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Michelle looked over at her brother Ernie. He was too busy studying the map on the back of their grandfather’s letter to notice. For the last four years they had gone to see their grandparents during Spring Break and always bossed her around the entire trip.
"Did you remember to pack everything?" he insisted.
"Yes," she replied, "I even double checked before we left."
"Don’t wander off," he said, "The bus could show up at any time. We have to stay here."
"I won’t!" she said.
A loud clash of thunder could be heard in the distance followed close behind by the gentle sound of rain on the roof above them. Michelle watched the events around her searching for some sort of calmness. She found none from her brother.
"Pay attention," he scolded, "We need to concentrate now more than ever."
"What do want me to do?" she asked after a long pause.
She did not receive an answer. Michelle was 13 with blond hair that she kept in a ponytail. Her clothing consisted of a flowered blouse with long sleeves, a brown skirt, and sandals. Ernie was 16 with short brown hair and had on a T-shirt, jacket, blue jeans with a belt and tennis shoes. He would always be older and that would never change.
"Can I see the letter?" she asked doing her best to hold back her anger.
"Sure," he said, "Just be sure not to lose it. It’s the only copy we have."
"I won’t," she snapped back.
With a loud sigh she took another look at the map then turned it over and started rereading the letter. As she was reading their bus pulled into the station. Without asking Ernie snatched the letter away from her so he could take another look at where they were going.
"Hey! I was reading that!" she yelled.
"I need to make sure we get the right bus," he explained. "We have to change buses in Columbus and if we get lost our parents won’t be here to help us."
"I can take care of myself!" she said, "Just because you’re older doesn’t mean you’re always right."
The two of them glared at each other for a few seconds before Michelle took a few steps away and watched the passengers exit the bus. It was mostly to get away from Ernie, but she pretended she was actually interested in what they were doing. Most were in a hurry to out of the rain and reach their destination but a few took the time to take a closer look at their surroundings. Some even made eye contact before continuing.
As the rain continued to beat down, Michelle thought about how she would handle the trip if she were by herself. She knew she could do it but she would never get the chance with Ernie around. Ignoring her, Ernie set the letter down on the suitcase and placed the letter on top of it. He looked first at the bus then at the speaker in the opposite direction waiting for them to announce boarding instructions. A gust of wind blew the letter off the suitcase making it appear like scrap paper. Ernie did not notice.
Realizing she would have to get the letter herself, Michelle ran over and got it before anyone else could react. It was a little wrinkled but still readable which was the important thing. Ernie still did not know what happened. He picked up the suitcase and the empty envelope without even thinking to look inside and headed towards the bus.
"You forgot this!" yelled Michelle resisting the urge to rub it in.
Ernie stared at the letter in disbelief. His face turned red with embarrassment. Without saying a word he put the letter back in the envelope and the envelope in his jacket pocket to keep it safe. He lowered his head and continued towards the bus.
"We all make mistakes," said Michelle picking up her suitcase and following his lead.
Copyright 1999, Steve Lucky
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