Day Twenty-Seven < | Challenge Home Page | > Day Twenty-Nine

The Disaster

The morning was chaotic as usual, but as soon as everyone was taken care of and ready for their days, Bennie and Marnie headed out to go inspect the new house. Oasis Springs wasn’t far away, but they wanted to be able to take their time and look around.

After they left, Jaz checked in with Benji, who was in charge of babysitting while Bennie and Marnie were gone, to find out if it was still ok for her to go to her Saturday club meeting. Benji replied that he didn’t really care (which he didn’t), and told her to not get into trouble. Agreeing to the terms, Jaz headed out, as well.

In the other room, Phoenix had decided he definitely needed to stay inside, because one look in the mirror had proved he was stripey. He tried some orange juice, like his mother had suggested, but it hadn’t helped. So he was just playing with the science table to distract himself.

Jaz arrived at the Oasis Springs park, and joyfully jumped right into playing with her friends.

Unfortunately, it turned out that they weren’t the only club meeting at the park today. Billie Jang and her band of bullies had also showed up. Sighing, Jaz tried to continue playing and ignore her rival.

Jaz gave up on the space pirate play, and she and Colin did some cloudgazing, hoping that some distance would keep Billie away.

Billie, however, wasn’t interested in staying away. She stomped over to Jaz, and point blank told her that Jaz and her friends were not welcome at this park. (To which Jaz almost laughed. She was sure Billie’s new “club” had only picked this park because it was where the Adventurers had been hanging out for the last few weeks.) Jaz brushed her bluster off, and walked away, following Colin towards the park building.

Luckily, Billie didn’t follow along, so Colin and Jaz had plenty of time and space to chat. He had more news about his parent’s divorce, apparently “papers had been served” – whatever that means.

One of the first things Jaz told her friend was about the new house in Oasis Springs. She sorta regretted that it wasn’t in Willow Creek, closer to Colin’s own home, but at least they wouldn’t be way out in Magnolia Promenade anymore. Colin expressed his misgivings about any house won at an auction, but Jaz felt that there couldn’t possibly be anything terribly wrong with the house, or Bennie wouldn’t have bought it.

By the end of the afternoon, Jaz and Colin had pledged to be best friends forever, and he waved goodbye, wishing her good luck in the new home. He had made her PROMISE to call him immediately with any more news of the house.

On the other side of Oasis Springs.. Marnie and Bennie got off the bus and walked through their new neighborhood, looking at the well cared for houses that lined the street with happy smiles. Unfortunately, they then rounded the corner.. and caught a glimpse of their new home.

“Well, the house looks nice.. if a little overgrown…” Marnie commented, and Bennie just grunted. He had seen pictures of the house in it’s prime, but only knew that it had been abandoned for months. He was too sheepish to mention he had had no idea what sort of condition the house was in.

They stopped in the front yard, and Bennie pointed out that the yellow truck had come with the house. It wasn’t running.. yet… but he planned on fixing it up so he’d have a reliable way to work each day. Forestalling any questions from Marnie, he turned and confidently walked in the front door after using his keys on the deadbolts and brushing aside the warning tape on the door.

The disaster inside could not be described in mere words. The floor was covered in filth, there were mice running around in broad daylight, and spiderwebs in every corner. It was clear the house had been host to a parade of squatters – both human and animal. Mutely, Marnie looked around and walked past him towards the master suite.

Sighing, she noted that the bed was actually in decent shape.. and there was a nice sized closet, too. Turning, she went to see what the bathroom looked like.

One look proved that the rest of the house wasn’t going to get any better. Perhaps it was a good thing that the water wasn’t going to be turned on until tomorrow, because she was sure that toilet was broken and would be spewing water everywhere.

Bennie wandered through the living areas while Marnie peeked into the laundry room and hall half bath. He noted the nice fireplace and the beautiful windows.

All that natural light from them and the roof windows through the rafters was actually very nice, he thought.

He then turned to check out the kitchen, which was clearly in worse shape than the rest of the house. Good thing he hadn’t turned to notice the abandoned train cars and other detritus in the back yard. That was definitely going to have to taken care of before it would be safe for the kids to play outside.

There were even a bunch of locked containers out there, but he overlooked those easily, imagining a barbeque on the expansive back deck.

The junkyard was definitely more than he’d been expecting, though. He looked about guiltily, wondering why he hadn’t asked more questions at the low low price, but there was no way he would ever admit that to Marnie. Marnie! .. Wonder where she’d gotten off to..?

Back inside, Marnie had taken in the full measure of the dining room and kitchen, and was steeling herself to look downstairs.

At least the stairs were in good condition? She thought, relieved.

She rounded the corner into a large family room with a partial kitchenette that had clearly been broken for quite a while.

She then started checking through doors. There was a full bath, a utility room, and three bedrooms. All in varying stages of a full-blown disaster.

Finished with her “tour”, she headed back upstairs. She was trying not to be furious at Bennie for saddling them with this mess of a house, but somewhere in her head… she had the thought that the house was actually a nice house if you looked past the mess. Maybe they could turn things around.

Of course, she noted.. it would depend entirely on how long they had before move-in date, and how big a budget they had for people to help clean it up. She headed outside to find Bennie, and ask some rather pointed questions….

---

After their conversation, which had been.. interesting, since they were to move in officially on the first of the month (less than a week away) because the store would need to be vacated by then. Also, Bennie assured her that he would contact a pest control company for the vermin, and get a junk company to remove the stuff in the yard. Beyond that, however, cleaning up inside the house was going to be pretty much all their job, because any money he had spare after calling the junk people and the pest company would need to go towards the local flea market for furnishings. At the very least, they were going to need to buy appliances, since the ones they had belonged to the store apartment.

Marnie interrupted Bennie by reminding him that Benji’s graduation was tonight, and they didn’t want to be late. So they hurried to the bus, both lost in their own thoughts.

The entire family was attending the graduation, and it was a freezing night, so they all bundled up in their winter clothes. Fall was nearly over, after all, and Winter would set in very soon.

