OS: Day Eighteen < | Challenge Home Page | > OS: Day Twenty

(Trigger Warning: This post involves bullying and family fighting)

Pandora’s Box

Bennie woke up and stumbled blindly to the bathroom to wash his face, feeling extremely fuzzy and having no real idea why. Then, he remembered the ride home in the limo. The whole bottle of champagne he’d finished on his own. So, that explained the headache. He opened the bathroom medicine cabinet, and picked up the pain medication… only to find it empty.

He thought about it fuzzily for a moment, and went to look for the bottle Marnie always carried in her purse. However, Marnie wasn’t home. In fact, strangely.. no one was home. Thinking to himself, he tried to figure out where everyone could be… on a .. Saturday? Shrugging, he returned to the problem at hand. His headache. With a flash of brilliance, Bennie headed back to the mast bedroom closet, remember the stash of “emergency” medicine Marnie kept. This was clearly an emergency… (at least in Bennie’s mind).. so he started digging through piles in the closet, looking for the box that the medicine was kept in.

Finally, he found it, and opened the box. Heading back to the bathroom, where there was more light, he set the box on the edge of the sink and started examining the bottles one by one looking for anything that referred to pain relief. Fiddling with one bottle after another, he got closer to the end of the box. Down at the very back was a prescription bottle that looked promising, so he picked it up and glanced at the label. And froze. He might not be the brightest, but he knew what “birth control” meant. And he could read dates. It was for last month. And it was FULL. What would this be doing in the stash of unused, emergency medicine?? A wash of anger flooded through him. Accident, his fat rear end…. She had planned this. She had LIED right to his face. Even worse… Bennie thought back. All of the babies had been “accidents”. How many of THOSE accidents had been planned, too??

Bennie cursed loudly, and went to sit on the bed, waiting for Marnie to come home, the pill bottle still in his hand, and the headache forgotten.

---

Across the street, at the park…

Jazmyn arrived at the park on a beautiful sunny day, looking forward to seeing their friends and having a nice day at the park playing on the playground equipment. They had never been so wrong in their life.

Within moments of arriving at the park with their brother, Billie Jang confronted them.

Expecting the usual, Jaz smiled with confidence. “What do YOU want, Billie? Can’t find anyone else to pick on today?!”

“I saw your Dad on TV last night!” Billie crowed, laughing.

“Wait.. what?” Jaz said after a pause, very confused. What had Bennie been doing on TV??

“Yeah. He was on the comedy channel on the special … he was talking about YOU.” Billie taunted.

“What do you.. mean?” Jaz asked, hesitantly.. a feeling of dread growing in the pit of their stomach.

“You tried to “come out”, huh? Saying you’re not a boy or a girl. So what are you? A NOBODY?! Even your Dad thinks you’re full of POO!” Billie’s voice was clearly carrying, and Jaz cringed and jumped away.

WHAT? Bennie had gotten on TV last night?! For a moment, Jaz simply let Billie keep talking without actually listening to her. Filled with confusion, Jaz wondered what on earth could have happened that not only was Bennie on TV, but that he had also decided to betray Jaz’s secret. Shaking their head, deciding those questions would have to wait, Jaz once again returned their attention to the bully standing in front of them.

“I… can be whatever I want, Billie.” Jaz said, breaking into Billie’s tirade about being nobody with a slightly shaky voice. “It doesn’t matter whether I actually come out or not. I’m not a boy or a girl, it’s true. I’m NON-BINARY. That doesn’t make me any less of a person than you are. It just makes me different.”

Billie looked at Jaz with open skepticism for a moment, then tried to return to their argument about Jaz simply being nobody if “she” wasn’t a boy or a girl.

“Billie, leave Jazmyn alone. Your argument is stupid. Jaz can be whatever Jaz wants. They’re not hurting you.” Pierce Delgato, a member of Billie’s own club of bullies, walked up and broke into the argument.

For a moment, Billie looked at Pierce like she didn’t understand that he was standing up for Jaz.

Before they could say anything, Jaz turned, and, ignoring Billie completely, put their hand out to him. “Hi, I’m Jaz. My pronouns are they/them. I don’t think I’ve met you before?”

“I’m Pierce.” he started. “He/him pronouns. And I USED to be friends with Billie. But I don’t like the way she treats other people.” He glared at Billie, as if daring Billie to continue berating Jaz now that someone else was clearly on Jaz’s side.

Olivia Kim-Lewis headed over, clearly on Billie’s side of the argument. “What are you saying, Pierce? Are you actually defending this trailer-trash nobody??”

Pierce took a deep breath, and smiled. “Yes. I don’t believe Jaz is either of those things, to be honest. I’ve never seen.. them?” (he looked over to Jaz for confirmation, who nodded) “.. THEM be less than nice to anyone. They don’t deserve your nasty talk. And I don’t want to be in your silly club any more.”

Billie just looked at him in shock, but behind her, someone else had showed up to join the confrontation. Lucas Munch.

Jaz didn’t know him all that well, but he was in the same club as Jaz, so they hoped he was coming over in support.

“Billie, just go away.” Lucas said. “Welcome to the Adventurers, Pierce. I’ll vouch for you with Elsa. Anyone who will stand up for one of our members deserves to be in the club.”

Pierce blushed a bit, and smiled at Jaz, “I only did what anyone SHOULD have done.” He glared at the retreating forms of Billie and Olivia, then turned to Lucas. “You mean that?”

“Of course!” replied Lucas. “Let’s go see her now!”

“It was nice to meet you, Pierce.” Jaz said, then finished, a bit more quietly. “And.. thank you.”

“Anytime, Jaz!” Pierce said, waving as he walked away with Lucas.

Jaz was still standing there, reeling from all that had just happened, when Mika came over shyly.

“Hey, Jaz. I heard what happened. That wasn’t fair. You totally didn’t deserve that. Not what Billie said, and not what your Dad did to you on TV. I’m sorry.” Mika said as they performed the club handshake automatically.

“Thanks, Mika. I suppose you heard. I’m stopping going by “she” – I’m non-binary. I wasn’t planning on telling everyone yet, but I guess since my .. um.. Bennie decided to “help” out – I guess now is as good a time as any.” Jaz replied, specifically avoiding calling Bennie ‘Dad’. He didn’t deserve that anymore.

“That’s cool.” Mika said, a bit shyly. “What exactly does that mean, anyway?”

After explaining it to Mika, Jaz felt the adrenaline from the confrontation slowly draining away, leaving them feeling very tired. “I’m going to swing for a while. I think I need a moment.” Jaz said, apologetically.

Smiling at their friend, Mika replied, “I completely understand. I’m going to go see what Elsa, Pierce, and Lucas are up to.” .. then walked away with a jaunty wave.

Jaz wasn’t really paying attention to who was around, and just headed blindly to swing on the swings for a while and think. Which is why they were so surprised when Max Villareal blocked their way.

“What do you MEAN… you’re not a girl?” he accused.

Sighing, Jaz tried to explain, but it seemed like Max wasn’t really even listening.

“I liked you, you know. I guess that’s stupid, now.” Max said quietly, his fists down by his side.

“What does that have to do with anything?” Jaz asked, confused. “I’m still the same person that I always was. I just have different pronouns.”

“Yeah, well I’m not okay with it. I don’t think that’s right.” Max said, looking around uncomfortably.

Pushing past him, Jaz sat down on the swing, sighed, then said, firmly, “I’m sorry, I don’t think you get to say whether it’s okay or not. Or whether it’s right or not. It just IS. And it’s my choice – not yours.”

