Being More Than A Bossy Sister

"And make sure they're cut into triangles, I won't eat it if it's cut into rectangles!" Shouted Lori, making sure that Lincoln, who was down in the kitchen making her a turkey sandwich, heard her.

Lincoln gave a frustrated sigh; everything had to be perfect with Lori. He had to make sure the ingredients were added in the right order, the mayo spread evenly, every little thing had to be just right or she wouldn't eat it. Not only that, but she'd give him an earful if he didn't do it right. He wondered why exactly she loved to boss him and his sisters around; was it just because she was the oldest and had the power? Or was there something else to it? He shrugged and finished the sandwich, making sure to cut it into triangles, lest he incur Lori's wrath. He walked up the stairs, knocking on her door.

"Lori! I finished making your sandwich!"

Lori opened the door, looking at Lincoln skeptically.

"Are you sure you made it right this time?"

"Yes Lori, I made it right..." Said Lincoln, irritated at the fact that he had to go through this process every single time he made her a sandwich.

She inspected the sandwich, making sure everything was in the correct order. It seemed okay, so she took a bite. As soon as she bit into it however, her face changed to disgust. She finished chewing it before yelling at Lincoln,

"Lincoln! How many times have I told you?? I don't like big globs of mayo on my sandwich!"

"But Lori I spread it even-"

"No, I'm not eating this, just give it to Leni or something. I guess I'll make my own, since I have to do everything in this house."

That was it; Lincoln couldn't take her lip service any longer. He had gotten tired of hearing the same thing over and over again; it was time to get some answers.

"Alright that's enough! I want to know why you like to boss us around! Is it because you're the oldest or something??"

Lori's face became flustered as she heard Lincoln's question; as if a button was finally pushed. Not wanting to admit why she bossed them around, she offered a simple excuse.

"J-Just because, okay??"

She slammed the door on Lincoln, leaning up against it. She knew why, but she couldn't admit it. She felt too embarrassed to give a proper answer, worried that Lincoln wouldn't take her seriously or maybe even laugh at her. That possibility scared her so she felt it was better to just keep it bottled in. Still, maybe she could put her pride aside and ask for help? She wracked her brain, trying to make the decision that could potentially cost her the position as the top sibling.

"Don't ask me to make you a sandwich anymore, just ask one of the girls." said Lincoln, finally tired of Lori's domineering attitude.

"Wait!"

Lori opened her door and pulled Lincoln in as she closed it behind him. This took Lincoln by surprise, as he was always told to stay out of her room. He wondered exactly why he was pulled in; maybe she didn't want anyone else to hear what she had to tell him? He figured that he was finally going to get his question answered as to why she was always so bossy. He turned around to see Lori, who was wearing a look of embarrassment and frustration. It seemed as if she really wanted to say something, but she couldn't. Lori rubbed her shoulder and averted her eyes in a shameful manner; it was the first time that she was actually confronted about her attitude. There had been accusations and theories from the younger siblings before, but she was never asked directly. Now that the opportunity was there, she finally decided it was time to come out and say it.

"Wanna' know the reason why I'm so bossy?"

Lincoln nodded, curious to hear her answer.

"The reason I'm always bossing you guys around is because... Well, I guess I'm just jealous..." said Lori sheepishly.

This was certainly an answer that Lincoln was not expecting. Jealousy was something had never crossed his mind before; he always thought that she was in the best position amongst the all of them.

"Wait, jealous? What could you possibly be jealous about?? You can drive, you've got a boyfriend, you're almost done with high school; you've got tons of stuff! What do we have that could make you jealous??"

"Well you guys all kinda' have your thing..."

"What do you mean?"

"Well I mean, Lisa's smart, Lucy's good at poetry, Lynn's good at sports, Luna's good at guitar, everyone's got something! That is... Everyone except for me..."

This was another answer that took Lincoln by surprise; he never really thought of it that way. It's true that everyone had their own little thing that they were good at, but he didn't stop to think about what Lori was good at. He tried to think of something, there had to be something that she was good at.

