The school bus stopped in front of the Herayashi residence as the three teens were rushing for school. Their mother shouted as two of the three were gathering their books, finishing makeup and getting their shoes on- except Reiko, she was lingering around as if she had the whole day to herself.
Arisu, the youngest of the three sisters, emerged from the house first with her dark curls placed up neatly in a business like hair-do. She skipped down the pavement of the path from the door to the side walk, cheerful as usual in her bright yellow sneakers. She smiled, making her way onto the school bus. Tenth grade had been rough on her so far but she was still happy about getting to school and fulfilling her thirst for knowledge.
Rini was next to stumble out of the house, wearing a shirt promoting the school’s football team, the Tasmanian Devils. She was your typical teen girl; preppy and popular teenager that had a boyfriend on the football team. She was a junior in high school and had told herself she had a bright future ahead. She stuffed her pom-poms in her bag and hopped on the bus, telling the driver that Reiko wasn’t coming.
Just before the bus driver closed the doors, Reiko was pushed outside the front door by her mother. She was the eldest of the three sisters, the one who caused the most trouble and had repeated senior year for the second time. Her mother threw her bag at her and it hit her in the head.
“Ouch! Thanks Mom person!” Reiko grumbled impatiently as she picked herself off the ground. She sarcastically took baby steps towards the bus until the bus driver finally honked the horn, making Reiko rush towards the bus. She plopped herself down next to Arisu and pulled out a big piece of bubble gum and popped it in her mouth.
Arisu glanced at Reiko and prepared to ask her the same question she had asked her all the time. She always wondered why her sister caused so much trouble.
“Reiko. . . “Arisu began, interrupting her sister from putting her ear buds in. “Why do you always cause so much trouble?”
Reiko pondered for a few moments while Arisu waited for what the answer for today would be. “I don’t know . . . it makes my day interesting, I guess.” She finally said.
“But it frustrates Mom so much to hear that you’ve stuffed rotten tomatoes in someone’s locker again, or that you’ve gotten in another fight-or that one time when you got kicked out of Wal-Mart.”
“Yeah, why did I get kicked out of Wal-Mart, again?” She asked.
Arisu rolled her eyes. “It depends which time. The first time you got kicked out it was because you heard someone announcing something and you dropped to your knees and screamed ‘I KEEP HEARING THESE VOICES, AHHH!’ Then the second time was at the other Wal-Mart where you dressed up like a Patriot from the American Revolution and went riding in a cart yelling ‘THE BRITISH ARE COMING!’”
Reiko merely laughed as Arisu recalled on her most recent banishment. “That was fun! But in my defense, I have been good for her. I’m just not good for other people.”
The two sisters laughed as they were dropped off at the high school and hugged before they both went to class.
The first two classes passed with ease for Arisu until she reached her third class and found that her essay had been graded.
“AN F! You gave me an F on this essay? I worked on it for three weeks! I followed your guidelines! I went over and made sure that there were no errors what-so-ever! I even had my mother and my sisters read it to see what they thought! And you give me an F? That paper was practically a college analysis!” Arisu shouted at her English teacher who was sitting at her desk, filing her nails.
“Well. . . I’m sorry to say this after hearing about all your hard work but, your essay was abominable! You bombed that essay! Re-do it by Friday and I might just give you a C minus.” Miss Locksley proclaimed, leaning back in her chair.
Arisu began to shake with rage, stress and frustration as the English teacher had been so cruel to her. She glanced down at the paper, and with a sudden burst of fury she ripped the paper to shreds and began shouting at her teacher, throwing curses and a tantrum. Finally when she was contained and was calmed down she was sent to the principal’s office. She was sent to detention for the rest of the day and was ordered there for the rest of the week.
After school was just let out, Arisu got on the bus more worried and shaken than she had ever been before. What would her mother say? Would all the pride that her father had for her vanish? After all, Arisu was the good kid, the angel of her sisters. She never hardly did anything wrong except an occasional C for a grade. Rini was always the tattle tale to the point where if she found out Arisu forgot to take the trash out, she tried to get her in trouble. She longed to get Arisu in trouble or anyone for that matter. There was no other way to put it; she was a snitch, a person who told on other people to get them in trouble. Arisu couldn’t trust her and she was her sister for crying out loud! Reiko, however, needed not either Rini or Arisu’s attention to get into some kind of trouble. She had done everything that was in the book of bad, except crime of course although she had been arrested for vandalism.
Reiko, again got on the bus and plopped down in the seat next to Arisu, laughing as she had a pink detention slip pinned to her shirt like a kindergartener. Arisu glanced at her sister and raised an eye brow in confusion. It was the type of facial expression that asked a question. Reiko finally glanced at her, noting her expression in her mind and laughed again.
