“Pete!” Bob shouted. “Come see this!” I had
just run from the kitchen to the stairs, where my twin brothers, Bob and Tom,
were waiting. They were standing on the second floor, while I was on the first
floor, facing some new wooden stairs. The yellow stairs perfectly matched the
lighting and Bob’s yellow shirt. Yellow was a bad thing, especially in these
types of situation.
“What, again?” I asked. Then, they started
dancing. The floor wobbled as they tripped and fell. They were horrible
dancers. It was all part of their prank system.
As I trudged up the stairs I could feel a prank. I stopped, unsure
whether to keep going or not. They must have seen this, because they started
singing so loud that Dad had to come out.
Of course, this was all done on the stairs
to the second floor. We live in the suburbs of the small city of Evertree, on
1701 bT Avenue. This house is, of course, in Upper New York. The shiny new blue
building was built and sold to us 1 year ago. My parents are famous NASA
scientists, so it surprises my brothers why we don’t live in ¨Hooston¨. That is
just one example of my brothers’ bad spelling.
My brothers have been trouble since Day 1. When Bob and Tom were born,
they barfed all over my Legos (I was 5 at the time) and the trouble began. Now
that they are 6, they have started making mischief while thinking.
“Pete,” Dad yelled, “Turn off the music,
please.”
“It’s not music!” I yelled, but Bob and Tom
were too loud. I rushed up the stairs. But suddenly, a banana peel appeared out
of nowhere. I slipped, landing on the second step. For a few seconds the only thing I heard were
the continued singing, laughing, and Dad yelling, and then I blacked out. Only
then, before I blacked out, did I realize that the banana peel was marked red,
with Bob and Tom’s signature.
That was how my terrible Monday started.
My parents weren't interested at all about
who started it as they were cooped up in the planning room with their space
project. They were building a satellite, and they wanted Mom and Dad to make
the blueprints. Bob and Tom didn't even
know. My dad only came out for a hour to fix me up, and then it was straight to
the planning room. I had heard rumors that we would go on a plane, but I never
would trust ¨professional reporters¨ Bob and Tom. So I was surprised to find
out that we were booked on a plane from New York to Houston.
¨Pete!¨ Mom yelled from the planning
room,¨We go to Houston on Friday!¨ This was news to me, and it was even more
news to me when it turned out my brothers were right. After lunch, I cornered
them asking how they got the scoop. It took a few tries, but they confessed
that they spied on Dad when he was on the phone. ¨Dad´s going to grill you for
this!¨ I yelled as I ran to get him. He wasn't going to punish them. He actually
was pleasantly surprised, because he thought it gave him more time to work.
When I came back, my brothers were gone.
¨Dad!¨ I yelled, ¨Where are Bob and Tom?¨
“In the shed,¨ He replied like it was
obvious. This was true. Due to the space project, my brothers lived in the red
shed. It was 2 rooms big with one as a bedroom and one as a playroom. My
brothers’ old bedroom was now the planning room. Unfortunately for me, the
playroom was the prank room to them. That was where they planned all their
misdeeds, like the banana peel assault from earlier. Then, I realized that they
were up to something.
My brothers were total failures when it
came to security. They even put out gift baskets on the front door for their
friends. It was so easy to tell Dad I was going to play with them, peek at the
blueprints, and rush back in. So I trudged down the small hall, from the
kitchen to the door. I scampered out, straight into blistering hot weather. Did
I forget to mention it was summer? As baked as a hot potato, I rushed into the
shed, where my brothers were stacking blocks painted to look like chickens. Dad
had made them as a birthday gift, which he knew they would love. “What are
those papers?” I asked, trying the nice and friendly approach. To my surprise,
Bob answered.
“We’re going to crash the party!” He yelled
excitedly, like I’ve never seen before. “Crash the plane!” He yelled again.
