My Sisters Best Friend • Jonah Marais AU •

The Homework Arla Didnt Do

"This is all your fault Jonah!" Sarah whined to her brother as she watched her best friend sit sadly at a desk in the back of the classroom through the window of the door.

Earlier that day, Jonah, Sarah and Arla had planned to hang out at the Roth house after school, only to find out that she hadn't done her homework.

The day that she should have been doing her homework, she was building forts with Jonah in the back yard.

"It's not my fault." Jonah hissed back at his sister just as upset as the girl in the classroom. Sarah grunted, tapping on the door window ever so loudly. Arla looked up from her work and smiled, waving at her friends behind the door. But the teacher just frowned at her and stood up, walking over to the door in determined strides. She opened it fairly quickly which caused Sarah and Jonah to jump back in surprise.

"Miss Frantzich you know a lot better than to disturb Miss Middleton while she's working on her school work and you," She pointed at Jonah. "You should be at the year 5 grounds if you're gonna be here after school. Off you go."

"Yes Auntie Leisa-I mean Mrs. Middleton." Sarah bowed her head and Jonah just looked in the opposite direction.

The teacher bent down to their height and hugged them tightly. "You can play with Arla as soon as she's done."

"Sure." Sarah smiled sweetly and they bid goodbye to their aunt - who they only called 'Aunt' because their mother had been best friends with her since pre school - before walking to the exit of the school. Jonah scoffed and rolled his eyes as soon as they rounded the corner and walked out the doors towards the year 3 to 6 playground. He wasn't as discreet as he thought. "Cut it out Jo."

"It's just not fair to Arla!" He spoke and watched his sister sit on the swings, kicking her legs back and forth so she could go higher.

"Well there is nothing that you can do about it so just give up!" She huffed and continued swinging.

"Actually..." The brunette boy turned his head and looked back at the classroom. "There is."

Arla was sat at the very back of the classroom. Face down in forgotten homework.

"Mama." She whispered and her mother looked up from the stack of tests she was marking. "Why can't I go outside with Sarah and Jonah?"

"You chose not to do your work so I'm sorry baby, but you can't fall behind in English. You're already a whole booklet behind in maths." Her mother sighed and stood. She walked to the back of the classroom and patted Arla's back softly. Just as Leisa was about to ask her daughter if she needed any help the classroom door was swung open revealing a puffed out 11 year old boy.

+

"Please let me do her work Aunty Leisa!" Jonah pleaded for the fifteenth time.

"Jonah honey, the answer is no. Arla needs to learn the consequences of not completing-"

"It was my idea!" Arla whipped her head up and gaped at the lie the boy had just told. "I-I told Arla to play outside with me and not do her homework. I told her that it didn't matter and she should come play with me instead..." Jonah hung his head low, acting out perfectly his pretend shame in what he had said.

"Is this true?" Arla looked her mother straight in the eyes.

"It's-" Jonah gave her a cheeky smile and mouthed 'Its okay.' "It's true."

So that's how Jonah ended up doing fourth grade homework - all things he had learnt already the year before - and glancing out the window every so often to see his sister and his friend running up and down the slides.

Even though Jonah hated the fact that he was doing schoolwork after school instead of playing with the girls, he was happy Arla didn't get to miss out on playing with her best friend all because she wanted Jonah to chase her around the back yard in their fort, hugging Arla until she poked his cheek so he would let her go.

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693 Word Count