Authors note:
Yes, this story is long…but please take the time to read it!
I didn't feel like starting up another multi-chapter Coraline fic while I have two going, so bear with me here!
"Coraline! I need to talk to you!" Mel Jones yelled from downstairs. Coraline groaned and rolled off of her bed. She was coloring in a picture of Cat that she drew. Coraline was rather proud of herself. She had recently discovered that she had a talent in drawing, and she was drawing everything in site.
"Now!" Mel called. Coraline made her way downstairs, taking her time. She really didn't want to have to do some chore right now. She went into the kitchen, where Mel usually was, and leaned against the fridge. "What?" Coraline said, in her most 'bored out of her mind' voice.
"Wybie's grandma (Ms. Lovat) has a friend coming to stay with her," Mel started. "So…?" Coraline interrupted, pushing off of the fridge and sitting down at the table. "Well, her friend has an adult daughter who is also staying, and she has some kids," She finished. "Really? How old?" Coraline asked, excitedly.
It was summer vacation, her other friends Abby and Ethan were both out of state, and she was already sick of Wybie's antics. So, some new kids could be a good thing.
"Well, there are two twins who are six, and a baby," Mel said. "Are you kidding me?" Coraline groaned.
"This Saturday, Ms. Lovat, her friend, and the friend's daughter are going out to dinner and a show, and they need somebody to take care of their kids. So Ms. Lovat and I thought that you and Wybie could babysit," Mel said. "Really! I've always wanted to babysit!" Coraline cried, knocking over a glass of water that was on the table.
Mel rolled her eyes and gave Coraline a towel. She mopped up the mess. "It would be from dinnertime to probably ten thirty, eleven," She added. "Do you think you are up to it?" Mel asked. "Of course!" Coraline agreed. "Alright, I'll call her," Mel said.
Saturday Afternoon
Coraline put on her raincoat and went outside. She ran through the garden and up to the well. She was hoping to find Wybie there.
Coraline picked up various sticks and rocks as she made her way up the hill. She and Wybie had a sort of 'on going game' of throwing things into the well, to try to smother The Beldam's needle hand.
Coraline spied the perfect rock. It was about as big as a football, and it was striped. Coraline dug her fingers under it and tugged at it until it came loose. She tucked it under her arm and bounded up to the well.
She saw Wybie slouching over the well, tossing various things into it.
"Hey Wybie," Coraline said. "Oh hey Coraline," Wybie muttered. "What's wrong?" Coraline asked. Wybie looked glum. "Oh nothing. Just enjoying my last few hours of life," Wybie said. "What are you talking about?!" Coraline said, punching his arm.
"The Frember kids," He stated. "They're horrible!" He cried. "All the babysitters they've ever had have quit, and some have even moved away, just to get as far away from them as possible!" Wybie said. "The kids that we're babysitting?" Coraline asked. "Duh. I don't know what we should do!" Wybie cried.
"Oh you're just over reacting," Coraline said. "They can't be that bad," She added. "Oh you don't even know the start of it, Jonesy," Wybie said. "They throw things, they make a mess of everything, they fight, they scream, and if you try to get in the middle of it….they bite you!" Wybie complained. "The two days they've been here have been the worst of my life!" He added.
"Wybie, back in Michigan, I have tons of little cousins. All you have to do is tell them a story!" Coraline said. "I sure hope you're right," Wybie said. "See you later," He added. Then he hopped on his bike and pedaled away.
Coraline sighed and dropped the rock, splashing her rain boots with mud.
Later that day, Coraline sat at the kitchen table. She thought about what Wybie told her. Her little cousins really didn't compare to what Wybie said that the Frember kids did. Usually her cousins would just whine and bicker, and that could easily be solved with one of her famous stories.
Coraline dug her hand into the carton of goldfish crackers she was eating. She spread them out on the table and picked one up.
"Oh little goldfish," Coraline started. "Why do you smile at me while I devour you?" Then she picked up all of the goldfish and crammed them into her mouth.
Coraline looked up at her dad standing in the doorway. A few orange crumbs fell out of her mouth. Charlie gave her a weird look and ducked out.
Finally, six o'clock rolled around and Coraline was feeling the jitters you get before your first babysitting job.
Coraline pulled some board games out from under her bed and tucked them in her bag. She shoved her feet into her sneakers and bounded downstairs.
"Bye mom, bye dad!" She cried. "Bye Coraline. Feel free to call us if you need anything," Mel said. Coraline waved and left.
