Red Lightning by John Varley Page B

count the number of times I'd seen her stand up for younger or weaker kids against bullies. Sometimes that child was me, before I got my growth. I can't think of any major faults she has, unless it's to resist everyone's attempts to call her Liz or Liza or Beth or Betty.
    In short, if a neutered house cat had suddenly growled like a Bengal tiger I could hardly have been more surprised. I looked back over my shoulder and saw something I'd hardly ever seen before. My big sister was angry.
    You wouldn't have known it unless you knew her as well as I did. Her face wasn't twisted up, she wasn't glaring at anyone, just looking at Mom calmly, but with absolutely no give to her. It was the way she looked when she saw an injustice, and the look meant, to anybody with any sense, that they'd better retreat to the bunkers because a world of hurt was about to descend on them.
    "Elizabeth, be reasonable," Mom said.
    "I am being reasonable, Mother." Not Mom. I smiled. This was the equivalent of Elizabeth calling me Ramon, which she never did, except when I'd screwed up big-time.
    "This , is not open to discussion," Mom said.
    "If that's the way you want it," Elizabeth said, calmly. She opened the car door and got out. "Are you coming, Ray?"
    I piled out after her, so Dad got out, and then Mom. I could see Dad working to control his anger, and I could see the wheels turning in Mom's head, figuring the angles, what arguments to use, which angles to try. She was looking increasingly frustrated. She had forgotten one crucial fact, probably because she'd never really had to face it before.
    Elizabeth was happy to point out the flaw in her reasoning.
    "It's really very simple, Mother. I am nineteen. You don't control my money anymore. You should either have left us at home – in which case I would have bought tickets on the next ship out – or discussed this on the way here. I'm on Earth now. I intend to rent or buy a vehicle of some sort, and hire a driver, and take off for Uncle Travis's place as soon as you are gone. If you leave Ray here I'll take him with me. Look for us in your rearview mirror. I don't know how you can stop Ray from going. You can't tie him up, you can't arrest him. About the only option I can see is for you to give him such a guilt trip he'd probably end up hating you. Did I miss anything?"
    Anybody . else, this speech would have a high raspberry factor. You know, a Bronx cheer, phooey on you . Elizabeth simply laid it out there as if it were the most reasonable thing in the world, I'm resorting to this more in sorrow than in anger. And you know what? I believed her.
    Apparently Mom did, too. She sighed.
    "Get back in the car, kids."
    "Kelly, I don't think..."
    "Manny, darling, if you have a better idea, let's hear it. I think she's got us backed into a corner."
    He looked like he was about to get angry, then gave it up.
    "Look at it this way, Dad," I said, taking a chance. "If Grandma had put her foot down when you decided to build Red Thunder , none of us would be here."
    "Don't push your luck, young man. That was different."
    Sure. It's always different, isn't it?
    That's when Evangeline spoke up.
    "I'm going, too."
     
    We only wasted about five minutes arguing about that one. Mr. Redmond tried, but his heart wasn't in it. So we waved good-bye to Mrs. Redmond and the brats. There were some tears, but not from Evangeline. She didn't have any more use for the brats than I did.
    Soon we were hurtling down the autoway again. Elizabeth was wedged between me and Evangeline in the very back of the bus. I turned to Elizabeth.
    "Thanks for what you did," I said.
    "No need. It wasn't fair."
    "I was... sort of surprised. Not you standing up for me, you standing up to Mom. You don't do that a lot."
    She thought about that for a while.
    "Elizabeth the compliant little mouse, you mean?" she asked.
    "You know I don't think of you like that."
    "A lot of people do. I don't mind. Uncle Jubal told me a story a long time ago that you