A short story by Theresa, Charles, & Marcella Sinclair.
The morning was like any other day, with the kitchen a mess, mom and dad making breakfast, and the kids waiting impatiently for their pancakes. 6- year-old Charles was thirsty and asked his mother if he could pour his own glass of milk. Charles insisted that he did not need help because he was a “big boy” now. Hearing this, Theresa, his 9-year-old sister, said, “I'll do it for you.” Just as she was about to take his glass, Charles shouted “No! I want to do it myself!” Theresa, being much older than he, snapped back, “You can't! You're too little!” The two siblings continued to argue over who should pour the milk until their mother ordered them to stop fighting and eat their breakfast.
As the family sat quietly eating their buttermilk pancakes, Charles asked his mother again “Mommy may I please pour my own glass of milk?”
She smiled at him and said, “Yes, Charles you may.”
Full of excitement, Charles ran to get his favorite red cup with the crazy straw attached to it and poured his own milk for the first time. After pouring it successfully without spilling it, he rejoined his family at the table to finish eating his breakfast. He asked for butter so that he may spread it on his pancakes, but no one seemed to be listening. Deciding to get it himself, he reached across the table and accidentally knocked over his cup! The milk spilled everywhere; all over Theresa, her breakfast and worst of all, on her favorite doll. Realizing what he had done, Charles began apologizing and tryed to help clean up the mess including Theresa and her doll. Theresa was as mad as a hornet! She began to call him many hurtful names, “ BRAINLESS BOY! Brainless Boy, You would drop your head if it weren't attached! Brainless Boy!”
Charles was upset by her words but his twin sister, Marcella, reassured him that Theresa did not really meant what she said. “She will only be mad at you for a little while. It's okay, we all have accidents”, said Marcella.
Later that evening, the family sat down together to watch The Wizard of Oz. Theresa had favored the part where Dorothy had met the scarecrow and when it came on she exclaimed “Hey Charles, look! It's you!”
Then Theresa started singing along with the song, “If I Only Had a Brain”.
Irritated at his older sister, Charles yelled loudly with tears in his eyes, “I am not the scarecrow!”
Theresa sang louder and louder, “If you only had a brain! If you only had a brain!”
Charles started screaming, “I DO! I do have a brain! ” over and over with tears coming down his cheeks.
Not long after they started arguing, their mother hollered, “Theresa, go to your room, you're done watching the movie!” Mom then went to Charles to comfort him and tell him that he was just as smart as everyone else and that he did indeed have a brain. This comforted him slightly but he was still sad and unsure of whether or not he actually had a brain. He and his teddy went to bed still very upset.
By the next morning, Charles had forgotten all about the milk accident and Theresa's teasing because he was too busy getting ready for his little league baseball game. He was excited, thinking that maybe today would be the day that he would hit a home run. He was so elated that he danced around the living room like he had ants in his pants. Absolutely nothing could make Charles miserable today, not even Theresa's name calling!
Once they arrived at the field, Charles ran to the dugout and the rest of his family took their place in the bleachers. The game started right on time and Charles was the first at bat. He held the bat high, just like his dad had taught him. The pitcher throws the ball…Charles swings…
“Strike!” yelled the umpire.
The pitcher threw another ball, but this time, Charles smacked the ball far enough to get to first base. Unfortunately, the next two players struck out. “That's okay,” Charles thought to himself, “at least I didn't strike out again! We will do better next time we are up to bat.”
“Change sides,” said Coach John. “Charles, why don’t you pitch this time.”
Charles knew that his team wasn't exactly winning, but if he could only strike out three players, then the teams would change sides again, giving his own Charles and his teammates another chance at victory. He threw the first ball but the batter missed it by a long shot. Charles was thrilled, and he could hear the crowd going wild. He pitched once more and it was another strike. “This is it the last throw” Charles thought to himself, “I'm doing great! If I can strike out this batter, I’ll be the team hero.”
He threw the ball with all his might towards the batter. Just then, the coach bellowed frantically, distracting Charles. Charles turned his head to see what the fuss was all about when BAM!!! The ball came flying back and smacked Charles square in the face causing him to fall instantly to the ground. He was knocked out cold, like a boxer in a title fight, by the devious baseball that hit his left eye. His eye swelled up fast and turned as purple as a plum. Once everyone had realized what had happened, Charles was rushed to the hospital with his parents, by his side. His siblings went home with their grandparents.
They arrived at the hospital where Charles was taken into a small room. The doctor examined his eye with a strange flashlight that looked like something out of a space movie to the frightened six year old.
“It looks okay, but we will have to give him a CAT scan to make sure he doesn't have a concussion,” said the doctor, “Charles, we are going to take some x-rays of your head and your brain to make sure everything is okay. It is just like getting your picture taken.”
Charles instantly panicked, “Is it going to hurt?”
“No sweetie it will be fine,” said his mom.
Shaking like a leaf on a tree on windy day, Charles exclaimed in an even more terrified voice, “I can't go! The doctor is going to find out!”
His parents were puzzled. “Why, what's wrong Charles, I promise it won't hurt a bit,” said Dad.
Charles replied, “I can't! They can't look in my head!”
Charles’ dad promised that he would get ice cream if he would let the doctor take the picture. Charles knew that he had no choice but to cooperate. If dad was taking him for ice cream, this must be serious. The nurse took Charles down to the x-ray room in a chair with wheels, which he thought was really cool. Charles was relieved when the test was over, but still felt anxious. He then asked the doctor if he could see the x-rays.
The doctor answered, “Of course you can,” putting the film up to the light box. The doctor pointed to Charles’ skull and said that there were no fractures or cracks. He then pointed to a big blob inside the picture of the skull and said, “There appears to be no problems in the brain area either”.
Charles interrupted, “What does that mean?” he asked in a shaky voice.
“Look right here Charles,” the doctor said pointing to the blob area, “This is your brain! And a mighty fine brain it is.”
Charles quickly jumped off the table and shouted excitedly, “I DO…I DO HAVE A BRAIN!”
Everyone bursted into laughter. The doctor even gave Charles a picture of his brain to take home so that he would always know that he had a brain no matter what his big sister said.
As soon as the family returned home, Charles ran straight up to Theresa's room, held the x-ray up as high as he could and shouted, “I told you I have a brain! Here is the picture to prove it.”
Theresa looked at the picture and said, “Well, it looks like you do have a brain…a really SMALL brain!”
Charles just smiled and said, “It's better to have a small brain, then to have no brain at all”
