A short straw of chores

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Being an only daughter with four elder brothers wasn't all rosy for Ella. She couldn't deny the fact that they were sweet and kind to her, and they always protected her from harm. But despite all of these, Ella felt suffocated at home as her brothers always left the house chores to her. She would clean the house, and help out in the kitchen, and when their parents went to work, she'd stay home and babysit the twins who were barely a year old. It was frustrating for her; she loved her brothers no doubt, but she wished they could just help out with the chores sometimes.

"Jordan, can you watch Lily and Cindy for a while? I need to go get the groceries that Mum forgot to buy yesterday." Ella said to her immediate elder brother.
He looked at her, and looked at the faces of their other brothers, then simultaneously, they burst into laughter leaving Ella confused.

"Uhm, excuse me, did I say something funny?" She asked them, and they laughed again. "If you guys can't watch the kids, I'll sit here and we'll all starve to our deaths. And if Mom and Dad come home, be rest assured that I'll gladly share this little joke with them." Ella said and walked away.

After a few minutes, Jordan and his brothers decided to watch the kids so Ella could go grocery shopping.
"I hope you know that the only reason we agreed to do this is because we have to feed?" Micah, her eldest brother asked her. Ella rolled her eyes and slammed the door.

---

Some days later, Ella decided to take a bold step and complain about the responsibilities of taking care of the kids and doing the chores alone while her brothers stayed idle and lazied around.

"Mum, I can't keep doing this. Jordan, Micah and Neil have to start helping out around here. Why do I have to do everything while they just sit and do nothing with their time?" Ella complained to their mother.

Jordan was just in time to hear her complaints. He stepped into the room and an argument broke out between the brothers and their little sister.
"Why are you whining like a child? All you have to do is look after the kids and take care of the house. Why are you here complaining? What could we possibly do?" Micah yelled at Ella.

"Whoa, I can't believe that it'd sound easy for you to say. I have friends just like all of you, but I don't hang out with them because I'm always occupied with the twins and chores. But you guys would sit here all day doing nothing. How can you even call yourself human?" Ella furiously yelled back.

Micah was about to speak when their mom finally stepped in.
"Will you both keep shut? I work every day and your dad is always on a tour to whatever country he might fall into. The least y'all can do is to take care of the house and the kids. Do I have to take them to work with me too?" Their mother asked them, but none of them said a word.

"Answer me!!! Should I take the kids to work with me?" She asked again, and they said no. "So, we'll have to fix this and make sure that no one is treated poorly. Your little sister also deserves to hang out with her friends too." Their mother said.

"So, how do we share this job? I definitely can't be the first to take it." Micah said.

"I don't know how you're going to do it, but I need this complaint to stop. Help your sister and do the chores. It can be weekly, or daily or even monthly; however way it's going to be, I need my twins to be taken care of in my absence, and this house must maintain its daily neatness too." Their mother responded.

"I may have an idea though." Neil blurted out, and they all turned to look at him.

"Whatever it is that you're thinking, it had better not cause any trouble." Jordan warned.

"Let's draw straws, and see who'll pick the short one. Whoever picks the short straw will have to start babysitting and taking care of the house chores from tomorrow morning." Neil explained.

"How long will this last?" Micah asked.

"I think doing this weekly could work better. What do you think of that Ella?" Neil asked Ella, but she rolled her eyes in the most obvious way.

"I don't care how long it'll last, let's just get this over with." Ella replied.

Neil shrugged his shoulder and got a pack of straws. He handed it to their mother so she could cut it for them.
"Mom, please cut this, so it won't look like I'm trying to cheat." Neil said.

Their mother got scissors and with it, she cut the straws in halves. Some were longer than others, and the rule was that the short straw picker would start the work.

A few minutes later, the five children all had their eyes covered, and they picked the straw at the same time. When they were done, they all opened their eyes to see the straws they'd picked, and it turned out that Micah picked the short straw.

"I can't do this. I told you guys that I can't start it." Micah said.

"Hey bro, we all agreed to do this. You drew the short straw, it wasn't rigged, and this is fate. You gotta accept it." Jordan said.

"I'm glad we did this. I can finally have some time to myself. Enjoy your babysitting, Micah." Ella said amidst her giggles and walked away.

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