Jennie.
The year was 2014, and I had just celebrated my 40th birthday. It was very quiet, which was what I wanted it to be, although there was a hint of sadness in the air. I knew why too, as it was also 10 years since dad had died.
Then, I heard my phone ring.
"Fuck me pink." I muttered to myself.
I walked over to the phone (my iPhone) and picked it up. It was a message from my mom (Marianne), who had adopted me when she married my dad.
"What?" I was not happy.
I listened carefully as mom told me her troubles. You see, I had 2 younger siblings (a brother called Tobias and a sister called Connie), and they were the definition of little devils. Apparently, this time, they had decided to run out of the house when mom wasn't looking, and they had taken some money with them so that they could try and buy tickets for a fair that was at least 20 miles out of town.
"Pack up their belongings and bring them over." I was not happy.
Mom then asked about their computers.
"Let them keep them, but make sure they know that I will be monitoring their online activity." I said over the phone. "That way, if they choose to look at something that they shouldn't, I will know about it, and I will take away their computers and never give them back."
Mom agreed. Judging by her voice, I could tell that she was at the end of her tether. I then said goodbye, and put my phone down. I sat down and got out pens and paper, as I was not going to let Tobias and Connie get away with what they had done. They were twins, and they were also what you could call spoilt brats, because it was not just mom that they had managed to wrap around their fingers. In fact, I was the only one in the family who was not fooled by their behavior.
I then walked into the kitchen and made a cup of tea in preparation for the storm that I knew would come thundering through the door. I then walked into the living room, and kissed the large photo of dad that hung beside the mirror that he had gifted to me shortly before he died (he had been the victim of a car crash which left him with fatal injuries).
Exactly half an hour after the phone call, mom knocked at the door. I knew it was her, as she knocked twice. I walked over to the door, and opened it.
"They're both in the car." Mom looked at me.
Mom was not my biological mom, although both she and my biological mom were of Italian descent. She handed me a piece of paper, with a list of their most recent crimes.
"Are they going to live here now?" I asked out of worry and curiosity.
"They are, but I will come over once a week to see how they are holding up." Mom replied.
"They are both old enough to know better." I sighed.
Mom nodded, and walked back to the car. I could see Connie looking at me, and I did nothing but give her an angry look. Mom then opened the door, and Tobias and Connie both got out of the car. They were not happy, as they hated me because I would not bow down to their commands, but they had no choice, as they were going to live by my rules or else there was going to be trouble. Mom then got out their bags (which were full of their belongings and technological gadgets), and they all walked up the path and through my door.
"I will come over on Saturday and see how you're getting on." Mom said to me.
"I'm going to make sure that they do not get their way." I vowed.
Mom put the bags down on the sofa and walked out of the house. I then shut the door, and turned to face Tobias and Connie. Neither of them were happy, and I could see that they were planning their escape.
"Go into the kitchen and sit down!" I ordered.
Connie gave me the "make me" look.
"NOW!" I yelled.
That scared them into doing what they were told to do. I followed them, and made sure that they sat down.
"Pick up the pen!" I ordered.
They reluctantly picked up their pens.
"And write 'I am going to obey all rules at all times' 50 times!" I ordered.
"You're not our fuckin' mother!" Tobias sneered.
"When you're in my house, you abide by my rules!" I seethed. "If you don't, then life will be very hard for you!"
Tobias scrunched up the paper and threw it into the floor.
"Well then neither of you are going on the computer until this time the day after tomorrow!" I seethed.
"I'll do what I want, when I want!" Tobias sneered.
"Not in my house, you won't!" I seethed.
I was the adult and Tobias and Connie were the children, and it was going to be my way or the highway.
"Alright then, I will write it down." Tobias gave in.
"Now that is the kind of behavior that I expect in this house." I was relieved. "With that, you can both go on the computer."
Little did I know, it was all a mask, as they were not planning on behaving. I gave Tobias a clean sheet of paper, and he wrote the required words down the required amount of times.
"There are also going to be limits on what you can do on the computer, as I am going to install software on your computers that will allow me to monitor your activity at all times." I then said. "If you do anything that breaks the rules, there will be consequences and they will not be nice."
