? Would the microwave come out of that intact?

No, no, it wasn’t her job. She was on a break!

Athena finally stopped reading and got into an argument with Teddy about whether pants or skirts were more of a symbol of oppression. Then Trinity threw a wrench in when she said that underwear were worse.

Aurora listened with one ear, but didn’t get up to break up the arguing, even when it turned a little violent.

She continued to sit as Maple wandered out of the kitchen, looking a bit lost, and asked if Aurora or anyone else had seen her gun.

Aurora didn’t even know which gun Maple was talking about, but she hadn’t seen it, and being on break meant not getting up to help her find it.

When Trinity filled the bathroom’s garbage can with rotting food and started to dance, a one-girl circle dance around the trash. The stink of it was pretty potent, but Aurora plugged her nose. It wasn’t her job.

Only… she really wanted to tell Trinity off.

But no, she resisted.

Tilting her head back to spy into the kitchen, she winced at the sight of a pile of dishes taller than she was. And the floor needed brooming. And there was a faint burning wire scent coming from Maple’s room.

Aurora lifted her legs as a fighting Teddy and Athena rolled by. Athena was trying to force Teddy into some jeans. It wasn’t working out.

She tried to focus on the TV but… well, the gossip on there was kind of interesting, but really, she could feel her brain leaking out of her ears watching it.

And then Emily arrived.

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She stumbled into the living room from the front door, shoulders slumped, eyes a little red and baggy, and breath coming out in a tired sigh. “I’m home!” she said.

“Big sis!” the others cheered.

She took one long look at the state of the house.

The piles of dishes.

The clothing strewn about.

The smell that had been steadily getting worse.

Teddy and Athena still rolling on the floor in their ongoing pants-based battle.

And, without a single word of complaint, Emily immediately set to work while Aurora stewed in a growing, twisting guilt that had her insides knotting up.

“Teddy, put your pants on,” Emily snapped. “Athena, leave her alone. If you have time to roll on the floor, you have time to do the dishes. Trinity, if that isn’t in a bag and out of the house in ten minutes no desert for the week. And go check on Maple. She usually comes out to say hi unless she’s doing something. Teddy, once you have pants on, go help Athena dry.”

Aurora watched, still frozen on the couch, as Emily effortlessly took control. It wasn’t just that she was giving orders–it was the way everyone listened.

Teddy groaned but scrambled to put her pants on. Athena rolled her eyes but actually got up. Trinity pouted but grabbed the trash can, holding it at arm’s length like it was radioactive.

Even Maple poked her head out of her room after Emily called for her.

Aurora had done nothing all day. And now Emily was home for less than a minute and was already fixing everything.

The guilt in her stomach twisted.

She didn’t even realize she was staring until Emily turned to her.

For a second, Emily just looked at her. And then, instead of giving her a job, she just… smiled. A tired, but genuine smile. “Hey,” Emily said, softer this time. “You okay?”

Aurora blinked. “What?”

“You’ve been sitting there a while.” Emily said. “You look a little lost? I mean, if you just want to watch TV, that’s fine too. Goodness knows that it is less messy than what the others are up to.”

“No, no I…” Aurora paused, then considered what to do. She wanted to lie, to say that she was fine, and that she was just minding her own business. She wasn’t responsible for the others getting up to trouble. But Emily looked tired, and now she had to corral her sisters after a long day. “I feel bad,” she admitted.

Emily’s brows rose. “Bad? Bad how?” She reached over and touched Aurora on the forehead. “No fever, do you have a tummy ache? Cramps?”

“No no, not that kind of bad,” Aurora admitted. “Just… I didn’t help.”

“Okay?” Emily said.

“You’re not upset?” Aurora asked.

Emily shrugged. “Why would I be upset?”

Aurora blinked. “Because I didn’t do my job?”

Emily stared at her for a moment. “Aurora, I don’t think you have a job? Do you mean helping around the house, with your sisters and all?”

Emily studied Aurora for a moment, then sighed, rolling her shoulders. “Alright. If you don’t feel like helping today, that’s fine. I can take care of it.”

Aurora stiffened. “Wait–“

Emily raised a hand. “I mean it. You don’t usually slack off, so if you need a day off, you should take one.”

Aurora swallowed, glancing around at the mess. At Trinity, still parading around with the bathroom trash can, at the kitchen, where the dish pile threatened to collapse, at Teddy and Athena, still arguing. Her guilt twisted harder.

She didn’t want to sit around while Emily did everything.

She liked helping. Not just because someone had to, but because it felt… right.

Emily caught the hesitation in her face and smiled. “But if you do want to help, I’d love the backup.”

Aurora groaned, running a hand down her face. “Ugh. Yeah. Yeah, I do.”

Emily laughed, then stood up, stretching. “Alright then, let’s fix this mess.”

Aurora smiled. The guilt felt like it was unravelling as she stood up. Doing was so good compared to not doing. “Do I get to yell at people?”

“Only if it’s productive.”

Aurora cracked her knuckles. “I can work with that.”

Emily clapped her hands. “Alright, brats! Listen up! If you don’t want permanent chores, you’re helping clean up now!”

***

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