Everyone was here that he cared about. (That didn’t include his family, of course.) While he was talking to his friends, he overheard Malcolm Landgraab talking about his dad’s heart attack. Apparently Nancy was left taking care of an infant all by herself with just Malcolm still in the house. That certainly was a sad thing.. but perhaps Benji could figure out a way to profit from the information.

Turned out, it wasn’t just people he cared about that were there, though.. as he spotted a very angry Cade walking away after the ceremony.

Sighing happily, Benji looked over his successful club, and caught his girlfriend’s eye through the crowd. She ran over, and wrapped him in an embrace.

It had been so long since he’d been able to actually spend time with her with helping with his siblings and his push to get his grades back up, so seeing her again was a huge reward. She congratulated him with a heated kiss, and Benji tried not to lose his head. He had important things to tell her.

He told her about the new house (of course he had no idea of the disaster that it was in), and he mentioned that he would be coming into quite a bit of money in the next week. He grinned slyly, and, showing her a simple ring, asked her if she’d be interested in moving to the city with him. He was sure he was going to be able to afford an apartment for them.

Squealing, she agreed and wrapped him in her arms again. This, of course, got everyone else’s attention, and before long, they were surrounded by the club, who were all very very interested in the possibility of being able to get away from home. Before he knew it, Benji was assuring them that they could all pitch in on a bigger apartment in the city and all be room-mates. The logistics of such a move were certainly not on his mind.. but they definitely would be later.

Noticing that his family were watching impatiently from the sidelines, he sheepishly kissed Shaylee goodbye, promising to call her tomorrow, and headed over to follow them home, cringing at the crying toddlers. It would be a long evening while they tried to get all the kids in bed… and he was sure his help was going to be required.

He hid a smile at the knowledge that he’d had an appraiser check on that suit of armor while Bennie and Marnie had been gone, and had arranged for it to be gone and the money to be in his new bank account in the next couple days. Plenty of time before his family would be moving, hopefully. Maybe he wouldn’t even have to deal with their move at all… and could just “ride off into the sunset” with his girl and their friends (and a good chunk of change!)

Day Twenty-Seven < | Challenge Home Page | > Day Twenty-Nine

Day Twenty-Six < | Challenge Home Page | > Day Twenty-Eight

Bennie’s Big Meeting

It seemed like just another Friday. Marnie was up early, fixing the bathroom plumbing so the kids would be able to get ready for school. From the other room, all she could hear was Bennie sitting on his rear watching the sports channel. The longer it took her to fix the plumbing, the more annoyed she got.

Consequently, once the plumbing was fixed, Marnie turned to taking care of Bennie. Incensed, she yelled at him about rarely opening the store anymore, and about skipping work days. Bennie looked at her with a stunned expression, and didn’t say anything for a while.

He was still stewing about it when Marnie got back up and went to take care of the kids and make sure all got to school okay.

But, by the time he got to eating breakfast, his anger was pretty much boiling over. How DARE she get on him for not working hard enough after what he’d done for the family yesterday. No WAY was he going to open the store this morning, either. Just to prove to her that he didn’t have to listen to her. He had been planning on telling her his surprise as soon as the kids left for school, but he decided, to punish her, that he’d make her wait until after school when he announced it to everyone. (Marnie, however, was busy with the twins.. and was clueless to being “punished” for something she had no idea about…. )

To pass the time, he tried dumpster diving, but eventually, he decided it wasn’t really worth it. All he was finding were some small amounts of change, and nothing good to sell.

Back inside, he was watching one of the twins playing peacefully by himself when his phone rang. His boss was yelling at him for missing work – again. Bennie assured him he would be there in a short while, that he had to have a quick meeting with his family when the kids got home from school first. His boss grumbled a bit, but in the end, relented.

Once the kids were all home, Bennie had everyone (except for the twins, who he deemed too young to care) sitting at the table.. mostly just staring at him in wonder, because something like this had never happened before.

“I have GREAT news, everyone! Just wait until you hear this!” Bennie started, grinning internally at the wonder on everyone’s faces (except for Marnie, who still looked thunderous).

“I got a truly amazing deal on a real house for us. I found it at auction for real cheap, and we’ll be able to move in as soon as we clean it up and move our stuff. No longer will we have to stay in this apartment, or worry about the store, since I got a promotion at work, and found someone who was more than willing to buy the store as-is.”

Phoenix was the first to react, squealing in joy.

Glancing around at his family, Bennie tried to gauge their reactions. Marnie was still staring at him in confusion, and not a little bit of distrust, but smiles seemed to be the biggest reaction around the table. Feeling like he’d done his good deed for the day, Bennie excused himself and headed to work. (Two hours late!)

While trying to help out his mother, Benji discovered that he really didn’t like handiness. He vowed to find an easier way to deal with things.

When Bennie got home from work, he found Marnie getting ready for bed. Suspicious, Bennie wondered why she had waited up for him. She quietly apologized for yelling at him that morning.

“I had no idea you were working to get us a house, Bennie.” she said, and Bennie suppressed a satisfied smile.

“Of course you didn’t, I hadn’t told anyone because I wanted it to be a surprise!” Bennie crowed. “You and I can go look at it tomorrow to see what will need to be done this weekend to get it ready to live in.”

Marnie smiled to herself, sighing happily. Perhaps this was the change she had always been hoping for. She’d always dreamed of having her own home!

Behind her, Bennie closed his eyes and hoped this whole thing would go by easily, and that the new job position would lead to the success he truly wanted.

After everyone was in bed, Benji was still awake. Finally, sick of trying to sleep, he got up, got something to eat, then bundled up and wandered around outside. He wondered to himself how to get out of the situation he found himself in. He didn’t want to be stuck living in this family.. and now that he’d just graduated (barely, at that…), he was realizing that he needed to move on. Soon. He was pretty sure a cheap house from an auction was NOT the good thing Bennie was saying it was, and Benji wanted no part of it. While wandering idly, he suddenly noticed something he hadn’t really noticed before.

Was this an actual suit of armor just standing here? With nobody paying it any attention? Benji wondered how much it might be worth. It certainly wouldn’t be hard to steal, and he doubted anyone would even notice it gone this weekend with all the chaos of moving….