“It’s disgusting.” Max said, then raised his voice, “And so are you.”

“Fine. Whatever, Max. Just go away. And forget coming to my house anymore. I don’t want to see you.” Jaz said, holding her head.

Max decided that he’d had enough of this, and headed over to where his best friend, Phoenix, sat with Elsa and Billie, wondering what was going on over there.

Phoenix, it turns out, had decided that if his best friend wasn’t okay with his.. sister?.. or whatever she .. it? was (he hadn’t been really listening), then he wasn’t okay with Jaz, either. He had resigned his position with the League of Adventurers and joined up with Billie’s gang. Max followed suit, and they worked on learning their new club handshake for a while.

Over by the swings, Jaz had really just had enough for the day, and was heading home wearily, when someone ELSE stopped them.

“Hi!” Jaz, is it?” a young girl said, one Jaz had never seen before.

“Um, yeah. I’m Jaz Malone. I’m non-binary.” Jaz said, quietly, and with a slight question in their voice.

“I think that’s really cool! I’m new in town. I had a friend in Newcrest, where I used to live, that was non-binary, too. My name is Christy Hutchinson. Maybe we could be friends?”

“I would like that.” Jaz replied, smiling. “Shall I introduce you to Elsa? She’s the leader of our club.”

“REALLY?” Christy replied, overjoyed. “That.. um.. that would be really nice of you!”

After introducing Christy.. and finding out, to their dismay that even their brother was choosing sides in the argument.. and Max had clearly won Phoenix’s support. Rolling their eyes, Jaz once again turned to leave the park.

“Hi, Jaz. I’m Christine.” a girl said, intercepting Jaz on their way out of the park.

Pausing, and looking at the girl quizzically, Jaz waited to see what she wanted.

“I’m sorry about Billie. And Bennie. I saw the special, too. And I didn’t think what your.. Dad.. said was either fair to your, or even the slightest bit funny. My brother is friends with your brother, Myles, by the way.”

“OH!” Jaz said, finally placing who the girl was. “Well, thanks. I appreciate that. Really. But I need to go now. I’m sorry. I’m really just done with people for the day.” Jaz explained, feeling emotionally exhausted.

“Oh, that’s okay. I just wanted to tell you people are on your side. Don’t let Billie’s words hurt, because they’re not true.”

“Thanks, Christine.” Jaz replied, waved, and finally, wearily, headed home.

---

Unfortunately, Jaz’s day wasn’t over. Far from it. Before they even got home, they could hear the yelling from their house. Now in a hurry, Jaz ran in through the front door, only to find Myles sitting on the couch, watching TV. Their parent’s bedroom door was open, and everyone in the neighborhood could hear the argument.

Apparently Bennie had found out that Marnie had been lying to him for their entire marriage. Ever since they had married while Marnie was still in high school. She had gotten pregnant, which Bennie now knew wasn’t an accident, to trap him into marrying her while she dropped out to take care of their new baby. Marnie kept swearing that she hadn’t meant any harm, but clearly Bennie wasn’t believing her anymore. No matter how many times she apologized, Bennie only got angrier. When he pushed Marnie a little, apparently it was the last straw. Marnie slapped him – and the real fight ensued, to the kids’ horror.

“STOP!” yelled Jazmyn, running into the room. “JUST STOP IT!”

But neither Marnie nor Bennie were in a place to hear Jaz’s words. Marnie won the fight.. if one could say there was a winner.

“That’s it!” Bennie yelled, “I’m done. I’m done with you, I’m done with these kids. You wanted ’em, you can HAVE them!” With these words, he turned, grabbed his pillow of the bed and went to the closet to grab a blanket. Clearly he planned on making his bed in the living room tonight.

Marnie just stared at him, looking slightly frightened, and then watched him leave the room. Turning to see her children’s expressions, she lost her nerve, and escaped into the bathroom, locking the door behind her without a word.

With Marnie and Bennie both out of the room, Myles broke into tears and ran out the door. Jaz plopped down on their parent’s bed beside Phoenix, and shot him an accusing look.

“You know, I could have used your backup at the park today, BROTHER.” Jaz started.

“Whatever, FREAK. You’ve already said you’re not my sister. Or my brother. Which only leaves freak. There isn’t anything else. And I don’t defend those.” Phoenix replied.

“Oh, okay. Fine. Like Bennie said. I’m DONE with you. If you won’t even try to understand, I don’t need you. I don’t need you at all.” Jaz snapped, losing their temper. Then, horrified at what they’d just said, Jaz stood up and left the room, miserable and exhausted.

They headed downstairs, tiptoeing past a “sleeping” Bennie, and quietly crawled into bed. To heck with brushing teeth. Jaz was absolutely done with the day. Tomorrow could only be better.

OS: Day Eighteen < | Challenge Home Page | > OS: Day Twenty

OS: Day Seventeen < | Challenge Home Page | > OS: Day Nineteen

You-Know-What Hits The Fan

The day started out like any other day in the Malone house. Twins being fed, the three children getting ready and rushing off to school.. and Marnie starting her daily cleaning spree. Bennie had decided to sleep in, and didn’t actually wake up until mid afternoon. After school, the kids discovered that Marnie hadn’t bothered to make lunch for them – so they resorted to the downstairs popcorn popper.

However, Phoenix discovered that there must be a trick to it, because his kettle corn certainly didn’t taste quite right…

Jaz ignored their brothers discussing the ins and outs of popcorn popping heatedly, and finished her homework. Feeling overwhelmed by the whole hullabaloo of the Malone family, Jaz retired to their room, and decided it was past time to call for some mental and emotional support.

Gemma answered on the first ring, and, upon hearing Jaz’s voice, was immediately concerned. Jaz took a deep breath and tried to explain.

Jaz told Gemma all about the aborted attempt at coming out to their family, and Gemma was appropriately incensed by the fact that Jaz’s parents and brothers had not only refused to let them change pronouns, but had actually gone so far as to LAUGH at them. Jaz immediately felt better, having someone support that it was OKAY to be mad at their family for what they did was a balm to Jaz’s hurting soul.

“Gemma, I’m afraid that’s not all.” Jaz finally confessed. “I found Bennie practicing a comedy sketch that he was writing about my trying to come out.”

Gemma was quiet for a moment, and Jaz immediately worried that maybe they shouldn’t have told Gemma that.

“He… what??” Gemma said, finally.

“Yeah. I yelled at him to stop, and made him promise not to use it.. but I don’t know if he’ll keep his promise. He’s never kept any other promises he’s made.. although he doesn’t make them very often. I just don’t know what to say to him to make him understand.” Jaz replied miserably.

Gemma, again, paused. Then sighed deeply. “Some people may just never understand. No matter how much you try to explain, or how good you are at explaining, sometimes it’s not enough. I’m so very sorry this happened to you. I had high hopes that things would work out better for you.”

“Yeah. It’s okay, though, as long as Bennie keeps his promise. I chickened out on telling my friends that I’m non-binary because of this whole mess, though.” Jaz confessed.

“I think, under the circumstances – you did exactly the right thing. Would you like me to try to speak to your Dad? I could try talking to your mother, too, but I don’t think she’s going to listen to me – not after her reaction to our initial meeting.” Gemma said softly.

“Let me think about it, Gemma.” Jaz replied after a moment. The only thing that was running through their mind was the way their parents had reacted to the school calling. What would they do if Gemma called?? Jaz didn’t want Gemma to be laughed at and treated badly – and Jaz was sure that, with their parent’s attitudes, Gemma’s talking to them would not be taken well. Protecting their friend was more important to Jaz than getting their situation improved. “I’ll let you know.”

