Short, Light, Free

Teacher told us that we had to rely on ourselves in order to get accepted into a reputable senior high school.

I started drowning myself in studies but little brother wanted my company.

Since Mom had to cook, I could only assume this responsibility.

It was enjoyable at first but because of the fun, I often forgot about revision.

My grades slipped slowly.

To be honest, it wasn’t really getting low. It was just that my classmates were starting to get serious about their studies and they were advancing rapidly.

The rich ones would go for tuition and the poorer ones would mug behind closed doors.

I remained stagnant because of little brother.

I attempted to use toys to keep him busy in order to buy some time for myself.

However, he quickly got bored of all the toys and none would keep him focused any longer.

I thought about using other objects.

One day, I finally found something useful – a candy.

Mom wouldn’t be pleased of course since candies caused bad teeth.

There was nothing good about candies.

Because I was so busy studying, I had nowhere to spend my pocket money on.

As such, I used them to fill my drawer up with candies.

Each time little brother came looking for me, I would lure him away with a candy.

“You must finish this, little brother. I’m playing with you, alright?” I would tell him.

“Okay,” he would reply gleefully.

“But remember not to tell Mom and Dad that I’ve been giving you candy.”

He nodded quickly before taking the candy from my hand.

Once, twice…

One day, two days…

As summer break was approaching, I finally caught a break.

“Did you feed your brother something, Jiaming? Why are his teeth all rotten?” Mom shouted.

“No idea. I didn’t do anything,” I answered.

“This kid is really…” Mom walked toward my brother.

That week, little brother visited the dentist.

Mom explained that he had found candies from somewhere and that all his molars were damaged. His new teeth won’t be out soon but the dentist had to remove all his teeth and give him fake ones.

This reminded me how half a semester passed just like that.

I fed him candies daily. At first, it was a bag in two days, but eventually, it became two bags in a day.

Mom pinched his ear, probing, “Who gave them to you?”

Little brother only smiled, not uttering a word.

“Seriously… we don’t even have that many candies at home,” Mom commented, suspicious.

“Stop, Mom. I’m going to school.” I ran out of my room in guilt.

It was all my fault.

Little brother never stopped coming into my room but I stopped giving him candies.

He stuck with me, asking to play. I simply couldn’t focus.

I stood up and retrieved a Transformer toy from the shelf. It was something I’d never planned to give to him.

I pushed it to him. “This is my favorite toy, you know? Take this and have fun. Let me revise my work alright?”

Little brother threw it aside. “I want candy.”

My heart sank. I was at a loss.

I looked toward the drawer, unable to stay focused.

Out of fear, I did not hand him any more candy.

The next afternoon, I returned to my study room and got a shock upon opening the drawer. It was half empty.

Initially, I was afraid that Mom had found out, but I quickly found clues.

There were wrapping papers on the floor.

It was my little brother.

Not wanting to shout, I looked for him in the room.

I found him at a corner in the balcony and he was holding onto a bag of candy.

Wrapping papers were sticking out from his pockets.

He handed a candy over to me. “Have this.”

I was in shock but quickly picked up all the wrappers.

Mom was doing the chores and hadn’t noticed this. I heaved a sigh of relief.

I lost all mood to revise.

I returned to my room with him beside me.

He pulled my hand and said, “I want some candy.”

I shook my head.

It was a week to my examination and I decided not to think about it any longer.

I pulled my drawer open and retrieved my wallet. “Here’s some money for you to buy whatever you want. Stop disturbing me okay?”

He took the money reluctantly and I nudged him out of my room.

I put on my MP3 and started writing my papers.

Mom only realized that little brother wasn’t in my room when she came in to call me out for dinner.

He was gone.

I wasn’t anxious. I knew he had to be at the candy shop downstairs but I kept quiet.

I brought him there often.

Mom and Dad left the house to search for him.

Half an hour later, Mom brought him back.

The food was cold but I was already full.

Mom threw my wallet on the floor. “Jiaming.”

“What’s up?” I asked.

“This is yours, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” I replied calmly despite my panic.

“You said you didn’t feed him anything,” she roared.

“I’m facing my books every day so how would I know that he’s gotten hold of my wallet? Now it’s clear. He’s stealing my money to get candies.”

“You… why didn’t you say anything about losing your wallet?” she asked.

“I don’t use any money for school. I did not even realize that my wallet was missing. Alright, can we stop talking? My examination is in three days’ time.” I stood up and walked to my room.

After that day, I stopped receiving pocket money. I also started locking my door to prevent little brother from entering.

I could hear him knocking on my door every day but I drowned it out with my MP3.

I did not open the door or even call his name anymore.

I did pretty well on that examination.

But little brother was in trouble again.