My brothers were playing football in the living room, and I was supposed to be watching them.
- Instead of being a babysitter, I was being the big sister, talking to my friends and playing games, while ignoring my brothers.
I should have known there was going to be trouble when I heard one of them yell, ‘touchdown’, and then it went quiet. I thought they sat down to watch something on television, or turned on their gaming system, but I didn’t hear loud noises of explosions and gunfire. I walked into the living room, and they were staring at the wall. My littlest brother looked like he was going to cry and asked if I thought mom would get mad about the thermostat. I looked at the wall where the thermostat was once placed, and then I looked at the floor where it now laid. I told them mom was going to be furious. She was going to be upset with them, but mad at me for not doing the job she charged me with. I called the HVAC company and gave them numbers off the thermostat and asked if they had another one. I needed it installed before mom got home. I looked at my bank account to make sure I had enough money to pay for the new thermostat. I knew I had to tell mom what happened, but I hoped she would be proud that I had the thermostat replaced and paid for it. I had her hot tea ready when she got home and told her what happened. She patted my hand, said thank you, and she would pay me back for the thermostat when she got paid.