“Okay, sweetie. We’ll see you on Tuesday, okay? Call me before then if you need ANYTHING.” Gemma emphasized.

Smiling broadly, Jaz said “Okay!” and said their goodbyes. Pulling out their homework, Jaz happily started work on their Extra credit work, despite the fact there was certainly no need for them to improve their already top-notch grades.

---

In a neighboring town, Benji was scoping out a café as a possible target when he noticed something he really didn’t want to see. There was a policeman walking around talking to people with a notepad. Hoping that he hadn’t been spotted, Benji decided this café was a “bust”, and headed back to the bus stop.

“Excuse me!” the officer called, stopping Benji in his tracks.

Trying to hide his nerves, Benji turned and smiled at the man. “Can I help you?”

“Sure thing. I’m looking for a young man by the name of Benji Malone.” the officer said, then continued, “I’ve been told he was planning on visiting this café this morning. Have you seen him? He’s probably about your age.”

“Oh, Sure. He was in my class at school.” Benji fibbed, trying to hide the gut-level ball of cold worry that had come over him the instant he heard his name. He pointed behind himself, and continued, “I think he went across the street after seeing how long the line was for coffee.”

“Oh? Really?” The officer was looking at him shrewdly. “Can I see your identification, sir?”

Resisting the urge to nervously giggle at being called a “sir”, Benji smiled and said, “Oh, dear, I actually left that in my other pants…. ” then pretended to pat his back pockets as if he’d lost something. “And I really must be going. I have a job interview in Newcrest this afternoon, and I have to ride the bus to get there…”

Turning to leave, he hoped the bus was going to be on time, and he could just walk away and hop on the bus… but the officer was apparently more aware than Benji thought he was.

“Stop!” the officer called, grabbing him by the arm as he tried to walk away. “Please take that wallet out of your pocket, young man. Then hand it to me.”

Sighing miserably, Benji pulled out the obvious wallet and handed it to the officer. He watched closely, hoping for an opening to turn and run, but the man took one look at the ID inside the wallet and reached immediately for his handcuffs.

“Benjamin Malone, Junior, you’re under arrest under suspicion of multiple grand larcenies.” The officer said, jingling the handcuffs and quickly taking control of the situation. Before Benji could react, he was cuffed and in the back of a police car, headed to the local police station.

Back at the station, Benji obediently followed the officer to the booking area.

His picture was taken, then they instructed him to face the wall, put his hands on it, and spread his legs for search.

After finding some unusual things in Benji’s pocket, the officer indicated the fingerprint machine.

After an almost unsuccessful fingerprinting, Benji was led away towards the holding cells. The officer still hadn’t said a whole lot, and Benji was too upset to say anything. Somewhere in his brain, he had already realized that talking was probably the worst thing he could do, anyway.

The officer led him to the holding cells, and locked him in. Benji, suddenly realizing the finality of the clanging bars… yelled out, “Wait! I thought I got a phone call!”

He tried again, but the officer seemed to be ignoring him. Walking around the cell, Benji sighed and tried to swallow the lump in his throat. Looking in the cell mirror, he wondered idly who had given him up. The plan had been foolproof. This wasn’t supposed to happen!

---

Back at the Malone house, Bennie was on his way out the door to go to work, humming softly to himself, when his phone rang.

“Hello?” he asked, then paused to listen.

“Will you accept a call from Benjamin Malone, Junior, from the Police Department in Willow Creek?” a tinny voice asked, and Bennie closed his eyes and sighed.

“Fine. Yes. Put him on.” Bennie said unhappily.

On the other end of the line, Benji paused as if waiting for people to leave the room, then started in on the fact that he’d been arrested, but he didn’t DO anything, and if Bennie could just pay a tiny bail fee, Benji could go back home tonight and call a lawyer to fight this whole thing.

Shaking his head, Bennie listened for a while, then, just after the bit about bail and lawyers, interrupted his eldest son. “No, Benji. I will not pay your bail.”

“DAD!” Benji wailed, “You have no idea how bad this is, I NEED to go home. What’s going to happen to Shaylee when I don’t come home tonight??! Can’t you just get some money out of the bank and forward it to me? I don’t think you’d even need to come all this way. You could still make it to work!”

“Son, I don’t have the money. And even if I didn’t.. I wouldn’t pay your bail. I knew one day you would end up just where you are. I was hoping you’d change your ways before that happened, but apparently that didn’t happen. Please, don’t call here again. I’m not interested in your excuses.” Bennie sighed, hung up on his spluttering son, and put his phone away. Dusting off his hands on his slacks, he headed off to work.

---

Later, at the lounge Bennie was due to perform at, a man came over to where he sat and, out of the blue, made him an offer.

… One Bennie most definitely couldn’t refuse. He agreed, and signed a bunch of paperwork, then was taken off in a fancy limo to Del Sol Valley’s TV studio.

The director told him to pick his best sketch, and give it a practice or two, and they’d be right back to get him to perform it. Looking around, nerves started rattling in his head. Tonight was his debut – on LIVE TV! He’d always known he was destined to hit it big, but this was more than he’d ever dreamed of. As he sat there, going through all the routines he had memorized, he tried to find one that hadn’t had a bunch of hecklers or boo’s from the audience while performing. One by one, he crossed every single one off the list.

The door opened, and someone poked their head in. “We’re ready for you. You ready, man?”

Bennie felt his heart drop to the soles of his shoes. Then, a thought popped into his head. Sure, he’d promised Jaz that he wouldn’t use his new sketch… but she wasn’t here to ask … and he was SURE she would be okay with it, if she knew the situation. He was going to be famous. Jaz would be able to buy all the new toys she could ever want, this silly thing about being non-whatever-she-called-it would blow over, and – finally – Bennie would be able to pay bills on their new house. They wouldn’t have to move again!

“Sir?” the man at the door asked, and Bennie realized he hadn’t replied. With no time left, Bennie made a split-second decision. Taking a deep breath, and pasting on a smile he hoped wasn’t completely fake, he replied, “Yep! Let’s DO this!”

The bright lights and the hopeful faces of the crew burned into Bennie’s mind, and he managed, somehow, to pull off a perfectly executed performance. His promise to Jaz forgotten, he relished the chuckles from the audience (whether it was laugh tracks or people actually on the other side of the lights, Bennie couldn’t say), and performed his sketch flawlessly. Afterwards, the director congratulated him, and told him they’d give him a call the next day when the reviews came in.

Still reeling, Bennie headed home with a goofy smile on his face. Finally, he’d made it. The limo driver proved that. Climbing into the back of the limo, and pouring himself a celebratory drink, Bennie started the celebration. He couldn’t wait to tell his family. Everyone was going to be so proud…. he would have to remember to ask for a tape of the performance when they called tomorrow, since there was no way that the comedy channel had been recorded tonight. The kids had probably been on their silly games all night, and Bennie really wanted a copy of that performance to show off.

OS: Day Seventeen < | Challenge Home Page | > OS: Day Nineteen

OS: Day Sixteen < | Challenge Home Page | > OS: Day Eighteen

The Promise and The Tip-Off

Jaz walked into the living room, and nearly dropped the load of plates they were carrying. For a moment, they just stared at their father in shock, and moved out of the way as Marnie walked past, chuckling at the “joke” Bennie was practicing.

It only took those moments for the rage and hurt to rise to the surface, and Jaz took a deep breath and yelled at Bennie to stop. “Stop – RIGHT NOW.”

In shock, Bennie stopped, and just held the microphone for a moment.