His mind now whirling, Benji chuckled to himself, and started trying to figure out who he could sell this thing to under the table. First, he had to find someone to appraise it on the sly… but that wouldn’t be an issue. It’s not like the store was going to be filled with customers this weekend, or anything!

Finally smiling again, Benji wandered back upstairs and climbed back into bed.

Squeaks and skittering noises woke Marnie and Bennie up early. Marnie sighed, and looked down at the mouse hole in consternation. Good thing she wouldn’t have to deal with them soon.

Bennie, on the other hand, was furious. If there were mice in the new house.. he swore to himself he’d call a pest control company and get rid of them for good. No more living with mice. He munched on a mid-night snack, then made the “rounds” – depositing traps in all the holes before heading back to bed to get a little bit more sleep.

(Um.. Bennie.. I think you missed one… Also. I got the life scared out of me while playing this day.. while everyone was in bed, the save feature went grey, and it said I couldn’t save while someone was dying…. !!!! I have no idea who it was, but thankfully, it wasn’t the Murphy bed. LOL. Eventually, it went back to white so I could save, and I breathed a VERY relieved sigh.)

Day Twenty-Six < | Challenge Home Page | > Day Twenty-Eight

Day Twenty-Five < | Challenge Home Page | > Day Twenty-Seven

The Secret Computer

Marnie confronted Bennie first thing in the morning. Bennie, however, didn’t seem to be giving an inch. He never explained where he’d gone, and why he’d been gone so long, despite Marnie asking specific questions.

His only comment was he’d gotten exactly the groceries she’d asked for – and that he was his own man, he didn’t have a curfew or anything. The kids tried to avoid the argument, but in an apartment the size of a postage stamp, it’s kinda hard to do.

Benji was the first to find a Gnome…. because today was Harvestfest. He gave the reaper gnome a salad, figuring he’d troll the gnome and make it mad.. but the gnome actually turned out to like salads. Who knew?

Afterwards, Benji joined Jaz for some satisfying Party games, and showed off his skills, winning every game.

Perhaps in an apology for his misstep the day before, As soon as Marnie stomped away to cook breakfast, he took one of the twins outside to work on flash cards. One way or the other, though, he seemed to know he had some make up work to do.

Downstairs, Jaz finally found one of the other gnomes, and found out that it really didn’t like fruitcake. She should have known. Nobody likes fruitcake.

Myles begged for forgiveness in his sister’s stead, but the gnome wasn’t in the mood. Poor Myles. He wasn’t about to try again, so he went upstairs for breakfast, instead.

Bennie, curious about the lightning strikes downstairs, came down and decided to try his hand at a real apology. (The one he wasn’t about to give his wife…) The naked gnome was more than willing to forgive the children their sins, it seems.. and the halo appeared. Jaz cleaned up the mess from the previous failed apologies without being asked, but, as usual, nobody even noticed.

Marnie (specifically waiting until Bennie had cleared the store) came down, found the last gnome, and expertly handed it a future cube, to the gnome’s delight.

Then, she called for Myles. It was time to go to Willow Creek Library. And see if the Goths actually showed up. Because it was a holiday, Marnie left the twins at home with Bennie and Benji to watch them, and went with just her and Myles.

Amazingly, not only did the Goths show up… but Mrs. Goth had brought several of Alexander’s geeky friends, too.. and talked all of them into starting a club… with Myles as the leader! Marnie felt completely overwhelmed with Bella’s generosity, and tried to control a nervous stutter.

Myles, however, did not have the same problem, and he ran towards the library, excited to make friends and explore the amazing books in the shelves.

He carefully introduced himself to every member of “his” new club, and they went over the rules. Only geeky things were allowed. None of those frou-frou creativity things.

Club members were as follows: Olive Tinker…

Taku Akiyama (Miki’s brother) and, of course, Alexander Goth….

Gideon Harris, and a new kid in town, Jamel Kidd.

Myles tried to spend as much time as possible getting to know the great Alexander Goth, and the two seemed to be getting along pretty well.

Nobody seemed to have noticed that Marnie was nowhere to be seen….

Instead, she was outside with a portable computer. Was it hers? She wasn’t telling. But she certainly had a secret smile on her face as she watched the fish jumping in the water in front of her.

Then, with a contented sigh, she sat down to practice something she hadn’t done since high school… writing. Her dream. She kept a close eye on the library, however, as though afraid of getting “caught”.

Back in the library, Bella played at a chess board, keeping an eye on the youngsters, but unconcerned that Marnie had disappeared. She seemed to be enjoying her holiday away from her crying newborn back at home.

Outside, Marnie had a visitor. The lady tried to start up a conversation, but a quick rude comment or two had her making a hasty exit. Marnie never even bothered to get her name.

Myles and Alexander were now close friends, and the Librarian seemed to enjoy seeing Alexander actually interacting instead of having his nose in a book.

As darkness fell, Marnie reluctantly put the computer away (IN HER POCKET!) and headed for the library. She nearly tripped over another famous resident.. Nancy Landgraab. Waving jauntily at Nancy, she just acted like she belonged there.. and it worked. Nancy said hello, and even smiled at her.

After collecting Myles, they rode the bus home, both trying to hide smiles… and both failing miserably.

Myles headed for some dinner and playtime before bed, while Marnie was thrown immediately into the fray, with multiple things to fix in the house just because she’d been gone most the afternoon and evening. Her face showed it all. This was NOT her idea of a good life anymore.

Day Twenty-Five < | Challenge Home Page | > Day Twenty-Seven

Day Twenty-Four < | Challenge Home Page | > Day Twenty-Six

The Long Day

The day started out like any other. The twins were outside, making messes, Marnie was trying to clean away stains, and Bennie only wanted to sleep in. Marnie got him up, and asked him to go to the grocery store, that she had a list. She expected him back in an hour or two at the most.

However, the kids had gotten home from school, and he still wasn’t home. With a sigh, she made the last of the mac n cheese they had in the house, and hope that would cover the kids for the evening. Myles got the last of his focused homework times done, and Jaz tried to show off by finishing hers faster. Nobody even noticed.

