Thank for reading this far, to those of آپ who read this--PS the pictures are just random now cuz I just remembered how to put them on!!
Danny poked me to wake me up.
“Are آپ still alive?” he said, “Cuz I wouldn’t be surprised if آپ weren’t.”
“Technically I’m not,” I told him.
“Am I? Living skeletons aren’t zombies but they aren’t alive—wait, but zombies are living dead—are skeletons dead?”
We smiled. Then I remembered.
“No!” I cried, bounding out the room. Tape followed after me and made it in the کوٹ closet before I slammed it shut. I heard Zero’s barking upstairs.
“Gretchen?” dad said. It sounded like he came from the back porch.
I کہا nothing. I can’t believe it, though—I was so excited about nailing the audition I forgot that today is…
“The twins must be up,” mom کہا to the boys.
“Is she in the closet?” the triplets asked.
Danny answered, “Yeah.”
“Boys,” I heard dad scold them for snickering uncontrollably.
“What?” Q said. “She’s so adorable.”
Jeremy said, “Ten going on eleven and she still hates school. I’m so proud.”
Zeeb, at least, tried to help me out. “You should consider keeping her home. She likes it here a lot مزید than school.”
Mom stopped them. “You know she needs this. If it wasn’t for school, she would never be out of the house.”
True. I never really thought about that, but it’s true. The only time I go out is with mom in the late afternoons to help her get plants from the garden (the graveyard’s garden where the forest also starts).
مزید boys spoke in my favor. “Last time she told me she کہا she’d rather boil in the desert and be eaten سے طرف کی wombats,” which was a lie.
“I never کہا that!” I yelled.
Laughter sprung from my brothers.
“She lives!”
“I knew she was smarter than that. There aren’t any wombats in the desert.”
“That’s not the point,” کہا Jeremy. “The point is Gretchen is having another crisis. I was just trying to characterize her feelings in one تیز رو, سوئفٹ phrase.”
“And آپ failed.”
“Epically failed.”
“Boys!” dad کہا again. “It’s only six o’clock and آپ manage to wake up the whole street.”
Calvin کہا excitedly, disregarding the meaning of dad’s statement, “That’s hyperbole, isn’t it?”
“No,” Q said, “he’s exaggerating.”
“You idiots become مزید stupid سے طرف کی the mouthful. Will آپ be quiet for once?”
Within this small pause I imagined Q and Calvin looking at each other before they کہا together, “Look who’s talking!”
“What?”
“’More stupid?’”
“What happened to ‘stupider’?”
I can felt Zeeb getting angrier at them. “You’re going to die,” he کہا quietly. He doesn’t get loud when he’s mad, but really really quiet.
“Would آپ boys please settle down?” I knew dad was getting annoyed. Stuff like me hiding in the closet isn’t what normal parents have to deal with—but who کہا we were a normal family?
“I’m not going to school!” I کہا after I was asked to come out. “And that’s final.”
Silence. Dad was sitting cross-legged right in front of the closet door that I locked.
What sucks about school is that it could get quiet. I think I’ve gotten so used to noise that I’m driven crazy when there isn’t any. I know—I’ve got major issues. I start to tap and twitch and squirm in my seat. I do love how cold the rooms are though because then I can lay my head down, but that’s not even considered a benefit of going to school. It just helps become a distraction and boy do I get distracted.
“Who knows?” Danny attempted to coax me out of the closet. “Maybe you’ll actually be in my classroom this time. You’ll never find out if آپ don’t check.”
“You know they separate twins,” I said.
“Okay, but maybe you’ll like your class this time. You’ll never know if آپ don’t come out and see.”
“You know I’m always stuck with the “less developed” since I stink at paying attention.”
“Please? Things could be different in junior high. There’s gotta be kids that آپ want to see again.”
“Fat chance.”
“What about Caty? I thought آپ were cool with her.”
“Only because the teachers told her she needed to find دوستوں without blood to suck.”
“Um, Tangent?”
“She hates me now.”
“Why?!”