Jaz continued, “I can’t believe you. Dad, this is ME you’re poking fun at. And my coming out isn’t funny. It’s not a joke!” Jaz took another deep breath and tried very hard not to burst into angry and hurt tears.

“It was funny as heck!” Bennie replied, confused at Jaz’s apparent anger.

“No, Dad. It’s really not. It hurts. Promise me you will stop practicing that routine. Promise me you’ll never perform it.” Jaz wiped a stray tear away from their cheek, and Bennie sobered up almost instantly.

He couldn’t see why Jaz was so upset – but he realized that he may have crossed a line he didn’t fully understand. Moving to put away the microphone, he nodded. He wasn’t about to say sorry, because he didn’t know what he’d done wrong, but maybe he could placate his daughter. “Fine. I won’t.”

“You promise??” Jaz asked sharply, wiping away more tears.

“Okay, Jazmyn. I promise.” Bennie replied, and watched Jaz pick up the dishes she had been cleaning up, and take them into the kitchen.

Slightly bewildered – he hadn’t seen Jaz that emotional – maybe ever… (and he didn’t deal well with emotional females) … and very confused as to what exactly he’d done wrong, Bennie sighed and left the room. He felt terribly disappointed that what he regarded as the best comedy sketch he’d ever written now apparently had to be scrapped. He needed new material – and fast. But, after Jaz’s emotional plea, he wisely dismissed the idea of using Jaz in any more routines.

---

Marnie and Myles packed up to go to the Geek club meeting, both looking forward to seeing friendly faces. Marnie couldn’t wait to tell her friend Bella about the coming baby, and Myles was looking forward to doing some Voidcritter training and fighting against Alexander’s critters. Both had completely forgotten about Jaz’s issues, and were more focused on their own cares.

Upon arrival at the Library, Marnie joined Bella at the chess board… and immediately noticed that Bella didn’t have her usual smile.

“What’s wrong, Bella?” Marnie asked, worried about her friend.

“We were burglarized. The kids were at friends’ houses, and Mortimer and I were out on the town. We came home to find the house ransacked, and so many valuable things missing. The alarm wasn’t even going off!” Bella confessed in a low voice, looking to see who might be nearby to overhear. “We called the police right away, and they contacted the alarm company, but nothing appears to be wrong with the alarm. The burglars got so much. They even took Cassandra’s prize violin!” Bella promptly burst into tears, and dropped her head into her hands.

Marnie looked at her new friend in shock, wondering what to say. “I’m.. sorry, Bella.” She paused, considering the information she’d been given. “Did you maybe forget to set the alarm when you left?”

Bella stopped crying, and considered this for a moment. “No, I’m very sure Mortimer set it. I watched him do it right in front of me. The company apologized, but they have no idea what could have happened, and they’ll have to investigate. The worst part is that violin. It’s priceless, and a family heirloom. If the police can’t find it, there’s no way it can be replaced. Cassandra is beside herself.”

“That’s horrible!” Marnie said, feeling really bad for her friend and her daughter. “What did the police say?”

“The detective, Scott, was extremely sorry about the whole situation, but apparently there have been a rash of burglaries all over the place lately. They’re working with other police departments, trying to figure out if they’re all connected. Most have been smaller incidents, but he did say that the Landgraabs had a major break-in while they were gone on Winterfest vacation. They came home to find all their electronics were gone, and the alarm company had never gotten a single alert the whole time.” Bella replied, wiping away tears, and glancing around to see who might have noticed her uncontrolled emotions.

“Winterfest, huh?” Marnie said, her mind reeling. She looked away, wondering if she ought to say something about Benji’s sudden influx of cash around that same time. She didn’t want to involve her son, but it wouldn’t be the first time he’d stolen something. It would, however, be the first time it was something big – that is, if he were involved. She shook her head and Bella kept talking, but Marnie wasn’t able to listen. Benji certainly had had a lot of money available to make that Winterfest possible, and he hadn’t exactly said where he’d gotten it. Feeling guilty for ignoring her friend, Marnie looked back up and tried to pay attention.

“We don’t know what to do. The police are not hopeful that they’ll be able to find any of what was stolen.. and a violin like that would be easily sold on the black market, apparently. We will likely never see it again.” Bella continued, looking morosely at her friend. “I don’t know why someone would DO this?!”

Marnie swallowed. Her friend needed her. It had been so long since Marnie had had a friend who actually needed support from her, and she truly wanted to help. But the thought of giving up her own son.. that hurt. Trying to decide between her new friend and her son, Marnie tuned out the next couple minutes of dialogue. Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore.

“You know, Bella..” Marnie broke into her friend’s miserable monologue, “Benji came into a lot of cash around Winterfest. He wouldn’t say where he got it, and he has been known to steal. Maybe I could ask him about your robbery. Perhaps, if he were involved, we could at least get back your violin?” Marnie smiled, as if she’d just come up with the best solution in the world.

Bella looked at her in utter astonishment. “You think just getting back the violin would be enough?? No way, we’re prosecuting whoever did this to the full extent of the law!!”

Marnie’s jaw dropped for a moment. She hadn’t thought things through, apparently. Suddenly, she realized that she could very well have just gotten her own son into a huge amount of trouble. “No, if it was Benji, I’m sure he didn’t mean any harm!!” she exclaimed, worried. “If he could just return the things, it’s no harm done, right??”

Bella shook her head, and gave Marnie an accusing look. “You’re naïve if you think that would solve the problem.” She stood up, and called to her son. “Alexander! We must go! Now!”

Alexander looked up from his science table, and immediately ran to grab his coat and follow his mother out the door. He looked apologetically at his club friends, but clearly his mother’s distress was more important than taking a moment to say goodbye.

Myles looked up from his very interesting book on Vampire Lore, surprised by the sudden departure. Seeing the stricken look on his mother’s face, he rushed to her side to give her a hug. “What’s wrong, Mom? Are you okay?”

“I think.. I messed up.” Marnie said absently, but then refused to say anything else about the matter. “We should go home…”

Obediently, Myles ran to get their coats, and say goodbye to his friends.

---

It was a miracle that the police chief was still at the station when Bella Goth stormed through the front doors, demanding to see the officer in charge.

“Mrs. Goth! What a surprise! What can I do for you??” Police Chief, Scott Barrier asked pleasantly.

“I must talk with you. I have a possible lead on our case!” Bella said, urgently, looking around the empty waiting room nervously.

“Certainly, Mrs. Goth, Lets go to my office?” Scott replied. standing up to lead her towards the gate by the reception desk.

She followed obediently, and took a seat in front of his impressive desk. “My friend Marnie Malone mentioned something tonight that I knew you needed to know about. Apparently her son, who has a history of stealing, came into a large amount of money around Winterfest…”

“Oh? Really? … What’s her son’s name?” the chief asked, shuffling some papers on his desk as if looking for something.

“Benji Malone. He just recently moved to San Myshuno after graduating high school..” Bella said, trying to hide how very upset she was.

“Benji, huh?” Finding the file folder he’d apparently been looking for, Scott pulled out a paper and wrote down some notes. “I very much appreciate your tip. I assure you, we will investigate this .. Benji?.. along with our other leads, ma’am. Is there anything else?”

“I’m afraid not. Have any of your other leads looked promising?” Bella asked, wringing her hands together.

“I’m afraid I can’t divulge that information at this time, Ma’am. I promise, we’re doing everything we can, though.” Scott said, standing up to escort her back to the waiting room. “I advise you to go home and get some rest. It’s late. Try not to worry.”

