January 18, 2016

Everett Morrison was still in the midst of his first year at Zachary Taylor Middle School, and he already hated it. He hated being the smallest kid in his class, he hated the brand new braces on his teeth, he hated being stuck with the meanest teachers in the school, and he hated being in the same school as his sister. He was not exactly thrilled to be waking up on a Monday morning just to go to a place that he wished would spontaneously combust, but nevertheless, here he was. Thankfully, he was in study hall, and in six minutes, he would be free.

As Everett worked on his social studies homework, he thought about his after school plans. Louis had agreed to meet him in the library, where they could pretend to study for their upcoming science test while actually looking at memes. It was a perfect plan, and Everett couldn't wait for school to be over so he could hang out with Louis and avoid sailing practice with his dad.

The bell rang just as Everett finished the last question on his reading guide. He shoved his homework into his backpack and sprinted to his locker. As Everett threw on his winter jacket, Louis came up to him. "Hey Everett," he said as he brushed a strand of brown hair away from his pearly white face.

"Hi Louis," Everett said.

"Are you ready to head to the library?" Louis said.

"Yeah," Everett said as he followed Louis to the library. On their way there, Louis decided to bring up the upcoming sailing season.

"Are you sailing again next year?" Louis asked.

"I don't want to, but my parents are probably going to make me," Everett said. "What about you?"

"I'm definitely sailing again this year, but it's okay if you don't want to," Louis said. "Sailing isn't for everybody."

"Tell that to my parents," Everett said. "They just don't understand."

"Parents never understand," Louis complained. "They did let me see The Force Awakens again yesterday though."

"Seriously?" Everett complained. The new Star Wars movie was already one of his favorites, yet only his dad liked it as much as he did. "Why didn't you invite me?"

"I forgot," Louis said. "I'm sorry, Everett."

"It's okay," Everett replied. As the boys approached the library, Everett noticed a large poster for the upcoming school dance. "Are you going to that, Louis?"

Louis laughed and said, "Of course not. Are you?"

"Not unless Ashley Vega agrees to go with me," Everett said.

"That will never happen," Louis said. "Ashley's a seventh grader."

"Maybe she'll suddenly decide that she likes younger men," Everett said.

"Trust me, she won't," Louis said. "I think we can both safely say that we're not attending the dance." All of a sudden, Louis peeked around the corner into the hallway where the eighth graders' lockers were. "I think your sister's over there, Everett," he said.

"What's she doing?" Everett asked.

"Just talking to Eden Reinhart," Louis replied. "Do you want to go spy on them?"

"Yes!" Everett exclaimed, and the two boys snuck into the hallway, hoping that Sylvie and Eden wouldn't notice them. To their surprise, the eighth graders just kept talking, unaware of Louis and Everett's presence.

"Please tell me that your math class is better than mine," Sylvie said. "We literally have a book called 'Geometry For Enjoyment and Challenge,' and I'm still trying to figure out where the enjoyment comes in."

"I actually don't mind math all that much," Eden said.

"Really?" Sylvie said.

"Well, I haven't done any homework since winter break, so my assessment of the class's difficulty might not be all that accurate," Eden admitted.

"You should do your homework," Sylvie insisted. "You'll fall behind if you don't."

"Unlike you, I'm fine with a B-minus," Eden said. "My teacher already decided my placement for high school anyways, so it doesn't matter." Sylvie rolled her eyes, and Eden added, "Besides, Bobby Parsons sits right in front of me in math, and he's really cute."

"You need to control your hormones and focus on actually doing your homework," Sylvie said.

"Don't worry, Sylvie, we'll be in high school in a few months, and none of this will matter," Eden said as she reached for something in her locker. "I just hope that Bobby Parsons will ask me to the school dance."

Sylvie considered this for a few minutes and then said, "That's a possibility. He does seem to like you."

"Do you really think so?" Eden asked with a smile.

"Why would I tell you that if I didn't?" Sylvie said. "Didn't Bobby give you that project he made in art last week?"

"Yeah, but he was just doing that to be nice," Eden said.

"He could have given that to any girl in the school," Sylvie said. "I think that he likes you."

"This is so boring," Louis whispered to Everett, and he couldn't help but agree. He was hoping that he would hear something truly interesting, but his sister and her best friend were involved in nothing but conversations about math class and teenage girl gossip. "Let's just go to the library."

"No, let's stick around a little longer and see if they mention if Ashley Vega has a date for the dance yet," Everett insisted. Louis rolled his eyes, but both boys stayed in place and kept eavesdropping on the girls.

"Enough about me," Eden said. "Who do you want to go to the dance with?" Sylvie suddenly froze, unable to say another word about the dance, or anything else for that matter. "Come on, Sylvie," Eden said. "You can tell me anything."

"Are you sure, Eden?" Sylvie asked.

"Of course," Eden said. "We're best friends, aren't we? I don't care who you go to the dance with. You could want to cast inappropriate charms on a goat like Aberforth Dumbledore, for all I care." Everett couldn't help but snicker at that particular mental image. "You can tell me absolutely anything, and I won't judge you, because I'm your friend, and friends are always there for each other."

"Okay," Sylvie said. "I think that I might be interested in girls."