Noticing the worry lines on his mother’s face, Benji, instead of going out like he’d intended, helped with some of the clean-up, while Marnie yelled at the twins for making a disaster on the front “porch”.

Much later, after helping get the twins to bed, Benji called his girlfriend to tell her goodnight, then did what his dad usually did – mouse patrol. (Placing traps in all the holes for the night.) Then, sadly, he helped get everyone else into bed, hoping to wake up to his Dad being back home.

Everyone was in bed. The little bit of mac n cheese that was leftover was in the fridge in case the twins woke up hungry.. and Marnie was still pacing around the house.

Finally, feeling the exhaustion taking over, Marnie put her head in her hands and almost cried. What would she do if he didn’t come home? How would she take care of her kids? Sighing, she took one last forlorn look out the door and the windows, put the Murphy bed down and climbed into bed.

Day Twenty-Four < | Challenge Home Page | > Day Twenty-Six

Day Twenty-Three < | Challenge Home Page | > Day Twenty-Five

The Appointment, Part 2

In the laboratory, the doctor ran some tests on the samples he’d taken, a puzzled look on his face. He then wrote a bunch of things on the clipboard, sighed, and headed back into the room where Jaz was.

“I’m afraid I’ll have to do one last test. The previous ones were all inconclusive, so we need to pull out the ‘big ones'” he said with a smile, and motioned for Jaz to follow him.

(“Big ones??!!” – what does THAT mean??) Jazmyn wondered in fear, and followed him as quickly as possible.

He instructed her to go stand in a big scary looking machine, and went to dim the lights.

“Now, stand still, Miss Jazmyn.” he instructed, and the machine’s rings started whirring and moving around her. The doctor muttered to himself, and poked at the computer in front of him.

Eventually, he finished whatever he was doing, the rings stopped moving, and he began looking at some images on a screen on the wall. He nodded and mutters to himself some more, then motioned for Jazmyn to follow him once again.

He left her back in the first room, and disappeared into his office again, again without bothering to explain what was going on.

In the office, I find him browsing the web for a while, then began updating Jaz’s records, shaking his head at the lack of past information. Finally, coming to a conclusion, he went to get a little red cup and put some pills in it, and took it and the clipboard back to where Jaz waited.

“Well, Miss Jaz… I can’t find anything wrong with you. Other than the rash you had when you got here, that is. You seem to have calmed down, but I think it was mostly because you were so worried and upset. Are you sure you have problems going to the bathroom?”

Jaz looked at him, slightly bemused at the way he ignored whatever she said. “I can GO just fine.” She said again, more firmly this time. “I just can’t do it with someone else there.”

“Oh. Certainly, that is a problem.” the Dr. replied, then leaned over and patted her on the shoulder. “Well, here, Jaz, take these pills – the nurse will get you some water – this will help you calm down.”

The nurse came in, got the water, and then the doctor had to explain HOW to take the pills. Eventually, Jaz managed to choke the small pills down, grimacing at the bad taste.

“Okay, now, is your mother in the waiting room?” he asked (seemingly without needing an answer, because he pointed at the door.)

Muttering to herself with annoyance, Jaz walked out ahead of the Dr., unable to stop herself from giving him a nasty look that he couldn’t see as she walked out of the room.

The doctor headed to the waiting room, while the nurse took her to a small bathroom, and gave her back her clothes, instructing her to get dressed again.

After she changed, the woman came back and led her out to the waiting room where Dr. Winn was deep in conversation with Marnie.

---

(Please forgive these photos, I realize it’s dark outside when it shouldn’t be, but the photo shoot took far longer than it should have, and I wasn’t paying attention to the actual light outside by the time I finally got the pics I needed. Pretend it’s still daytime…)

Out in the waiting room, the doctor identified which parent was the right one, and walked over to Marnie.

“Good news, Mrs. Malone. There’s nothing wrong with Jazmyn that a few tranquillizers won’t fix.” he announced, after sitting next to her.

“Wait. What?” she replied, confused.

“I’m afraid her problem with going to the bathroom is all in her head. There’s nothing physically wrong with her other than the panic attack and rash she had at the beginning of the appointment.” the doctor explained.

“WHAT?!!? What on earth does that mean? And what am I supposed to tell the school now. They’re going to suspend her!” Marnie blew up at the doctor.

“Let me rephrase. We’re referring Jazmyn to a local therapist. They should be able to get to the bottom of this. I checked your insurance, and it should pay for the first few visits just fine. After that, it will be up to you and your husband, though.” the doctor said, watching as Jazmyn walked back into the room and found a chair in the kid’s play area.

Jaz sat down, feeling a little woozy and dizzy. She wondered what those pills had been, and why they’d made her feel worse when they were supposed to make her feel better. She watched Dr. Winn and her mother chatting, wondering why Marnie looked so angry, but then shrugged to herself and tried to wait patiently.

“I’ll explain the situation to Jazmyn myself, Mrs. Malone. Don’t worry, we’ll get to the bottom of this problem, and I’ll make sure she’s not suspended so long as she gets the treatment she needs.” he stood up, walked towards Jazmyn, and motioned her towards a pair of empty chairs.

Marnie was left fuming. How dare that doctor tell her there was something wrong in Jazmyn’s head. How could nothing be wrong physically?? And if it WAS in her head, how were they supposed to fix it without paying out the rear with money they don’t have. She, not thinking about people possibly watching, went and took out her aggression on a stuffed animal, trusting that the Dr. would tell Jazmyn what was going on without her help.

Jaz sat down across from the doctor, and waited impatiently for him to speak.

“You, young lady, need to stop being so stubborn. Going to the bathroom is perfectly natural, and everyone does it. Who else is there doesn’t matter. I’ll send you with a note for the school for missing today, but from now on, go to the bathroom in between classes or at lunch like everyone else!!”

Jaz looked at him incredulously for a moment, then finally lost her temper a little. “But I CAN’T!” she yelled, “Didn’t you LISTEN?”

The doctor looked offended. “Of course I listened, Jazmyn. I don’t think YOU listened. The problem is in your head. We’re sending you to a therapist to help you figure this out. I was just telling you that, until it’s figured out, you’ll just have to go when you can, like everyone else does.