"Whaaatt? Come on, you're good at things! Like um... Um... It's going to come to me..."

"See?! That's what I mean! I'm not good at anything except bossing you guys around and I don't want to be the sister that is good at that!" said Lori, whose walls were finally being broken down.

"No no, there's got to be something you're good at! I guess I'm just having trouble remember-"

Lincoln stopped mid-sentence to look at Lori who was becoming more and more distressed with each word that Lincoln was saying.

"I'm just making this worse aren't I?"

Lori just nodded tearfully.

"There, so now you know. I'm not good at anything. I’m always just going to be the big mean sister... So just go and leave me alone."

Lincoln was never one to abandon his sisters when they needed help and Lori was no exception. There had to be something she was good at, and Lincoln was determined to help Lori find it.

"No, I'm going to help you find something to be good at!"

"W-What?"

"There are plenty of things that you haven't tried, and if you're good at them then that can be your thing!"

"Y-you'd do that for me? Even though I've bossed you around so much?"

"Hey, it doesn't matter if you've bossed me around or not. You're still my sister and I'm always there to you guys when you have a problem." said Lincoln assuredly.

Lori wiped the tears in her eyes away and hugged Lincoln. The fact that Lincoln was always so dependable and supportive always made her happy, even if she didn't always admit it.

"Thanks Lincoln. I really mean it."

"Well how about we go find out what your talent is huh?"

"Alright, well what do we try first?"

Lincoln stood and thought for a second, trying to come up with a field that the other sisters hadn't taken yet. Poetry, repair, fashion, comedy, sports; they were all taken. There had to be something that none of the girls had that Lori could take for herself! It took him a little bit but he came up with his first idea.

"Okay I got something!" Said Lincoln.

"Really? What is it?"

"Let's go downstairs to the kitchen, that's where we're gonna' start."

A shocked expression came across Lori's face; cooking? She had never tried to cook before since their parents or sometimes Lincoln would do the cooking. Lori grew nervous at the prospect of cooking, worried that she would burn the food and render it inedible. She put her worries aside for Lincoln's sake though; he was giving up his day to help her find her talent after all. She followed him downstairs to the kitchen. As the two walked in, they saw Lynn walking out, eating a pudding cup.

"Oh hey guys, what's up?" Said Lynn.

Lori panicked; she didn't want her sisters to know that she was feeling inadequate compared to them. She wanted to say something but her words were caught in her throat. Seeing this, Lincoln answered for her.

"Oh nothing much, I'm just going to be doing some cooking."

Lynn eyed him strangely.

"Did you ask Mom and Dad if you could?"

Lincoln acted as if he just remembered and looked surprised along with Lori, whose surprise was sincere.

"Oh right I completely forgot!" Said Lincoln, hitting his forehead with the palm of his hand. He dashed out of the kitchen and back to the living room.

"Thanks Lynn!"

Lori had forgotten as well and followed Lincoln into the living room where their parents were watching television.

"Hey Mom, Dad?" Said Lincoln.

"What is it son?" Said the Dad.

"Is it okay if I do just a little bit of cooking? I promise to be super careful!"

Both the Mom and Dad looked at each other, having a telepathic conversation like most parents do, and then turned back to Lincoln.

"Alright, we trust you; but under ONE condition!" Said the Dad.

"You are to cook only under Lori's supervision, if she says no, then the answer is no." Said the Mom.

As the two parents looked towards Lori's way, Lori looked at Lincoln. Lincoln looked at her with puppy dog eyes; she thought that she was going to the one doing the cooking not him. Unless...

"Lori?" Said the Dad, expecting an answer.

"Huh?? Oh right!" As the Dad called for her to answer, she understood what Lincoln was trying to do.

"Yeah, I guess I can watch him or whatever..." Said Lori, in her usual sarcastic tone.

"Okay then, I want you to be careful and Lori; make sure he doesn't hurt himself."

