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Vegas didn’t want to go to school. He would much rather stay at home with his mother and his new baby brother. Well, Macau wasn’t exactly new, but he was finally walking, so that made him much more interesting.
Vegas used to hold him as much as he was allowed, but Macau couldn’t play with him when he could only roll around on the floor. All he did was take anything Vegas tried to show him in his fat, droolly fist, and tried to shove it into his mouth.
Now, Macau could at least wobble after Vegas, so Vegas could show him things.
Macau, however, was not old enough to go to school.
“I hate school,” Vegas hissed, crossing his chubby little arms as his mother slicked his hair back from his face.
She smiled, poking the tip of his nose.
“It’ll be fun. You can make some friends, and your cousins will be there.”
Kinn was a couple of months older than Vegas, and Kim was a few months younger than him. Vegas was not supposed to talk about them having different moms. When he had found out, he narrowed his eyes at his mother, asking if he and Macau had different moms. She was the only mother he remembered, but what if he had another that he didn’t remember? His mother had laughed, giving him a big hug as she assured him that she was, indeed, his mother as well as Macau’s.
Vegas didn’t like Kinn. They were closer in age, so they were often compared at family functions. Kinn always thought he was smarter and better than Vegas, just because he was older. Vegas could already read and write well before Kinn, but Kinn made him feel like that was weird.
Kim, he didn’t mind as much. Kim was pretty quiet and kept to himself, and he seemed to like Vegas.
Vegas kicked the back of the seat in front of him all the way to preschool, glaring out his window when he wasn’t watching Macau grinning at him from his car seat.
“School is stupid,” Vegas grumbled. “Kinn is stupid.”
His mother clucked at him, so Vegas used his inside voice to talk in his own head as he continued to complain.
The car stopped, and his mother grabbed Macau’s car seat, covering him with a light blanket before coming to help Vegas out of his booster seat.
“Mae,” Vegas whined. “Do I have to stay all day? What if my tummy or my head hurts?”
“You’ll be fine. But if your tummy or your head hurts, tell your teacher, and they will call me.”
Vegas pouted, but he nodded. He didn’t want a teacher, but at least he knew who to ask to call his mom.
When they stepped into the room, which was brightly colored and full of various textures, Vegas narrowed his eyes when he saw that Kinn and Kim were already there. Kinn was already acting bossy, showing Kim around as if he had already been coming there for a while.
“Hi, Vegas,” Kim said in a soft voice, giving him a wave.
Vegas nodded his head slightly, but glared at Kinn. Kinn just stared back.
His mother finished talking to the teacher, and bent to give Vegas a kiss as Kim ran over to smile down at Macau.
Maybe Kim wasn’t so bad. He always liked Macau and gave him attention, even though he was Vegas’s brother. Khun was always trying to take Macau’s attention, which was annoying, but Kim was much more gentle.
Suddenly, Vegas needed to show his cousins that he was big. He turned to his mother and loudly said, “Thank you, Mae. I’ll see you after school.”
She shook her head, smiling, and patted his head.
“Very well, son. Macau and I will see you later.”
That made Vegas sad, so he made sure to get on his knees, bending over to kiss Macau’s cheek as he told him, “I’ll see you later, Nong. I’ll be really good at school so I can tell you about it later.”
With that, his mother was gone. His teacher ushered the three boys into a play area, and Vegas gave everything a cursory glance as Kim pulled some blocks out to play with. Kinn seemed curious about what Vegas was interested in playing with, so he could take over, but Vegas was waiting for him to choose something, so they were at a stalemate.
The door opened again, getting Vegas’s attention. An old woman walked in backwards, dragging a boy who was digging his heels in. They were fussing at each other loudly, but Vegas couldn’t understand everything with their heavy accents.
“Yaai!” the boy cried, trying to turn away so he could run, but his grandmother was too quick for him.
It looked like there was someone who hated the idea of school even more than Vegas did.
The door shut, and the boy turned around, looking at the three of them before turning his face away, hiding his tears under his thick bangs.
Kinn had Kim, so Vegas decided he should have an ally to even things up.
Holding his head up high, he stomped across the room to introduce himself.
“Hi,” Vegas said. “What’s your name?”
The boy’s bottom lip quivered, but he refused to look in Vegas’s direction.
“His name is Pete,” his grandmother offered. “And who might you be? I can guess your last name by how nicely you are dressed.”
Vegas looked down at himself. He was dressed much nicer than Pete was, he noticed, and he wondered if Pete was worried that he wouldn’t fit in. The class had been specially created, so not just anyone could get in, so Vegas wondered how this granny knew his father and his uncle. They weren’t rich, so there had to be some other reason for Pete to be allowed to learn with them.