Bella sighed, and grabbed her purse, following Scott to the front door. “Thank you, Scott, for taking the time to see me.” She said, then headed wearily to her car, parked haphazardly in the handicapped parking space.

OS: Day Sixteen < | Challenge Home Page | > OS: Day Eighteen

OS: Day Fifteen < | Challenge Home Page | > OS: Day Seventeen

Interlude

(The night before today’s post…..)

Just Another Day

Brett tried to get some attention from his dad, but Bennie seemed uninterested. He had other things to do. Important things, apparently.

Jaz was downstairs, clueless, eating popcorn. Brett decided that since Bennie was unavailable, and Marnie was cleaning (as usual), that he’s find some flour and paint and make a mess on the floor downstairs.

The boys (Myles, Phoenix, and Myles’ best friend Max), were pretty much trying to ignore Bennie.. but it was definitely hard. Despite the fun of the game, it was apparent Bennie was trying to write a new comedy sketch. Only – this time, it seemed to be about his own family. Specifically, about Jaz trying (and failing) to “come out” as non-binary.

The boys, feeling awkward, finished the game, and went to find something to eat – but said nothing to Bennie.

By the time Jaz came upstairs, Bennie had gone to take a break, so Jaz never found out. Max thought about trying to warn Jaz, but – to be honest, he didn’t really know what non-binary was, and felt a bit scared about showing his ignorance. So he stayed quiet and went to find his friends.

Jaz, on the other hand, was done with homework, had enjoyed a bowl of tasty cheddar popcorn, and was playing with a pink dinosaur. They were having a great day. In fact, Jaz was on a high, really feeling confident about themselves and their new (if mostly secret) pronouns. Knowing what they were and WHO they were was a really comforting feeling, and even if everyone didn’t know yet, Jaz truly felt that things were finally going to work out for them… eventually.

OS: Day Fifteen < | Challenge Home Page | > OS: Day Seventeen

OS: Day Fourteen < | Challenge Home Page | > OS: Day Sixteen

Bad Decisions

It was a Tuesday. And poor Bennie had been called into the living room where Marnie and one of the twins (Brett, but Bennie sure didn’t remember his name) were watching TV. “What do you want, woman?” asked Bennie, mostly good-naturedly. He had been about to go clean the grill outside. It was a nice day, and he was planning to grill some steaks for dinner later. That was pretty much all that was on his mind.

“I have some.. interesting … news, Bennie, honey.” Marnie started, a little hesitantly.

The tone of her voice got Bennie’s attention more than the words. “WHAT?” he bit out, wishing she would just get to the point. She never called him honey.

“I took a test this morning. I’m pregnant.” Marnie smiled at him, completely missing the shock turning to anger on Bennie’s face. “We’re going to have another baby!”

“We’re … WHAT??!??” yelled Bennie, nearly choking on his BLT. “This isn’t possible! You said the new birth control was practically foolproof!” In a rage, he flung his sandwich across the room, and the plate shattered against the wall. Brett, wisely, decided watching TV wasn’t what he wanted to do and he crawled off the couch quietly and headed downstairs.

“Accidents happen!” Marnie exclaimed defensively, suddenly worried she may have gone a bit too far.

She stood up to go clean up the mess of the shattered plate, refusing to say anything else.

After she cleaned it up, Bennie confronted her again, grabbing her arm. “And you’re sure about this??” he growled. “You’re not just pulling my leg, or jumping to conclusions with a false positive, are you?”

“Bennie, I wouldn’t do that to you. I waited until I was sure to tell you. I’ve been feeling really run down lately, and I wasn’t sure why, so I got a couple tests and I tried both. Both came back positive. It’s a good thing we have this new, big, house, right?” She said, trying to appear cheerful and like the thunderous look on Bennie’s face wasn’t actually there.

Saying nothing, Bennie turned on his heel and stomped away from Marnie. He really just had nothing else to say at the moment. Not anything that could be printed, at least.

---

Later, having not seen Bennie again, Marnie pulled out her winter gear, and told Jaz to do the same. Newcrest, after all, was colder than Oasis Springs. Excitedly, Jaz got ready for the long bus ride across towns again.

After arriving, Marnie sat down on the couch, thinking quietly to herself. Dr. Gemma came out of her office almost right away, and Jaz followed her inside, shutting the door behind them.

Gemma and Jaz discussed the week, asking if anything had happened.. and then Gemma apologized for not calling her this week.

Jaz looked at her, startled, having mostly forgotten that Gemma was supposed to talk to the school and get back to her. “So, what happened?” Jaz asked, curiously.

“I’ve been arguing with the school system all week. They keep saying they can’t allow you to use a private bathroom anytime you need to go without the parent’s knowledge and permission. So, we’re basically back at square one until you want to tell your parents that you’re non-binary.” Gemma explained. “That doesn’t mean you have to come out right away. Just that you’re going to have to keep finding times when other kids aren’t around to use the bathroom for a while more.”

---

Out in the hallway, Marnie’s thoughts were far, far away. A secret smile stole across her face and she felt her still-flat (ish) abdomen. Accident, indeed. Benji’s life success had impressed her so much that she had figured maybe she was a better parent than she had thought. Myles was a great kid, and all three of her children had managed to get A’s this quarter. She missed the baby stage. The twins were too independent now to really scratch the itch for cuddling a baby. Plus, Bella just had a new baby, and maybe the two could grow up together. It would be so much fun to set up play dates with Bella and the two babies as they grew up….

---

.. Back in the office, clueless to Marnie’s thoughts, Jaz and Gemma were talking conspiratorially, trying to figure out what to do.

“You know what?” Jaz finally said. “I just have to get my parents to sign the paperwork, right? I mean, coming out can’t be all that bad. It’s not like it’s going to change who I am, it only changes the pronouns I use and how I see myself. But I’ve already been seeing myself like that, so I guess it’s time other people did, too.” She smiled at Gemma, who was looking at her with a concerned impression.

“It’s not always quite that easy, sweetie.” Gemma started, then glanced at her watch. This was her last appointment of the day, and she knew Marnie and Jaz had to catch the last bus before it got much later. She couldn’t extend the session any farther. “But if that’s what you want to do…?”

“Definitely.” Jaz said, grinning. “I’ll be fine, Gemma, don’t worry. I’ll get everyone in the living room and tell them tonight. Then I’ll just get them to sign the papers. If anything goes wrong, I have your card.”

“That’s true enough.” Gemma said, smiling, and stood up to walk with Jaz and Marnie down the stairs.

As they left the Center’s front door, Gemma impulsively gathered Jaz into a hug, whispering so Marnie couldn’t hear, “I will be thinking of you. I wish you the very best, sweetie.”

Jaz hugged Gemma back, surprised. She .. no.. THEY… (they thought to themselves) couldn’t remember the last hug they’d gotten from an adult. Riding on a real high, Jaz couldn’t imagine anything going wrong, and couldn’t wait to get home and tell their whole family. The twins, of course, wouldn’t understand yet, but families are about supporting each other, right?

---

After the bus ride home, Marnie wearily sat down on the couch, too tired to put her winter gear away yet, and waited for the storm that was likely to occur when Bennie got home from his Tuesday night gig.

Bennie came home in a great mood. He was one gig closer to a promotion. He could just SENSE that his “big break” was coming soon. (He had forgotten, probably purposely, that conversation this morning. Startled, he noticed the entire family except for the twins seemed to be waiting for him.

“What’s going on?” he said, suspicious, and then remembered what Marnie had told him this morning. Surely she wasn’t planning on telling the kids already?!