“She کہا I was a zombie and had no heart! I only refused to ask her crush if he would stalk her.”
I heard dad’s voice. “Really?”
“Yeah.”
“This is the 5th grade and آپ already have to worry about stalking?”
“I know!”
“Why haven’t آپ told us any of this before?” he asked, trying to look through the key hole.
I کہا nothing for a while. “Uh…” Then I made sure the door was locked.
“I know, Gretchen,” he said, his grin on his face, “You could bring me to دکھائیں and tell this سال and I’ll scare everyone that bothers you.”
“Jack,” mom said.
“Thanks for the offer, but that would make my life so much worse. Everyone expects me to be just like آپ and to talk all about آپ and to just be…I don’t know. The boys have it so easy—nobody bothers them, and then there’s me.”
“Gretchen,” mom said, “It’s good to try again.” She knelt down and put her hand on the door. Checking for the inevitable, she rattled the doorknob. “Things will be different this year.” She kept talking. As I looked through the keyhole I saw her peering down for some reason. “Jeremy, Calvin, and Q are in the same building as آپ this year. They’ll be there if آپ need them.”
“Yeah, like they’ll want to acknowledge me in public.”
A click came from the knob followed سے طرف کی a sliver of light. Mom opened the door, a shuriken in her hand. “Nobody hates you. You’re ten years old. You’re just an individual and a lot of kids don’t know how to deal with that yet.”
“You’re just ahead of the game,” dad said.
I took mom’s hand and we went right outside on our back porch. It’s elevated a few feet off the ground, so we can see our whole backyard along with others.
I though I had em too, but mom really is clever. I’ll come up with something. In the meantime, here’s Calvin:
Calvin, surprisingly, is the oldest triplet, the accident prone caretaker of the group. He gets in a lot of mishaps but bounces right back from any situation. He’s a great role model when it comes to staying true to yourself under pressure.
His outfit mimics dad’s the most. Over a plan white t-shirt, his pure black button up has a crazy double کالر with twisted tails at the bottom. Then his pants are gray :) He’s got the best simple fashion style out there.
Danny poked me to wake me up.
“Are آپ still alive?” he said, “Cuz I wouldn’t be surprised if آپ weren’t.”
“Technically I’m not,” I told him.
“Am I? Living skeletons aren’t zombies but they aren’t alive—wait, but zombies are living dead—are skeletons dead?”
We smiled. Then I remembered.
“No!” I cried, bounding out the room. Tape followed after me and made it in the کوٹ closet before I slammed it shut. I heard Zero’s barking upstairs.
“Gretchen?” dad said. It sounded like he came from the back porch.
I کہا nothing. I can’t believe it, though—I was so excited about nailing the audition I forgot that today is…
“The twins must be up,” mom کہا to the boys.
“Is she in the closet?” the triplets asked.
Danny answered, “Yeah.”
“Boys,” I heard dad scold them for snickering uncontrollably.
“What?” Q said. “She’s so adorable.”
Jeremy said, “Ten going on eleven and she still hates school. I’m so proud.”
Zeeb, at least, tried to help me out. “You should consider keeping her home. She likes it here a lot مزید than school.”
Mom stopped them. “You know she needs this. If it wasn’t for school, she would never be out of the house.”
True. I never really thought about that, but it’s true. The only time I go out is with mom in the late afternoons to help her get plants from the garden (the graveyard’s garden where the forest also starts).
مزید boys spoke in my favor. “Last time she told me she کہا she’d rather boil in the desert and be eaten سے طرف کی wombats,” which was a lie.
“I never کہا that!” I yelled.
Laughter sprung from my brothers.
“She lives!”
“I knew she was smarter than that. There aren’t any wombats in the desert.”
“That’s not the point,” کہا Jeremy. “The point is Gretchen is having another crisis. I was just trying to characterize her feelings in one تیز رو, سوئفٹ phrase.”
“And آپ failed.”
“Epically failed.”
“Boys!” dad کہا again. “It’s only six o’clock and آپ manage to wake up the whole street.”