“My name’s Vegas,” he answered, “Those are my cousins Kinn and Kim.”
Vegas’s eyebrows lifted as Pete grumbled something that sounded like a series of swears. He looked so innocent, so hearing such vulgar language from his mouth instantly made Vegas like him.
His grandmother let out a series of curses of her own while the teacher tried to calm them both down.
Vegas was so entertained by the chaos that he missed Kinn approaching.
“Hello, Pete,” Kinn said in a gentle voice. “Would you like to play with us?”
Pete frowned, but his grandmother pushed him toward Kinn.
“Go play with the young master,” she said with a broad smile. “Make sure you behave yourself, like I said.”
Vegas frowned when Pete wiped his arm over his eyes and followed Kinn over to see what Kim was doing. He had been trying to play with Pete, but Kinn had to ruin everything, like he always did.
School sucked.
Vegas glared at his cousin as Pete started to warm up to him, talking more and more in that heavy accent of his. Kinn was infinitely patient, correcting him here and there in a way that made Vegas roll his eyes.
They were gathered for a snack, and Vegas automatically moved to sit by himself. He wished that Macau could come to school with him, so he could at least have someone to pass the time with.
“Wegath?” Pete called, startling Vegas. “Do you want to share my crackers?”
Vegas looked around, and he saw that Kinn was helping Kim, who looked like he very much did not need or want his brother’s help, but at least Pete had been forgotten by them for a moment.
“Sure,” Vegas said with a bright smile.
Pete grinned back, and Vegas thought he was pretty cute. Maybe school wasn’t so bad.
“Do you want some of my grapes?” Vegas asked. He didn’t particularly like sharing, but he felt like Pete could be an exception.
“Thanks,” Pete said, scooting his chair closer.
They shared their plates, pushing them close together as they asked each other about things they liked.
After their snack, they colored. Kinn, of course, wanted whatever crayon that Vegas did, so he would purposefully pick ugly colors, then grab the ones he actually wanted when Kinn was distracted. Kim kept his head down, drawing away while Pete paid more attention to what the other boys were doing than to what was on his own page.
They had lunch, then their teacher read them a book while they settled down for a nap. Vegas wanted to nap in his own bed, away from Kinn, but his teacher insisted that he at least try and lay down. He lay on one edge of the cots, and Pete laid next to him, which was nice until Kinn took Pete’s other side. Kim was on the other edge, his eyes already closed.
Vegas crossed his arms, glaring at the ceiling while he listened to his teacher tell him a story he had already heard.
When he glanced over, Pete was out cold, his little hand hanging over the edge of his cot. If Vegas reached over, he could have held Pete’s hand, but why on earth would he do that?
He sighed, closing his eyes just to pretend, and fell asleep.
When nap time was over, they were taken outside to a little shaded playground to burn through their new well of energy.
Pete was laughing freely, adoring all of the attention he was getting, his cheeks pink from exertion as he ran around. Even Kim was joining in on their fun, and before Vegas knew it, they were called back inside to cool off and calm down. Pete’s grandmother arrived to pick him up, and Vegas waved shyly as Pete grinned and waved at the other boys, promising to see them again tomorrow.
Vegas sat next to Kim, who asked him what he thought about Pete.
“He’s nice,” Vegas muttered, and before Kim could ask him something else, his mother arrived to pick him up with Macau in tow.
The whole ride back to the house, Vegas told his mother and Macau all about his day, focusing especially on his new friend, Pete. They already knew Kinn and Kim, after all.
The next morning, Vegas was actually excited to get back to school. They followed much of the same pattern for the day, except Pete didn’t fight his grandmother when she came to drop him off. Their teacher also started working lessons into their day, now that they were a little settled with the environment in general. The lessons were too easy for Vegas, but he saw that Pete was struggling to write just a little. He scowled, blowing a puff of air that lifted his bangs a little.
His little hand was cramped around the pencil, and Vegas saw that he was holding his wrist with his left hand to guide it.
“Pete?” Vegas asked, moving his chair closer. “Have you tried writing with your left hand?”
Pete looked at him as if the idea had never occurred to him.
“Here,” Vegas said, switching his pencil from his right hand to his left hand. “I can write with both. But maybe you’re better with your left hand.”
Pete watched Vegas, then asked Vegas for help. Vegas nodded, blushing a little as he helped Pete find the best way to hold his pencil. It was nice to feel useful.
When Pete’s writing was less wobbly, he grinned, exclaiming loudly as he said something in his heavy accent.
“Thanks, Wegath,” Pete said, making Vegas blush a little darker as he nodded.
That day, they played superheroes on the playground, arguing over who got to be which hero. Well, mostly it was Kinn and Vegas arguing.
Kim interrupted them, standing at his full height as he darkly declared, “I’m gonna be Batman.”