Coraline skipped up the hill, thinking about what she would buy with the babysitting money she was going to get. "Maybe I could buy some new string for friendship bracelets! Or some new colored pencils! Or some glow in the dark stars for my room!" And so on and so forth…
Finally she walked up the front steps to Wybie's house. Coraline knocked briskly on the door. Five seconds later, a middle-aged woman answered.
She had sand colored hair that was swept up in a messy bun, and a tired expression on her face. "You must be Caroline," She said.
Coraline tried not to roll her eyes. "Uh, it's CORaline. With an 'o'." Coraline said, as politely as possible.
"Oh, sorry. I'm Anna Frember. Come right in, the kids should be in the living room," Anna said. She opened the door and stepped inside. She led Coraline to the living room, even though Coraline had been to Wybie's house countless times.
The two twins sat, squabbling in front of the television, which was blasting Dora The Explorer.
"Lucy, Taylor! This is Coraline, she'll be babysitting you tonight with Wybie," said Anna. The twins paid no attention. "Lucy! Taylor! Please say hi!" Anna demanded.
They still ignored her. Anna stormed to the T.V and turned it off. The twins immediately started crying.
"Please say hi," Anna reminded. They continued to cry. Anna sighed and went back over to Coraline, who was watching helplessly from the doorway.
"Well, she's Lucy, and he's Taylor," said Anna, gesturing to each twin. They each had short brown hair and blue eyes. "They shouldn't be too much trouble," Anna said. Coraline hoped so.
"They can't watch any more T.V, but I'm sure you'll find something else to do," Anna said, laughing. "And they've had dinner and dessert, so no treats. And bedtime is eight-thirty," she added. Coraline nodded.
"Oh, and Rosy the baby is upstairs in her crib. There's a baby monitor in the kitchen, so if she starts crying, go check her diaper or try and calm her down. Otherwise she should sleep," Anna said.
"Alright!" Coraline said, enthusiastically.
Coraline heard Wybie's feet pounding down the stairs. "Hey Wybie," she said. "Hey Jonesy," Wybie muttered.
"Hello Coraline!" Cried Ms. Lovat, entering the room. Ms. Lovat was quite fond of Coraline.
"This is my good friend Louisa," said Ms. Lovat, gesturing to the old lady standing next to her.
"Hello!" Said Louisa to Coraline. "Hi," Coraline said shyly.
"Alright, everybody's set. Let's go!" Anna said. "I left my cell number and some other info on a sticky note in the kitchen. Call if you need anything," she added. Coraline and Wybie nodded.
"Bye kids!" Said Louisa as they left.
Coraline and Wybie stood in the living room, staring at the fighting kids. Coraline braced herself and went over to the kids. "Hi! My name is Coraline," she said.
"Coraline?!" Lucy exclaimed. "That's a silly name!" Taylor cried. Coraline pressed her lips together.
"I wanna watch T.V!" Lucy cried. "No, your mom said you can't watch any more T.V," Coraline said. "But I brought some games!" Coraline said, pulling out the games from her bag.
"Do you want to play Life or Monopoly?" She asked. "I don't like those games!" Said Taylor. Lucy grabbed the remote and turned on the T.V.
"No, you can't watch T.V!" Coraline said. She snatched the remote out of Lucy's hands and turned the T.V off. Lucy began to wail.
She grabbed the other end of the remote and tried to pull it out of Coraline's hands.
Coraline realized she would win this game of tug of war. She easily pulled it away from Lucy and went over to the shelf to put it out of reach.
Suddenly, Taylor sprang up behind Coraline and knocked her over. Coraline went crashing down onto a floor lamp, toppling it to the ground.
Wybie winced when he heard the light bulb shatter. Taylor ran over and picked up the remote, and turned the T.V back on. Wybie stood, staring at the commotion.
"Wybie!" Coraline cried in frustration. "Get a some towels and a broom!"
"Uh…oh yeah! Okay!" Wybie said, running out of the room.
Coraline pulled herself up and picked up the lamp. Wybie came back in with some towels and a broom.
Suddenly, Lucy looked over and saw the shattered mess.
"Ooh! Glass!" She cried, and ran over.
"Lucy! Don't!" Coraline said. But it was too late. Lucy had already picked up a shard of the bulb and cut herself. She started to scream.
"Ugh! C'mon, let's go get a band-aid," Coraline said. "Wybie, watch Taylor, okay?" Coraline said.
"But how am I supposed to watch him and clean up the mess?" Wybie asked.
"I don't know! Just do it!" Coraline commanded. She took Lucy to the bathroom to get a band-aid. As soon as they came back, there was already another mess.
