Alvin leaned against Wendy, the two siblings watching Suska Oni together on an evening where neither had reason to be outside. Alvin’s head was against her shoulder, Wendy shifting her body downwards to avoid having Alvin under her armpit.

Alvin sighed contentedly, looking up at his sister and feeling chuffed about the day’s events. His crush had asked him out and he won the big race all within minutes of each other, his life was on the up, overall it was pure ecstacy.

Feeling his sister’s bicep press against the back of his skull, Alvin felt proud of the fact he did not flinch from the contact. He had alwas felt queasy around Wendy , every innocent hand gesture of hers made him raise his shoulders in  anticipation of a backhander across the face or pummelling on the chest.

No more, he smiled up at Wendy who reciprocated the gesture, no need to be afraid of his family.

Both turned their heads as characters yelled out attack names and sent colourful blasts of energy from their palms at each other, the energy colliding and exploding in an epileptic seizure of explosions.

 “ Awww..” Alvin guffawed as their favourite characters clashed on screen , the show cutting to a commercial for Bonheur’s latest line of lingerie.

  “ I forgot to ask, how was I?” Alvin angled his head up at Wendy, looking down wondering what he was referring to.

 “I mean during the race .You and Cassie were sitting so far up, could you see my winning run?” Alvin said, clearing up the confusion on Wendy’s part.

 Wendy chuckled , hand over her mouth to stifle her grin.

 “I saw everything, from start to finish. So did Cassie. I know because I nearly fell off her shoulder when she jumped up to celebrate,” Wendy grimacing over that instance.

 Alvin chuckled, “ Good. Cassie celebrating, not you nearly falling.”

“ At least you get to go to a dance. You’ll definitely get prom king, everyone will know your name and every girl will want to ask you out. But…” She wrapped an arm around his body, buzzing with excitement.

 “ Cassie was too quick for them.”

 Alvin shrugged but was so caught up with lapping up Wendy’s praise that neither of them noticed Patricia coming down the stairs, famished from her day’s activities. She looked disapprovingly at her children, it wasn’t fair that they got to frolic and enjoy themselves while she slogged at a company with no sense of gratitude.

 Her stomach rumbled, Patricia sighing as she placed her hand against her vacuous gut.

 “Alvin,” She glanced at the couch using her peripheral vision, not even bothering to make eye contact.

 Alvin turned back to see his stepmother in her baggy black shirt and maroon shorts, hair all messy. He guessed she just napped although it would have been strange since he thought she had work, it was a weekday after all and Bonheur’s working hours never let her out before nightfall.

 “I need a meal. Now. As for you what I want-” She commanded Alvin the way she and until recently, her daughter had for years: like a maid. Not even making eye contact with him, her supercilious voice coming from up above on her high horse.

 Alvin stood up in obedience but Wendy abruptly pulled him back to couch, Alvin’s butt landing with a thud as his sister stood up without even saying a word.

 “Wendy I need to-” Wendy put her finger to her lips, demanding he be quiet. Demanded the operative word here because she was bristling as she faced Patricia.

 “Mom, that’s not the way to talk to Alvin,” She corrected Patricia.

 “What?” Patricia shot back, aghast at her daughter’s act of defiance.

 “I said you shouldn’t talk to him like that. He’s family.”

 “Wendy I am your mother and the head of this house. I’ll talk to Alvin or you whichever way I like.”

 Wendy shook her head in disgust, adamant in standing her ground. “All the more you should be good to him, to us. We’re your children and that should mean something.”

 “It does,” Patricia growled, Wendy’s impunity catching her by surprise. She never objected to Alvin’s treatment before, not once had she raised this issue. Wendy always played along with whatever decree she passed.

 “ And the fact that I clothe , feed and provide a roof over your heads,” Patricia gestured towards the ceiling with both of her hands while laying down the law.

 “ Gives me quite a bit of power. So its very upsetting to me when my dedication to my children is questioned, even if I didn’t plan for them.”

 “ Sorry Wend-”

 “Alvin, quiet,” Wendy hissed at him, Alvin clamped his trap shut at that, the standoff between mother and daughter going on for longer than Alvin was comfortable. He had never believed he’d see the day that Wendy would stand up for him but she could have afforded to choose battles she could win.