“Jaz has something she wants to tell us, apparently.” Marnie said, smiling wearily and looking over at Jaz.

“Okay. This might sound a little weird, but I really want to tell you guys what I’ve found out through Gemma’s help. I’m NOT a girl.” Jaz started, grinning from ear to ear.

Marnie and Bennie were looking at Jaz with bewildered looks, while Myles and Phoenix had turned to their parents for support with confused looks on their faces.

“Now, that’s not what it sounds like. I’m not a boy either. I’m actually non-binary. I’m somewhere in between. That’s why I have so many problems going to the bathroom with people around. It’s not just a privacy issue.”

“So, from now on, if you could just use the pronouns “they” and “them” for me, that would be great. Oh – and I have a couple papers for you guys to sign so I can use the teachers lounge bathroom. Not a big deal, really.” Jaz concluded THEIR “explanation”, and grinned happily at THEIR family. In their mind, this was an easy to solve situation. There shouldn’t be any problem getting them to sign papers that would help Jaz every day in school, right?

The LAST thing she expected… was that their entire family would break out in loud laughter, clearly at their expense. Expressions of disbelief and hilarity crossed every single one of their faces, and the longer it continued, the more Jaz felt embarrassed.

“It’s not funny. I’m being serious.” Jaz said, looking down. The laughter didn’t stop, and in fact they were all laughing even harder. Sighing, and turning red all the way to their hairline, Jaz told them, “Fine. Forget I said anything. It’s not a big deal. And it’s certainly not this funny.”

Jaz sat there, feeling their heart sink into their chest in a big, tight, lump. Crazily, they felt like crying. Well, if their family reacted this way, perhaps this wasn’t a good time to tell their friends, either. They felt hot tears rising, and started to get up from the couch, but Marnie stopped them.

“Well, while we’re all here, I might as well tell you. Bennie and I are expecting again. You’re going to have another brother or sister in about 8 months!” Marnie said, grinning from ear to ear, trying to ignore the daggers Bennie was glaring into her back. She looked at the startled looks on her now-quiet family’s faces… and decided discretion was definitely the better part of valor. Marnie stood up and left the room to put her winter gear away, already having forgot what Jaz had brought up just minutes ago.

The boys also stood up to leave the room, and Bennie, exhausted from a long night at work, turned on the TV to wind down for bed. All were silent, reeling over the information of a new Malone entering the world soon. Jaz’s announcement was all but forgotten. For now.

Trying to look at the bright side of things, Jaz walked into the upstairs hall bathroom and tried to give themselves a pep talk. “I’m strong. I’m a fighter. And I am not a GIRL or a BOY. I don’t HAVE to be. I can be what I want to be. Whether they like it or not.” Jaz muttered to the mirror.

Feeling better, Jaz decided it was WAY too late to call Gemma with the bad news, and that they were DEFINITELY not telling any of their friends about this whole thing tomorrow. Being laughed at by their family was enough for one week. It stung, it really did. Jaz truly didn’t understand what could possibly have been funny about what they said, and pushed the feelings down and away. Tomorrow was a new day, after all.

OS: Day Fourteen < | Challenge Home Page | > OS: Day Sixteen

OS: Day Thirteen < | Challenge Home Page | > OS: Day Fifteen

Myles’ Monday

After the kids left for school, Marnie found herself sitting across from Bennie, blithely eating breakfast. The twins had been fed, and had gone back downstairs. Who knew what they were up to, but at this point, Marnie was hungry, and didn’t really care. The meal passed in a sort-of awkward silence. Bennie apparently had other things on his mind than her, and never even bothered to notice she was even sitting there. Annoyed, she got up and went to clean.

Bennie was worrying about the bills. Sure, the note had said they’d be paid this week, but could he really believe that? Hearing the mail man outside, Bennie finished his plate of omelet, and rushed out the door to check for the bills. To his relief, there it was. A “paid” notice. Good thing, too, because there was no way he could have paid the total due. Maybe with work and finding a profitable dumpster somewhere he could pay the bills next week, but clearly this house was not going to work. The bills were just too high, and he wasn’t making enough money. Two weeks of not having to pay the bills, and there was still no way what was in the bank would actually pay next week’s bills. He briefly wondered if he should mention this to Marnie, but forgot the thought as soon as it occurred. This was the man of the house’s burden, not anyone else’s.

When the kids got home from school, all three were in poor moods. It had been a rough monday at school, and all were extremely tense. To have some fun before even thinking about homework, the kids TV network was turned on (because for a change, Bennie wasn’t on the couch monopolizing the TV.) and all three sat down to watch. Still bored, Phoenix regarded the cartoons as stuff for younger kids, and he decided to entertain himself by teasing his little sister. Myles, of course, didn’t care. Despite the fact that he was the oldest, he was still perfectly happy with cartoons.

Before long, the twins showed up, as well, and all five kids sat around chatting and watching TV. Myles finally decided, however, to go work on his aspiration. His Mental skill was at 9, and getting very close to 10… and he really just wanted to get it done. He’d already gotten his last scout badge, and yesterday had been promoted to the top level of scouts. The only thing left was his aspiration.

By the time it was bedtime, he had finally gotten that last little bit of Mental skill. Things couldn’t go any better for him, and he couldn’t wait to brag about all this stuff to his friends on Thursday at the club meeting.

Upstairs, however, there was a casualty. Poor Marnie hadn’t been really feeling like herself all day, and getting the very last bit of the cleaning done had been the last straw. Even walking around the corner to get to bed was way too much, and she just passed out right where she had stood. Hitting the floor eventually woke her up and she managed to wearily crawl into bed beside a snoring Bennie, but it was a close call between getting to bed and hitting the bedroom carpet, as well. Her last thought was wondering exactly why she was so darn tired lately.

OS: Day Thirteen < | Challenge Home Page | > OS: Day Fifteen

OS: Day Twelve < | Challenge Home Page | > OS: Day Fourteen

The Future

It was another non-school day, and in the middle of cleaning, Marnie took some time out to play with Brett. Brett, of course, was thrilled. Marnie couldn’t stop thinking of all the things that needed cleaning. The kids tried to help (or at least stay out from underfoot), but it wasn’t easy to do.

Upstairs, Bennie was practicing his comedy skill with all his concentration (which, let’s be honest, isn’t much..), trying to ignore the kids who kept interrupting him.

Jaz finished her New Year’s Resolution to raise a skill, and then went to find out what might be in the fridge. Luckily, she did find milk for her cereal, since there weren’t any left-overs. Before long, Marnie joined her at the table, having just finished cooking some food for the family (of course, right after Jaz got her cereal…)

Jaz had taken note of the Future Cube on the mantelpiece. She didn’t really believe in those things, but she was really bored. So she asked it about her future. Reminding herself that it was just a toy, she shook it, and looked down at the words. Apparently her future looked bleak. For a moment she wondered what could go wrong, and whether that was a short term future.. or long-term. I mean, she had an actual home now, a therapist who actually cared, friends, a club she was happily a part of, an A in all her classes, and her parents were even fighting less. Then again, one could say things were going TOO well. Shaking her head, she reminded herself this was a TOY!.. and put it back on the shelf. The misgivings remained, though, and made it hard to fall asleep that night. By the time she fell asleep, she’d decided one thing for sure. No more Future Cube questions for her.