"Taylor!" Coraline said. Taylor was sitting in a mess of torn up game money and smashed up game boards from Life and Monopoly.
"Wybie! Where are you?" Coraline shouted. Wybie appeared in the doorway. "Uh…sorry, I had to throw the glass away!" Wybie said.
"Oh well. I guess we'll just have to clean it up," Coraline said, sadly. Those had been her favorite games. The two of them began to clean up the mess.
As soon as their backs were turned, Lucy and Taylor ran giggling out of the living room.
"Argh!" Coraline cried, chasing them. She looked around, but she couldn't find them. Finally, she heard giggling coming from the coat closet. She opened the door.
"Ah-hah!" She said. Lucy and Taylor were sitting on a pile of coats, stuffing their faces with chocolate.
"Give me that!" Coraline said, grabbing the chocolate. Taylor and Lucy shrieked and pounced on top of her, hitting and scratching.
"Ow! Stop!" Coraline cried.
"What's going on!" Wybie said. "Oh gosh! I'm coming!" Wybie yelled. He ran over and tried to get the kids off of Coraline, but they were thrashing too much.
"AUGH!" He cried in pain. "One of them kicked me in the eye! Oh God it hurts so bad!" Wybie said, running to the kitchen.
Coraline finally pushed the kids off of her. She stood up. There was chocolate everywhere. She looked down at her arms. They were covered in scratches.
Coraline looked up at the kids in anger. They snickered and dashed away upstairs. She didn't bother to chase them. She had to go see if Wybie was okay.
Coraline went down the hall to the kitchen. Wybie was standing by the sink, an ice pack over his eye.
"Wybie, are you okay?" Coraline asked.
"No…" Wybie said. He took the blue ice pack from his face. His left eye was already turning a deep shade of purple.
"Oh my God!" Coraline cried.
"That bad, huh?" Wybie said. "Yeah, it's turning purple," she said.
"Hey, where are the little twerps anyway?" Wybie asked. "Uh…c'mon!" Coraline said, grabbing Wybie's hand and dragging him upstairs.
They followed the giggling and shrieking down to Wybie's bedroom. The twins were bouncing on Wybie's bed, throwing his basketball around.
Coraline then saw the baby bouncing on Wybie's pillow, wailing very loudly. "Rosy!" Wybie said.
Suddenly, Rosy was shot into the air. Wybie and Coraline both lunged to catch her. Wybie crashed on the ground, and Coraline landed on top of him.
Luckily, Rosy landed on Wybie's beanbag chair. Coraline rolled over and groaned.
"Heh heh, sorry Wybie," she laughed nervously. Wybie moaned and got up.
Suddenly, Rosy spit up all over Wybie's beanbag. Wybie made a face.
Coraline looked up angrily at the twins. "You could've killed her!" She cried. The twins kept jumping.
"Guess what?" Lucy giggled. "We let the bugs loose!"
"What bugs?" Coraline asked.
"Uhh…Have I ever shown you my bug collection?" Wybie asked.
"No…" Coraline said. "What's going on?" She asked. Coraline began to feel sick. She knew that any bug collection of Wybie's could not contain any ordinary bugs.
"Chanchula!" Taylor yelled. He pointed at Coraline. "EEEEEK!" Coraline screamed, brushing the big hairy arachnid off of her chest.
"Oh my God! What's wrong with you, Wybie? Nobody keeps a tarantula for a pet!" Coraline screamed.
"Heh, that's not even the worst of it," Wybie said. "I suggest that we remain calm, and try to get the scorpions back into their habitat," he said, slowly.
"Scorpions?" Coraline gulped.
"I'll get the salad tongs!" Wybie said.
Coraline shoved the kids out of the room and put the baby on the rug in the hall.
Wybie dug around in a chest and pulled out some salad tongs and a towel.
"I'll use the salad tongs, you use the towel!" Wybie said. "There are six scorpions in all, plus a couple slugs and the tarantula," he told Coraline.
Coraline grimaced and got down on her hands and knees to find the scorpions.
"I got three!" Wybie announced.
"Why do you even have these?" Coraline asked. "Does your grandma know?"
"Uhhhh…" Wybie muttered.
Coraline rolled her eyes. "You sure are stupid, Wybie Lovat," Coraline said.
She spotted a scorpion. "You can pick up a scorpion," she thought. Coraline screwed up her face and wrapped the towel around it. The scorpion wiggled. "Eeep!" Coraline shrieked. She ran over to the scorpion habitat and dropped it in.
"Coraline! You stepped on Slugzilla!" Wybie cried. He ran over to the crumpled slug, which was oozing green goo.
