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

Day Seventeen < | Challenge Home Page | > Day Nineteen

Jaz woke up and got ready for school, and headed out the door. She was feeling terribly sad after the day before, and would have FAR preferred not going to school today at all, but that, of course, wasn’t an option. Miserably, she walked to school, hoping the mean kids weren’t going to start in on her again.. and wondering which class to ask for a hall pass in… since the one after lunch certainly wasn’t going to allow it anymore.

Marnie’s day started off on a shocking front.. the TV was broken, and while trying to fix it, she must have crossed the wrong wires.

With a plume of smoke following behind her, she went to change the thermostat to warm, since fall was definitely in the air. Good thing she’d already pulled out the kids’ winter clothes.

Bennie, after several attempts to be the man of the house and fix the TV (while I kept cancelling the action so he wouldn’t DIE!) – headed downstairs to open the store for the day.

Marnie fixed the twins some lunch, then tried the TV again. This time, it worked.. but it had taken ages to fix, and by then the kids were home. Before long, the keyboard was also broken, but Marnie wasn’t going to press her luck again today.

Jaz took the first shower for a change (apparently everyone was feeling sorry for her after the day before!) and sat down to do her homework. The game playing in the next room definitely made getting it done harder, and so did the growly tummy she was nursing. Out of fear of asking for a hall pass in a different class, she had skipped lunch to go to the bathroom while everyone else was in line. With nothing in the fridge when she got home, she was going to have to wait for Marnie to make dinner…. and who knows when that would be. Clearly skipping lunch wasn’t an option, either. She was going to have to go back to the “drawing board” for new ideas.

After dinner, and some close calls with nearly stepping on a mouse, she spent some time working on her Mental skill, then called it a night. Luckily, the twins were doing well with their skills (largely on their own), and sleeping through the night was a “thing” in the Malone household again, so she fully expected to sleep until daylight the next morning.

Day Seventeen < | Challenge Home Page | > Day Nineteen

Day Sixteen < | Challenge Home Page | > Day Eighteen

Jaz’s day started out perfect – too bad It didn’t end that way. But I digress. One thing at a time. She woke up early to do her homework, and breezed through it in plenty of time before school.

Elsewhere in the apartment, Myles was letting out some inner rage on Blarffy… (Who knew he had an inner rage?! .. perhaps he’s more like Dad than he’s let on….)

Braydon heads off to the kitchen to get something to eat.. and of course, the stove is broken.

Marnie is johnny-on-the-spot, though, and gets to work fixing it right away.

All the kids are off to school, and Bennie is “watching” the twins while Marnie fixes the stove. He’s doing a bang-up job, though, isn’t he? (And.. who’s behind the dust cloud??)

… Turns out it was Braydon yet again. Bennie goes to dump his dirty plate on the table, then go watch some sports TV.

The stove is fixed, but the kitchen still needs cleaning, when all of a sudden Marnie’s phone rings. Putting on her “everything is awesome” face and voice, she answers it.

“Hello?”

“Is this Marnie Malone, mother of Jazmyn Malone?” a gravelly voice says on the other end of the line.

Marnie pauses a moment to compose herself again, and responds, “Yes?”

“Jazmyn is being sent home early from school. She carries a note to explain everything, but suffice it to say, she barely avoided suspension today. She will need to be checked by a doctor as soon as possible, and to stop using so many hall passes to go to the bathroom. We have breaks between classes for a reason.”

Stunned, Marnie doesn’t know what to say. Of all the kids she has, getting a call from the principal about JAZ had never, ever crossed her mind.

“Jaz should be arriving home any moment now, I suggest you take some time to talk some sense into her. Also, I expect her to have seen a doctor by this time next week. Otherwise we may have to proceed with the suspension, after all. Meanwhile, I need to get back to work. Goodbye, Mrs. Malone.”

The other end of the line goes dead.. and Marnie literally just stares at her phone for a moment, fuming.

Then, from outside, she hears soft footfalls on the stairs to the apartment. Jaz is home. Marnie goes to sit in the living room (where Bennie is) and calls Jaz in.

Sighing deeply, Jaz gulps nervously, clutching the offensive note in her hand. For a moment, she wonders if she can somehow play this off as some other type of offense, and just not give her parents the note. “Probably not.” she thinks morosely, and goes to face the music.

Walking into the living room, Jaz hands her mother the note, and goes to sit down next to Bennie angrily. She wonders exactly what will happen to her now, because she’s never really gotten in trouble before.

Marnie takes a moment to read the short note, and absolutely loses her hold on her temper.

“WHAT IS THIS??” she yells. “Why are you trying to skip class every single day, and using the bathroom as your excuse???”

“Mom… I’m not skipping class! And I DO need to go to the bathroom each day.” Jaz protests.

“Of COURSE you need to go to the bathroom!” Bennie joins in, having now read the offending note for himself. “But that’s what lunch and breaks between classes are for. Classes are for learning!”

“But I CAN’T go then!” Jaz wails. “There’s too many people in the bathroom then!”

“WHAT ON EARTH SORT OF EXCUSE IS THAT?” Bennie yells, flabbergasted.

Sheepishly, Jaz hides her face and replies, “I can’t pee with everyone else in there. I feel like they’re watching me.”

“Why in the world can’t you?” Marnie interjects. “Don’t you know how to close a bathroom stall door?”

Jaz looks confused, and replies miserably, “Of course, I can close the door. But there’s still PEOPLE outside the door so I can’t go.”

