I sat in my bed, cradling my new and beautiful sister. I held her close and stared at her as she played with her beautiful feet and sucked on her purple pacifier. Slappy and Snappy snuggled against me and were not happy about the new arrival. I could tell by the tones of their voices.

"Can you hold us now?" Snappy whined. "You have been holding that baby for, like, forever! Let your parents have her for a while."

Keeping my eyes on Tamara, I patted the puppet's wooden knee with a free hand.

"It will soon be bedtime," I reminded him. "She will sleep in her crib in her own room. When Mom and Dad say that it is time for bed, they will take Tamara and put her to sleep, and you, your brother, and I can cuddle with each other."

He sighed heavily and rested his head on my stomach, and I wrapped an arm around him.

"Why did your parents adopt a kid anyway?" Slappy spoke. "They already have, including you, four kids! Four children are plenty in my book, and all of them are biological."

"That is what I wondered too." I gently rocked Tamara, and she cooed happily. "But it makes sense."

"How so?"

"Do either of you remember Snelly?"

The puppets looked at each other, and then back at me. "Who?" they said in unison.

"What about Michael or Sam?"

"Michael and Sam?" Slappy repeated. "Oh, I remember them."

"Me too," his brother agreed. "Michael was the oldest and moved out of the house two years ago after graduating from high school. He was very nice. And Sam...she is not even worth mentioning. She was a douchebag and probably still is. We were all so happy when she graduated and moved out last year."

I felt a tear running down my cheek and immediately wiped it off before my friends noticed. "Snelly is my twin sister," I told them.

Slappy's and Snappy's eyebrows shot up. They were shocked.

"Your twin sister?" Slappy questioned.

I nodded. "Yes, she is my twin sister. We look identical. The only way that you can tell us apart is by knowing who wears glasses. I do not, and Snelly does." I laid my baby sister on the bed and played with her feet for a bit. "Snelly was a wonderful sister. We had our differences, me being the fun type and her being the genius type, but we still looked out for one another." I stopped playing with the feet and brushed the little hairs on Tamara's head. "That is, until she left me."

"Left you? Where did she go?" Snappy wondered.

"She...she left me and the rest of the family when we were just toddlers. She was so smart, so intelligent, that she was offered a scholarship at a college across the country. So she went to that college!" I paused. I could feel myself tearing up, and then continued. "And we never came to a compromise. S-she left me with no care in the world!" I could not hold it in. I suddenly burst out crying.

The brothers hugged me tightly and comforted me, trying to get me to calm down.

"Shh. It is okay," they said. "You still have us. We have never left you, and we never want to leave your side. You are our princess. Our queen."

I sniffed and rubbed my eyes. I glanced down at them, and they were sitting in my lap. They did not move or speak. They just sat there.

Lifeless.

Just then, the door to my room opened, and my mom and dad came in. They hurried to me.

"Shelly? Honey?" my mom said as she put a hand on my back. "What is the matter? Why are you crying?"

My dad sat on the edge of my bed. "Is it about Snelly again?" he guessed. "Is that why you are upset?"

I did not look at them and fiddled with my fingers.

My mom began rubbing my back. "This is why we got a new addition to the family, Shelly. A baby."

"We knew how lonely you were getting." My dad took my hand into his. "First, Snelly. And then, Michael. Sam does not count because she was a brute to you. To the family." He picked up Tamara and kept a grip on my hand. "That is why your mother and I decided to adopt a baby. We did not want you to be alone while you are under this house, so we got you a sister. And you will not have to worry about her moving away because she is a baby. She will be staying with us for a long time."

I sniffed again and looked at my new sister. She tilted her head back to see me, and then smiled and giggled.

"Shelly!" she said sweetly.

I rubbed my eyes with one hand and took her little hand into the other. I had a good feeling about Tamara.

I slightly smiled.

"Feeling better?" my mom asked.

I slowly nodded. "Yes, Mom," I answered.

"That is good to hear," my dad said. "Because it is time for all babies and soon-to-be thirteen-year old girls to go to bed."

I let out a giggle. "Okay, Dad."

Tamara, however, was not okay with the idea of going to bed.

She spit out her pacifier. "No bed!" she protested, kicking her legs.

"But you have to go to bed," my mom said to her soothingly. "You have had a long day. Plus, we all need to be rested for Shelly's birthday tomorrow."

"No!" Tears streamed down her puffy cheeks, and she gripped my finger.

I then got an idea.

I motioned to my dad to give her to me. He handed her over, and I kissed her forehead and rocked her. As I rocked her, I hummed a tune to her.

When I hummed, Tamara yawned and fell asleep.