“Shut Up, Bob!” Tom yelled, ”You ruined the surprise!” ¨Ooops!¨ Bob said
loudly. Having got the information I needed, I left the shed behind. ¨Don’t
forget your gift basket!¨ Bob yelled, unaware I was plotting against them.
We were also going to a NASA party in
Houston. My parents worked so hard, they were going to get recognition.
The next day, school was in session. All my
classes in 5th grade were simple, mostly language arts and math. Gym, Music,
Media, and Art were on the schedule as well. At recess, the soccer game went by
as usual. We won again, 8 to 7. At lunch though, everything went downhill.
At
lunch, I sat at one table with my good friends, Dave and Mark. However, I
forgot about them as I pondered about how to stop my brothers impending crusade
on the plane. As the clock ticked, Dave walked up to me. ¨Pete, I think you are
getting too focused on your brothers’ pranks,¨ Dave said seriously, ¨Some are
funny. If you can’t talk to us about something else, I think you’re too caught
up in this.¨ He held true to his word.
On
Wednesday at lunch, Dave and Mark were sitting with another boy. They didn't invite me over, so I had to sit
alone. After lunch had ended and Dave and Mark were no shows for the club
meeting, the feelings of betrayal soon began to sink in, and it was getting
clearer that this was going to be harder than I thought.
When
I got home, Dad came up to me. This came as a surprise, since he rarely left
the planning room. “We’re going to SooperMart!” Dad said enthusiastically. I
frowned. SooperMart was an enormous mall, featured on every tourist guide.
There was a mall and grocery store, along with an amusement park called the
Sooper Ark. I used to go there when I was little. In the supermarket, Bob and
Tom were widely known as weapons of mass destruction. They had destroyed the
wall once, and it cost Dad more than $10,000 to fix it. Seeing as he needed my
brothers to come, I was sure this would be eventful.
“Bob!
Tom!” Dad called, “Get ready to go to SooperMart!”
“Yes!” they screamed. Bob and Tom were
“Sooper Happy”. They hadn’t been there in 3 months, due to their wall accident.
Mom came out too, and so it was settled. We were going to SooperMart.
We
arrived at 4:30, when Bob and Tom tumbled out of the car and dashed toward the
Sooper Ark. “Wait!” Dad yelled as he chased after them, “We’re not going
there!” Mom rolled her eyes. This happened often, and it was pretty funny. 5
minutes of comedy passed, and we entered the Soopermarket.
As
soon as we took one step in, Bob and Tom ran off again. They weren’t here for a
while, so they went wild. They were probably looking for stuff to destroy. Mom
ran to catch Tom, while Dad and I ran after Bob. The problem is, the
Soopermarket is huge, with tall green pillars stretching to the roof
everywhere. Sooper Corporation had gone all out with the design. With all the
narrow paths, finding Bob and Tom was hard. When we nearly collided with Mom,
we realised Bob and Tom were missing. The chances were 100% that Bob and Tom
were still here together, trying to destroy the store.
We decided to split up in 3 ways. Mom would
search the mall, Dad would search the Sooper Ark, and I would search the
Soopermarket. We were all far away from each other when I saw Bob and Tom,
buying some markers. Then, I realized they were trying to graffiti the store.
I called Mom and Dad on my phone, and they,
too, had realized that they were in Soopermarket. Feeling irritated, we made a
plan. Mom and Dad would wait outside, while I caught Bob and Tom. The plan
seemed flawless at first. I continued my search, but in my haste, I bumped into
Bob. Tom screamed. Bob screamed. They dropped several markers. I grabbed Bob
and Tom and ran as fast as I could. Thankfully, the mart was empty. Bob grabbed
some ice cream.
“Drop it!” I yelled at Bob, who was
stealing ice cream. We sprinted out of
the building , Thankfully, the mall and ark weren’t damaged. However, the
graffiti marks at Soopermarket had created chaos. People ran frantically,
sprinting out of the giant mall in massive crowds. Mom and Dad were shocked. I
grabbed them too, mustering enough energy to pull an adrenaline rush. I managed
to haul everyone out of the mall, but by then I had lost the extra energy and
collapsed.