Vegas and Kinn watched as Kim stalked off, and they decided to settle for a game of tag.
Vegas was reading a book to himself in the corner during playtime, and Pete crawled over after giving the toy he was playing with to Kinn. Usually, Vegas didn’t like to be disturbed when he was reading, but Pete was so curious that Vegas entertained him.
“You can read already?”
“Yeah,” Vegas replied, trying not to sound too arrogant. His mother had reminded him the night before that a kid like Pete didn’t have the same life as him, so he needed to be nice.
“Wow,” Pete gasped, his eyes wide as he sat as close as possible, his shoulder pressed against Vegas’s. “What’s the book about?”
Vegas sighed, but he caught Pete up on the story, going back to show him the pictures, then he read the rest of the story out loud to Pete, who pressed his face close as he tried to follow along. When the book was done, Pete kept talking to him, and Vegas learned that Pete had heard from Kim about Macau.
“I wish I had a brother,” Pete said, glancing toward Kim and Kinn before looking back at Vegas.
“Yeah, he’s pretty great. But not all brothers are. Kinn’s older brother is pretty annoying.”
Pete’s nose scrunched up at that.
That evening, Vegas asked his mother if she could bring Macau in for a show-and-tell that Friday, since they were allowed to bring anything that they thought was special.
His mother had grinned, wiping Macau’s messy face, and said she would talk to his teacher.
Friday came, and Vegas was tapping his fingers on the floor as he waited.
Kim brought a little guitar. He was too shy to play it, but Vegas knew he was still learning. Kinn brought a little karaoke set, and Pete clapped loudly when he finished singing. Vegas only rolled his eyes. His mother still hadn’t arrived, so it was Pete’s turn. He was shy, but he showed them all his boxing gloves. Vegas didn’t know he knew how to fight, and it was pretty cool.
Pete sat back down, and finally, Vegas’s mom walked in the door, carrying Macau on her hip. She looked pretty, as always, as she said hello to his cousins and introduced herself to Pete.
“I’ve heard a lot about you, Pete,” she said, and Vegas scowled. She wasn’t supposed to tell Pete that, but Pete seemed happy when he glanced in Vegas’s direction, so he quickly forgave his mother.
“This,” Vegas said proudly as he stepped forward, “Is my little brother, Macau.”
Pete’s eyes were wide as Vegas took Macau from his mother, helping him stand on the brightly colored rug.
“Hi, Macau,” Pete cooed, waving as he slid closer on his knees.
Macau babbled loudly as Vegas tried to get him to say Pete’s name.
“P’ P’,” Macau managed, waving his hand as he turned to his brother, yelling, “‘Gus!”
Macau was allowed to stay and play with them until it was time for their next activity, so Vegas’s mother said she would be back later to pick Vegas up at the end of the day.
“Your brother is so cute!” Pete exclaimed, grinning broadly as he waved goodbye to Macau, who waved back.
“Yeah,” Vegas said coolly. “He’s pretty alright.” Glancing at Pete out of the corner of his eye, Vegas murmured, “Maybe you can come over and play with him one day.”
“Maybe,” Pete said.
They went outside to play, and were making teams to play tag again.
Kinn wanted Pete on his team, but Vegas argued that Kim should be on Kinn’s team, since they were brothers, so that would mean that Pete should be on his team.
“No,” Kinn said, “Pete’s going to be my bodyguard one day, so he’s on my team.”
“What?” Vegas asked, turning to look at Pete. He was hoping Pete would deny it, and would just be on his side, but Pete nodded.
“Yeah, Yaai said one day I’m going to work for P’Kinn.”
Vegas hated it. He felt his face boil as rage overtook him. Why did Kinn always get everything?
He was so angry that he reached out and shoved Pete to the ground.
“I hate you!” Vegas screamed, turning on his heels as Pete cried out in surprise or pain.
Vegas was put in time-out, and his teacher had a talk with him and his mother after school.
Vegas hated school.
After the weekend, Vegas had calmed down a little, especially after his mother had a talk with him. He knew it wasn’t Pete’s fault, but he felt mad that Pete didn’t pick him. He felt awkward, going back to school, and kept to himself, quietly playing alone. Kinn filled the space Vegas had left, making it clear to Vegas how much of his day had been filled by Pete before.
Kim split his time hovering around Vegas quietly and playing with Kinn and Pete. After a few days of sulking, Vegas found himself sat beside Pete as they finger painted. He had a matching apron on to protect his clothes, and his easel blocked Kinn from his sight as he and Kim were on the other side of them.
“Is that Macau?” Pete asked, leaning over to peer at Vegas’s picture.
Vegas frowned lightly. “Yeah.” Pete smiled at him shyly, and Vegas glanced over to see what he was making.
