How To Send Your Oldest To Boarding School

[Theodora Bear]

Theodora slapped her laptop closed and rubbed her eyes. Her glasses sat on the ridge of her nose and felt heavy. Editing was probably the hardest part, but she couldn't have an unedited blog on her website, she'd be finished. The inner Grammar Nazi continued to look over her work even with the words no longer insight, but that was the point. She was never not working, she had to make her money somehow and this was the best way she knew how. The dinner in the oven would be nearly finished by now, and as soon as she thought it, the timer on the counter beeped letting her know it was all ready. She pressed the buzzer on the side of her desk and called the kids down for dinner. She didn't allow screaming in this house, it was unbecoming of young adults. True, Uno was barely eleven yet and Dos and Tres squared were even younger, so they weren't really adults, but that didn't mean she wanted screaming children running through the house.

Predictably, Tres was the first one down, as the only boy, he seemed to take it in his stride that he should be the first for everything, because he would get the best. Of course he would get the best anyway, because he was her special baby, but he didn't seem to care. She set the table and Tres immediately took his preferred seat next to his mother as she waited patiently for the others to join. She was almost betting with herself on who would get to the table first and decided it would probably Tres II who would try and sit next to Tres, only to be kicked away from the table. Either way, they were going to have a nice and peaceful dinner for once, she would make sure of it. She looked over at Tres and placed her hand softly on his shoulder. "If your sister wants to sit with you, you're going to let her, okay, I don't want any fighting tonight." Tres didn't say anything, but there was the almost imperceptible nod of understanding. "Good boy," she said, passing him a sweet to suck on before dinner.
​

 

[Uno Bear]

Ah the buzzer. The sweet sound that meant "get your ass down here, now." Though her mother pretended she was the world's most holiest Saint, Uno knew better. Uno sighed, and shoved her math homework aside, not caring to take her hair down from the messy bun it was in. She couldn't care less if her mother thought it wasn't proper hair-attire to wear to dinner, she was sick of the woman and her ever changing rules. Who knew, maybe tonight messy buns would be appropriate. Uno was at least glad to have a room to herself. She couldn't imagine having to spend any second longer with her stupid family than she already had to. Uno often wondered how old she had to be before she could officially leave home, but knew that 10 years old was far too young, no matter how often she just wanted to run and never come back; she would never last out there by herself. But, she could never do that to Tres II. Gosh, even their names were horrendous.
To no-one's surprise, Tres was already downstairs. Uno was surprised, however, that the other two weren't there already. Perhaps she was more hungry than she was defiant in this moment. She rolled her eyes, seeing Tres with a lolly, knowing very well no one else would get one. She sat at the opposite end of the table as her mother, crossing her arms across her chest and slouching in the chair, looking everywhere but the two sickening creatures on the other end of the table.

 

[Tres Bear II]

Tres II had managed to keep herself occupied for the last few hours with the Lego she'd found in the garage that morning. With no idea where it had come from she could only assume it once belonged to one of her sisters. Perhaps there had once been a challenge between them, before they were quickly discarded. Nevertheless she'd hauled the contents up to her room, and sat on the bed as she minded her own business, grateful for the distraction. At the sound of the buzzer, Tres II's heart elevated and she was quick to drop what she was doing. There was no way she was going to be late for dinner again, and she wanted to show her mom that she was just as good at keeping up with the others, if not better. Leaping off the bed, her eyes instantly brimming with tears as her pink sock covered feet made contact with a few stray blocks that had fallen off the duvet. She hobbled her way out the bedroom, limping down the stairs as she tried to compose herself and not give away that she was hurt, nor had been wasting her time playing.

As she moved into the dining room she found at least she wasn't the last person to get there. Spreading a wide smile on her face to her siblings, something that had come quite naturally after so much practise, she hopped up onto a chair opposite Tres. She glared at him very slightly through her long brown hair that hung straightly either side of her deep brown eyes, although she'd never admit that she was jealous of her twin. Tres II never did anything unless she was explicitly told to, and she looked between her momma and her sister as she waited patiently for their food or their sister, whichever came first.
​

 

[Dos Bear]

When Dos heard the buzzer, she spent several minutes contemplating whether it was even worth going downstairs. It wasn't as if anybody would miss her - if they even noticed she was absent in the first place. Still, she was starting to feel hungry, and playing by herself in her room became pretty tedious after a while, especially since she only had a meagre selection of Uno's hand-me-down toys. She sighed wistfully whenever she thought about the Barbie and Ken dolls in the toy store, stood in rows behind glossy plastic windows, untouchable within their packaging. Tres could have had a brand new doll - if he'd wanted one, that was. All he'd have needed to do was ask, and the whole shop could have belonged to him. It just wasn't fair.

Dos wasn't surprised to be the last one to the table. She sank into a chair, barely bothering to make eye contact with her mother or her siblings. They probably weren't looking back at her, anyway. Just as soon as she could finish dinner and go back upstairs again, the better.

