The Spoiled Brat

"No! I want ice cream!" Angela's niece wailed.

Angela sighed. Today had been hectic, but it was just a part of the never-ending nightmare she had been stuck in for three months. Ever since Julia had sent her daughter to live with her, life had been a living hell. Julia's daughter Andie was a spoiled brat, not to mention a pig-headed little twit who enjoyed screaming and crying to annoy and often humiliate her guardians. Here she was, stuck with her sister's annoying daughter while she was sunbathing in California.

"No ice cream, Andie..." Angela sighed. She knew it would be no use. Andie had already started crying.

"Shut up! Just shut up!" Angela had finally cracked. Andie stared at her with wide eyes. No one had ever yelled at her before.

"And next time, I might have to spank you," Angela said, satisfied. No response from the usual lippy girl. There was silence for the rest of the car ride.

"We're here," Angela announced unnecessarily. She opened the car door for Andie to come out. The girl didn't even look at her.

"Oh, come on now," Angela said warmly. "You're not going to hold a little thing like yelling against me, are you?" Again no reply. Angela said nothing, walking past the school secretary without saying hello, and dropped Andie off with her preschool teacher.

Later in the afternoon, Angela picked Andie up. Neither talked, just drove silently along. A police car flashed behind her. Angela cursed. She pulled over by the side of a bakery. Harry's Bakery. She hadn't been there in a long time.

"Good morning, officer." Angela tried to seem cheerful.

"Speeding with children in the car?" the officer said disdainfully. Then the expression cleared. "Well, can't say I haven't done worse. Driver's license?"

Andie went through her purse. There was her wallet -- but that was not her driver's license. What was going on? She couldn't find it anywhere. One look at Angela's troubled expression and the police officer knew.

"You know how big of a fine you'll have to pay?"

"I didn't...It was there this morning..." Angela trailed off.

"You," Andie said accusingly, turning to look at Andie. "You took it, didn't you?" Andie shrugged.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Andie said innocently. She feigned a smile at the officer.

"You're blaming a little girl for forgetting your license?" the officer asked increduously.

"Officer, you don't understand. This little girl is the brattiest little kid you will find in all of Connecticut. I yelled at her for the first time today. I should have expected some form of retaliation."

'Did you take her driver's license?" the officer asked Andie, frowning.

"I would never do a thing like that to Aunt Angela," Andie replied sweetly.

The officer wasn't sure who to believe. Then again, he had an adorable brat of his own at home.

"I'll let you off this time with a warning, but next time, take better care of your stuff," the officer said sternly.

"Thank you, officer. I'll be sure to do so."

As soon as the officer left, Angela turned around to glare at Andie.

"You better not be mean again," Andie warned her.

Angela sighed. "You never learn, do you?" She said quietly. Her eyes glittered dangerously. Andie hesitated. Although she was only five, she sensed Angela's anger. She thought about how Aunt Angela had been so nice to her when she first came to live with her, even though she pouted and screamed and cried. She had thought that Aunt Angela was mean, but something told her it was she who had been the bratty one.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, and she really meant it.

Angela paused. "It's okay," she said, and smiled.