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I sat on the black leather sofa watching my older brother play a video game. I did not know what the game was called, nor did I care, but it involved racing cars. Drew seemed to be enjoying himself, but I was bored. I wanted to watch Harry Potter. Our brother TJ walked into the living room following baseball practice. He was still in his grey pants and green jersey. TJ was written on the back of it with the number seven in yellow.

“It’s my turn to play.” TJ said to Drew, “You’ve been playing for like three hours.”

Press TRIANGLE to ignore

Drew didn’t respond to TJ’s statements. I wondered why TJ didn’t just plug in the other controller and play alongside Drew. I then remembered my brothers had smashed that controller to pieces the previous week, but that’s a story for another time.

Press CIRCLE to block

TJ moved in front of Drew, obstructing the view of the video game. Drew stood. He had three years on TJ...and six inches. TJ shoved Drew. Drew shoved him harder. I blinked. Drew was pinned to the wooden floor with TJ sitting on his torso. I thought about going to get our oldest brother, who was supposed to be babysitting us at the time, but I was far too amused.

Press X to punch

Drew grabbed TJ’s shoulders and pushed him aside. TJ fell to the floor. Drew knelt on top of his younger brother. TJ was unable to move under Drew’s weight. Drew wasn’t much heavier than TJ, but TJ had always been a weakling. Even I could beat him in arm wrestling. TJ let out an ear-piercing scream. I thought for sure the windows had shattered. Drew’s fist collided with TJ’s nose. Dark red blood streamed out of his nose and onto his baseball uniform. His nose was crooked.

Press ENTER to pause

Everything stopped. I could hear nothing but TJ’s cries and my own thoughts. I felt guilty for not going to get Bubba before things got out of hand. I didn’t want TJ to get hurt, even though he kind of deserved it for tackling Drew in the first place. If I had gone to get Bubba, the odds of him putting an end to the conflict were unlikely. It was more likely he would have joined in the argument. I saw Drew’s black iPhone 3G resting on the coffee table. I knew my parents were on a date, but I didn’t know what else to do. I picked up his phone and called my mom, interrupting her date night. I told her TJ’s nose was crooked. My parents arrived home shortly after I placed the phone call. They confiscated the PlayStation and my mother took TJ to have his nose reset. Drew, TJ, and Bubba were each grounded for two weeks while I sat on the black leather sofa watching Harry Potter.

GAME OVER