Untitlied Short Story

A little stroll through Jessica's mind

Nathan and his brother, John, lay sprawled out in the warm grass. Both were exhausted from their daily chores that had them mowing the lawn and trimming the hedge under the hot summer sun.
"Nathan, the shade moved again," John said as he noticed that they were once again exposed to the sun's burning rays.
"Stupid heat," Nathan mumbled as he crawled back under the cool shade of the tall trees.
"This is boring," John whined to his brother. Nathan looked over at his younger brother for a moment before he replied.
"Then go do something, idiot."
"Like what?"
"I don't care as long as you leave me alone, this heat has fried my brain enough as it is."
"You're no fun!"
"That's because we obviously have different ideas of fun."
"Fine," John said annoyedly. He scanned the yard for a minute before his eyes came to rest on the tree Nathan lay beneath. When Nathan opened his eyes a short time later he found John sitting on the branch above his head staring at him.
"What are you doing?" Nathan growled.
"Nothing."
"You're doing something, so what is it."
"Stuff."
"Do I have to go up there and beat it out of you?"
"Come and get me!" John yelled as he climbed up higher in the tree.
"Why climb up when I can just wait for you to come down?" Nathan said as he sat up.
"Then I'm not coming down!"
"You'll have to eventually."
"Never!" After saying that John disappeared into the lush green leaves of the tree.
"This is the perfect opportunity to take advantage of John's youthful stupidity," Nathan whispered to himself.
"I'll stay in this tree until you promise not to beat me up any more!" John yelled down to his brother, hoping that he could at least gain a little something when he would eventually be bribed to climb down.
"Okay, see ya' later!" Nathan said happily as he walked away. Nathan burst out laughing when as he stepped into the house, catching the attention of his older sister, Jennessa.
"What did you do now?" she sighed.
"I didn't do anything! John said he's gonna live in a tree!" Nathan said still giggling slightly.
"What?" she said flatly.
"He's in that tree out in the back," Nathan said, pointing out the window towards a tree. Jennessa shook her head and tossed the sandwich she was eating over her shoulder.
"Perfect, one day without parental supervision and John's living in a tree."
"It's not that bad, only Brandon will get in trouble because he's in charge while the adults are gone." Jennessa glanced at her brother for a second before she turned around and left the room.
"You have the rest of the day to get him down, if he's still there when I come back... well, I'll just say your life will be anything but pleasant," She said as she walked up the stairs towards her room.
"Great, how am I gonna do that?" Nathan peeked out the door, only to see that John was still up in the old oak. He was about to just run off and forget John was even there when he noticed one of his older brothers' as he walked down the hall. A smile lit up his face as he rushed over to him.
"Hey, Eric!" Nathan yelled to his brother.
"What do ya' want?" Eric growled in annoyance.
"John won't get out of the tree and if he doesn't come down then Jennessa'll kill me!" he shouted quickly. Nathan's brother rolled his eyes and walked towards the back door of the house.
"And why exactly should I be helping you?" he asked with a smirk.
"Jennessa never said he had to get down under his own free will."
"I'm listening," Eric said, turning to face his young sibling. Nathan quickly explained his plan to Eric.
"Sounds entertaining, let's go have some fun," Eric said as he stepped out of the house followed shortly after by Nathan.
"John? You up there still?" Eric yelled.
"What do you want?" John asked as he poked his head out from the green leaves.
"Are you really gonna stay up there for your whole lifetime?"
"Yes!"
"Why?"
"Cuz I can!"
"Are you sure about that?"
"Yes!" John had begun to feel slightly uneasy as the conversation continued in such a strange fashion.
"Okay, just wondering," Eric said as he wandered back towards the house. Nathan slowly slid around the back of the tree with a gardening hose, twisted enough to cut off the flow of water temporarily while he crept closer to where he would have a perfect shot at is brother. John looked down to see Nathan just as he untwisted the hose to release a spray of water. Caught off guard by the ice cold water, John lost his footing on the branch and tumbled out of the tree's branches.
"Still gonna stay there forever?" Nathan asked with a smile.
"Shut up, just shut up," John said as he climbed to his feet.
"Time to go inside," Nathan said, grabbing his brother by the back of his shirt and pulling him towards the house.

- Jessica Watters aka Bagel-chan

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