Fighting Society

You wore kiddo out

Both Leah and Jessica were sat, snuggled up on their sofa at their London Colney home, Leah with her arms wrapped round her baby sister as they had the Harry Potter film playing on TV. Each of the girls sported an Arsenal fluffy hoodie, a with Leah in Nike shorts, and Jessica in Adidas shorts, sharing an Arsenal blanket. The TV was kept as background noise as each of the girls spent their time annoying one another,

"I can't believe you locked Vic in a cupboard earlier"

"That wasn't exactly what happened."

"Oh yeah? What happened then Jessie"

"Vic locked me in a cupboard and coincidentally herself as well."

"Always someone else's fault, isn't it?"

"Well I can tell you who's fault it certainly wasn't. Mine."

Leah could only laugh at her baby sister, pulling her further into her chest as she ruffled her hair, taking in the scent of her younger sister. She couldn't comprehend how anybody, especially trolls behind a screen, would say anything bad about her younger sister. Leah felt her heart shatter a little, as her sister giggled at one of the scenes being shown, knowing that one day she was going to have to face the ugliness of the comments made online against her neurodivergence, something she wished she could keep hidden from her forever. In Leah's eyes, her younger sister held a difference from everybody else that made her more beautiful, it was something she loved about her. Her view of the world stood out from the rest, and her interpretations provided a unique look into the world, one which made her who she was. How anybody could even comment on that, was beyond Leah.

"Hey? Earth to Le?"

"Wassup bug?"

"I've been calling your name for the past hour, are you ok?"

"It hasn't been an hour, we really must work on your time skills."

"Not the point, is everything ok?"

The older woman took a deep breath, unsure of what to say to the young girl. On one hand, she wanted to keep her baby sister hidden away from the trolls of social media, allowing her to remain in a bubble where she embraced who she truly was. On the other, she knew Jessica was going to have to face it one day, and it would always be best coming from Leah.

"Does this have something to do with you and Viv earlier looking at each other all strangely?"

"When did you see that?"

"I was on Alessia's lap whilst you guys were all talking. I like to pay attention to my surroundings. What can I say, I'm an observer." Jessica shrugged her shoulders as she watched her sister take a deep breath, clearly about to unload something off her chest.

"Do you remember when you got overwhelmed when we came off the bus yesterday?"

"Yeah, I'm so-"

"No, don't apologise bug, you couldn't help it. You should never apologise for something out of your control. It's ok and we're working on it."

"So what's the issue?"

"It just... it seems some people caught some pictures of it. And- well- they posted them online bug. I'm sorry" Leah ran her tongue over lips, trying to find the words to continue, as she observed her sisters facial expressions for any change, yet she held simply a firm stature on where she was.

"What did they say about it?"

"What do you mean by that bug?"

"You wouldn't be making a big deal if it was just pictures. What did they say along with the pictures?"