Your Brothers Are Being Real (Appen)dix

(Both of my brothers have had appendicitis, the older when he was nine and the younger at age twelve. I am the youngest, currently at thirteen.)

Older Brother: “You had yours three years after me, and you are three years younger than me. Odd, right?”

Younger Brother: “Yeah… Hey, now that you mention it… [My Name] is three years younger than me.”

(They slowly turn to me, grinning.)

Me: “What?”

Younger Brother: “Your appendix will explode when you turn fifteen!”

Me: “Oh, please.”

Older Brother: “He’s right! You are gonna have a scar on your side, and then you’ll be one of us.”

Younger Brother: “One of us… one of us…”

(For the coming years, they randomly chanted “one of us” at me to remind me of their prediction. I am now 21; both my mother and her father have had appendicitis, but I am still full!)