Calvin کہا excitedly, disregarding the meaning of dad’s statement, “That’s hyperbole, isn’t it?”
“No,” Q said, “he’s exaggerating.”
“You idiots become مزید stupid سے طرف کی the mouthful. Will آپ be quiet for once?”
Within this small pause I imagined Q and Calvin looking at each other before they کہا together, “Look who’s talking!”
“What?”
“’More stupid?’”
“What happened to ‘stupider’?”
I can felt Zeeb getting angrier at them. “You’re going to die,” he کہا quietly. He doesn’t get loud when he’s mad, but really really quiet.
“Would آپ boys please settle down?” I knew dad was getting annoyed. Stuff like me hiding in the closet isn’t what normal parents have to deal with—but who کہا we were a normal family?
“I’m not going to school!” I کہا after I was asked to come out. “And that’s final.”
Silence. Dad was sitting cross-legged right in front of the closet door that I locked.
What sucks about school is that it could get quiet. I think I’ve gotten so used to noise that I’m driven crazy when there isn’t any. I know—I’ve got major issues. I start to tap and twitch and squirm in my seat. I do love how cold the rooms are though because then I can lay my head down, but that’s not even considered a benefit of going to school. It just helps become a distraction and boy do I get distracted.
“Who knows?” Danny attempted to coax me out of the closet. “Maybe you’ll actually be in my classroom this time. You’ll never find out if آپ don’t check.”
“You know they separate twins,” I said.
“Okay, but maybe you’ll like your class this time. You’ll never know if آپ don’t come out and see.”
“You know I’m always stuck with the “less developed” since I stink at paying attention.”
“Please? Things could be different in junior high. There’s gotta be kids that آپ want to see again.”
“Fat chance.”
“What about Caty? I thought آپ were cool with her.”
“Only because the teachers told her she needed to find دوستوں without blood to suck.”
“Um, Tangent?”
“She hates me now.”
“Why?!”
“She کہا I was a zombie and had no heart! I only refused to ask her crush if he would stalk her.”
I heard dad’s voice. “Really?”
“Yeah.”
“This is the 5th grade and آپ already have to worry about stalking?”
“I know!”
“Why haven’t آپ told us any of this before?” he asked, trying to look through the key hole.
I کہا nothing for a while. “Uh…” Then I made sure the door was locked.
“I know, Gretchen,” he said, his grin on his face, “You could bring me to دکھائیں and tell this سال and I’ll scare everyone that bothers you.”
“Jack,” mom said.
“Thanks for the offer, but that would make my life so much worse. Everyone expects me to be just like آپ and to talk all about آپ and to just be…I don’t know. The boys have it so easy—nobody bothers them, and then there’s me.”
“Gretchen,” mom said, “It’s good to try again.” She knelt down and put her hand on the door. Checking for the inevitable, she rattled the doorknob. “Things will be different this year.” She kept talking. As I looked through the keyhole I saw her peering down for some reason. “Jeremy, Calvin, and Q are in the same building as آپ this year. They’ll be there if آپ need them.”
“Yeah, like they’ll want to acknowledge me in public.”
A click came from the knob followed سے طرف کی a sliver of light. Mom opened the door, a shuriken in her hand. “Nobody hates you. You’re ten years old. You’re just an individual and a lot of kids don’t know how to deal with that yet.”
“You’re just ahead of the game,” dad said.
I took mom’s hand and we went right outside on our back porch. It’s elevated a few feet off the ground, so we can see our whole backyard along with others.
I though I had em too, but mom really is clever. I’ll come up with something. In the meantime, here’s Calvin:
Calvin, surprisingly, is the oldest triplet, the accident prone caretaker of the group. He gets in a lot of mishaps but bounces right back from any situation. He’s a great role model when it comes to staying true to yourself under pressure.
His outfit mimics dad’s the most. Over a plan white t-shirt, his pure black button up has a crazy double کالر with twisted tails at the bottom. Then his pants are gray :) He’s got the best simple fashion style out there.