Marnie and Bennie glace at each other, trying to figure out exactly how to handle this. Marnie finally says. “The school thinks there’s something wrong with your bladder, because you go at the same time every day, in the same class. Apparently you’ve done this for more than two weeks straight. Either there’s something wrong, or you’re just skipping class, which would mean a suspension.”

“I told you, I’m not skipping. I have to pee! I can’t hold it all day!!” Jaz, fighting tears, gets up and storms out of the room, knowing she hasn’t heard the last of this argument – but truly needing some time on her own to think things through.

“Now what??” Bennie asks Marnie.

“I guess we call the pediatrician. I don’t think she’s skipping on purpose. I mean, her grades are fine…” Marnie replies.

“How are we supposed to pay for this?!” roars Bennie, causing Jaz in the other room to cringe.

“I mean, there’s obviously something wrong with her, so we should be able to find some welfare funding for it. I hope so, at least. I can ask at the doctor’s office when I call.”

“You’d better. Because I certainly can’t afford it!” Bennie looks at his watch. “I have to go to work.” he says, and stands up abruptly, leaving the apartment past a miserable Jaz.

Jaz checks in the fridge, and finds she is stuck with water and cereal yet again. Sighing, she gets her snack and sits at the table to eat it.

Marnie, still unsure what exactly is going on, picks up her phone again, and looks up the pediatrician’s number. She then spends nearly two hours on the phone, trying to arrange welfare coverage for the necessary doctor visit for Jaz. Finally, she gets an appointment with both the county people and the doctor (for Jaz). She’ll be able to find out more about how they’ll manage to pay for it tomorrow. Exhausted, she puts down the phone, looks miserably at the still-dirty kitchen, and pulls down the murphy bed instead – the kids will just have to cope. She needs sleep.

By the time Benji arrives home, Jaz is engrossed in experimenting on the science table.

“Benji…” Jaz starts hesitantly. “Your hall pass idea didn’t work. I almost got suspended today.”

“What?” Benji queries, confused.

“I got sent to the office for using the hall pass to go to the bathroom every day.” Jaz explains.

“Why? Did you do it all in the same class or something?” Benji asks again, still confused.

“Well, of course. Because it’s right after lunch and that’s when I need to pee!” Jaz replies indignantly.

Benji bursts into laughter, tries to say something, then breaks into more laughter. Finally, he manages to say, “Oh my God, Jaz. Never use hall passes in the same class every day. That’s how you get suspended!!”

“You could have told me that before now.” Jaz replied miserably.

Still laughing, Benji blurts out, “I never thought you’d be THAT stupid!” and leaves the room, chuckling to himself.

Jaz’s eyes well up with tears again, and she tries hard to compose herself again. “I’m NOT stupid.” she mutters to herself, dashing the tears away and going back to her experiments.

Just before bedtime, the doorbell rings. Okay, so they don’t exactly have a doorbell. The door is so thin they don’t need one, they can hear whenever anyone walks up the steps. To Jaz’s surprise, it’s Elsa, and Marnie allows her to greet her friend for a short while before bed.

(Apologies, these photos have been lightened, so if they look washed out, that’s why. It was nearly impossible to see them without the adjustment, though.)

Elsa greets her, asking about why she got kicked out of school, and trying to find out if everything is okay. (It never occurs to Elsa that Jaz could have actually done anything wrong.)

Leaning forward. Jaz whispers the whole story to her new friend. She ends it with, “All I wanted to do was go pee! I didn’t know this would happen!”

“Oh, Jaz! I’m so sorry! I didn’t know. Don’t be ashamed of having to pee, we all have to pee sometimes! When are they taking you to the doctor?”

“Next week.” Jaz mumbles miserably. “I’m scared. I don’t remember ever going to the doctor. At least, not since I was a baby.. but I definitely don’t remember those visits…”

“Oh, it’ll be okay,” Elsa replies cheerfully, “Doctors aren’t scary. Just tell them what’s going on honestly, and they’ll get you fixed up in no time!”

“You think so?” Jaz replies dubiously.

“Of course!!” Elsa replies, and wraps her new friend in a big hug.

Jaz looks back towards the apartment… “I better go. I don’t need to be in more trouble.”

“See you tomorrow in school, then, Jaz!” Elsa replies, and waves jauntily. “I’m sure everything will be okay, don’t you worry!”

Jaz tries to smile back to her friend, and heads inside to go to bed. How could such a good day have gone so wrong??

Day Sixteen < | Challenge Home Page | > Day Eighteen

Day Fifteen < | Challenge Home Page | > Day Seventeen

Since Bennie hadn’t told anyone about the looming financial crisis, life in the Malone household continued as normal.

Jazmyn woke up early the next morning, and quickly realized she hadn’t finished her homework. Searching for some peace and quiet so she could study, she ended up sitting with the twins, who were sound asleep still (by some miracle).

Benji was having a “distant” phase and wanted to be ANYWHERE but near his family. Which, let’s be honest, wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. So he ate breakfast across from Myles while making faces at the ceiling.

Jaz finished her homework in plenty of time, and strutted confidently off to school. In her mind, things were going perfectly. She was even finding friends, so all the bullies could be ignored in her opinion.

After school, everyone queued up for the bathroom as usual, and played while waiting, or worked on their skills. Jazmyn finally had enough Mental skill to make the Emotion potions she needed for her aspiration, so she stayed up a bit late to finish those, and happily crawled into bed, looking forward to seeing her friends at school the next day.

Day Fifteen < | Challenge Home Page | > Day Seventeen