Ron

I wasn’t as anxious as Archie or Pete over this new girl who may or may not enter our lives. Archie positively glowed with anticipation as he left the house yesterday morning while Pete was all but giddy. I frowned as I walked down the wet sidewalk to the hall where my class was held, annoyed that it was still raining. The sound of the rubber soles of my shoes made me wince every now and then as the rubber squeaked against a wet patch.

I readjusted my bag against my shoulder and pushed hair off my forehead. I needed to say calm, I reminded myself, my brothers need me. It was something I’d reminded myself of often throughout our lives together. Archie was the daredevil, Pete was eager to measure up, though he was more careful than Archie ever dreamed about being.

It was up to me to be the sensible one, to keep us from harm, and I took that job seriously. Our parents worked hard, and we’d often stayed with our grandparents, our dad’s parents, while our parents worked long hours in their