Chapter Seventeen
Amelie
I snort thinking about Baxter’s middle name. I mean, how awesome must his mother have been, to give her child the middle name Bojangles behind his father’s back considering how pretentious the rest of his name is.
Bellowing laughter filters through my slightly ajar door and I decide it's time to get up from my afternoon nap. Chelsea had us at the beach all day and Kalen was so excitable the entire time. Making sandcastles, body boarding in the waves, chasing seagulls. There was never a dull moment.
I follow the laughter down the stairs and into the kitchen.
"Help me, it burns. It's so thick."
I rush towards the kitchen even faster. What the hell are they doing to Kalen? Rushing in, I Tom-Cruise-slide on the lino. Kalen has his head sideways under the kitchen sink, black gunk washing down the drain.
"What are you doing?" I demand, hands on my hips.
"Giving your boy toy a welcome to Australia."
Kalen surfaces, his face still scrunched up in disgust and dripping with water.
"How do you eat that stuff? It tastes so bad!” he whimpers. My lips twitch.
Aadi and Smalls smile; Kalen’s reaction has made their day.
"It's an acquired taste," Smalls says. "You did insist you were a real man and wanted a whole spoonful."
"You let him eat it off the spoon?”
They both nod.
"I can still taste it in my nose,” Kalen whines.
"Less is more when it comes to Vegemite." I laugh. "Probably best to go brush your teeth."
He nods and runs out of the kitchen. Aadi and Smalls both look at each other and fall into hysterical laughter.
"What have you done?" I ask with dread.
"Just wait for it," Smalls replies.
"If he wants in with a Rossi, he needs a true lesson in sibling fun."
Oh god, he means our pranks.
Kalen’s blood curdling scream fills the house. I shoot a quick disapproving look at Aadi and run up to the bathroom. Chelsea is close behind me.
Kalen screams and pleads for someone to help him. I push the bathroom door open. Someone is standing behind the door, and before I can get one step inside, Kalen shoots out of the room.
"It’s behind the door! It tried to kill me!" he cries. I know Kalen’s a massive drama queen and my brother’s pranks are mostly harmless, but there’s real fear etched on his face.
I step into the bathroom and look behind the door, expecting to find a spider or some kind of bug. Instead, I find a very tiny girl smiling back at me.
Kalen’s issue with that? She’s dressed like a clown.
"Katie?" I ask, and she nods.
"Have you killed it yet?!” Kalen cries.
I exit the bathroom and Katie follows behind me.