“We should go for a ride,” I suggested.

“Yes! I can’t wait to try out my new bike jewellery.”

At that moment, Bea appeared and eyed Hilary’s pogo ball like it was a lollipop.

“Do you want to try it?” Hilary asked.

Bea eagerly jumped onto the pogo ball and wobbled back and forth until she was bouncing down the sidewalk like Tigger chasing Rabbit. Hilary laughed as my sister bounded away.

Then Hilary invited us inside her house for the first time.

“This is my brother, Phillip,” she said when we entered. “He just got a new computer.”

The computer was placed prominently between the Laus’ living and dining rooms on a desk, facing a long window. A couch sat next to the desk, still wrapped in plastic, as was the top of the coffee table and the remote control for the television.

Phillip was lanky and tall, his hair combed very neatly to the side. Hilary stood as close to Phillip as she could and talked rapidly about everything he could do, showing him off like he was her prized pet. Is this what it’s like to have an older sibling? I wondered.

“It’s a Commodore Amiga,” Phillip announced.

Bea sidled up next to him. “What are you playing?”

Phillip elbowed Bea and Hilary out of the way, reclaiming his space in front of the keyboard. “Simon’s Quest.”

Bea and I had never seen a computer in anyone’s home. The screen pulled us into a trance.

“How do you play? Can we play?” I asked.

“No,” Phillip said.

The role-playing game was like a story unfolding, controlled by Phillip. We watched him type requests to make Simon buy and sell items, find clues through conversations with other characters, and fight enemies, all in a mountainous landscape. Phillip reached a summit, but he was unable to pass that level. Hours went by before we got bored and returned to the outside world, the game’s soundtrack ringing in our ears.

“Does your sister have to come with us?” Hilary asked when we were back outside.

Before I could answer, Bea said, “Mom says I have to go anywhere Lily goes. Right, Lily?”

I glared at my sister. “Shut up, Bea.”

“I’m coming whether you like it or not, Jie Jie,” Bea replied.

I looked at Hilary and shrugged. Bea was stubborn, and she knew she would win. My parents had no tolerance for my attempts to exclude my sister. My objections were always met with “You’re the jie jie.” I hated those words, even when my parents explained that it was an honoured title. The only other time I heard it was when father would bellow, “Jie!” to summon Auntie Choo Neo. Bea knew she could get my attention by calling me Jie. It was these times when I wished I were the younger sister.

Hilary understood that we had no choice. So the three of us rode our bead-speckled bikes through the neighbourhood. On most of the roads and playgrounds, we were not welcome. When we ran into two boys who lived down the street from us, they pulled the outer edges of their eyes with their fingers and asked if we could see. Hilary replied, “Our eyes are bigger than yours!” but the boys laughed and threw rocks at us. When we ventured to the park, two notorious bullies, May Donahue and Ann Cooper, flung sand into our eyes and screamed, “The monsters have arrived!”