"Okay, everyone! Class dismissed. See you all tomorrow," our teacher called, ending the day at last.
It was a pretty typical first day—introductions, rules, where to find the bathrooms and emergency exits, the basics. We even got around to electing class officers, even though we barely know each other yet.
Now, I didn't get any position, which is fine by me, but somehow my brother did. Yep, he's now our class president. All thanks to me. See, no one wanted the role, and as the brave, independent cutie I am, I nominated him—mostly as a joke. I mean, who'd actually vote for him? But the joke was on me because apparently, no one else wanted it. So, just like that, he was president.
Feeling a little guilty, I raised my hand for the Vice President position…only for half the girls in the class to raise their hands, too. No way I wanted to get involved in that competition, so I quietly lowered my hand and tried to disappear. My brother, however, didn't miss it. He shot me a glare that screamed, I'll get you for this, and yeah, I probably deserved it.
"Brother?" I whispered, trying to act innocent, which didn't work at all.
He just ignored me, his expression unchanging.
Great. He was furious.
I was about to apologize, but just then, the teacher called him over. "Please come to the faculty room and start listing your classmates' names alphabetically. Once you're done, hand it to the secretary."
As soon as the teacher left, we were alone in the classroom. The sun was starting to set, casting long shadows, and suddenly, I got a feeling like I'd be better off somewhere far, far away.
My brother sighed, long and deep, which made me jump. Oh no. This is it. Goodbye, world.
"You head home first," he said, his tone clipped. "I have my duties to do as the class president." He put extra emphasis on president, of course.
"Look, I'm sorry, okay? I thought you'd be great at it since you were class president back in elementary!" I said, trying to justify myself.
He only glared harder.
Time to go.
"Fine, I'll head home alone. Be careful, Brother." I grabbed my things and quickly left the classroom without a single backward glance. Who knew what kind of revenge he'd plot if I stuck around.
As I got to the door, though, I stole a quick look over my shoulder. He was still serious, but just as I was about to disappear from view, I saw him smile. It was brief—barely there—but I caught it.
"Are you a masochist or something?" I asked, unable to resist a little dig. Before I could even process what I'd said, a pencil case flew past my face. That was my cue to run.
Once I was outside, I slowed down and started laughing. He totally didn't mean to hit me with that, right?
---
Outside the school
Out of breath, I finally stopped in the middle of the road, laughing at the thought of my brother's reaction. All that running around—I'd probably be sore tomorrow, but maybe a bit more toned, too. Small victories.
Since he'd be busy with his class president duties, I figured I'd wait for him at our usual spot in the neighborhood park. We always took a shortcut through there to get home, and our meeting place was under the big Narra tree.
I got there and was about to sit down when I heard a faint meow. Looking around, I didn't see any cat nearby, so I tilted my head up—and there it was, stuck on one of the branches, meowing like crazy.
I didn't even hesitate. With my soft spot for animals, I immediately started climbing up the tree, branch by branch. Pretty soon, I was up there with the cat. But then, as soon as I reached out, it scampered away like nothing had even happened. Did I just get scammed by a cat?
I let out a sigh, trying to figure out why I was nice enough to go out on a limb (literally) for a cat that didn't even need my help. And then it hit me.
I. Don't. Know. How. To. Get. Down.
I stayed frozen on the branch, fully aware of the situation I was in. I've always been a fast climber—climbing up? No problem. But getting back down? Yeah… I'm usually stuck unless my brother's there to help me.
And to make things worse, I'd completely forgotten that I was wearing a skirt. Not the best outfit for tree climbing. If anyone walked by right now, they'd get more of a view than I wanted.
Just then, someone plopped down on the bench beneath the tree. I stifled my sigh, hoping I'd stay unnoticed. But then he looked up—and froze when he saw me sitting in the tree, staring down like a weirdo.
"W-what…" he started, clearly bewildered. "What are you doing up there?"