"Ew!" Coraline moaned. Wybie sighed and tossed the dead slug out of the open window.
"Okay. That's all the bugs," Wybie said.
"Ugh, good," Coraline sighed.
"What should we do about the spit up?" She asked.
"Oh, just leave it," Wybie said. "Let's go before the twins cause any more mayhem."
Wybie and Coraline went out to the hallway, but the twins were nowhere to be found. They saw only Rosy sitting on the carpet, blowing spit bubbles.
"Uhh…Coraline?" Wybie said. "Rosy….smells."
Coraline sighed and picked up Rosy. "You find the kids, and I'll change Rosy's diaper," she said. Wybie nodded and began the search for the troublesome twins.
Coraline took Rosy to the guest room and put her on the changing table. She had no idea how to change a diaper.
Coraline gingerly took off the diaper, and was almost knocked out by the stench. She held her nose and tried to clean Rosy up as best as she could.
She got out a clean diaper and wrapped it around Rosy. It looked wrong no matter which way she wrapped it.
"Oh well!" Coraline huffed. She put Rosy in the crib and turned off the light.
Coraline ran down the stairs. She saw Wybie in the living room, tying the twins to a chair.
"Wybie!" Coraline exclaimed. "You don't tie kids to a chair!"
"B-b-but, they're evil, Jonesy!" Wybie said.
Coraline rolled her eyes. "C'mon, Wybie. Nothing is more evil than The Beldam," Coraline said. She looked at the kids.
"What's a beldam?" Taylor asked.
"If you promise to be good and not run away when I untie you, I will tell you," Coraline said.
"We promise!" Exclaimed the twins.
"Okay." Coraline untied the kids. "Once upon a time, there was a girl," she started.
"A girl? Why does she have to be a girl?" Taylor asked.
"BECAUSE SHE JUST IS, OKAY!" Coraline screamed. She was on the end of her rope. "She moved into a new house. It was really old and kind of creepy. One day, she went exploring and found a small door."
The twins started at her. They were enthralled.
"One night, she followed a mouse through it and on the other side, was a place just like her house. It was almost the same. Except it was much better. She had nicer parents that made her good food, and always wanted to play with her. They even made her a garden that looked like her face. She had exciting neighbors that put on shows. There was even a nicer, quieter version of the annoying boy next door," Coraline said, giving Wybie a look.
"Except, what was strange about this place was that everybody had buttons for eyes," she said.
"Buttons for eyes?! That's silly. Tell a different story!" Said Lucy.
"But don't you want to know about The Beldam?" Coraline asked.
"Oh yeah! Keep telling!" Demanded Taylor.
"So one day, her mom with buttons, The Other Mother, asked her if she wanted to stay forever. The girl almost decided to, until her other parents told her what she would have to do. They told her that she would have to get buttons sewn into her eyes," Coraline said.
The twins gasped.
"Well, the girl decided she didn't like this. The Other Mother kept her there over night. The next day, the girl demanded to be let go, but then The Other Mother turned into The Beldam, an evil witch. She locked me-I mean the girl-in a mirror closet with some ghost kids. But then the Other Boy Next Door helped her escape. When she got home, she realized that The Beldam had stolen her parents!" Coraline explained.
"Well, the girl was very scared. But then a cat told her to try and challenge The Beldam to a game. The game was to try and find her parents, and the ghost children's eyes so they could be set free. The girl had a stone with a hole in it that some old ladies gave her. She realized she could find the eyes this way. She found all three eyes, and then went back to find her parents. The Beldam was very angry that she had found all of the eyes, and she didn't want to let her go. But the girl realized that she had trapped them in a snow globe. She distracted The Beldam by throwing the cat at her, and quickly she grabbed the snow globe. The Beldam changed the world into a spider web and chased her around in it. Finally, the girl got to the door and escaped. The Beldam's hand came through the door with her, but she didn't realize it. When the girl got to the real world, her parents came home. But later that night, the hand tried to get her back. She went up to a well and dropped the key in, but the hand attacked her! Luckily, the neighbor boy came to rescue her. Together, they smashed the hand and threw the pieces of it down the well with the key. The End." Coraline said.
"You forgot to say, 'and they all lived happily ever after'!" Said Lucy.
"Oh, whatever!" Coraline cried.
"I don't believe that story!" Cried Taylor.
"You don't have to! Now it's time for bed!" Wybie said.
This made the twins quite unhappy.
"No!" Shrieked Taylor.
Then the twins jumped off of the couch and ran from the living room.
"Hey, come back here!" Wybie yelled.
