Spoiled by Eight Uncles (Lily)

After being so summarily dissed by a chubby four-year-old, Pablo's face was a study in weary resignation.

Meanwhile, Lilly ran happily to Josh's room.

Josh and Drake Crawford were the type of children who perfectly embodied the old adage, “Children should be seen and not heard.” Anthony's busy schedule left him little time to spend with them, and by the time they were six and seven years old, they had already become accustomed to it.

Personality-wise, both brothers were very calm, cool, and collected. Drake was in 2nd grade and fond of the arts. Josh was a year younger and enthusiastic about math and science.

At present, Josh was in his room working on a complicated mathematical equation. Suddenly, he heard an excited knocking on his door, so he looked up and called, “Come in.” Lilly poked her head in and chirruped sweetly, “Oh Josh!” Josh wrinkled his brow. Lils was here again, being her usual irritating self. Coldly, he asked, “What do you want to ask this time?” Last time she had asked him how big ten pounds of poop would be. The question was utterly embarrassing, and he had answered extremely unwillingly. He had utilized all the formulas he knew and filled an entire sheet of paper with calculations...

and in the end, all she had remembered was, “A bucketful!” A metal bucket, no less, and not even how many cups or fluid ounces! Lilly cradled Bunny in her arms and stared at Josh, her face full of happy anticipation. “Josh, when you go to school tomorrow, can | come with you?” Josh immediately shot back, “Of course not.” There was no way he was bringing her to school with him, ever. He detested someone tagging at his heels. Furthermore, he had to attend classes. He certainly didn’t have time to take her along with him! Lilly batted her lashes and put on her most pitiful expression. “But Josh...” Josh impatiently pushed her out of the room. “Go play somewhere and stop bothering me.” With that, he closed the door with a loud bang.

Lilly stared at the closed door and gave a big sigh. She was obviously not being cute enough! “Erm...” She pondered for a while, then had a brainwave. She should wear a dress, of course! Running back to her room, she changed into a strawberry-print dress and then hurried in search of Josh again.

Knock knock! “Josh...” Bang! The door slammed shut before Lilly could even say a word.

Pablo had been watching from the sidelines with mischievous amusement, his arms folded. However, when he saw Lilly being chased out of the room twice, he became indignant. How dare that boy treat his beloved disciple like that? “Go find your Granny, Tulip, and tell her that Josh will definitely take you to school with him.” He did not expect that Lilly would stubbornly shake her head. “That won't do! Children should take care of children’s business! We're not three years old anymore. Telling tales to the grownups is such a childish thing to do!” Once again, Pablo was left without a word to say. From the time she was three until her recent fourth birthday, this little girl had grown a significant amount of backbone. Now she even dared to say that she and Josh were no longer three years old! He did not know whether to laugh or cry, and settled for asking, “Well, what are you going to do then?” Josh was not someone she could easily persuade.

Undeterred, Lilly blithely ran downstairs to get a glass of juice, then began making her way back upstairs very carefully.

Bettany hurried in from the garden when she saw what Lilly was trying to do. “Let me carry that upstairs for you, dear.” Lilly's clear voice floated down. “No, it's okay! Please don't interfere with children’s business, Granny!” Bettany was so taken aback that she just stared at Lilly's vanishing silhouette, blinking in confusion.

Once Lilly had arrived upstairs with the glass of juice still intact, she knocked on Josh's door again. This time, it was a good while before Josh yanked the door open and snapped, “What are you trying to do?” This was so frustrating! He was quite confident that he could solve this complex mathematical equation that was taught in 8th grade, but every time he tried, Lilly kept interrupting him.

Lilly was taken aback; only then did she realize that she was disturbing Josh. She held out the glass of juice and said in a small voice, “Have some juice, Josh...?” Josh impatiently batted the glass aside and growled, “I don’t want it! Can you stop coming up to bother me?!” His abrupt movement jolted the glass, and the juice splashed all over Lilly.

Josh froze.

Lilly's smile slowly faded away, and she mumbled, “I'm sorry, Josh.” She turned to leave, still holding the glass. She was at fault here; she shouldn't have bothered Josh while he was studying. Perhaps...perhaps she could ask him tonight when he wasn’t busy? Josh felt even more out of sorts as he watched Lilly's drooping, disappointed little figure. Was she sniffling? She really was such a pest! “Come back here,” he said stiffly.

Lilly hurriedly turned around, looking cheerful again. “Yes, Josh?” Josh had assumed she was crying, so the sight of her bright, smiling face took him by surprise and caught him completely off- guard. “You...you...just bring that juice back here.” Lilly was delighted and held out the remaining juice in the glass. Josh thanked her awkwardly, only to hear her say in her sweetest voice, “You're welcome!” Josh took a sip from the glass, looking as if he were being drowned, then frowned. Orange juice? He absolutely hated the stuff...

Noticing Lilly's expectant little face through the glass, he braced himself and gulped everything down.

Lilly was thrilled to see Josh finishing all the juice in one go. “Bye-bye, Josh!” She turned and skipped away happily.

Josh blinked. He stared blankly at the empty glass in his hand, then stared at Lilly skipping down the stairs. Why did he feel as if he had been somehow tricked? “Bah!” He closed the door again. Now that he had finished the orange juice, he didn’t owe her anything. He certainly wasn’t about to take her to school with him.

After dinner that night, Lilly hurried over to Josh's room again. Just as she was about to knock on the door, she suddenly paused, and her little face screwed up.

“What's wrong now?” Pablo asked.

Lilly whispered, “What if Josh is still studying? What do | do then?” She could not interrupt him if that were the case; it was not pleasant at all to be bothered by someone.

“Well, you could let Ms. Ugly go in and see if he is or not?” Pablo suggested.

Lilly's eyes lit up. Of course! Ms. Ugly was a ghost; she could go through walls! Her chubby fingers grasped at the jar of souls, pulling Ms. Ugly out. “Ms. Ugly!” If one wanted a favor, one had to ask people nicely. Oh, wait, that wasn't right. If she wanted a favor from ghosts, she would have to ask the ghosts nicely.

With utmost sincerity, she said, “Ms. Ugly, could you please sneak a peek inside to see what Josh is doing?” Ms. Ugly looked as if nothing in the world was worth this aggravation. Could this little girl just stop calling her Ms. Ugly before she asked her to do anything? Even if Lilly were to call her a demon, it would be better than Ms. Ugly! Grumbling, she went through the wall anyway.

Josh was not in the room, so the ghost floated toward the bathroom.

Once she went through the bathroom door, she saw Josh seated on the toilet, holding a math book. He was ernest even when he was trying to poop! Suddenly, Ms. Ugly sighed. She had caught sight of her reflection in the fogged-up bathroom mirror.

Right at this moment, Josh looked up. At the same time, Ms. Ugly turned her head. Their gazes met and locked! Josh stared, terror prickling his scalp. “A g...ghost! It's a ghost!” He was so frightened that he jumped off the toilet seat in mid- poop. Without waiting to wipe his butt or pull up his pants, he bolted for the door!