 “ You should be like your brother,” Patricia nodded approvingly towards Alvin.

“Following orders without question.”

Wendy shook her vehemently, disturbed by what she expected him- no them - to do.

“ Only a bitch would-”

“WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?” Patricia shouted , her hazel eyes spread open from the explosion of rage.

Alvin recoiled, making himself even smaller as he sunk behind the couch; he looked up at Wendy who only maintained her steely resolution in the face of her oppressive mother.

 “ You heard me. I call it like I see it,” Wendy replied. Alvin swore he could hear someone whistling, impressed by her bravado.

  “ Really?” Patricia snorted, “ Bet you think you’re a guardian angel, with wings and halo right now. Young lady, I’ll throw you out if you do not apologise right now!”

 She stabbed her finger downwards in anger.

 “ No,” Wendy replied, slowly with her lips pushed into an O shape for dramatic effect. Alvin wanted to say something and as he did, he remembered what Wendy had done, pushed him away from the confrontation like a bodyguard taking a bullet. It was touching but he didn’t want her losing all this for him. He wasn’t worth that much.

 “Fine,” Patricia threw her arms up, preparing to follow through.

 “ As of right now, you’re no longer part of this household and you are no longer my daughter.”

The sentence hit Wendy , wounding her as she expected but not enough to floor her. Her legs wobbled from the impact but she managed to stand as her pale bottom lip quivered.

 “ A lot of balls to kick your only flesh and blood out. Where was that when the monster you made me call Dad was around? I’m twice his size but you never lifted a finger to defend yourself,” Wendy’s eyes shimmered woefully as she remained in the room.

 “ Why are you still here?” Patricia asked, not an ounce of maternal love in her words.

From her eye, Wendy sniffled as tears streamed down. She lumbered towards Patricia, Alvin expecting something dramatic but when Wendy went straight past, turning her body to avoid a collision, his heart sunk. His stepsister was now homeless.

 “You can come out from behind the couch; I’m still hungry,” Patricia said from the corner of her mouth.

 “Look, she’s your daughter,” Alvin stepped in as he heard the slamming of a door. He swallowed, unable to imagine what Wendy had to be going through.

“ She wasn’t behaving like one. I’ll give you...” Patricia took her phone out from the back of her shorts and glanced at the digital clock face.

 “ Ten minutes to do whatever you want. Say your goodbyes and cook me something warm and hearty.” Patricia went to the kitchen and sat on one of the mahogany stools, waiting for her meal.

 Alvin stepped towards the kitchen but several loud thumps from above told him he should be with someone else.

******

 Wendy tossed a tangerine tank top into her teal suitcase, the container having little wheels at the bottom like all the other suitcases on the market.

 Her tank top landed inside with a messy flop like the rest, she had not bothered with organising it and why would she? It didn’t matter, she thought as she threw more of her clothes into the messy heap.

 Wendy paused, her brown pupils brimming with tears as she wiped with a flick of her finger before resuming the packing, more and more clothes and essentials being thrown inside. She made sure to pack some school stuff too, she still had a year to go.

 A loud knock on the door made her turn, Wendy seeing Alvin in the doorway but not bothering to look for too long, she wasn’t in the mood to entertain him. She had gotten herself kicked out for defending him and the moment she left, Patricia would step all over him.

She expected Alvin to say something, a couple of comforting words or even throw his two cents into the mix but he stood there while she packed. Wendy wasn’t one to initiate conversation when she felt down, she left that to the other parties around her.

  Alvin stood in the doorway while his sister packed, mind racing as he tried to come up with something to say. Everytime he did, he found himself wondering if that was appropriate to say.

What did you tell someone who’d been given the boot by their own parent? Logically Wendy should be crushed but all she did was pack, the odd sniffle from her revealing her true emotional state.

 “ You just going to stand there or are you going to cook that woman something?” Wendy broke the silence  but she didn’t look at Alvin. Alvin pursed his lips in thought while stepping inside, picking up a top Wendy had in the corner of her room.