When I opened my eyes, I raced over to Dad, who was packing. I told
him all about my brothers graffitiing the store, but he refused to believe it. He also didn’t
believe that I had “colored” the store,
which was a relief. “Someone needs to step up and pay,” said Dad, “Even if we
didn’t cause it, I am still going to pay.” Little did he know that my brothers
had “colored” the place themselves, and refused to pay with their allowance.
My parents were going to Soopermarket to
pay for the fiasco, so that left me and my brothers. We all wanted to go, but
Dad said that only adults were allowed in the manager’s office, and he didn’t
want us to roam alone. Since Evertree had relaxed kids alone at home laws, he
asked me to babysit my brothers. I thought this was no big deal, as my brothers
acted as if my parents didn’t exist at all. But, this time it was different.
Dad made me barricade the planning room and my parent’s room, but I also barricaded
my room, just to be on the safe side. Then, my parents left, leaving me all
alone to deal with lots of pranks.
Instead, my brothers started wrecking the
house. Tom ate all the snacks, while Bob hogged the expensive stuff. Since we
had lots of food, I chased after Bob, who was holding THE planning laptop. This
laptop was the only thing in the world that had the satellite plans, so I had
to plan ahead. However, I forgot and made a leap for him, just as he dropped
the computer. I dove for it, catching it just in time. I raced up the stairs,
placing the computer in the planning room.
Next, I had to catch Bob, who was after the
expensive vase. I got there first, grabbing it and dashing upstairs. Just then,
I got an idea. I would put the vase in the bathroom, and when Bob ran to get
it, I would trap him. The plan was flawless. Bob ran up as predicted, dashing
straight into the bathroom. I boarded him in, doing my best to ignore the
screeching screams. Then I snuck downstairs, where I would catch Tom.
Tom was getting really chubby by the time I
got down, having devoured all our snacks. He was moving on to his favorite food
now. I quietly placed boards on each door, making sure that Tom could crawl
through. The lure would have to be another of Tom’s favorite food, so I reached
for some gummies and placed them in the downstairs bathroom. Tom instantly
noticed, crawling through every board until he reached the bathroom, when I
lowered the bottom board. He squirmed, trying to escape, but I had already
walled him in. Then I set off to fix their big mess.
It was a really hard job putting everything
back, but I pulled it off. They didn’t care about how much food was gone, but
they did care how clean the house was. I cleaned all the packaging and crumbs
into the trash, and put the vase back where it belongs. Then, I took down some
boards, and dragged my two brothers into the living room for a game of
Monopoly. The groan on their faces looked identical as I dragged them out of
their traps and into the living room. Even if they stole money from the bank, I
still won. The hours ticked by like seconds.
Soon, Mom and Dad came home, with lots of
papers and a Sooper Ark model for Bob and Tom. Of course, they headed straight
into the planning room, which was now the packing room. I scampered up the now
creaky stairs and peeked slowly into the planning room. The room had sure
changed since 6 months ago. The once painted blue walls were covered white by
all the hanging papers. The weathered table was now a bench, because my Dad had
bought a Sooper-Large Desk. The room no longer smelled of toilet, and instead
smelled of freshly printed paper. The colorful rug was covered by a giant
calendar rug. “What is this?” I whispered.
Dad was packing in a corner. He was using 3
pieces of luggage for the trip.1 for papers and the blueprint, one for Mom and
Dad, and one for me. After what had happened at Soopermart, my parents weren’t
bringing toys for Bob and Tom. Bob smuggled a stack of papers in Dad’s
Briefcase, though. “You want to pack your stuff?” He asked, pointing toward my
luggage.
“Sure,” I said, relieved that this family
separation agony would be over in a week. The planning room would stay, though,
as Dad hadn’t come up with a use yet. An hour later, all the luggages were
packed. I ran into my room, jumped onto
the bed, and dozed off.