The twins ran in different directions. Coraline and Wybie heard the front and back doors of the house open and slam shut.
"You take Taylor, I'll take Lucy!" Wybie said to Coraline.
The two split up and ran after each twin. Taylor had gone out the back, so Coraline put her shoes on and went out the back door.
"Oh my God!" Coraline cried.
Outside, it was raining so hard, you couldn't see anything. Coraline saw the flash of lightning and the rumble of thunder. Her blue hair was instantly plastered to her face.
"Taylor! Taylor, where are you?" She yelled into the howling wind. But it was no use. Her voice was easily drowned out in the sounds of the storm.
Coraline stumbled forward blindly. She felt her way around the backyard, but she couldn't find Taylor. She wanted to cry. Taylor and Lucy were probably lost in the woods, and it was all her fault.
She collapsed down in the soaking grass. It was her first babysitting job and she had already screwed up.
"Coraline?" She heard a voice call.
"Wybie! Wybie, did you find them?" She yelled back. "Aurgh!" Coraline ran straight into Wybie. They both fell over.
"No, I didn't find them," Wybie said, getting up. Coraline rubbed her face, then stood up.
"I think we should call 911," Wybie said, a nervous edge in his voice. "I mean, this storm is pretty bad. They could get lost, or struck by lightning or something!"
Coraline gulped. She imagined herself explaining what had happened to Lucy and Taylor to a crying Anna Frember.
"Let's go back inside," Wybie said.
The two of them groped around in the dark until they found the front door. Wybie opened it up and they went inside.
As soon as they got in, they were covered in a spray of cheese in a can!
A giggling pair of twins stood in front of them.
"Surprise!" They squealed.
Wet cheese spray plopped off of Coraline's nose onto the floor. They both blinked.
Suddenly, a wave of hot rage coursed through Coraline's body.
"YOU TWERPS!" She screamed. She lunged at the twins.
"Ahhh!" They screamed. They ran away from her, spraying cheese as they sprinted. They ran into the dining room, Wybie trailing behind.
Coraline tripped over an open cardboard box sitting on the floor. She fell straight into it and a puff of packing peanuts sprayed over her. Wybie started to laugh hysterically.
Coraline pulled herself out of the mess. "It's not funny," she said through gritted teeth. Wybie continued to laugh. "GRAUGH!" She screamed. Then she was chasing Wybie, too.
They ran into the living room, where the twins were ripping up books and throwing their toys around. As soon as they saw Wybie and Coraline, they bolted.
Coraline was chasing Wybie, who was running away and at the same time chasing the twins. Up and down the stairs, through the kitchen and down to the basement they went.
Rosy started to cry.
Finally, they were back in the living room. Lucy collapsed in exhaustion, followed by Taylor. And then Wybie, and finally Coraline.
11:00 PM
"Hello!" Called Anna. "Wybie, Coraline?" Ms. Lovat whisper shouted.
"Oh my!" Exclaimed Anna when they entered the living room. All over was cheese spray, ripped up pieces of paper, and toys.
Everyone was passed out on the floor, and Coraline and Wybie were a mess of cheese, rainwater, and even chocolate, still from earlier.
Ms. Lovat sighed. "Louisa, Anna, could you please put the kids to bed? I am going to take Coraline home," she said.
Louisa and Anna nodded. Ms. Lovat gently woke Coraline and Wybie up. They moaned. Ms. Lovat got a towel from the bathroom and gave it to Coraline.
"I believe these two deserve some money for their efforts," she said to Anna. She grimaced and coughed up sixty bucks, thirty for each of them. Coraline followed Ms. Lovat to her car and got in.
She started the rusty old engine and started to drive down the hill. "Well, that's the last time Anna and her kids are coming over," Ms. Lovat said. "I knew I should've just invited Louisa," she added.
"I'm sorry we made your house such a wreck. I can come help clean up tomorrow," Coraline said. "Oh Coraline, it's not your fault!" She said. "Anna's kids are such brats. I'll make them both clean it all up tomorrow. And I'll even take you and Wybie out to ice cream! How does that sound?" Ms. Lovat said.
"That sounds great! You're the best, Ms. Lovat," Coraline said, sleepily.
They pulled up to The Pink Palace and Ms. Lovat handed Coraline another ten bucks.
"Ms. Lovat, it's fine. I don't need this," she said.
"Take it! You deserve it," Ms. Lovat commanded.
"Okay…" Coraline agreed. She took the money and got out of the car. She waved to Ms. Lovat and went inside.
Then Coraline fell asleep on the stairs.