"Got it Dad."

The two walked back to the kitchen with Lori looking at Lincoln in amazement.

"Did you plan all that?"

"Yep. I figured that Mom and Dad would want you to watch over me, so now you can do the cooking and if anyone asks, we can just say that you're supervising me as I cook."

"Wow. That was actually really smart, color me impressed." Said Lori in an approving tone.

Lincoln put on his usual apron and handed Lori their mother's since she didn't have one. Lincoln then opened the refrigerator and looked through it; trying to think of an easy, entry-level dish that Lori could make.

"Hmmm... What to make..."

It took him a second, but he managed to come up with an easy dish that Lori could cook It was simple, there wasn't a whole lot of work involved, plus the dish itself was tasty. He grabbed the first item; eggs, and set them on the counter. He opened the meat drawer and pulled out the second item that Lori was to cook; bacon.

"Alright, so you're going to be making something simple; bacon and eggs!"

"Wait, you mean like, cooking with a pan and stuff?" Said Lori worriedly.

"Uh, yes? That's what cooking is."

"B-But what if I burn it??"

"Don't worry about that; if it's looking like it's going to burn, I'll take over. Just focus on the cooking."

Lori was nervous; she had never cooked before and the possibility of either burning the food or starting a fire was frightening. She knew though that this was something she had to do though; if she backed out of this then she'd never be able to find her talent. Never once in her life did she think that she'd have to rely on Lincoln like this, but right now he was her guide.

"Okay then, what's the first thing I do?"

"Well, the first thing you do is get a pan and put it on the stove, like so." Said Lincoln as he pulled a pan out of the cupboard and placed over a burner.

Lincoln then stepped away and pushed Lori in front of the stove, deciding that it was time for her to take over.

"Now, what is the first thing we do if we want to cook eggs?"

"Um, crack the eggs open?"

"Close, but we have to heat the pan first. No sense in putting eggs in a cold pan right?"

"O-Oh, silly me." Lori felt embarrassed. The fact that Lincoln, six years her junior, was tutoring her, filled her with very confusing emotions. She looked for the right dial and turned it to the right, setting it on for medium. To her surprise though, there was no flames, only a hiss.

"No no, you have to turn it all the way first, otherwise it doesn't light." Said Lincoln as he turned the dial all the way and lit the burner, then setting it back to the medium.

"Well how was I supposed to know that??"

Lincoln merely pointed to the writing above the dial; at the far right was the word "Light."

"Tch, fine."

"Now then, go to the fridge and get some butter."

"Why?"

"I'll show you, just go get the butter."

Lori wanted to yell at him and put him in his place, but she refrained. Right now she was under his tutelage and even if she didn't want to admit it, he was in charge. That didn't prevent her though from scoffing as she walked over to the fridge and picked a tub of butter.

"There; now will you tell me what the butter is for?"

"Gladly." Said Lincoln as he took out a butter knife and cut a slice of butter before putting it in the pan. The butter began to sizzle a little, before it started to melt.

"Okay the pan is heating up, turn the heat down and roll the butter around the pan. The butter will prevent the eggs from sticking to it."

Lori complied with Lincoln's instructions, setting the heat to low and moving the butter around.

"Why do we set it to low though?"

"So the butter doesn't burn. Now that the pan has heated up, it's time to crack the eggs." Lincoln then grabbed two eggs out of the carton and handed one to Lori.

"You DO know how to crack an egg right?"

"Sure! It's uh..."

"Okay, just take the egg and hit it against the edge of the pan, but SOFTLY."

Lori was hesitant; one mistake and egg whites and yolk would be all over the stove and floor. She tapped it ever so gently against the pan, with no result.

"Okay just a little harder. You want it to crack, but not shatter."

Lori then tried again, hitting it a little harder. To her surprise the egg had cracked, but then panic set in.

"W-What do I do now??"

"Okay, now just grab both ends of the egg and open it over the pan."