“A… thera…what?” Jaz asked, suddenly terrified through the haze that had settled over her head.

“A doctor that treats mental illnesses. A THER-A-PIST” the doctor explained. “They’ll help you figure this out. However, I have other appointments. We’re done here. Congratulations on your clean bill of health.” He stood up, convinced he’d done the right thing, and walked out of the room with a self-satisfied air. One more patient seen to.

Seething.. and very, very dizzy, Jaz followed Marnie back to the bus, and remained stubbornly quiet the entire trip back to Magnolia Promenade. To be fair, Marnie wasn’t talking either…. at least, not to her. She kept muttering angrily to herself, but she wasn’t talking loud enough to be understood by anyone else.

They got back to the store, and Jaz hurried upstairs to get away from Marnie, immediately hiding away in her room, playing absently with the science table.

Myles ran out, and gave his mother a big hug. “I missed you!” he cried.

“I have great news, sweetie!” Marnie said, her whole face lighting up. “Thursday, you get to meet some new friends. Mrs. Goth and Alexander will meet us at Willow Creek Library for a play date. How fun is that??”

Myles looked at her, startled. Of course he knew who Alexander Goth was. Everyone did. He was probably the smartest kid in his grade at school…. and how on EARTH had Marnie gotten the Goths to spend time with the MALONES?!

Marnie, still in her own world, didn’t notice Myles’ expression, and sighed, heading upstairs to tell Bennie the news. (More money needed. Great.)

Bennie went from being in a good mood because his eldest son had come home with all of his grades improved to at least passing and playing his new guitar… to seeing red again. Not only had the appointment not figured what was wrong with that child, they now had to take Jazmyn to a “shrink”. “First few appointments paid for” – his left foot. He couldn’t pay bills as it was…. how was he going to pay to get Jaz’s head examined?? Bennie walked away from Marnie, tuning out whatever she was saying about meeting Bella Goth (right. like a Goth would talk to a Malone.) .. and going to take a shower before heading to bed. He had some thinking to do.

Myles bragged to his brother about getting to actually meet Alexander Goth, but Phoenix apparently didn’t care, so Myles just got quiet instead. They both played a bit on the monkey bars before bed, mostly ignoring each other.

Jaz was outside. playing chess quietly in the light of the streetlights when Colin came around the corner. “I missed you at school today. Can I join you?” he asked.

“Of course, you can.” Jaz mumbled.

“So…? How’d it go at the doc’s?” Colin asked.

“I really don’t know.” Jaz said. “Dr. Winn said I was fine, but told me I have to see someone called a Therapist.”

“Oh. Really? At least nothing’s wrong. Therapists are cool. I see one, to help me handle my parent’s divorce. Maybe you’ll get the one I have. She’s really nice.” Colin sighed, glad his friend was going to be okay, and completely unconcerned about the news of the therapist.

(“Wait. Colin seems to think it’s no big deal?? .. Maybe it isn’t a bad thing, then?”) Jaz thought to herself, and finally, a smile broke across her face. “We still have club meeting on Saturday, right?” she asked.

“Of course!” Colin replied, cheerfully. “I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait. Especially after last week’s got interrupted by that awful storm!”

“You bet. Now, let’s play!” Jaz didn’t bother to mention the pills or the dizziness she was feeling, and they both set up a new game carefully. She lost the game, of course, because she couldn’t think right for some reason… but it was fun to play with Colin, anyway. Checking the clock on the store wall through the window, Jaz sighed, waved goodbye to her friend and headed in to go to bed. Maybe she could avoid everyone else in the house on her way in?? .. It had been a long day.. and didn’t want to deal with her family right now.

Day Twenty-Three < | Challenge Home Page | > Day Twenty-Five

Day Twenty-Two < | Challenge Home Page | > Day Twenty-Four

The Appointment, Part 1

(This post is .. by nature, rather long. Because a LOT happens in this day. I ended up splitting it in the middle.)

Jaz woke up groggy.. and then she remembered. The day she’d been dreading. Today was her doctor appointment. She didn’t really understand why she even needed one, but it was that or getting suspended… so I guess the Doctor was better? Maybe? Frowning, she hopped out of bed, and went to get ready for the day.

The day was promising to be just one of those days, and while trying to eat breakfast she had no less than two mice run across the floor under her bunny slippers. (Note: the mouse under the left hand chair…)

Furious now, Jaz went to the bathroom so she could clean up for the day ahead of her… and get away from the mice.

Being that she was the first one awake, the water was still hot, and she ended up spending longer than she had intended to under the weak stream of water, trying to calm down a bit.

She came out of the bathroom to a convention of people in the kitchen eating leftover mac n cheese. She helped take care of the twins cheerfully while Marnie grumpily shuffled all the rest of the kids off to school…. but then Marnie turned to Jaz.. and she could tell from the look on her face that Marnie wasn’t enjoying today any more than she was. Marnie led her out the front door to catch the bus to the Willow Creek Hospital for her appointment.

They were barely out the door before Marnie stopped, turned to Jaz, and hissed, “You had BETTER behave today. I don’t want any nonsense from you. Let’s just get this over with so we can find out what’s wrong with you!”

Jaz flinched, and nodded mutely.

Seeming satisfied, Marnie led the way down the stairs, and Jaz followed obediently. The bus was just pulling into the stop when they got there, and, being that the bus was mostly empty at this time of day, Marnie pushed her into a seat near the front and sat next to her.

Inside the house, Bennie was fuming. Being left alone to take care of the twins was NOT his idea of a good day, and the twins were already doing whatever they wanted – which included tearing up books, and banging pots and pans in the kitchen.

---

The bus ride was mercifully short, and they got off in an affluent area of Willow Creek. Marnie looked around nervously, smoothed her skirt down, and pasted on a pleasant smile in case there was anyone around.

Goggling internally, she noticed that none other than Bella Goth was walking towards her on the street. Taking a deep breath, she went up to her like she belonged there, and gave a friendly wave.

“Hello! How are you today? My daughter has a doctor’s appointment at the hospital, so we happen to be on this side of town.” Marnie said in her best Mom-voice.