Neither of them liked it, but it was going to happen anyway. I opened their bags, and got their computers out. They were forced to watch, and I made sure that the software I installed could not be detected or uninstalled on their computers. Once the software was installed, I shut their computers down.
"Now you are both going to tell me why you thought that it was a good idea to steal mom's money!" I ordered.
"Because she's a fuckin' idiot." Tobias calmly replied.
That angered me.
"Do you want me to tell you why you stole money from her?!" I was angry.
"Go on then!" Tobias mocked my voice.
"Because you thought that it would be a good idea to go to a fair that you knew fully-well you were not allowed to go to!" I seethed.
"Fuck that shit!" Connie rolled her eyes.
"DON'T YOU DARE SAY THAT IN THIS HOUSE!" I yelled.
Connie immediately closed her mouth, although I could sense that she was not sorry for what she had just said.
"In that case, you will NOT be allowed to go onto the computer until the day after tomorrow!" I seethed. "NEITHER OF YOU!"
"Well then you can't either!" Connie mocked my voice.
"I can do whatever the hell I want, because I am an adult!" I calmed down a bit. "When you are older, you can choose what rules to live by, but as long as you're living in my house, you are subject to the rules and punishments that I give you!"
Connie proceeded to open her mouth.
"Don't you dare!" I warned.
Connie closed her mouth, and gave me the finger. She thought that she was being discreet, but she wasn't, and that made me extend the no computer punishment by a day. If my camera had been working, I would have captured a photo of her face so that I could show it to her and make her see just how stupid she looked.
Later that evening, I had a friend over. Her name was Janet, and she was tall and slim (like me).
"What are the troublemakers doing here?" Janet looked at me.
"They drew mom's final straw, and now they're living with me. It will be made official tomorrow." I admitted.
"What was their crime this time?" Janet wanted to know.
I told Janet what Tobias and Connie had both done.
"They are 15 and old enough to know better." Janet was speechless.
"I've already given them a punishment, as they are not allowed to go on the computer until 3 days from now." I stood firm.
"What about everything else?" Janet then asked me.
"They will be given the essentials." I replied. "On that note, what would you recommend as a punishment if they ever threaten to misbehave in a truly serious manner like what they did to mom?"
"Do they still go to school?" Janet asked out of curiosity.
"They do, and they WILL be going tomorrow whether they like it or not." I confirmed.
"One of my neighbours has a teenage son who used to behave, and the final straw was drawn when the son threatened to kill his English teacher." Janet started.
"What did the parent do?" I wanted to know.
"He applied for a job for his son, and when the application was granted, he talked with the boss of the job and managed to get it so that the son would have to work for 5 hours after school." Janet replied. "If the son complained, his pay for that entire week would be withheld."
"Does he still work at wherever he works?" I was eager to know.
"No, as this was a couple of years ago." Janet mentioned. "He's in jail now, as he ended up killing the boss. His entire family have disowned him, and he's scheduled to be executed in a month's time."
It was then that I had an idea.
"We will head to the school tomorrow - both you and me - and we will talk to the principal." I ordered. "We will tell them that Tobias and Connie are not to be allowed onto the computer until Thursday evening."
"When you say 'the computer', do you mean their laptops?" Janet was confused.
"Any computer, and that includes their laptops." I stood firm. "If they want anything from me, they will have to do what I tell them to do."
"You know, you could always hire a nanny if you ever run into trouble." Janet suggested.
Mom had thought about doing that when dad died, but she didn't do it, as she thought that she could handle the tyranny that would eventually make her fall.
"How long has it been since your dad died?" Janet took a sip from her glass of water.
"10 years." I admitted. "I still remember hearing about the car crash."
"He would be turning in his grave if he knew what was going on." Janet rolled her eyes. "Did he ever shout at them?"
"He never shouted, although he was firm and made sure that they saw the difference between right and wrong." I replied.
"What caused the crash?" Janet was still confused about that.
"Black ice." I admitted.
It was only fairly recently that that piece of information had been disclosed. I still had the papers from it, having fought long and hard with the solicitor. Dad was only 59 years old when he died, and was barely even starting to go grey. He was of British descent, and never drank, smoked, etc etc. An only child, he was given everything that he could need, before being orphaned in an accident in 1963. He then met my biological mom, but she could not speak English, which meant that they had to learn each other's language before getting anywhere, until 1974 which was the year that I was born.