 “Neither.  I think you should just apologise, she’s your mother; she’ll definitely take you back. You have nowhere to go, just hunker down and bear with it until you’re done with high school.”

 Wendy glanced tearfully, a mournful smile on her.

 “ Ya know, I really admire you for putting up with all this. And more, you had to endure me. But you did. I’m not as strong as you,I can’t do it. Apologising to her would be a bridge too far for me.”

She wiped another tear from her, the teardrop collecting itself on her fingertip before being pressed into top as she wiped her finger.

 “ Alvin I’ll be fine, don’t you worry about me. I’ve got plenty of friends who will take me.  You just get downstairs and keep your head down okay?”

 Wendy slammed her luggage shut and zipped it up. Alvin thought the whole thing must have weight forty pounds but watching her lift it, it could have been filled with air for it took no effort on her part to do so.

 “ Goodbye Alvin, you take care of yourself,” Wendy grasped his chin before leaning in for a big hug. Alvin felt her beefy shoulders pressed against his leaner ones, the warmth of her body permeating all around him.

Alvin wrapped his arms around her but was unable to fully circle Wendy’s torso and meet at the back so he settled for as much as he could. His own eyes begun to water, the thought of losing her, once the embodiment of his nightmares made corporeal but now a more benevolent person was too much.

“ I-I’ll miss you,” Alvin sputtered as Wendy began to cry.

“ It’s crazy, you probably wanted me out of here for ages but once we get along, it happened,” Wendy grasped Alvin’s bicep and squeezed it gently. If she hadn’t seen the light, she’d be downstairs using him whatever way she deemed fit. Not on the streets.

“ I’ll see you in school,” Alvin said. That was all he could say and do as Wendy left. He wanted to pull her back in , lock her door and force Patricia to let her in but he didn’t have enough power over both of them to pull it off.

 It just left him looking at worn floorboards, pondering his next move but the slamming of the front door and Patricia clearing her throat told him it was time.

“On my way down Patricia!” Alvin called out to the kitchen in his most respectful voice. He held the bannister as he trudged down the stairs, miserable but it was all he could do. Or was it?

 His foot stepped on the penultimate step, the stair creaking like a dormouse. There was one option. It was crazy, probably stupid but it was worth doing. He only had weeks left, it could work for him but it was all he could do to help Wendy.

*******

Wendy sat at the bus stop, rifling through the list of contacts she had on her phone.  She remembered telling Alvin what she was going to do and she remembered how simple the plan was when she was doing so.

She settled on Britney, the first name on her list of friends to call, her thumb floating over the green call button. One press but she hesitated, fearing what her friends would think if they found out she got thrown out of her house.

But then, who else could she turn to? All she had in her inner circle were Britney, Camilla and Serena.  Beyond that, a bunch of boys and girls she felt awkward asking for the time. It was just the four of them.

 “Wendy!”

 Wendy turned in the direction of the voice and in the street lamp lit streets saw Alvin, dragging his bulging suitcase behind and waving at Wendy who had gone from feeling morose to...something better than that. She didn’t know what to feel seeing Alvin evict himself for her.

  Wendy stood up so quickly she knocked over her own suitcase; the bag falling to the concrete pavement with a  resounding thump.

 “Alvin, you shouldn’t have. You really should have not left her for me,” Wendy said as she picked up her suitcase and set it right side up.

 “Hey I can’t leave my sister behind ,” Alvin forced out a smile. It was easier than Wendy believed, choosing a side in this family spat.

“ You should have. We’re homeless until one of the girls takes us in,” Wendy turned back to her phone, hoping for some courage to press the button. She didn’t want him here although companionship did make her feel a little bigger and that she welcomed.

 “ If you really can’t get someone, I got enough money for a motel while we work out something less expensive,” Alvin smiled at her. Wendy felt awful though, having Alvin by her side. She could only imagine the scene at home, Patricia shouting and screaming at him. How he came out of it all smiles and no tears was a mystery to her.

 Wendy shook her head, “ Here’s hoping one of the girls takes us in.”

With that, Wendy hit dial on her phone, praying that Britney would say yes.