My mom, always quick with an idea, smiled and said, "Alright, sweetie, if you don't want to go to the hospital, that's fine. Just write down where you're feeling unwell, and I'll take it to the doctor for you. You can stay home and rest." She immediately went to grab paper and a pen.
When she handed him the paper, my brother waved his chubby hand and pointed at me. "I'm not writing it. Make her do it."
With a scowl, my mom shoved the paper into my hands. I grabbed the pen, waiting for my brother to say something. After a few moments of dramatic sighs and moaning, he finally muttered, "I feel bad everywhere… dizzy."
I suppressed a small smile, wrote down what he said, and handed it to my parents. They rushed out the door with the note, not even considering that I had school that day. "Take care of your brother while we're gone!" they shouted on their way out.
As soon as the door closed, I heard my brother's voice from behind me. "Hey, loser, get me a cold Coke from the fridge!"
I turned around and stared at him. When I didn't move right away, he screamed, "You worthless girl! If you don't listen to me, I'll have Mom beat you to death!"
I gave him a cold look before turning to head back to my room. He flinched, startled by my expression, and stayed quiet for a moment. But as soon as I turned my back, he started yelling again. "You brat! Just wait until Mom and Dad get home-- I'll make sure they punish you! You're so mean. No wonder they want to sell you off to some old man!"
Later, when my parents came back, I was still in my room reading. Suddenly, there was a loud crash as my brother kicked the sliding door, knocking it off its shaky track.
"Loser! Mom and Dad are back! Let's see if you're still brave enough to cross me!" he yelled.
I put down my book and walked out to the living room, where I overheard my parents grumbling. "What kind of quack doctor can't even prescribe some medicine? He said we have to bring our son in for a checkup. Our son's too important to be dragged out for every little thing."
"Exactly! We wrote down that he was feeling unwell. What more does the doctor need? Useless," my mom added.