Work Text:
Summer 1998
“Don’t do that, sweetie.” Anna stops the nine-year-old from scrubbing her face with her hand. “You’ll make it sore.”
Brooke has had a red patch on her face all morning. Anna sighs as she stops her once again. She is sure she reminded her mother that Brooke cannot have anything citrusy — such as oranges or lemons — but she had woken up to the girls and Peyton's cousins eating oranges from the trees out back in her mother’s kitchen.
“Remember the medicine is supposed to help.” She gently moves her hand. “It can't do its job if you wipe it all off.” More hydrocortisone is put on the rash, and Anna reminds her to not wipe, lick, or scratch before sending her out to play. The front yard is fenced off so it is less likely that Brooke will wander off, which means less supervision is needed.
Brooke runs outside, jumping from the top of steps. She skips over to the large trampoline in the corner of the yard, and sees Peyton bouncing with her cousins. The little girl has learned how to do somersaults and likes to show off on the trampoline.
“Hey, B. Davis!” The little blonde grins at seeing her best friend. “Come on, get up here. I can show you how to do somersaults!”
Peyton’s cousins, twin girls who are two years younger than Peyton at seven years old, are jumping over to the side. They turn and look when they hear Peyton talking to Brooke.
“Okay!” Brooke pushes herself up, lifting her upper body and climbing atop. Sammie wrinkles her nose as notices that Brooke has a red patch on her chin and around her lips.
She pokes her sister and points. “Look, she’s got a disease!” Rebecca, her twin, giggles.
“Oh, that’s weird. You got a disease, Brooke.”
“No, I don’t.” Brooke frowns as she swipes her hair back from her face. She almost rubs her chin, the rash feeling itchy. It’s like her brain only wants to focus on the tingly sensation. Peyton stops her gently, copying the way she saw her mom do earlier.
It is always an odd feeling. She still is not used to someone noticing it happening and actually doing something about it. Anna always puts the cream on it and gently, calmly reminds her to leave it alone.
Becca puts her hands on her hips. “You can't play with us, you’ll give us your disease!” She elongates the e sound. Peyton gives her cousins a glare. She wishes they would leave Brooke alone.
“Stop bullying my friend. She doesn’t have a disease; she has a rash ‘cause she ate oranges. And she isn’t supposta do that.”
Sammie rolls her eyes. “We ain't bullying, we’re just sayin’. She’s not allowed to play with us.”
“You're being mean and you're bullying her by excluding!” Peyton snaps. She doesn’t notice Brooke licking around her lips. “Stop bullying her, or I'm gonna tell on you.”
“I don’t have a disease,” Brooke finally speaks up. “It’s just from the oranges. Miss Anna says my body doesn’t like it, and so it makes my lips and mouth and face red.” She tries to explain it but apparently, Peyton does not agree that it worked.
She huffs as she steps to the edge of the trampoline, and sits, jumping off. “Aunt Jennifer! Uncle Michael!” Brooke hears the girls groan.
“Come on, Peyton, don’t be a tattletale!”
“Don’t call her names!” Brooke snaps. “You two are being mean and won't let me play… I don’t have a disease, it’s just a rash!” She gears up for an argument but is stopped by voices filtering over as Peyton comes back outside.
“Samantha! Rebecca! Come over here, please.”
Sammie groans when she hears her mother. The two climb off the trampoline and traipse over with Brooke following. Their mom, Jennifer, stands with Peyton and Anna on the porch, hands on her hips.
Brooke inwardly winces when she sees the look on her face. That is definitely not a happy expression. In fact, that is the same expression her teacher makes right before she is told she has to stand at the wall for recess or that she has to write lines as punishment.
She wonders what their mom will do. Will she make them apologize? Or will they have to write lines? Maybe they’ll sit in timeout like Miss Anna does when she is being naughty. Or will they get a spanking like the Principal threatens her with?
“We weren’t doing anything, Mommy. We were being nice, really!”
Brooke frowns. Peyton said it was bullying, and she certainly didn’t feel like they were being nice. Even after she explained what the rash was, they still said she had a ‘disease’. Will they get in trouble lying also? She has a lot of experience with that, and it sucks. She had no idea other kids did it on purpose.
Jennifer, though, does not look convinced. She sees the redness around Brooke’s mouth and understands what Peyton meant by her rash. She used to have that problem as a child; oranges tasted so good, but eating them constantly left her with a raw, red mouth.
“Becca, Peyton tells me you and Sammie were making fun of Brooke.” The two girls look nervously at each other. “She said you were excluding because of her rash on her mouth. Is that true?”
“Uh…” Becca looks at Brooke, no longer feeling confident enough to verbalize her teasing. “No.”
Peyton huffs. “It is too. You said she had a disease-” Anna stops her, gently rubbing her back to soothe her. She knows her daughter is extremely protective of the younger girl. She hates for her to be teased and bullied.
“Girls, why don’t we go inside and get something to snack on?” She suggests, motioning for Brooke to follow. “Aunt Jen needs to talk to Sammie and Becca alone.” She leads them inside to the kitchen where Goldfish and juice boxes await them.