Bella, surprised, responded politely, and said something about her son being due for his yearly physical, as well.

“Oh, this isn’t for a physical.” Marnie said conspiratorially. “She has been having bathroom troubles at school, and we’re going to find out what’s wrong with her. I believe Alexander is in the same class as my son, Myles. Does he like studying and science as much as my son?”

“Oh, he loves science.” Bella said, breaking into a smile.

“Perhaps we should set up a play-date at the library or something. I’ve heard the Willow Creek Library is wonderful for kids. I bet they’d like each other… ? and have a good time?” Marnie trailed off, wondering if she’d gone too far, or offended the gorgeous woman.

“That would be fabulous!” Bella replied animatedly, “I could invite some of the other little scholars Alexander knows and we could make a day of it. I could bring the baby, as well.”

“Oh? You have a new baby?? I hadn’t heard. Congratulations! I could bring my toddler twins, too. When would be a good day?” Marnie asked, trying hard to seem natural, like arranging play dates was something she did every day.

“How about Thursday after school? We could meet there?” Bella responded.

“I would love that!” Marnie gushed, and then pretended to look at her (non functioning) watch, “Well, we’d better go before we’re late!”

Bella waved goodbye with a smile, and headed up into the house, where a screaming baby could vaguely be heard.

Marnie and Jaz walked into the hospital, with Marnie leading the way by several feet. Marnie checked her in at the front desk, then returned to where Jaz stood near the front door.

“I’ll wait out here.” Marnie told Jaz, still lost in thought about her precious son perhaps getting to be friends with a GOTH! “Come back here when you’re done!”

Trudging towards the big double doors when the receptionist pointed them out as the way to go, Jaz tried to breathe normally, but her heart was pounding, and she felt hot and cold all over. Rubbing damp palms on her worn jeans, she blinked, and pushed the right hand side door open.

“Jazmyn Malone?” a man in a pristine white coat asked her, and – unable to catch her breath enough to even talk, she just nodded her head at him. “I’m Doctor Winn. We’ll be in this room here, and the nurse will get you something to change into so I can examine you.” He motioned towards some more huge doors (or maybe everything seemed huge because Jaz felt so very small and alone right now..) .. and Jaz moved into the room indicated.

Dr. Winn smoothed down the paper on the ..bed.. couch.. thing..? .. and PAPER? (Why was there paper on there??) Jaz wondered, trying to stop panicking, and missing completely what he’d said.

“Jazmyn?” The doctor asked again, “You okay?”

Nodding mutely, she took a deep breath, and tried to listen as the doctor explained she would just change and then to sit on the table (oh! it’s a TABLE?) when she was ready, and he’d be right back. A pleasant-faced lady came in as the doctor left the room with a soft pair of pajamas for her to put on. Left alone with the PJs (if that’s what they were… they seemed awfully soft for temporary clothes..), Jaz quickly looked around to make very sure she was alone, and changed as fast as she could. She climbed awkwardly up on the table, feeling even worse when she wrinkled the paper, wondering if she’d get in trouble for it.

“All ready, young lady?” The doctor asked after peeking in to make sure she was dressed.

Jaz took a deep breath (or tried to) and nodded.

“Okay then.” Dr. Winn looked at a clipboard, read for a brief moment, and then said, “So you’re having trouble going to the bathroom at school, huh? Apparently the school is very concerned about it, and referred you to me.”

Jaz tried to reply, realized she had no voice, and swallowed nervously, trying again. Still nothing came out, so she waved at him and gave him a weak smile. The lady had come back in, and seeing her discomfort, walked over to a nearby sink, and got her a little paper cup of water.

“Here, sweetie, drink this. I swear, you’d think she’d never been to see a doctor before! You’re fully shaking!” the lady commented at the doctor, and then walked out of the room again.

The water helped, and Jaz tried again, with the doctor, amazingly – waiting patiently. “Not problems, exactly. I just can’t go if someone else is in the bathroom… I can go when I’m alone just fine! Is it wrong that I don’t like other people there?” she finally got out in a thin, worried voice.

“Oh, don’t worry, Jazmyn, we’ll figure out what’s wrong. I just have to do a bunch of tests so I can diagnose you.” Jazmyn wondered what a “diagnose” was, but the doctor didn’t really seem to be paying any attention to what she’d said, so she didn’t bother asking. Taking a breath, she nodded, and prepared for the worst.

First, he used a light in her ear, and made some inane talk about how she was doing in school, without really listening to her replies again.

He then stuck a device in her mouth, and said “Well, that’s too bad you’re not doing well…” (proof he wasn’t listening – she’d just said she had straight A’s!)

The tests didn’t stop there, apparently, because he then pointed a beeping machine at her chest and poked it around her body.

“One last thing for this part, sweetie, and then I have to go check on this sample. We should be able to tell what’s wrong after that, ok?”

Jazmyn nodded, and opened her mouth when he indicated to do that, and he rubbed a fuzzy stick on the inside of her cheek, then put it into a clear tube, and carried it out of the room.

The lady poked her head back in the door after a moment, and asked Jaz if she could get her anything while she waited for the doctor.

Jaz politely asked for more water, and thanked the woman when she brought her another cupful. The woman was then gone again, leaving Jaz alone with her nerves and confusion for a while. She did manage to get her breathing back under control, and drained the cup of water again.

…. to be continued ….

Day Twenty-Two < | Challenge Home Page | > Day Twenty-Four

Day Twenty-One < | Challenge Home Page | > Day Twenty-Three

Monday. Just another crazy day in the Malone household. Marnie is getting pretty good at cooking now, and keeps trying tricks that involve fire. (…Which never fails to worry me. It would not be good to lose a parent in this family.. I need all the help I can get!)

Jaz woke up in a good mood, with nothing that needed doing before school, so she spent some time with her younger brother, Braydon. He’s the only one of the twins who still has skills to learn, as both have been very good at finishing up things mostly on their own.

In the darkness outside, I spy a ticked off toddler on the warpath. Brett woke up in a bad mood, and plans to take it out on Phoenix.