OS: Day Twelve < | Challenge Home Page | > OS: Day Fourteen

OS: Day Eleven < | Challenge Home Page | > OS: Day Thirteen

The Year Ends

Jaz and Phoenix got ready, and headed down the road to the park as soon as they could in the morning. It might be raining a little bit, but at least it wasn’t actually cold, so playing in the rain didn’t seem like too bad of an idea. Jaz managed to make a couple of teenaged acquaintances, and was gratified to see that they didn’t seem as judgmental as her same-age peers. She wondered if that was because they were older, or just because she was a little kid, and they just didn’t care about her one way or the other. Her nerves were definitely acting up, though, because the park was simply packed with people, and her loner trait was making her extremely tense.

Max was showing off his umbrella skills, while Lucas obviously got bored and found some stuff to throw on the playground floor.

Trying to escape, Jaz climbed up on top of the Monkey bars (now that she was a master on the bars, she could do that…) and looked out over the crowd. Before long, Elsa joined her, commenting on the fact that at least the rain had stopped. The two chatted for a while, and slowly, Jaz’s nerves were calming down.

Phoenix joined them, and all three decided to do homework. (Phoenix wasn’t really doing it, of course, just pretending to.. because – well, he already was an A student, and they never really had to do homework, right?) Jaz and Elsa finished their homework, and were happy to see that Lucas Munch’s older brother, Wolfgang, had made dinner for all the kids. Phoenix, on the other hand, had gotten bored of the homework gig and wandered off.

While Jaz was eating her hamburger, some kid came over to make fun of her ratty clothes and messy hair. Jaz tried to ignore it, but it still hurt. She made a couple of nasty comments back to the boy (who she’d never seen before), and was glad when he got bored and went to pick on some other poor soul.

Phoenix, on the other hand, was riding high. When he had thanked Wolfgang for making dinner, Wolfgang had actually started a conversation with him…. and hadn’t walked away when Phoenix started asking questions. Wolfgang certainly looked cool in his black jacket and mean look, and Phoenix couldn’t think of anything better than being just like him when he grew up, so making friends with him was a BIG DEAL.

The other BIG DEAL.. was that Phoenix had finished two things by talking to Wolfgang. He had raised his Social skill to 10, completing that and his aspiration, and also finishing his resolution for a skill gain… that he had only resolved a little bit before they went to the park!

Wolfgang finally noticed how late it was getting, though, and as the “adult” at the club meeting, he shuffled all the kids off towards home, and made sure Jaz and Phoenix got home safely before taking his little brother back to Windenburg.

At home, Phoenix and Jaz weren’t yelled at for being late, which they’d been worried about. In fact, Marnie was so busy cleaning, and Bennie was cooking some meats on the grill… that nobody seemed to even notice they’d been gone at all. A little disappointed, the two decided not to push it by trying to watch the ball drop on TV, and cleaned up, ate, and headed to bed instead.

OS: Day Eleven < | Challenge Home Page | > OS: Day Thirteen

Challenge Home Page | > Oasis Springs Recap

Week 1:

Poor Jaz accidentally goes in the wrong bathroom on the first day of school. And Thus starts the bullying from Billie Jang and her group of bullies. We get to know some about Myles and his relationship with Marnie – she spends most of her afternoons helping Myles with schoolwork when she’s not trying to keep the store and home clean. Bennie, on the other hand, ignore the kids unless he’s yelling at them. Phoenix spends a lot of time on the keyboard in the living room, which only annoys Bennie more. Benji cries in the bathroom over saying something dumb to his crush, Shaylee, while at school that day.

Vlad shows up on day two, and doesn’t want to leave. (I end up cheating to get rid of him a day or more later) Jaz tries to stay home from school, only to have her father drag her to school in his PJ’s, embarrassing her further in front of her peers. Jay (Benji’s best friend) comes over and they spend some time playing video games. After school, Bennie forces Jaz to finish the beginning of her aspiration by listening to him read to her for hours, and then he makes her do her homework.

Bennie finally decides to open the store, but makes very little money from it, and he gets more and more frustrated, until finally just closing the store. Jaz comes home from school waddling, and doesn’t make it to the bathroom. It comes out that she’s afraid to use the bathroom with anyone else around after the horror of the first day of school. As punishment for making a mess, she is forced to get Benji back from the teen hang-out in her filthy clothes. Benji takes pity on Jaz and tells her about the wonderful thing called Hall Passes. (But doesn’t bother to warn her about not using them in the same class every day..)

Marnie spends the next day cleaning house, while Bennie spends the day yelling at the twins. Myles starts serious work on his scouts badges. Bennie actually goes to his entertainer career job.

Marnie takes all of the kids to the park in Oasis Springs. Phoenix calls his club to order, and Myles works on his badges. Jaz meets Colin, and, during a chess game, he makes fun of her, only to have her actually stand up for herself. Colin is intrigued, and apologizes. Phoenix tries to take over the club, only succeeding in making Elsa angry with him. Jaz and Myles get in a fight over Marnie’s favoritism.

The next day, Bennie is nice to everyone – and we find out the only reason he is is because he’s sick. Jaz works on her aspiration, Benji and Jay go out to a bar, with the end result of Benji getting drunk and blurting out about his crush to his best friend. The night ends with Bennie dragging his inebriated son home and grounding him.

The week ends with an angry Bennie taking out being woken up early by a twin on everyone in sight. Bennie is still sick, and calls off work. When he tries to go to bed, however, he nearly gets crushed by the Murphy bed.

Week 2:

Bennie discovers he’s short on bills for the week. Hoping it’ll help, he opens the store for the day. We finally meet the villain to Jaz’s school life: Billie Jang. She gets into a fight in the store, and Bennie disciplines her. We also discover that Jay has let Benji’s secret crush out of the bag – it’s not exactly secret anymore. Marnie gets struck by lightning, Bennie gets mad at the mice. Both Jaz and Phoenix have nightmares.

Bennie is able to pay bills, but had forgotten until the lights were actually turned off, getting him in trouble with Marnie. He manages to talk his way out of it, claiming it was just a slip of the mind. Marnie remains oblivious to the financial crisis. Bennie, hoping to get enough to pay for next week’s bills, starts opening the store more often. Marnie goes on a fixing spree.

The kids are noticing a lack of food in the house, and get stuck with cereal with water instead of milk. Jaz meets up with Colin in the store, and he, to her surprise, seems to actually be friendly towards her. Benji finally is ungrounded courtesy of Marnie, so he goes to meet up with Cade in the countryside of Windenburg, far away from prying eyes. Cade explodes at him for having “eyes” on his girlfriend, and they get into a big fight… which Benji wins. Cade is kicked out of the Klepto club. The mice are still a problem, and still annoying.

Benji finds out he’s about to fail out of high school, when he’s so close to actually graduating. Colin calls Jaz, and confesses his rotten home life. Apparently, he’s struggling with his parents getting a divorce. Benji gets in trouble due to his grades, and Bennie gets a promotion.

Elsa shows up the next day, and offers Jazmyn a position in the club, stating that Phoenix has even approved her joining League of Adventurers. Jaz is flattered, and accepts. She learns that the next club meeting is at Oasis Springs park on Saturday (the next day).

Jaz visits Colin at his house, and even Jaz notices the tension at home. She gets a hot shower for once, however, and then they head to the park. Jaz meets everyone else in the club, and Miki seems the most friendly (other than Colin, of course). They have a great day, and end the night by all playing a round of basketball.

Jaz spends most of the next day working on her aspiration, and Marnie helps Myles with his reading task. Benji inducts Londyn (a new teen in his class) into the Klepto club, and they have a club meeting at the Teen Hangout. Jay tries to face the music about having told everyone Benji’s secret, only to push the blame off to his girlfriend. Benji confronts Shaylee, his crush, and they actually start flirting (despite her assurances to her friends that she didn’t like Benji in “that way”. By the end of the night, Shaylee is Benji’s girlfriend.

