"Maeve! Maeve!" a boy shouted. "What are you doing in my bed, brat?"

Maeve groaned.

The black-haired boy glared at her. "Get out of my bed before I throw you out!"

"Alright! Alright!" Maeve crawled over to the ladder. "I'm sorry!"

"You better be sorry!"

What was wrong with this kid? Why was he so mean?

"Where were you born? A barn? Aren't you going to say 'Good morning '?

"Good morning."

He grinned as he leaned ivrr her. "Good morning, Mordecai."

"Good morning, Mordecai."

"Good girl." He pointed at the door. "Now go away! I'm busy! I have grown-up things to do!"

Maeve rolled her eyes. Mordecai looked like he was about eight. How important could the thing he needed to do be?

It had been a few months since she woke up in this child's body and was found by Cai's parents. It wasn't easy living with an egotistical half-pint, but she had survived this long...

She was grateful that they had adopted her when she was five, but she wished that her brother was a bit nicer. Well, sometimes he could be. He was a bit hard to read.

"Maeve." A woman in an apron poked her head into a hallway. "Go outside and play. I have customers to meet with until dinner time."

"Okay..."

"Mom!" Mordecai called from the bedroom. "I need more ink!"

The woman sighed. "We're out! You'll have to collect more berries! You might not get done in time if you don't leave now!"

Mordecai ruffled his hair as he ran out of the room. "Why didn't you tell me that sooner?"

"Mom, why does Mordecai need more berries?" Maeve asked.

"Cai has an assignment to do. Don't you remember? He talked about it for two whole weeks before his tutor gave it to him." Mom sighed. "Although, it's just an assignment from his tutor, not homework. Why must he go all out?"

If there was anything she liked about Mordecai, it was his hard work. She wished she could've been more like him in that way. Back on Earth, she only played games and left everything for the last moment. She was lucky she was a gifted student...

"Will I get to have a tutor, Mom?"

Mom shook her head. "I'd like to get you a governess, but I don't have the money for it right now." She took a breath. "Now, go play, so I can go work."

Maeve put on a brown pair of shoes before leaving the house.

A boy with dark hair who was slightly bigger than her had just left a nearby house. He was in a a strange wheelchair. It looked like he had just strapped some giant wheels to a kitchen chair and he'd used a drawer to jery-rig a footrest together.

"Did you want some help, Wilhelm?" Maeve called to the boy.

"No thanks." The boy pushed himself forward. "I like to move by myself whenever I can."

"Huh?" Maeve blinked. "How come?"

"Everyone throws fruit at me when I crawl. I'm not getting soaked just to go out."

That sounded gross. What did they do that for?

"So your legs don't work?"

"That's why I made this chair. I don't want to lay around in one place for the rest of my life."

"That would be boring..."

He pushed himself closer to Maeve. "Yeah. There's so much more to think about outside."

Maeve squatted. She wanted to look the boy in his eyes. "Could you help me think then?"

The boy raised his eyebrows. "Help you think? About what?"

"I wanna figure out how to make Mordecai like me."

Wilhelm smiled. "You really love your big brother, don't you?"

"Not really, I just want him to stop picking on me."

Wilhelm slumped in his chair. "Oh..."

"He does it every day. It gets old."

"Right... Everyone has that something."

Maeve folded her arms. "Do you have any ideas or not?"

"That brat loves to eat. Why don't you collect some berries or something?"

"I know exactly what to do now!" Maeve grinned. "Thanks!"

Wilhelm adjusted himself. "Mind if I go out with you? People are still weirded out by my chair."

"Of course not!"

That was stupid of them, anyway. The chair was just Wilhelm's legs. People in her old world could see that. The good ones at least.

"I need to get something to put the food in though. Cai loves his food, so I gotta get him a bunch of it."

Wilhelm spun around 180 degrees. "I have a basket on here, so you can use it. Consider it thanks for letting me tag along with you."

Maeve threw his arms around him. "You're the best!"

"I know you're grateful!" Wilhelm pried her arms off of him. "Quit trying to squeeze the life out of me!"

"Sorry..." Maeve's cheeks reddened. "I got too excited."

He patted her head. "Let's go get that treat for your brother."

And Maeve knew exactly what to get him!

Wilhelm stopped rolling when he saw the trees. "What are you looking for?"

Maeve pointed to a nearby tree. "I'm going to get those."

"What if you fall?"

Maeve put her hands on her hips. "I'm not going to!"

Wilhelm sighed. "Please be careful."

Maeve then climbed up the nearest tree. She didn't know why, but Cai liked their weird fruits. They had milk in them like coconuts.

"Are you sure that branch is sturdy?"

"Stop worrying!"

Maeve threw a weird coconut to Wilhelm. He put it in his basket before she threw another.

Just she grabbed onto a third, creak!

"Mae! Get down from there!"

"I'm fine!"

Crack!

Maeve screamed as she pulled the weird coconut to her chest.

"You should have listened to your friend, little miss."

"Thank you for your help." Wilhelm pinched Maeve's cheek. "That was so stupid! What would be the point of getting Mordecai his food if you get hurt? Not walking isn't fun! What would you do if you broke your leg?"

"I get it! I get it! I'm sorry!" Maeve looked at the fair-haired boy. "Could you please put me down?"

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked.

"Yes."

The boy put Maeve down. "I'm Claude. What are your names?"

"My name is Wilhelm." Wilhelm sighed. "The knucklehead you just saved is Maeve."

Cai dropped the berries he'd been carrying as he ran over to them. "Hey! I saw that!"

Maeve jumped back. "Ahh! It's Cai!"

Cai crossed his arms. "What were you doing up there, you idiot?"

Her cheeks reddened as she turned away. "I-I was getting you some fruit..."

Cai stared at the fruit that Maeve was still holding. "For me?" The boy groaned. "That doesn't matter! What if you broke something or worse?" Tears seemed to stream down his face.

Wilhelm looked bat Maeve out of the corner of his eye. "This is the brother you were talking about? He doesn't seem to dislike you."

"Sorry, Cai." Maeve hung her head. "I'll be more careful next time."

Cai scowled at his sister. "You better or I'll break your legs and arms myself!"

Maeve whimpered.

Claude put himself between the siblings. "Mind telling me who you are, buddy?"

"His name is Mordecai," Wilhelm said. "He's her big brother."

"Who I can't take my eyes off apparently," Cai mumbled.

Wilhelm opened his basket and took out the rest of the fruit. "Give these to your brother before you forget."

"Oh, yeah! Thanks!" Maeve smiled as she held them out to her brother.

"Don't do anything that stupid again."

"What are you all planning to do now?" Claude asked.

Cai picked up the ink berries he'd dropped earlier. "I have an assignment I'd like to get done, but I need to catch some fish for dinner."

Maeve puffed out her cheeks. "I can do that!"

"I don't need you falling into the pond. You nearly gave me a heart attack once today. A second time is just asking for trouble."

Claude ruffled her hair. "He's not trying to be mean. It would be a tragedy if you end up drowning."

Cai huffed. "I don't need some pretty boy to translate my thoughts or feelings! N-not that you're right!"

Mae narrowed her eyes. Cai was a real tsundere. He reminded her of one of the lead guy in the game she had been playing before her death. If only he were handsome and not a half-pint brat.

Cai put his hands on his hips. "Now, I'm off to get some fish. You stay here and don't think of climbing up any more trees!"

Mae narrowed her eyes. "I understand."