Just a Start
“NOW WHERE HAS Trevor gone?” asked Dad.
Fern shrugged. Keeping track of Trevor was not on her agenda today. She’d been trying to decide on the perfect gift for Dad’s upcoming birthday. “This year, he’d requested something that couldn’t be bought at a store or ordered online.”
“Daddy!” Trevor appeared at the far end of the aisle. His yell scattered Fern’s thoughts. Holding a dented cereal box aloft, he said, “This is nutritious and delicious! And it has a dragon inside. Let’s get it!”
Fern wasn’t surprised when their father nodded and her brother grinned, hugged the box, and yelled, “Thanks!”
She noticed at least four other shoppers staring at Trevor. “Stop that!” Fern longed to say. “It’s not his fault he’s older and bigger than I am but acts way younger.”
The temperature inside the grocery store felt twenty degrees warmer. Fern unzipped her jacket. “May I pick a cereal, too?” she asked.
Dad shook his head. “We’ve got four open boxes at home.”
And who tore the tops off the boxes? Fern thought.
