When My Little Brother Stole My Prize

Anonymous Impish Fox #768 · General

I've always been the oldest and responsible one in my family. I got straight A's and won all these awards that nobody else thought they could ever win. Last year, at the end of school, we had this big assembly to give out prizes for accomplishments. My brother was just five back then, barely starting kindergarten. I worked so hard on a project about climate change for science fair. I got first place and this trophy with my name engraved on it. It meant everything to me, that award, more than I can say. But little does everyone know, the real reason it was so special is because my brother never saw me win anything like that before. So after we came home, he starts pestering me about where the trophy was. He kept saying how cool it looked and asking if he could see it again. I said yes of course, but told him to be careful, that thing cost a lot and was irreplaceable. Well...the next day when my parents got up early for work, I go downstairs looking around and can't find the trophy anywhere. So I ask Mom and Dad about it, saying maybe they put it somewhere safe. But they're clueless too, acting like there's no reason to be worried at all. This is a BIG deal though, how could someone just misplace such an important thing? Then later that afternoon, my brother comes into my room with this guilty look on his face and tries giving me back the trophy. I nearly had a panic attack. He said something along the lines of 'I want you to have it' and started crying, babbling about how he thought winning things made people happy like in stories. So I just held him tight and tried not to yell or anything, I mean, it's my kid brother after all. But here's the thing: he didn't tell me where he hid it. So now everyone keeps saying that trophies are just trinkets and don't matter and stuff like that. Sure, but they're missing the point! It was the idea of accomplishment and recognition. I mean, does this happen to other siblings too? Am I being an asshole for getting so upset? Is it normal if you protect your achievements even from little kids?