The next day, everyone is up and ready. My
brothers are singing again, giving me memories of my slip on Monday. For a
minute I forget we are leaving today, and wander into the packed planning room,
finding Dad and Bob inside. Bob sits on the luggage while Dad zips them up. I
see Bob smuggling toys inside, while Dad barely notices. Anyway, he didn’t know
about the ban. “atsmpexnush!” Bob whispers to me. This was Bob and Tom for
explosive. I shivered, realizing I was not home-free. I struggled to remember
what I saw at the shed. I rush downstairs, finding Mom and Tom in the kitchen.
Tom is “testing snack candidates for the plane.” Mom was watching him from the
other room. I guess she was making sure he wouldn’t pig out. Knowing the coast
was clear, I slipped out of the room and into the shed.
When I arrive, I open the door, knocking
over the chicken blocks. As I peer into the notebook, I realize I forgot that
Bob and Tom were going to crash the plane and party. “BAAAAAA,” honks Dad’s
car. The car is strange in many ways, making it act like a sheep. NASA’s auto
department didn’t know a thing about real cars. “Time to go!” Dad yells as I
race to the car. Once I am in, the car goes off onto the road making a “Baa”
sound like a sheep as we slowly trot to Albany International Airport.
Our flight is on a Delta 757, which is a
old plane. NASA was too cheap to buy us premium transcon, which is like
international first class. We were seated in Economy, which was the lowest
class. Well rested from our ride in the Sheep car, we quickly rushed to our
counter, only to find ourselves in front of a huge line. Suddenly, Dad gets a
call on his “sheepograph”. NASA is really cheap, so they bought us sheep based
stuff, like the Baa car. “GoOd Moorning, Msr.” “Yow hav benn upgraded to deltaa
onne.” “Prezident give us raze. We give
you better bone, tooo.” “GoodBaa!” the Sheepophone Baaed. “No more sheep!” Dad
whispers happily. As giddy as kids on field trips, we jog over to the premium
transcon counter, where the travel agent looks up Dad’s seat. After
successfully finding the new tickets, the agent asks for our baggage. Dad loads
all three bags onto the conveyor belt. He then hands over our tickets. Dad
growls, as the tickets have sheep on them. After our sudden raise, only 10
minutes are left.
We rush to the gate, which has already
started boarding economy. Fortunately, there is a premium line. As we run to
the shiny glass counter, my brothers cut to the front of the empty line.
Without their boarding pass, however, the security guard tosses them into a
wall, and rushes over to arrest them. Dad gets there first, and after he shows
the guard our sheeped boarding passes, he gives up and reluctantly lets us
board. I could hear him yelling at Tom from a mile away.
We enter the cabin and and stare at the
shiny new seats, as Dad checks the free seating on the computer to find that we
are the only passengers in the premium cabin. The seats look good enough for
international business class. The blue seats are rectangular, with lots of
legroom and storage. The seats are clearly designed for comfort. The bed
reclines to 180 degrees,and feels like what we have at home. I quickly settle
into my seat. Mom and Dad sit together, and my brothers sat behind me. An
announcement comes on to tell us we are going to takeoff, as the flight
attendants pass out drinks. I have soda, while my brothers have juice. My
parents were drinking wine. This was a short flight, so there wasn’t any food
but snacks. I nibbled on some cookies and chips until I was full. As I got up to
use the bathroom, I noticed my brothers were gone.
I checked the bathrooms and kitchen, but my
brothers weren’t there. I woke up Dad, who called a flight attendant to find
where my brothers were. Everyone searched, but my brothers weren’t anywhere
nearby. Just then, I saw Bob hiding behind the open door to the engine room.
“There!” I exclaim. Dad rushes over as we scope out the engine room. I see
several dents in the engine, probably because Bob and Tom banged on it so much.
Bob runs with Tom back into the engine room of the plane, and everyone braces
for impact.