 

[Tres Bear]

Tres grumbled as he sucked on his sweet. Ooh, Salted Caramel! Caramel was Tres' favourite, well, everything his mother gave him was his favourite, but especially caramel. There was just something about the salty sweetness that reminded him of his mum. It never really occured to him that he got everything and his siblings basically got nothing, but that wasn't his problem. His friends at school didn't seem to care and he loved sharing his new things with them, he was very popular. He rolled his eyes as Uno sat at the furthest side of the table, which was probably bigger than they strictly needed, but mum did have a lot of her meeting things here, so there were sometimes a lot of people in the room that all needed somewhere to sit. He crawled into his mother's lap as the afterthought made her way down and poked his tongue out at his twin. She was stupid and he hated having to share a birthday with her. He could tell her the ground was made from her snot and she'd probably believe it.

Tres looked at his mother and silently asked her if dinner was ready yet, but she wasn't paying attention to him, she was slowly tapping her fingers on the table as she stared, or more rightly glared at Uno. He turned his head and glared at her too, she probably deserved it.​

 

[Uno Bear]

Tee finally made her way down and she smiled at her; the only sibling she actually liked. She was too sweet for the horrible world she had been brought into, but Uno was slightly jealous of the naivety she seemed to carry with her. Her eyes glanced at the terrible two at the head of the table, and she noticed them both glaring at her. "Can I help you?" She snapped at the older twin, shaking her head. How cruel fate was. Looking at her mother, Uno sighed. "Can we eat now?" Upon her words, the second sibling arrived, and Uno quickly pressed her lips together, forgetting that Dos was still to arrive. It wasn't like she tried to be memorable either, but Uno didn't mind. The girl intruded on their small family from a young age, and even though Uno didn't really like her mother, at least she was the only child then. Now there were three others to have to deal with, and Dos was the one that started it all. Sighing, Uno leaned forward, elbows on the table and head resting on her chin. She hoped dinner at least included bacon.

 

[Theodora Bear]

Theodora always found mealtimes to be some of the most stressful in the house. Honestly, she didn't understand why they couldn't just do what she asked, it wasn't like she was starving them. She stared at Uno, the girl seemed to want to be the most annoying, impudent thing to ever exist. Tres had clearly picked up on the tense atmosphere and for the most part, Teddy ignored them as she waited for Uno to acknowledge what she was doing. When it became apparent that she was not going to do so, Teddy huffed out air. "Not yet, and you're not dressed appropriately so you had better make your way upstairs and change." Formal attire should be fine for today, especially seeing as Teddy had a letter for Uno, one she was not expecting and it angered her. She'd suspected for some time that her child was a demon, but to have it confirmed was a very different story. "Dos, if you wouldn't mind bringing the food over, that would be great, but don't touch it." She said in warning. No one would be eating until Uno was a good little demon and did what she was told. She loved her kids dearly, of course she did, but Uno really set her teeth on edge sometimes.
​

 

[Tres Bear II]

Tee sat quietly with a grin to sister, legs swinging under the table as her small legs couldn't yet reach the floor, excitment brewing as Dos eventually joined them and took a seat. The brunette glared at her brother, and reflected the face he made, sticking her tongue out at him as far as she could in the obvious representation that she thought she was better than him, even though it would never be true. They may have been twins but Tres was and always would be the favourite. Tee was containing her squeals when she realised it was time to eat, but they were quickly diminished when momma decided Uno wasn't dressed correctly. She didn't blame the girl when she responded impatently leaving the chair and stomping upstairs with dramatic effect. The rules changed day by day and it was sometimes difficult to keep up with everything momma said. Tee knew it was only to help them though and that if they followed everything the woman said then one day they would be happy, so the girl always did her best to follow them to the letter. Tee had almost forgotten Dos was in the room until she was asked to collect the food, and Tee watched her closely in case she tried to steal any before Uno got back to the table.​

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[Dos Bear]

Dos probably would have rolled her eyes at her siblings - if she'd been looking at them. By now she was so used to them messing about, fawning for their mother's attention, and being told off for some new stupid rule that didn't apply to Dos. Even though it was nice to be exempt from the rules, Dos sometimes wished her mother would tell her off, too, if only so that she felt like someone cared about her behaviour enough to set it straight. The only time she really seemed to notice her was when she wanted something - like the dinner brought to the table.

Sighing, Dos slid off her seat and went to fetch the meal. Were kids even supposed to operate ovens? She put on a pair of gloves and removed the dish, carrying it straight over to the table without looking inside to see what they were having. She would probably only be eating what was left at the bottom, anyway. Maybe one day she would be served first. "There you go, Mum," she said, folding the oven gloves and sitting back down in her seat. Sometimes, like today, she tried extra hard to please her mother, so that maybe she would be praised for being good. Patiently, she waited for the thank you that probably wasn't going to come.

 

[Uno Bear]

Of course her mother had something to say about the way she was dressed. She knew it as she had gone downstairs, not making her hair look pretty was going to be an issue. But of course, it wasn't just about her hair, it was her whole attire. With a huge huff, Uno pushed herself off the table with her hands, storming upstairs, making sure to stomp as loud as possible with each step. She slammed her bedroom door shut as loud as she could before tearing her hair down from the bun it was in. Uno groaned aloud, searching through her messy drawers for a somewhat decent top to put on, before brushing her hair. She figured this was good enough as she stormed back downstairs, and sat back in her seat, staring at her mom. "Happy?" Dinner was finally on the table, and though Uno could usually smell bacon easily, she could not smell it today. She huffed.