For the heck of it, I follow along, and laugh at the horrified response Phoenix gives to getting chewed out by a pint size “monster”

After everyone goes to school, the twins have been fed, and I’m busy with Bennie, Marnie starts in with cleaning everything she can. Starting with Braydon, who needed a bath in a big way.

What is Bennie up to? .. Dumpster Diving. He was in no mood to open the store, and being over 1000 short for bills (AGAIN!) was something he certainly wasn’t going to admit to anyone. He was also scheduled to work this evening, so getting the bills paid as soon as possible was paramount in his mind.

Luckily, before it was time for him to go to work, he had managed to find enough to sell .. and had covered the bills. This time. He had no idea what would happen next week. There was definitely some thinking to do…. because this whole get-rich-quick scheme with the store was clearly not going to happen. He could not keep going like this, especially when he was hoping to actually get some decent microphone time at the club in the future. Scrambling for dumpster trash every week to pay bills was NOT Bennie’s idea of fun, and he was, quite frankly, tired of it.

Oblivious to the thoughts in her husband’s mind, Marnie chugged on with her day. When the kids got home from school, Myles was practically in her pocket as usual, and they got one time of getting his homework done focused easily. Then, with an eye towards finishing up some scouting badges he hadn’t had time to work on yet, he started gifting his stock of frogs. He was horrified when his precious pets were met with mixed feelings. In fact, he was pretty sure Marnie had let the one he gave her go into the weeds beside the store. When he went to rescue it, though, it was no where to be found. Depressed about the loss of his frogs, he went to go work on his Mental skill on the science table, only to find out it was being used.

Jaz swore he could use it in a few minutes, though, so they chatted amiably for a while. He wasn’t about to tell his sister about his frog failure, because, quite honestly, she was a girl.. and girls don’t like frogs. (Or so his friends had told him.)

Jaz finished up with the science table on a high note, and with a grin, she left Myles to work on his own experiments, and grabbed the phone to call Colin, Elsa, and Miki with the good news that she had finished her aspiration. She couldn’t afford a party line call, however, so each one had to be called separately.

Bennie also arrived home with a triumphant smile on his face. The purchase of the guitar had paid off, and he ended up getting a full time gig at the lounge. He wasn’t a headliner… yet. But he would be. You just watch. He didn’t bother telling any of his family about the promotion, because apparently he didn’t feel they needed to know that any more than they needed to know about the financial crisis he was still in. Even with the promotion bonus, there was no way he was going to be able to pay the bills next week.

Elsewhere in the neighborhood, Phoenix met up with Max, and the two of them chatted in the rain for a couple hours. Sure it was cold.. but there were plans that had to be made.

You see, they had become Partners in Crime…. which meant they had to start planning pranks. The first prank planned was to stuff some geeks into lockers – and there was a ton of things they had to work out before tomorrow so the plan could go off without either of them getting into trouble for it.

After a while (and definitely past his bedtime), Phoenix had his first best friend. He and Max swore an oath to stay friends forever, no matter what. With a grin on his face, Phoenix headed home and went straight to bed – luckily without getting caught. Things couldn’t go better for him right now… and tomorrow… was going to be EPIC!!

Part of the reason he hadn’t gotten caught being out past curfew was because both Bennie and Marnie were busy. Bennie was practicing on his guitar (to everyone’s horror)… and Marnie was busy talking in serious tones to Jaz. Phoenix clearly didn’t care what his sister had done this time, and shrugged, sneaking past them to his bed.

Jaz hadn’t done anything wrong.. this time. But she was being kept home from school the next day, whether she liked it or not. Tomorrow, apparently was her doctor’s appointment, and she was trying not to worry. She had no idea what might happen at a doctor’s appointment, because the last one she had been to had been before she could remember. She thought about asking Marnie what might happen to her, but Marnie seemed to be in a “mood” and Jaz (wisely) kept her mouth shut. Trying not to worry, she crawled into bed and attempted to sleep… but even with all the good things that had happened that day, sleep was a long time coming for poor Jaz.

Day Twenty-One < | Challenge Home Page | > Day Twenty-Three

Day Twenty < | Challenge Home Page | > Day Twenty-Two

Sunday dawned overcast and cold. Phoenix decided to work on his social aspiration for a change, and invited Max over. After a play session with the soccer ball, they joked around and watched the clouds for a while, then joked some more.

Upstairs, Bennie was yelling at Marnie for the house being in the state it was (although she never stops cleaning!!). I’m sure the whole neighborhood heard the argument, and poor Marnie barely stood up for herself. Bennie then stormed out of the house, while Marnie turned to rage cleaning, scrubbing at stains that were never going to go away.

Benji had, somehow, gotten a hold of a project box for building a bridge, and decided to spend the day working on it. He’d already completed his make-up homework, and hoped dearly that, in the last week and a half of school, he could pull his grade up to at least passing. (Clearly the twins aren’t helping with the cleaning situation…)

Downstairs, Max and Phoenix chatted on. Phoenix found out that the type of humor Max liked was the mean kind, because he was Evil…. and so they alternated playing pranks on each other, and both ended up laughing until they cried.

Colin had come over to visit with Jaz, and they were playing chess. Colin, unfortunately, wasn’t having the best of times at home with all the arguing, and having heard the argument between Bennie and Marnie hadn’t helped his mood. After a heart-to-heart where Colin spilled his soul about his parents still being on the warpath, and how it felt like they were purposely ripping the family apart, Jaz finally managed to get him to cheer up a bit.

While they were outside playing, Elsa stopped by, and her good cheer was infectious. Soon all three were laughing, and it didn’t matter who was winning the chess game anymore.

Upstairs, Benji had finished his bridge. Or, at least it was still standing. For the moment. He hid it under the science table to hopefully protect it until the morning.

Marnie was taking out her bad mood on the twins, and had cleaned up all the messes they had made during the morning. Myles came home from scouts and complained that the shower and toilet were broken… which didn’t help Marnie’s mood, but she still sighed and got right to work.