A knock at the door then brought me back from my train of thoughts.
"Who the fuck could that be?" I was confused.
"It could be anyone." Janet looked at me. "I will go and get it."
I nodded, and Janet walked to the door. I had no idea what had gone on, and when a police officer walked through the door, I stood there with a look of confusion on my face. The police officer then walked over to me, and I saw on his name badge that his name was Lieutenant Nick Patterson.
"Is your name Jennie Banks?" Lt. Patterson asked me.
"Yes." I was confused. "Why do you ask?"
"Are Tobias and Connie Banks here?" Lt. Patterson then asked.
"Are they in trouble?" I wanted to know.
"No, but if they continue to steal from the community, they w..." Lt. Patterson started.
I became insanely angry, and pounded the wall. No blood was drawn, but I left a dent in the wall.
"Who from?!" I panted.
"They stole a necklace from Nathan Babiak, and they were overheard conspiring to head to the local homeless charity and rob many valuables from the people that go there." Lt. Patterson admitted.
"Can you go and fetch them?!" I looked at Janet.
"I would be more than happy to." Janet vowed.
Janet then left the room.
"Is there anything else that they have done?" I asked Lt. Patterson.
"They were planning on committing the robbery during school hours." Lt. Patterson looked at me.
"Do you want anything to eat or drink?" I gathered myself.
"No thanks, but you are kind for offering." Lt. Patterson smiled.
Before anything else could be said, Janet, Tobias, and Connie, walked into the room. I looked at them with extreme anger.
"YOU ARE IN BIG TROUBLE!" I yelled from out of nowhere.
"What did we do wrong?!" Connie pretended to be clueless.
"Tell them." I looked at Lt. Patterson.
I was in no mood to tell them anything. Mom had no idea, so I picked up the phone and told her everything that I had just heard. It was then that I came up with a plan that I hoped would be enough punishment for Tobias and Connie, and when Lt. Patterson left, I sat them down.
"I have told mom about what has just happened!" I looked at Tobias and Connie.
"Can we please talk about something else?" Connie closed her eyes.
"No, as we're going to talk about you two stealing a man's necklace and then conspiring to steal from a homeless charity... and you WILL remember every single word of it!" I seethed.
"But we can't." Tobias (fake) admitted.
"Tough shit, as you're not leaving this table until you've told us everything!" I ordered.
Neither Janet nor myself could prepare for the flood of truth that came out.
"You're lucky that you can still go on the computer from Thursday evening, as if you had been caught lying, you would have been in more trouble." I was relieved. "Still, that does not mean you get out of apologising, as after school tomorrow, you will be making your way over to Nathan's house to apologise for stealing his necklace, and you will then make your way over to the homeless charity and tell them that you are sorry and that you promise to never take anything from those who have less than you."
Little did I know, those words went right over their heads. I dared not think about it, because I knew that it was going to happen whether they liked it or not, as I was going to drive them to the destinations and force the words out of their mouths. As you see, I was not one to be lenient, and if one was naughty, both of them would get punished, as they were both equally guilty of it. I then sent them off to bed, not bothering to care about the fact that they had not had tea (they did not deserve it), nor that it was not yet 8pm. Janet was still there, having suddenly decided that she was going to stay over for the night because of what was going to happen the next day.
"I hope that they are not just telling the truth so that they think that I will be more lenient on them in the future." I said to Janet.
"Little did you know, I got Lt. Patterson's contact details, so if you ever feel the need to do so, arrange for him to show them around the prison that he works at." Janet handed the contact details to me.
"Are you going to help me continue writing that mpreg story that I sent to you over email last week?" I then asked.
"Have you thought of a title for it yet?" Janet was eager to know. "Oh, and what does the titular character look like?"
"It's called Mr Poppins, and the titular character is a man who looks like Scott Joss from Merle Haggard's band but is the grandson of the famous nanny that most of us know about." I replied.