“Yeah . . . so the principal got tired of Mom calling to ask where my proof of being in detention was, so he made this really weird pin that I couldn’t untangle and clipped it to my shirt.” She laughed one more wave of laughter and then grew serious, noting that Arisu wasn’t laughing with her. “What’s wrong sissy? Why so glum?”
Arisu sighed. “Reiko, first of all, let me say that Rini cannot find out about this right away. I caused a scene today in the classroom because my teacher gave me an F on that essay I had to write over that book. I worked for three weeks on that essay and I couldn’t believe she would do that to me. The problem is that . . . I’m going to be in detention for a week.”
“What?” The two girls heard their sister exclaim “Oh my gosh, wait until Mom finds out! This is awesome! You NEVER get into trouble! Finally! You’re finally going to get into trouble!” She grinned as she pulled out a pink ponytail holder and tied her short brown locks back.

“Where were you hiding?” Arisu inquired.
“I wasn’t hiding dill weed.” Rini replied with an oh-so sarcastic sigh. “I dropped my ponytail holder and while I bent over to pick it up, I heard you guys talking. I can’t believe you wouldn’t tell your own sister about your misfortune! After all . . .”
Reiko and Arisu groaned as they knew what Rini was about to do. Rini burst out into song singing “We are Family” and sang that song all the way home while laughing maniacally.
Soon after Rini had stopped her horrible singing, the bus stopped in front of their house and let the three sisters off. Their mother playing the radio could be heard from outside just like every ordinary day.
Rini leaped off of the bus resembling a gazelle (only much less graceful), and went galloping towards the front door. Arisu and Reiko did the same only jumping off the bus more like puma’s pouncing on their prey. They dashed towards Rini and tackled her to the ground before she could get inside the house.
“Ouch! Let me go this instance!” Rini groaned as Reiko formally restrained her, and Arisu held her arms back. When they were able to pick her up, the two girls carried their captive sister down into the cellar, carefully inching down each step as they went.
When they finally reached the last step, they threw Rini on her rump and made a mad dash up the stairs, shut out the lights and quickly slammed the cellar doors as Rini screamed and yelled at them, trying to find her way around in the dark. She wouldn’t be coming out of there for awhile.
Reiko and Arisu dashed into the front door and went to rush up the stairs when their mother stopped them by calling from the kitchen.
“Girls, Dinner will be ready soon! I made beef curry, I hope you’re hungry! I put carrots, potatoes, beans, onions, celery-” This list went on for at least five minutes for what their mother had made for dinner.
The sisters went on upstairs and sat on Reiko’s bed in her semi-messy room.
Reiko leaned back against her pillow as if this was a nonchalant, every day, and run of the mill situation.
“Show me the pink slip . . . I got a plan.” Reiko commanded.
Arisu quickly obeyed and pulled out the pink slip she had received earlier that day.
Reiko glanced over the slip and chuckled. “Arisu, hand me an ink pen, this will be a cinch.”
Again, the little sister obeyed her older sister like a dog would obey his master.
Arisu finally asked, “What are you going to do?” She noticed Reiko had pulled out a pad of paper and began scribbling over it in what seemed like calligraphy.
Reiko rolled her eyes. “Wow Arisu, your more naïve than I give you credit. I’m going to forge Mom’s signature on your detention slip and then she’ll never know! I’ve done it a thousand times.”
Then as if on cue, Rini and the girl’s mother walked through the door of the bedroom.
“You’re busted!” Rini exclaimed as shock washed over their mother’s face.
“Wait, how did you get out of the basement?” Reiko asked in confusion.
“I screamed and shouted until Mom was coming down to get something for her curry and she found me down there. Ha! Arisu you’re going to get it now!”
Their mother looked at all three of them and glared. “I want the whole story, NOW.” She emphasized.
Arisu was the first to speak. “Well Mom . . . Reiko and I threw Rini in the basement and locked her in the basement because-”
Then their mother noticed the note on the bed that Reiko had on top of her note book. She swept it up in one swift motion and glanced at it closely. As she read and revealed the practiced forges on a sheet of notebook paper, a wave of shock washed over her face.
“Arisu, you received detention? And for cursing out a teacher! And you were going to forge my signature? Well . . . Now you’re caught red handed! I would expect something like this from Reiko, but from you?” Their mother yelled in surprise.
Their mother then started to scold the two girls to no end, Especially Arisu, while expressing how shocked she was at her. In the end all three girls were grounded.
“But, why am I grounded? I didn’t do anything wrong!” Rini complained, while standing akimbo.
Their mother smirked and laughed slightly. “You’re grounded because you are a tattle tale and I’m sick of it!”
The End