Week 3:

Mice in the home are still posing a major problem, waking people up in the middle of the night, and generally being pests. Bennie, again, cannot pay the bills… and goes dumpster diving in the hopes of getting extra funds. Ultimately, he is finally able to pay the bills – this time before the power gets shut off.

In the middle of the week, Jazmyn is sent home early from school, having been given an ultimatum from the school: either she gets checked to find out what is physically wrong with her that she keeps using hall passes to go to the bathroom, or she faces a suspension. Marnie, furious, takes it out on Jaz, accusing her of skipping class. Jaz tries to insist she’s not skipping on purpose, but her parents simply aren’t listening. The matter of money finally comes up, and Marnie is forced to try to find a way to pay for the impending doctor visit. Benji, when he finds out about the suspension, laughs at Jaz for not knowing any better about always using a hall pass in the same class, at the same time – when he’s clearly at fault for never warning her. Elsa stops by to check on Jaz, and ends up consoling her new friend that things will work out in the end.

Marnie gets a major electrical shock while trying to fix the TV. Winter finally starts to set in, and everyone is cold. Jaz continues working on her aspiration.

Jaz comes home the next day as a straight – A student, proving that the “skipping class” was truly not affecting her grades. Benji, on the other hand, comes home with a failing grade, and finally realizes it’s way past time he tried to actually get them up so he can really graduate. Food is low, again, or Marnie just isn’t filling the fridge well enough. We find her playing chess with Myles instead.

Jaz and Phoenix have another club meeting at the park. All is well, and everyone is getting along – until a storm rolls in and causes Jaz to hurry everyone under cover in the main park building. Benji takes Shaylee on a date to the Romance Festival.

Max Villareal and Phoenix become best of friends, helping Phoenix’s aspiration. Bennie yells at Marnie for not cleaning the house enough. Benji shows up with a school project that he couldn’t possibly have afforded, and spends most the night working on it, hoping to get some extra credit. Colin and Jaz play chess in the evening, with Colin being depressed about his family issues (divorce), and Elsa stopping by to say “hi”. Bennie, like his eldest son, shows up with a guitar he shouldn’t actually own, and starts working towards a promotion.

Week 4:

Bennie, again out of money on bills day, tries dumpster diving again. He does manage to pay them before it’s time for work, but he is starting to realize he can’t continue riding the “bubble” like this. Something is going to have to change. Marnie gets some unwanted gifts of frogs from Myles, and horrifies him when she simply gets rid of them. Jaz finishes her Mental aspiration. Bennie comes home with a promotion, and actually is in the Comedian branch now. Max and Phoenix plan trouble at school, and solidify their friendship even further. We find out that the next day is Jazmyn’s appointment at Willow Creek Hospital.

The day of the doctor appointment dawns with Jaz being terrified, and Marnie being angry about having her routine messed up. Bennie is furious that he is left in charge of the twins by himself. On the way to the hospital, Marnie meets Bella Goth, and Myles and Marnie are invited to join a “geek” club at the library. Afraid and not knowing what to expect with a doctor appointment, Jaz is called back to meet Dr. Lee Winn, a resident at the hospital. She has worked herself up into a fever After being examined, it becomes clear the doctor is NOT listening to what Jaz is saying, and he ends up giving her a tranquillizer (which was completely un-necessary), and going out to talk to Marnie. He confirms that there is nothing physically wrong with Jaz at all, and refers her to a therapist to find out what’s “wrong with her head”, much to Marnie’s dismay. Once they are back home, Myles finds out about his new club happily, and welcomes Marnie home. Jaz, however, is miserable until Colin normalizes therapy by saying he goes to therapy to help him deal with his parent’s divorce.

The next day, Bennie goes to get groceries in the morning, and doesn’t return until after everyone is already asleep without a word of explanation. Marnie confronts Bennie the next day, but he refuses to explain. Harvest fest wreaks havoc on the family as the gnomes break everything in sight.

Later, Marnie and Myles head for the Willow Creek Library, and he gets to meet his new friends. This gives him his first opening into stopping being a “mama’s boy” .. and he seems to welcome the chance. Marnie, however, disappears during the club meeting, and we discover she seems to have a secret computer that she is practicing writing on! Marnie, afraid of being caught, heads back to the library to collect Myles, and runs into Nancy Landgraab. They meet, say hello, and Marnie goes to get Myles and heads home. Both Marnie and Myles had a great day, but for different reasons.

Bennie calls everyone in to a family meeting the next afternoon, and shocks everyone by announcing he has bought a cheap house at auction. Reactions vary, but the vibe is definitely positive. Marnie then apologizes for being mad at him, which Bennie eats up. We also see the first real repercussions of Benji’s Klepto trait, as he starts scoping out his father’s store as a larceny target. The mice have also gotten on Marnie and Bennie’s last nerves.

The next day, Jaz heads to her saturday park club meeting, and Benji is in charge of the rest of the kids while Bennie and Marnie go to take a look at the property Bennie bought sight-unseen. Shockingly, the new house is in worse shape than their current apartment. Under closer inspection, however, Marnie and Bennie discover that there’s a decent house under the disaster, and they plan to return with the kids tomorrow to clean it up. At the club meeting, however, Billie and her crew of bullies show up at the park, causing problems for the entire club. It offers a chance for Jaz and Colin to catch up, though. We see that they have finally become BFFs.

That night, Benji graduates. Somehow, he brought his grades up. We also hear talk of Malcolm Landgraab’s father having died, leaving Nancy alone with the baby and Malcolm. By the end of the night, Shaylee has agreed to move in / out with Benji, and, unfortunately. the rest of the club invites themselves, putting a huge monkey wrench into the works.

Week 5:

We start the week out with the whole family (except for the twins and Benji, who are left behind for safety reasons) cleaning up their new home. Strangely, the whole family is getting along, and even Bennie is putting 100% effort into the cleanup. Bennie also arranges for pest control and junk cleanup for the yard for the next day. Back in Magnolia Promenade, Benji and the twins have a great time in the snow, and Benji discovers Shaylee’s love of kids when she comes over to visit. He also shows her the result of his first major heist – the disappearance of a valuable armor suit from the store. (A disappearance nobody else seems to notice.) Benji also discovers that his cooking is not to be desired… but at least, he seems to be good at babysitting.

After a day of waiting for the house to finally be ready, the store is officially sold, the house purchase is finalized, and the Malone family moves into their new “digs”. We see the final “move-in” screenshots of the house, including some purchases the family has made (bathtubs, showers, couch, etc.)

… The week will continue in next month’s summary.

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Friday

Bennie was up with the sun. He needed Comedy skill for a promotion, and so he was doing some “research” by watching the Comedy channel. Clearly, the TV was occupied for the day.

The twins decided that – since Dad was watching TV – they could, too… and joined in on watching (although they had no idea what they were watching). They chattered at Bennie until he finally started joining their conversation. (Instead of just yelling at them as usual.)

(Gosh, does it show that I just love these two?? They are SO adorable!)

As for the rest of the family, after school they all did their homework (except for Phoenix, who had an A and decided that meant that he didn’t need to do homework anymore..) then went off to do their own things. Jaz was making crafts and trying to help her mom clean… Myles worked on his Mental skill, and Phoenix.. was making messes and laughing when someone else showed up to clean without knowing who made the mess. Bennie, finished watching TV and went to work. Just another day as a Jokesmith – with no chance at a promotion.

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