Janet gently nudged me, as she knew who I was on about. I wasn't far off the birth part, and the main female character was a woman who was based on myself, and she had to control her siblings who behaved just like Tobias and Connie did. I had a few thousand words to go, for I was wanting to stretch the birth out. I led Janet into my office, which I locked with a key that I always kept on me. It was also where I was keeping the laptops in a cupboard that was also opened with a key that I kept on me. I pulled up a couple of chairs, and turned my computer on (it was a pc, although I did have a laptop for work-related business).
"Are you going to lock the door?" Janet asked out of worry and hope.
"Thanks for reminding me." I giggled.
I had forgotten to lock the door, so I made sure I did it. I then checked the CCTV cameras (I had CCTV cameras in all rooms aside from the bedrooms and bathroom, as in those rooms, I had a sound detector which detected unusual sounds). I then brought up the document, and showed Janet where I had reached in the story.
"So is he going to take your character out for a treat and suddenly go into labor?" Janet asked out of complete curiosity.
"That is the plan, and I want him to give birth in the middle of nowhere with only your character, a couple of friends, myself, and a doctor that we just met, there." I replied.
"You could, in that case, write it so that your character's siblings are at school and Mr Poppins decides to treat your character to lunch but my character and the friends of our characters are there as we're taking a load of photos etc and then he goes into labor, and you try to get to the nearest hospital but the car breaks down and his contractions just pick up from out of nowhere, and you are able to find a barn which happens to be owned by a vetrinarian, and that's when you find out that he is the only one who can help as the baby has decided that it is going to come and there's nothing that can be done to prevent it." Janet suggested.
"What about my character's siblings?" I was eager to know.
"They could be picked up by your character's mother, but by this point, they are completely reformed and your character is thinking about letting them go back to live with the mother." Janet suggested.
I loved that suggestion, and started writing it. When I couldn't write anymore, I handed the keyboard over to Janet, whose writing style was the exact same as mine. I also kept check on the CCTV cameras, unaware that Tobias and Connie had found a way to jam the sound detectors so that I could not hear what they were saying.
A couple of hours later, Janet and I both finished the story.
"Are you going to think about writing a sequel?" Janet was happy.
"I might do that, as it would be good to see where we can both take this story." I smiled.
Little did Janet know, I had been thinking about the possibility that Mr Poppins could be a real person. Each time, I shrugged it off, as if to try and force myself to think that it was just a dream world and that nothing like what was in the story could happen in real-life.
"I have also locked the door to the kitchen, so they won't be able to go for any midnight snacking." I added.
"Midnight snacks will encourage them to be awake when they need to go to school. What time is it?" Janet looked at me.
I checked the clock.
"It is almost 11pm." I confirmed.
"What time do they have to be up?" Janet asked out of curiosity.
"6am... and they WILL be getting up without answering back." I stood firm.
"And I shall be here to witness this spectacle in action should they decide to answer back." Janet chuckled.
Janet and I were not afraid to sleep with each other. In fact, it was something that both of us loved to do when one of us stayed overnight at the other's house. We were both bisexual, and neither of us were too feminine in the way we dressed, for we both wore unisex clothing, although only I had a short hairdo and boyish features. I silently mentioned to the cooler, letting Janet know that she was more than welcome to take whatever she wanted to eat or drink.
"This is the stash that only mature beings who do not have school in the morning can take from." I whispered to Janet.
"You are a cunning woman." Janet winked. "Not just that, but you look like a female version of Rob Paulus."
"And you only just said that." I smiled.
Rob Paulus was another man that I was a fan of. It was then that I decided to make an admission.
"I'm going to see the Dr next week." I admitted.
"Are you ill?" Janet became worried.
"No I'm not, as it's something else." I admitted.
"What is it?" Janet wanted to know.
"I don't know how long I have been able to keep it a secret, but I... I... I am... I... I'm... I'm... oh fuck it, I'm transgender." I admitted.
"How could you not have told me about this earlier?! I could have helped you!" Janet was not happy.
"I was contemplating the possibility of being transgender for a while, but I never realised it until last week." I admitted. "I already know that I do not want to have full gender reassignment, as I don't believe that gender is controlled by what is between the legs. Can you be with me?"
"You fuckin' know I will, as I am your best friend and I will do absolutely anything for you." Janet calmed down.
"Appointment is at 2pm which is when Tobias and Connie will still be in school." I added.
"I will be there for you." Janet vowed.
