Frances Trinidad

Mom walks in my room and shakes me and tells me in a loud voice, "Wake up so you can watch Joshie. I’m leaving now so take care of my baby and behave."

When my mom leaves, I sit on the couch and turn the TV on. My brother walks in and puts it on cartoons. I try to and grab the remote from him and he starts cussing at me. That’s when we start arguing. "Give it to me before I hit you!" I sock him in the thigh and he starts laughing.

"That didn’t hurt!"

"Don’t start with me, you little fag."

"Fuck you, hoe!"

"What?"

The second I get up to slap him, he takes off running. I’ll chase him through the kitchen into the living room and down the hall. He runs in my mom’s bathroom. I get a hold of the doorknob and turn it so he can’t lock it, though he leans all his weight against the door. He weighs about 130 pounds and after a while I walk away. After about 10 minutes, I’ll see him peeking out the door, then he’ll slam it shut.

I’ll go to the living room and wait for him to come out. He’ll come in the living room.

"I thought you were gonna slap me, well, punk!"

"Shut up! Don’t talk to me."

"Come on, well, you don’t scare me!"

Joshie runs toward the broom. He picks it up and swings to hit me in the face. I grab it and start to pull on it. He’ll get scared when he feels it slipping and then he’ll let go. He runs into his room and comes out with his baseball bat and starts chasing me around the house again.

"You wanna chase me you little ass?"

I walk in the kitchen and take out my mom’s butcher knife.

"Come here, you little fucker!"

"No, I’m sorry Panchi."

"That’s what I thought."

The phone rings.

"Hello?"

It’s my mom.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing just sitting here with Joshie, watching TV."

"Is he behaving?"

"Of course."

"Okay, well, I’m on my way home."

We begin to clean up the mess we made in a hurry before she comes.

About 20 minutes later my mom pulls up and my brother and I go outside to meet her.

"Hi, babes."

"How was your guys’ day?"

Joshie and I look at each other and answer at the same time,

"Okay."