The Cookie Thief
I watched his silhouette as it tip-toed toward the cookie jar. A flashlight was in my hand, and my finger was on the ON button. But first, I had conducted an experime-nt. For the last week I had snuck out late each night, nine o' clock, to watch my little brother steal the cookies, and then tell Mommy in the morning, when she had questioned him, that, "Maybe the Cookie Monster stole it" innocently. The brat. I would get him tonight, I wou--
But his figure was starting to come toward me, and I sank back into the shadows. Still it neared, and he called out softly, "Laila?"
I crawled out of my corner in the dark room, and found him in the dim moonlight holding the Cookie Jar. "Do you want one?" Damian asked.
I reached for the jar, but Damian swiftly pulled it away. "Na-na-na-boo-boo! You can't catch me!" He laughed, running away.
I flicked on my flashlight and jogged after him, my mind racing. The snob! The liar! The thief! I slowed my pace when I saw him head into Mommy and Daddy's room.
I heard him whisper so faintly I could barely hear him, "Scared?"
Me? Scared? Of course not! I headed into the room, and grabbed Damian's free arm, and tried to march him out of the room. He dropped the Cookie Jar with his other hand and let out a wail. "Mommy! Daddy! Laila's hurting me!"
Daddy rolled over and switched on his bedside light. The brightness made me squint. Mommy rolled like a zombie out of bed and glared at me and Damian. "What is the meaning of this?" She asked.
Damian had fake tears rolling down his face. "Laila hurted me," he sniffed.
"'Hurted' is not a word," I said irritably.
"Don't interrupt," Daddy said as Damian's fake crying grew more frequent.
"See, she's hurting me!" He cried and pried my hand off his arm. "I was asleep when I heard loudness in the kitchen, so I went to go see what she was doing. She was stealing cookies! MY FAVORITE COOKIES! It was not the Cookie Monster after all. And then she took me in here, not knowing it was your guys' room, because it was dark, and started to hurted me!" Damian's fake tears were getting loud and annoying.
"He's a liar!" I exclaimed. "I rotten liar! I-"
"You both will return to your room," Mommy replied sternly, looking down at the smashed Cookie Jar. "Laila, you will be punished in the morning. Damian, I will buy you some better cookies tomorrow--the big chocolate cookies, the kind you like best. Okay, sweetie?"
Damian nodded and headed back to the room we shared. I followed him, real tears wetting my cheeks. Mommy's punishments were not just time-outs--they were things like, no candy or treats for a month. A whole month!
Damian glanced back at me, and a flash of sympathy came to his eyes, but he did not say anything.
I crawled into bed, and tried to fall asleep. I just could not, though, so I started to get out of bed when Damian's figure stopped me. "What do you want?" I asked glumly.
Our nightlight was just bright enough so I could see my brother's wide blue eyes. He stood on his tiptoes and murmured into my ear, "I'll give you my cookies."
He looked serious and a bit sad. "I'm sorry."
I hugged him briefly. "Oh, it's all right. And I won't tell Mommy that it was really you."
"You won't? Thank you!" Damian returned the hug.
I went back to bed, feeling a bit better. Maybe my brother was not such a devil after all.