Eden shrugged and said, "Okay. You still didn't answer my question."

"You seem so nonchalant about this," Sylvie noted.

"That's because I am," Eden said as she gave Sylvie a hug. "I don't care whether you're gay or bi or straight or anything else - you'll always be my friend. I just want you to go to the school dance with the girl of your dreams."

Sylvie smiled and said, "I do think that Grace Rosado is pretty cute."

"Grace Rosado?" Eden said. "Sylvie, you've got good taste. Even as a straight chick, I can say that Grace is one good-looking girl. She's in my Home Economics class - maybe I can talk her into going to the dance with you!"

"She won't agree to that," Sylvie said.

"You'll never know unless you ask," Eden said.

"I guess so," Sylvie said. "Maybe I can ask her to sit at our lunch table tomorrow?"

"That's the spirit, Sylvie!" Eden exclaimed.

"Can you please do me a favor though, Eden?" Sylvie asked.

"Of course," Eden said. "What is it?"

"Don't tell my family that I'm a lesbian," Sylvie said. "I'm not ready to come out to them yet, and I'm not sure how they'll react, especially Grandpa. You should have heard his rant after Wisconsin legalized gay marriage. He would be furious if he found out that I was gay."

"I wouldn't even think of telling them," Eden said. "You should have the chance to come out on your own terms. I won't even tell anyone else at school if you don't want me to."

"Please don't," Sylvie said. "You know how news travels in this town."

"I'll keep quiet then," Eden said.

"Thanks Eden," Sylvie said. "You're the first person that I've told about any of this, but I'm glad that I did. It feels good to get it all off of my chest."

"You're welcome, Sylvie," Eden said.

"Do you want to go back to my house?" Sylvie said. "We can have a snowball fight!"

"Yeah, that sounds awesome!" Eden exclaimed as she threw her winter coat on. "I'll race you there!"

Sylvie and Eden sprinted down the hallway and out of the school, somehow still not noticing Everett and Louis. Everett's head was spinning with everything that Sylvie had just said. Clearly, she hadn't intended for him to hear any of this, but he had, and now, he had no idea what to do with this revelation. He stood there, frozen in the eighth grade hallway, and when he finally stepped away from the hallway and towards the library, he was still in a daze.

Louis had his own ideas. "Dude, this is awesome!" he exclaimed once they arrived in the library.

"How is my sister being gay awesome?" Everett asked.

"This is the perfect way to get revenge on her!" Louis said. "Think about all of those times she's annoyed you. If you tell the yacht club what we just heard, we can ruin Sylvie's life."

Admittedly, his idea was tempting. Like most younger brothers, Everett enjoyed making Sylvie miserable, and this would be a great way to do it. It was easy too - almost too easy. All he had to do was bring up Grace Romano next time Grandma and Grandpa came over for dinner, and Sylvie's fate would be sealed.

However, something held him back. Everett couldn't say what, but he couldn't agree to Louis' plan quite yet. It was an awfully cruel way to get revenge, no matter how irritating his sister could be sometimes. "I don't know about that, Louis," Everett said. "Isn't that a little mean?"

"Yes, but she's a little mean," Louis said. "It's only fair."

"I'm going to go home and think about it," Everett said. "Did you find any good memes over the weekend?"

Everett and Louis spent the next twenty minutes looking at memes, and when both of them got bored, they returned to their respective homes. Thankfully, Zachary Taylor Middle School was close enough to both of their houses that they could walk, even in the snow. It was just about the only thing that Everett didn't hate about the school.

Despite the cold weather, Everett decided to take a walk along the beach to clear his mind. Clearwater Lake was completely frozen over, but in his opinion, that was when the lake was at its most beautiful. The smooth ice glistened in the sun, giving Everett a nice view as his boots crunched through the snow.

Sylvie and Eden were still on the other side of the yard, tossing snowballs at each other and laughing. Upon seeing her face, Everett couldn't imagine betraying her. Telling anyone in the yacht club that his sister was gay would ruin her chance at happiness, and Everett just couldn't bring himself to do it. No matter how matter times he told his friends that he wished that he was an only child, he loved his sister. He had to keep her secret.

Everett took out his phone and texted Louis. "I'm not going to tell anyone in the yacht club that Sylvie's gay, and you'd better not do it either," he wrote. He took a deep breath and hit the send button.

"Why not?" Louis replied.

Because I care about my sister's feelings seemed like a sappy answer, so he wrote, "Because she'll be mad at me, and then she'll do something even more awful to us."

"Okay, Everett," Louis texted back. "I won't tell anyone."

"Great. Thanks Louis," Everett texted. He stuffed his phone back into his pocket, looked out over the lake one more time, and headed back into his house. It had been a long day, and all Everett wanted was some time with his Xbox One. By this point, Sylvie and Eden were back inside too, drinking hot cocoa and gossiping.

"Hey Everett," Sylvie said. "Where have you been this afternoon?"

"Just hanging out in the library with Louis," Everett answered.

"Okay," Sylvie said. "Do you want some hot cocoa?"

At that moment, all that Everett wanted was to drink hot cocoa with his sister. Sylvie poured him a mug, and he smiled as he sipped on his drink. As his insides warmed up, Everett felt at peace with the world.