Big Brother, Little Sister

By Elena Southworth

BBLS. Big Brother, Little Sister. Sometimes, siblings are two peas in a pod. Other times, your sibling may be your nemesis. Written by a kid for kids, BBLS is a lighthearted and hilarious take on sibling rivalry.

In Las Vegas lives overly responsible seventeen-year-old Matthew Harper. With his paralyzin

• Language: English
• Publisher: Prodigy Kids Press
• Release date: Oct 12, 2020
• ISBN: 9781735782911

Elena Southworth

Fourteen-year-old bestselling author Elena Southworth first knew she wanted to be a writer when she was five years old and penned her first book by herself. Something unique to Elena's writing is that she likes to write from each character's point of view which has resulted in rich character development, masterfully intertwined and amusing plots, and overall wonderfully entertaining middle-grade books. Elena hopes her stories become a place where readers can escape and find some great humor along the way. She'd like to be an inspiration as a young author to inspire other children to write books as she has and that nothing is impossible.When she isn't writing, Elena enjoys playing piano or video games. Elena's writing has enabled her to contribute charitably by donating dozens of her BBLS books to Children's Hospital of Orange County at Mission Hospital, and Orangewood Children's Home, along with having her book in many classrooms and school libraries. Elena has been invited as a "Meet the Author" guest at several school assemblies to share her love of writing and inspire young authors. She lives in Orange County, California with her mom, dad, little brother, and her puppy, Bo. The Harpers' Holiday Horror is the second book in Elena's Big Brother, Little Sister three-book series. For more information about Elena or to schedule a speaking engagement, please visit Elena's website at: www.elenasouthworth.comInstagram: @ProdigyKidsPress

Book preview

Big Brother, Little Sister

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Matthew

Please, Mom! Just take Aaliyah to a friend’s house or something! It’s the only day I have to get a suit for the dance— But I don’t get to finish my sentence. I never do.

It’s only for an hour, Matthew. She won’t bother you.

Of course. Aaliyah is now my priority. Again.

Oops! Sorry! I got so distracted trying to convince Mom not to leave me with the worst sister in space and time that I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Matthew Harper. I guess I consider myself an ordinary high schooler. I mean, I get my homework done, play video games, and go to football practice after school. I like to watch baseball games on TV and eat potato chips. I’m seventeen years old, and my birthday is in August.

I live near downtown Las Vegas, the big city in the middle of a flaming-hot desert. My house is two stories, and there are only three bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms. It is not big or fancy, but the fact that I call it home is all I need.

I have a lot of friends and even a girlfriend! Her name is Delaney Emerson. We went to prom together, and the end-of-year school dance is coming up in a few weeks, which we will also be going to. I have two sisters, Camille and Aaliyah. Cami is in college at Wagon Wheel University. She was three or four when I was born. Cami and I got along very well. I could never remember her picking on me, and we rarely got into fights. Every time we did, it was my fault. I have to admit that.

I don’t see Cami much anymore, and we aren’t very close like we used to be.

Then there’s Aaliyah. She is only eight. She, well, I’ll say this: She isn’t like Cami. She’s a bit of a, um, problem.

You wouldn’t think we’re related. We don’t look anything like siblings. I have blonde hair and brown eyes. Surprisingly, I don’t have any freckles, even though everyone else in my family does. On the other hand, Aaliyah has shiny auburn hair with bangs and glacier-blue eyes.

She’s silly, bossy, and blames everything she does on someone else. Whether it’s me, Cami, or a kid at school, she gets away with everything by bending the truth.

Aaliyah is a troublemaker. Every time we are out doing something, she creates chaos.

Aaliyah has never changed. From the day she was born, she’s always loved causing problems.

To make matters worse, Aaliyah has more friends than anyone I know or have ever met. She puts on a friendly face. Aaliyah acts like an amicable and outgoing person. She has so many friends I’ve lost count of them. From normal kids at school to adults to animals to even the little critters that creep around inside the bottom of our tire swing, you name it! Aaliyah is friends with them all.

Aaliyah has this thing where every time somebody says, Aaliyah, she needs to say, That’s my name! It drives me crazy. Crazy!

I was about nine when Mom brought Aaliyah into the world. She has been the absolute favorite child from day one. The thing that angers me the most is that Aaliyah is more troublesome than I’ve ever been in my life, but she gets away with everything she does. Whenever something goes wrong, Mom steps in to defend her and says, Oh, she’s only eight! She doesn’t know! or It’s okay that she did that. She didn’t mean to! or Don’t be mad at her. It’s not a big deal! I, on the other hand, would get in trouble every time I deserved it. I don’t understand what’s so different about Aaliyah!

Aaliyah is also very spoiled. Her first birthday was held at a castle in Rome. For crying out loud! I was appalled. I mean, come on! She was turning ONE. It’s not like she was going on her honeymoon. Everything was so fancy. There were baskets of flowers all over the place! On the tables, the floor, everywhere! Anywhere you turned your head, the was a basket of flowers! That birthday is still vivid in my mind, even if it was over seven years ago when I was ten and scrawny.

According to Mom, Dad, Cami, and a few photos, my first birthday was in the backyard. I don’t remember it, but Cami told me the story of how it went: Only family and a few friends had been invited, and nobody even showed up. The entire time, I sat in my applesauce-stained high chair and poked at a small vanilla mush cake. That’s probably why Mom chose a Roman castle for the next one.

Cami’s first birthday was at a park. And I think hers was worse than mine. The only guests were Mom, Dad, and my old grandmas, Grandma Pearl and Grandma Agnes. My grandpas didn’t even go. The playground was not available because there was construction. There was a new playground going in because the current one had gotten old and rusty. There is a picture on the mantle that was taken on that day. In the photo, Cami is sitting in the grass crying, wearing a little birthday hat. There is a tractor bulldozing the playground and construction workers in bright yellow vests running around in the background. It was a total joke. Our mantle is covered in a trillion pictures, by the way. Only three of those pictures are of me, and two are of Cami. I bet you can guess who the rest are pictures of? That’s right, Aaliyah! Mom even hangs up drawings that Aaliyah makes! All over the crisp white paint on our walls! A giant TAPESTRY of Aaliyah’s FACE hangs over the couch! One time, Aaliyah wrote her name in cursive on an old sheet of math homework. Mom framed it! The photo still hangs in the same spot.

My life hasn’t been the same ever since my little sister came into it. Aaliyah is a pretty happy kid in general. Sometimes she can be a little bit too positive and adventurous, though. It usually leads to a crazy adventure. We like to call all of our unbelievable experiences BBLS, which stands for Big Brother, Little Sister. It’s a thing we’ve had for a while. With us, every day is an adventure. Here’s our story from different views.

Aaliyah

Matthew says I’m annoying. I don’t think I am, and I don’t try to be unless he’s mad. I love to make people feel even worse. It’s just so funny! I’m good at it, too. With years of experience under my belt, I know all the little tricks. I see what people can’t stand.

We have this thing called BBLS: Big Brother, Little Sister. It’s like a code word. He says big brothers are great, and little sisters are just annoying, gross, rude, a waste of time, and entirely in the way of everything. In his eyes, I’ll always be unable to do anything right. Always a chatterbox of useless ideas. Always younger. That younger part is true, I guess, but I think he’s just angry that Mom makes him watch me like a hawk twenty-four seven. Dad doesn’t care. He’s probably the laziest person ever. He’s as lazy as Mom is hyper. That’s just my parents, Mike and Tammy Harper, for you. Sigh.

Matthew may not realize this, but he annoys me, too. I’m eight years old and mature for my age, or so Mom says. Oh and by