Impact never comes, as I quickly notice a
hammer. I hammer the dents back into shape, I explain to everyone that the
threat is gone, as Bob and Tom rush toward me, before they are stopped by a evil-looking
hand. The man looks to be 60 years old. His menacing face and the sneer on his
mouth scare me a little. He is wearing a NASA jacket, with the NASA logo
crossed off and replaced by a skull and Mini Bombs. His shoes look normal, but
his pants also have the other logo. His giant hands and his big arms leave Bob
and Tom gasping for breath.
The crazy man turns his back on us, still
holding my brothers by the shirt collar. They are too frightened to move, with
white faces and painful necks. He glares at Dad and Mom. “You,” he says, “You
ruined my career!” Another NASA employee sneaks by him to us, and explains that
the crazy man found out about the satellite project, which got him fired. He
thought Dad was responsible,and tried to demote him. Mom protected Dad, which
was the reason they got married and the reason why he was angry at Mom, too. He
then turned to me. “You know them?” He asked threateningly, staring me down. He
then pulls out Mini-Bombs from his pocket. “This plane is going down,” he said,
“On their heads!”
He
points at Mom and Dad. He then looks at the terrified NASA employee. “Mr. Pax,
please don’t do this,” the employee stammered. “Yeah, Arnold, you don’t need
any revenge.” Dad said. Arnold pushes the intern aside. “Oh yes I do,” Arnold
said. “He’s insane!” yelled a passenger. Arnold glared at him for only a second
before turning to me. Seeing my chance to act, I quickly dove under the man’s
legs, before punching his hands. My brothers break free, but they seem
different. Mom and Dad bring them back to Delta One, while I distract Arnold.
The air marshal restrains him in the engine room, but the sound of Arnold
screaming is droned out by Bob, who is wildly confessing to everything. Mom
calms him down, and she and dad chat about punishment. I come over, and we all
agree to keep these events a secret as the plane lands at Dallas Airport to
transport Arnold off the plane
We lounge in our seats as we start landing
in Houston. Bob and Tom were yelling the whole flight. The air marshall had to
come over to shush them. I told Dad about all the things that Bob and Tom had
done and planned to do. He promised to confiscate Bob and Tom’s notebook and
shed access. Dad said the punishment would be mild, since they were blackmailed
by Arnold Pax. As we walk through the airport, Dad suddenly remembers that we
have to be at NASA for the party. Since NASA gave us a raise, we quickly call a
taxi.
As
we exit the yellow taxi cab, the shiny glass headquarters of NASA comes into
view. Bodyguards are waiting inside to help us. A security guard asks if we
need help, and Dad replies no. Mom and Dad take out their speeches. I open the
door, ready to be amazed. I really am.
The
bright, large room seems much different than the back door. The place seems
more casual than other places. Lots of Dad’s colleagues are here, and so are
Mom’s colleagues. Their bosses were here too. Everyone was having a good time.
I wondered if Arnold might have been among them. Mom and Dad went up to the
stage and presented their long speeches. Although everyone fell asleep, I could
still hear my brothers blabbing away about their grounding.
As I woke up, I happened to notice the kid
next to me. He was about the same age as me, but a bit different in that he was
taller and was wearing glasses. “Hey,” he said. “Hey,” I said back. We talked a
bit about where we are from, and he told me he has a similar family situation,
with NASA parents and crazy sisters. He tells me he is moving soon to my town,
which meant I would have a real friend at last. Just then, my brothers wake up
and splat pies in our faces. “We’re having a Pie!” Tom yells excitedly. We both
smile through the pies, and I realize one good thing has come out after all.
Bonus: As we got home in our car, Dad asked
Bob, “Why did you do it?” “Because Boss and Arnold told me to do it,” said Bob.
Dad asked Tom the same thing, and he responded the same too. I couldn’t help
but ponder who “Boss” was, and if they would drive anyone else mad.