“Is that…curry?”
Pete’s smile widened. “Yeah!”
Vegas shook his head, huffing out a laugh. “You should add some blue into your bowl.” Leaning over, he smeared some paint on Pete’s paper.
“Hey,” Pete exclaimed, but he didn’t sound angry. Vegas worried for a moment that Pete would retaliate and mess up his painting of Macau, but instead Pete swiped some yellow paint on Vegas’s cheek.
Vegas jumped out of his chair, giggling as Pete laughed, and grabbed Pete’s face in both hands. His round cheeks bulged as he smiled, reaching to wipe paint on Vegas’s nose.
The teacher separated them quickly, then sent them to the bathroom to wash up. Pete was still laughing as he quickly washed his face, then wet a cloth to help Vegas.
Vegas held still, watching Pete as Pete cleaned his face carefully.
“Sorry,” Vegas said quietly. His stomach twisted, but he wanted to make up with Pete, so he said, “Sorry for pushing you.”
Pete’s smile dropped, but he nodded. Suddenly, he looked quite serious.
“I forgive you, Wegath.”
Vegas felt like he had worms in his belly, but he felt relieved hearing that Pete wasn’t mad at him.
With a deep breath, Vegas threw his arms around Pete.
When they emerged from the bathroom, all cleaned up, Vegas was in a much better mood than he had been for days. Even his mother said something that night as she tucked him into bed.
“Mae,” Vegas called, as she reached to turn his lamp off.
“Yes, baby?”
“I think Pete is my friend.”
“That’s wonderful, ‘Gus. He seems like a really nice friend. If you like him, then you should be nice to him. It didn’t feel nice when you pushed him, did it?”
Vegas shook his head, ashamed at being reminded of what he had done.
“I’m proud of you for apologizing to him. That was very nice.”
“Pete’s nice,” Vegas whispered. He clutched his stuffed hedgehog close as his mother kissed his forehead.
“Good. You deserve to have a nice friend.”
The next day, Vegas caught Kim sharing his snacks with Pete. Vegas narrowed his eyes, stomping over to sit beside Pete at the little table.
“Kim is just so cute,” Pete said breezily. “I could kiss him.”
Vegas scowled, taking one of the apple slices that Kim had just shared right off of Pete’s plate.
“Kissing is only for people we like,” Vegas declared. “You can’t kiss Kim.”
“I can’t?” Pete asked.
“No,” Vegas said airily. He shoved a cracker into Pete’s mouth before Pete could protest.
Later, they played duck, duck, goose, and Vegas got jealous any time Pete picked anyone other than him. He was in a bad mood again by the end of the day. His mother showed up first, though, so Pete came over to say hello to Macau again, and play with him for a few minutes, which made Vegas happy again.
“Mae, can Pete come over to play this weekend?”
His mother looked surprised, but she said she would ask.
They waited for Pete’s grandmother, and continued playing with Macau while the grown-ups talked quietly. Pete’s grandmother looked overjoyed as she agreed, making plans to bring Pete over.
They walked out together after Pete said goodbye to Kinn and Kim, and Vegas gave Pete a hug before turning to follow his mother the rest of the way to the car.
Finally, he would have Pete all to himself, and didn’t have to share him with Kinn or Kim.
The weekend took forever to arrive, but finally, Pete came over to play. Vegas showed him around his room, then had to try to control his jealousy when Pete asked to see Macau. Macau was napping, so Vegas warned him he had to be quiet as they snuck into the nursery. They gazed at Macau through the slats of his crib as he dozed peacefully.
“He’s so cute,” Pete whispered.
Vegas wanted Pete’s attention. He had brought Pete over to play so that he didn’t have to share.
“You’re cute, too,” Vegas whispered.
Pete blinked at him, looking surprised.
“I am?”
Vegas nodded. To prove his point, he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Pete’s cheek. Pete gasped, covering his cheek with his hand as Vegas grinned.
“Let’s go play.”
Vegas took Pete’s hand, going back to his room so Macau could keep sleeping, and relished in having Pete’s attention all to himself for a few hours. When Pete’s granny came to pick him up, Pete leaned over and pecked a kiss to Vegas’s cheek.
With a smile, he said, “Yaai said I’m going to be Kinn’s bodyguard, but I think I want to marry you, Wegath.”
Vegas’s cheeks burned as he was too shocked to reply. All he could do was wave as Pete waved back, promising to see him again at school on Monday.
His mother stroked his head with the hand not holding Macau on her hip.
“Pete seems very sweet,” she said.
“Yeah.” Vegas sighed, turning to look at his mother once Pete was gone. “I’m gonna marry him one day.”
His mother laughed, but Vegas was serious.
He never complained again about going to school.