If you asked me, I would have told you I didn't have a brother I also wouldn't have told you that I was a fraternal twin. Definitely not that.
We were like people that lived on two different continents. Our own little worlds. I wasn't popular, but I had a good set of friends. We'd go to movies, or just hang out at the mall for no good reason, I wasn't that great in school, but I managed to graduate at least with 3.0. Ben was different. Way different. He spent his time in his room, or nerding out with his friends. He was top of our class in everything, valedictorian, but you couldn't tell it at home. Sometimes he forgets to tie his own shoes, or even to get out of bed in the morning. And, did I mention he was a big nerd? His walls were plastered in art from, get this, of all things My Little Pony.
Yeah, I know, right? Like the show from the 80's and 90's that us girls watched because we were told we weren't cool enough for Transformers. Ben claims that the show's all different now, that the characters seem to actually have personalities instead of just shallow characteristics.
It's all weird to me. I mean, a bunch of grown dudes getting all worked up over whether or not Twilight Sparkle or Rainbow Dash is the best pony? Gah! I don't even like knowing who these characters are, much less knowing my brother's into it.
But, in a few short weeks, just a few short weeks we'll be out of here, and in college. I'd already packed up my stuff, I was ready to move on with life. Ben seemed content to stay at home, where his friends are, and go to the state college. I wanted out of town, out of state.
We were supposed to have our stuff all boxed up and ready to go. Or, at least I had my stuff already boxed up and ready. Ben, on the other hand, had been on his computer when I went to bed and when I woke up, he was still on that computer.
I knocked on the door frame to his room. An incident involving a fight between us when we were about 11 forced our parents to take the doors off our rooms. Lame, I know, but somewhere around thirteen they gave up on us ever truly liking each other.
"What do you want?" He asked. He slid the headphones off and turned around, clearly irritated.
"You know we're leaving in three days, right?" I tossed an arm around his room. It was still a mess. Ugh. It also smelled of moldy sandwiches in here.
"Yeah... and?"
"And, you should be getting ready to go."
"But there's a marathon," He actually started whining like a little kid. "We're gonna marathon MLP because they're doing the season premiere Saturday."
"You won't be in town Saturday." I pointed out.
"I've got it set to DVR." He nodded, frowning. "As long as I'm not getting any spoilers."
Behind him, on the screen his skype chat was open. He talked to other dudes into the show from all over the country on the thing. Brownies? Something like that. They always have some ridiculous moniker. Behind that was a livestream window where they sat in their little rooms away from each other and talked about the magical world of the pony. Deranged.
"C'mon, cut me some slack." He said. "I'll be ready in no time. But first, this marathon."
He clamped his headphones on his head. A physical way to shut out the world. He'd been trying to find a way to do that for years, and with the dawn of his first computer, has found a way of doing precisely that. Pathetic. He says he's made friends from around the world because of this whole Pony thing, but I think he's just found more people to be mentally deranged online with. None of his real world friends get it either.
And that was the only thing his friends and I had in common.
Even through the headphones, I could hear the sound from the stream. The screen showed a book opening, then two ponies battling out over night and day or something. Then the book closed and the theme song came on. That sappy theme song. Remember back in the day, the original theme? "My little pony..." Oh god gag me, I hated that stuff. So sappy and syrupy. And these dudes just lap it up.
Honestly, I don't get it. I really don't. His room is plastered with posters of characters, and he's even got a plushie he sleeps with. How sickening. I don't even want to think of the things he must do to the poor thing. I never understood the big draw it had. He tried to convince me to watch an episode, just one episode, and he spent the entire show staring at my face. It was uncomfortable.
"C'mon. It's time for you to get ready anyway." I said.
He ignored me.
"Earth to Ben, Earth to Ben. Come in Ben?" I said the old sing-songy chant that we all said to him when he was younger. He was always such a space-cadet. "Mom says I have to help you pack like you're four, so c'mon!"
I don't know why I did this, and thinking on it later, it might have been what sealed my doom. Maybe it was just too much pony in so little space, I don't know. I just remember being really exasperated that he couldn’t be a functional normal human for once in his life.
I physically picked up his laptop. The power and his headphone cable pulled out of their respective sockets. And the theme song was still going on... "My Little pony..."
"What is WRONG with you?" Ben screamed. I was a head taller than he was, so playing keep away wasn't hard to do. It was considered a past time of mine back in third and fourth grade. Until he started getting taller than me.
"I said, start packing and you'll get your laptop back." I kept it high over my head. I'm glad it was lightweight.
"You're nuts, Beth!" He said. "Give it back."
"Not until you open a box and put something inside it." I said. Logic, amirite?
"I said. Give. It. Back!" He jumped for it. I tried to maneuver the laptop behind me, but not until he hit me with his full force, knocking the both of us to the ground. He grabbed for the laptop and we fought for it. The poor laptop was now the unwitting rope in a gruesome game of tug-of-war. Suddenly, an electric shock weaved its way through the laptop and the both of us stumbled backward. The laptop sailed through the air, but it didn't enjoy it's freedom before long, as it came crashing to the ground on a corner, the screen turned ugly with lines.
The resulting loss of the laptop forced the two of us backwards. I swear, I remember this all so clearly because it seemed to happen in slow motion. I fell backward and I must have hit my head against something. I saw a white light and then darkness.
Author's Note
I have given up on this story being just a niggling thought in the back of my head for three years. I'm writing this thing. I'm even uploading the chapters without having edited it very much because i'm so tired of having it sit there on my computer staring at me evilly like, "Why aren't you finishing me Scribbles?"
On that note, I would welcome any and all people who point out inconsistencies/edits that I could make or are willing to come forth as a beta reader to make this story so awesome! XD