She couldn't help but turn her head a little in fear as she opened the egg over the pan, it falling out of the shell and landing squarely in it where it began to sizzle. After seeing that she had not screwed up, she smiled with excitement.

"I-I did it!"

"See? It's not that hard. Now, do another one." Said Lincoln as he handed her the second egg.

"I gotta' do another one??" Said Lori, scared that her initial success was nothing but a fluke. Could she do it a second time?

"Relax, you already did one and that turned out okay, right?"

Lori was still hesitant.

"Well... Okay...”

Lori took the second egg and repeated the same steps carefully, succeeding just like before. She giggled to herself; cooking was fun! Meanwhile, Lincoln had grabbed the skillet and set it to heat on the second burner, remembering that they were going to cook bacon as well. He then turned back to Lori, who was waiting for Lincoln's next command.

"So what do we do now?"

"Now watch for the edges of the eggs to turn brown. Once it's brown, it'll be time to flip."

Lori carefully watched the eggs, waiting for the first sign of browning. After a bit, Lori noticed that the edges were turning brown.

"Lincoln! They're turning brown!"

"Okay now you're ready to flip." Lincoln then handed her a spatula; this was the part he was nervous about. "Now you want to do this carefully, otherwise you'll break the yolk."

Lori gulped; this was the moment of truth. It was time to see if she had a knack for cooking. Lori decided that if she could flip the egg without breaking, cooking would be her pursuit. If she broke them however, then she'd never cook again. She stared at the eggs, scared at what the result might be, but she took the plunge and carefully slid the spatula underneath the eggs. She then flipped them over and looked closely at them. To her excitement, the eggs were cooked perfectly!

"You did it Lori!" Said Lincoln, excited at his sister's accomplishment.

Lincoln quickly ran over to one of the kitchen cupboards and grabbed a plate, holding it up and waiting for Lori to slide the eggs onto it. Lori turned the pan ever so slightly and slid the eggs right out, happy at her accomplishment; none of her sisters had ever claimed cooking as their specialty, and the fact that she could cook something without burning it was a definitely a step towards having a talent to call her own. She watched Lincoln grab a knife and fork, taking the eggs back to the table and inspecting them like a food critic.

After eying them for a bit, making sure that they were cooked well; he cut a piece off and ate it. Lori was nervous; yes she had cooked them without burning them, but what if they didn't taste good?

"So? How are they??" Said Lori, eagerly awaiting some form of evaluation.

"They're great! You might have a real knack for this Lori!" Said Lincoln as he finished eating his food.

In her excitement, Lori ran over and picked Lincoln up, squeezing him tightly.

"Oh thank you so much Lincoln!"

"...You're crushing my windpipe Lori..." Wheezed Lincoln.

"Oops, sorry." Said Lori as she dropped Lincoln to the ground.

"You know though, you've only really cooked eggs right?" Said Lincoln as he got up off of the floor. "You're gonna' have to cook more than that."

"Let me just have this okay?"


Over the next few days, both Lincoln and Lori cooked together, both of them becoming closer as they spent more time together. It wasn't long before their parents found out.

"Lori, you're the one cooking?" Said the Mom.

"Mom! Dad!" Exclaimed Lori, almost as if she was caught doing something unspeakable. Lincoln rushed to grab the pan that Lori had almost sent flying in her panic.

"Why didn't you just tell us that you wanted to cook?" Said Dad.

Lori grabbed her arm sheepishly and averted her eyes. "I was scared that I wouldn't be any good."

"Sweetie you didn't have to worry about that with us! We would have been there for you every step of the way; not that Lincoln wouldn't. In fact, you two seem a lot closer now." Said the Mom.

Lori looked down at her little brother and just smiled. "Yeah, I guess we have become closer."

"If you want, I can help you out from here. I can also teach you a few things too Lincoln!" Said the Mom.

Both Lori and Lincoln looked at each for a moment before turning back to their Mother and saying,

"Sure!"