“Well, let’s hear a bit more about your immediate family. Tracy and…Helen, right?” Quinn inquired, impressively recalling your mom’s name. “I wonder how much they’re like my own mom.”
You nodded happily. “Sure, I can talk about them. Most of the crazy stories from my life are about the two of them anyway, so I’ve got a nearly limitless supply of tales.” You said this last bit in an over-the-top old narrator voice, causing Quinn to roll her eyes and smirk.
“You dork.” The black-haired giantess said.
Taking a moment to clear your throat, you began. “Well, as I’ve mentioned, hardly a day went by from the time Tracy was in sixth grade up to senior year where she wouldn’t bully me in some way. It was light teasing one day, and then down-right torment the next. I’ve forgiven her by now, of course…pretty hard not to with Tracy’s ceaseless apologies…but she was directly responsible for a lot of bad memories in the day.”
Quinn raised a finger inquisitively. “Hold up. I’m actually curious what brought about her change. Why did she begin treating you differently?”
You quirked your mouth to the side. “Well, I actually didn’t learn that myself for a few years, until Tracy told me herself. Since I’m a year older than her, I graduated and headed off to college when her senior year began. Tracy told me that, without me around, she quickly began to miss me. Then, seeing my mother constantly on edge with worry over my safety while I was at college by myself, Tracy realized how much she missed me for ME, not just to bully me.
“I think some introspection on Tracy’s part made her realize how dumb her perceived mistreatment was. Her persecution complex kinda fell apart as she matured, and this was the final nail in the coffin. I mean, I’m her brother, and somewhere deep inside of her she always loved me as family should. I wish she’d had the realization earlier in her life, as it would’ve saved me a lot of trouble, but…”
You trailed off, and Quinn picked up the slack. “Yeah, Hunter, that sucks. At least it worked out in the end between you and her.”
“It did. She’s pretty much my best friend now.” You nodded. “But as for past events…uh…I’ll start off with a simple one. When I was in tenth grade, I won an award for math score achievements, but Tracy lost out to one of her classmates to win her own award. As such, her persecution complex convinced her that I was to blame for her missing out on an award, and that meant she felt compelled to bully me.
“She took an interesting approach though. Grabbing me up when my mom wasn’t looking, Tracy smushed me up into a blob, and then dripped some lemon juice from our kitchen onto me. Popping me into her mouth before heading out to catch the bus, Tracy proceeded to use me as her gum for the entire day. It was a blur of crushing, smashing, and gnashing for hours on end.
“Unfortunately, it didn’t take Tracy long to realize the cruel genius of her plan. Because tiny guys like me are much more absorbent when squished, my body totally soaked in the lemon juice, thus retaining its taste and flavor through the whole day. And…uh…the next day. And the next. Tracy used me as her gum for five straight days, smiling the whole time at how tasty I was to her. It only ended when she slipped up by mentioning me on the phone with her friend when my mom was in earshot.”
Sensing your story was finished, Quinn winced. “Gum? That’s awful, Hunter. How could Tracy treat you like that, her own brother?”
You forced a laugh. “Well, it was hardly the worst thing she ever did to me. Not even close.” Quinn’s eyes narrowed tensely, and you backtracked. “I-I mean, she didn’t get off scot-free. My mom forced her to scrub the bathroom with a toothbrush every night for a week, which caused her to have to cancel a party she was planning on going to.” You paused, and frowned. “Of course, my mom also punished me for missing class, even though it was Tracy’s fault. And, Tracy saw her own punishment as my fault, so she had it out for me the next few weeks too.”
“That’s nuts.” Quinn shook her head.
“You’ve got that right.” You stated. “The cycle of bullying and punishment was and endless dance between Tracy, my mom, and I.” You rubbed your chin. “But, I don’t want you to think we were an awful family either, Quinn. For all the bad memories, there were plenty of times where my family and I all got along great. I’ve got a bunch of treasured memories somewhere in my ol’ noggin!”
Quinn smirked again. “What, like vacations and trips? Stuff like that?”
Your demeanor faded just a bit. “Uh, not always. I meant hanging out at home, or things like that. Not to say our family vacations and trips weren’t great, but…let’s just say the risk of danger to someone like me was increased by about a thousand during those times.”
Quinn’s eyed widened. “Oh, shit, really? I guess that makes sense.”
You glanced over at Quinn’s clock on the wall, seeing that there was still plenty of time left in the day. “Well, I’ll stop beating around the bush. Guess I can tell you a more specific, longer story.”
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