I’m shaking my head & locking the gates

Beatrix I'll clean my room in exchange for your immortal soul Beatrix’s patience was wearing thin. She was 9 after all, she didn’t have a lot of patience to begin with, and this bickering back and forth was getting in the way of better things. Like games. Or a snack. Or ripping the head off a doll and terrorizing weaker children with it – which was her favorite. But it seemed both Loren and Auntie Edy wanted to die on the hills they stood on, as mom sometimes said when people were being stubborn for no reason. Her nose wrinkled. Why were grown-ups such dumb-dumbs? ”Loren, you’re being a jerk. Everyone is being nice to you and wants you around ‘cause we like you and you’re being mean for no reason.” Beatrix huffed at him, her eyebrows furrowing together. ”Just bring your friends here and we won’t talk to them since you don’t wanna share.” She added, displaying her very strong grasp of what being in a relationship meant. She didn’t understand why he didn’t want to bring his friend over and have them all be friends. Whatever. His loss. Then she looked up at Edrei, looking equally stern. ”Why do you try so hard when he is a jerk? Why be nice to him when he wants to be mean? Just let him be dumb if that is what he wants.” She didn’t see why it was so important for him to stay if he didn’t want to. He would just be even more grumpy than usual which already was almost always. She was actually being quite articulate for a child as young as herself. But such moments of clarity usually came to an abrupt end, and Beatrix had reached that end. She looked at Loren again and scrunched up her face before sticking her tongue out at him. ”Meanie-face.” Yep. She was definitely a little sister. Loren