Elsewhere in the neighborhood, Phoenix was close to having his first ever best friend. Max and he played pirates for a while, and joked around some more. The fun abruptly stopped, however, when they saw Bennie heading home in the growing darkness with an oddly shaped box. He did NOT look like his mood had improved, and Phoenix decided heading straight to dinner and bed might be the best thing to do in the circumstances.

Marnie had found something else to fix, Myles was taking his bath, and the twins were yawning hugely by the time Bennie got upstairs. He completely ignored everyone, and headed for the living room.

Strangely enough, the living room was completely empty of people, so nobody was there to see him pull a battered guitar out of the oddly shaped box. They heard the racket it made when he started trying to play it, however, and the whole household collectively cringed. Nobody knew where Bennie had gotten this “treasure”, and only Bennie knew that spending the money on the guitar would mean he couldn’t pay the bills in the morning. He hoped, however, to make up the money by getting that skill point in guitar for a (hopeful) promotion, because he dreaded opening the store in the morning. Perhaps he could make up the difference with dumpster diving again. It had worked last week, after all….

Marnie made a late dinner for the twins, and – while waiting for the bathroom to be free – Jaz decided to work on some (unnecessary) extra credit. It wasn’t like she wasn’t holding down straight A’s still. It never occurred to her that increasing her grade might annoy her classmates.

Day Twenty < | Challenge Home Page | > Day Twenty-Two

Day Nineteen < | Challenge Home Page | > Day Twenty-One

The day dawned beautifully, and Jaz was so excited. Today was Club day at the park, so she hurried to get ready. A quick breakfast, a shower, and going to the bathroom, and then she just had to wait for Phoenix to finish his morning routine.

Once they got to the park, Elsa was the first to greet them. Jaz and Elsa marveled at the flakes of snow coming from the sky, and giggled together over the strange weather.

Miki was playing on the jungle gym, and it looked like so much fun that Jaz joined in. Colin was heading to push someone on the swings, so it left an open spot on the jungle gym for Phoenix to join in.

The space monster battle really kicked into high gear when a teenager they didn’t recognize came over to play the “monster” and Jaz and Phoenix worked tirelessly to rid the galaxy of their mortal enemy.

After a while, Jaz decided to take some time to finish her homework. It was a breeze, and before anyone hardly noticed she’d been gone, she was back to playing.

Miki and Jaz were chatting animatedly, and Lucas was starting to kick a soccer ball around with Colin…

When the sky suddenly darkened and the clouds literally let loose on them. The first lightning strike made Jaz remember the terror of her mother getting struck, and she quickly hurried everyone inside.

Feeling proud of herself for saving everyone… she tried to come up with something they could all do. Max, however, was worried about the storm, and before long, everyone was heading home under the care of their parents.

Benji found out about the city Romance festival, and quickly decided to invite Shaylee out on a date. (Although he seems to be paying more attention to his phone than his girlfriend here…)

The night ended with a perfect date, and one that hadn’t cost him a thing to pull off. He dropped Shaylee off at her home with a heated kiss, and headed back to help all the Malone kids get into bed.

Day Nineteen < | Challenge Home Page | > Day Twenty-One

Day Eighteen < | Challenge Home Page | > Day Twenty

The kids all wake up and scramble to get ready for school before Marnie, Bennie, and the twins are even conscious. By the time Bennie wakes up, it’s mid morning, and he is in no mood to run the store again today. Checking his schedule, he knows he has to open up for yet another act tonight, and one job in one day is more than enough, he thinks. So, he grabs some breakfast, and goes to watch sports instead, leaving Marnie in charge of the twins. (Or rather, the twins in charge of themselves…)

Marnie wakes up and decides it’s past time to fix the keyboard. Crossing her fingers (and hopefully not the wires this time), she sets to work. By the time she finishes, the twins are screaming about wanting breakfast, so she makes a bunch of omelets, and puts the spare food in the fridge.

Jaz gets home from school.. and stands for a moment, reveling in the fact that she came home with straight A’s for the first time. She takes a moment to sniff the fall air, then heads inside to do her homework.

Benji comes home from school in a far worse mood. His grades finally fell off that last cliff before a passing grade. He’s failing, and doesn’t know how to get back to graduating status. Morosely, he looks at the homework he forgot on the table this morning, and heads over to work on some makeup homework. He also has an opportunity for extra credit, if he can find the funds to buy the materials for the project over the weekend. For a moment he wonders if he can just steal the ingredients from the store.. but the fleeting thought goes away as he struggles through some math problems in his workbook.

Finished with her homework for the entire weekend, Jaz goes to see what there might be for after school snacks, and – wonder of wonders – there actually are leftovers in the fridge! Grabbing some before they disappear, she marvels at the way her day is going. After earlier in the week, Jaz was so down she never thought another GOOD day would ever happen. Clearly, she needed to look on the positive side. She had finally worked up the nerve to ask for a hall pass in a different class today, so she’d even managed to get lunch and sit with her club friends again, too.

After filling her stomach, she knows she can spend some time on the science table, because the only other person who might be using it was downstairs with Marnie. She had the whole room to herself, which was pretty darn close to a perfect afternoon for her. Even the mice were staying in the walls for a change.

Speaking of Myles and Marnie, they were struggling through the rest of Myles’ aspiration, since he needed several chess games to get past it. Marnie loved every minute of it, but I don’t think Myles felt the same. Chess just wasn’t what he wanted to be doing.

Upstairs, Benji had finished his math homework, and, instead of heading to the store to try to get ingredients for homework.. decided to spend some time playing a game with his brother. (No matter how hard I try to get Benji’s needs up every evening, by the time he comes home from school, he is ALWAYS in the red, and I don’t know why. Maybe it’s just him.) He loses the first game, so they play a couple more.. and he finally wins one in the end. It doesn’t help his mood, though, and he finally eats a salad of his own making (on his own), and crawls into bed miserably.

While Benji was eating, Phoenix takes a moment to tell Jaz about tomorrow’s club meeting at the park, and both chat for a while before deciding it’s way past bedtime. (Jaz has yet one more triumph before going to bed – she hits level 9 of Mental! Only one more to go!! Hooray! I might get this done after all!)

Day Eighteen < | Challenge Home Page | > Day Twenty