Her Mafia Brothers

Uniform Trouble

By the time we'd cleaned up our mess and put away the vacuum cleaner, Damon appeared in the doorway. Seeing my oldest brother reminded me of the reason I started the pillow fight in the first place, and got me angry at that hideous uniform all over again.

"Why are you sending me to a school with such an ugly uniform?" I demanded, without even saying hello.

Damon looked at me and raised an eyebrow, giving me that scary, intimidating look that reminds me how powerful he is, and how terrifying he can be.

"Remember who you're speaking to, little girl. How about you try again? And you can greet me properly, too."

I felt my face flush with shame at his mild chastisement.

"Sorry." I cleared my throat dramatically, plastered on a fake, cheesy grin, and looked up at him. "Hey big brother, how was your day?" Without giving him a chance to answer, I prattled on. "Thank you for my new phone, I love it! And the school bag, I love that too!"

Damon smiled, obviously pleased I liked his choices.

"But I don't like that uniform. It's hideous! What on earth are you thinking, sending me to a school with such a horrible uniform? I'm not wearing it," I declared.

Damon's smile disappeared. He frowned, just briefly, and then his face froze into an expressionless mask.

"I don't believe I asked for your opinion on either the school or the uniform, young lady," he told me sternly.

"No you didn't," I confirmed. "That's why I'm telling you now, so you know I don't like it."

If Damon raised his eyebrow any higher, it would disappear under the hair flopping over his forehead. How did he do that, anyway? Raise one eyebrow? It never works when I try it. I just look stupid, with one eyebrow up in the air and the other waggling around like a deranged caterpillar.

"I still haven't asked for your opinion, Carrie," Damon informed me coldly. "You're going to the same school as Logan. I really don't care what you think of the uniform."

"But it's ugly!" I whined. "You can't seriously expect me to wear that! It's hideous! Have you seen it?"

"Yes Carrie, I've seen it."

"And you still expect me to wear it? Even knowing how horrible it is?"

Damon nodded, just once. "Yes," he told me simply.

"What if I refuse?" I asked him bravely.

Damon just chuckled. "I wouldn't advise that, little girl. You won't like the consequences."

That made me silent, but only for a moment. I'm nothing if not tenacious, and with more than a little bit of bravery, or perhaps stupidity, thrown in.

"Well, can I go to a different school?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because you're going to this one."

"And I get no say in this?" My voice was starting to rise in volume, as Damon's simple answers and refusal to negotiate made me more and more frustrated.

"No."

"But that's not fair!" I yelled.

"Lower your voice," Damon ordered in a low growl, but I was done with being bossed around and dictated to.

"No!" I screamed at him. "Why won't you listen to me?" I stomped my foot for good measure and threw my hands up in the air with a really loud "ugh!"

"Excuse me?" Damon's voice was ice cold. The tone sent a shiver down my spine. "This is your last warning to moderate your tone. If you speak disrespectfully to me again I will spank you."

I stood there and glared at him fiercely, my nostrils flared with fury, my hands clenched tightly into fists at my side. I didn't dare say anything, because I knew if I opened my mouth, I would scream at him.

"Just because I am not doing what you want, doesn't mean I am not listening to you. I hear you loud and clear. You don't like the uniform. So what?"

"I will get myself expelled," I promise him in a fierce whisper. "That way you'll have to send me to a new school." I looked at him triumphantly. I'd just solved the problem!

Damon grabbed my chin and forced my head around, tilting my face up to look him in the eyes. "I highly suggest you don't do that, little sister. The school is very strict. The second you put one foot out of line, I will know about it. And I promise you, you will not like the consequences. I have enrolled you in the best school in the State. You will follow the rules, and you will wear the uniform. We will not be having this conversation again. If we are forced to revisit it, my hand will be doing the talking on your backside. Is that clear?"

"Yes," I snarled at him with as much venom as I could muster. I was furious, and I wanted to make sure he knew it.

Damon squeezed my chin so hard it hurt.

"Do you want to try again?" It wasn't a suggestion, but I took it as one.

"No. I don't. You're an ass. You won't even give me a choice! That's all I want - a choice!" My voice got louder with every word, and by the last one, I was fully yelling at him.

Damon let go of my chin and I made the mistake of looking at him. What I saw made my blood run cold. He was absolutely furious and looked totally capable of killing me with his bare hands right in that moment. I tried to back away, but there was a wall behind me and nowhere to go. Damon advanced towards me and I screamed in terror, convinced he was going to kill me, or at least seriously harm me. My scream didn't make him react at all, it was like he hadn't even heard it. His dark eyes were flashing.

Suddenly Alex stepped in front of me, holding Damon back.

"Calm down brother," he commanded. "You're frightening her. Go outside and have a smoke, and a whisky with Jack."

Damon nodded, and turned around. Alex pointed at the table. "You can sit there where we can see you, and wait until Damon is calm enough to deal with you."

"Can I go and get my new iphone first?" I asked hopefully.

"No," Alex told me firmly. "You can sit your little butt up there and think about what a monumentally stupid idea it was to mouth off to Damon like that."

I gasped. "You heard?"

Alex glared at me. "Yes Carrie, we heard."

"Oh." I blushed, embarrassed. I think I overreacted, just a tad. But it was a bit late now. "Damon's going to kill me, isn't he?"

Alex pushed me towards the chair. "No he's not going to kill you. I'll be surprised if you can sit comfortably at school tomorrow though. I would have thought you'd be a bit more careful, after yesterday. You're going to be sore tonight, Carrie."

I gulped. "I'm sorry," I said softly, my voice barely above a whisper.

"It's not me you need to be apologizing to."

I nodded. "I know. I'll go and apologize to Damon now." I tried to go around Alex and head outside but he blocked my way, then reached out and grabbed my shoulders and physically turned me back towards the chair.

"No, you just sit up there on the chair like you were told. Damon will come and deal with you when he's ready. You can apologize to him then. Right now, he just needs some space."

I gulped and nodded, scrambling up onto the chair. Alex left me to it.

It was pretty boring, sitting at the table with nothing to do. Alex went outside and joined Damon and Jack, and it wasn't long before they were joined by my younger older brothers. Even Logan was out there with them, drinking! I couldn't hear what they were saying because the glass doors were closed, but I could see them clearly and more than anything, I wanted to go out there and join them. I wanted to jump on my new trampoline, I wanted to dive into the pool. Heck, I even wanted to just go out and sit with them. Anything would be better than being stuck in here all by myself, with nothing to do. I kicked my feet back and forth beneath my chair, sadly. I hated this. I hated it so much.