Before anyone asks, yes, I posted this story before, but took it down so I could start over. Hope you enjoy this new version (for those of you who actually read the first one...)!
Josh was laying on his bed, it was midday and there was nothing to do. His thoughts were flowing through his mind, surrounding it, as if wanting him to simply wind down and allow them to take him over. So he let it, and pretty soon he was completely out of this world, his eyes closed and he facing the ceiling. He had a habit of this, at home actually, he would just space out when nobody was around and get shrouded in his thoughts. It wasn't something he would do in public, that would only give him more of a "weird geeky" status at school and everywhere else. But this was his time to reminisce, to remember the good/bad times that he's had the past few years, with his older brother Drake, his little sister Megan, and his Mom, Audrey. Each one of them had a certain something to them, something that made them loving anc caring, but at the same time annoying and unbearable at times. Sometimes he just wanted to give them a hug and smile at them, and other times he wanted to throw them out the door, throw a bucket of water over them, and leave them outside until he was ready to deal with whatever they had to throw back at him. It was those kinds of days that made him wish that maybe his Dad shouldn't have married Drake's Mom, and that things could be like they used to be, him studying, Dad reading, no noise at all throughout the entire house. It was that kind of peace and quiet that he longed to have once in a while. But there were other times when he wished things would never change, and he could be around his new family forever. Sure, he got grounded sometimes, and Megan would grate on his last nerves, but he never for once felt that he wasn't wanted or unloved; that's what made his family so great.
But, as he was thinking about this, a reminder of a certain someone (sometimes "someone" was more like "something) came through his mind, and his relaxed feeling and mood was replaced with tension and anger. Drake, he could deal with since he knew how he works and how he does things. But someone else kept him on his toes constantly, and made him feel like nothing more than a pawn in her tricks and games that she liked to play with her two brothers so much. It was none other than his little sister.
Megan.
Flashback
The house was mostly empty, and he saw nobody in his frantic search for his science books. This was no surprise to Josh, since it was Saturday and even Mom and Dad were out doing things like shopping. Right now, he was downstairs in the kitchen, looking almost without thinking under the table, chairs, in the cabinets under the sink, and for a moment, even in the refrigerator. Then, he sprinted out into the living room and right over the couch, looking just about everywhere one person could imagine. After taking one last look behind the TV, he stopped and put his hands on his knees trying to catch his breath. His couldn't even feel his legs, he had been running faster than he ever though he could, especially after collapsing twice in gym class because he couldn't do more than four push-ups, or having an ambulance take him to the hospital because he past out from running one lap, or even that time that he had to...
"What is going on here?" said a little girl, coming down the stairs in her usual bossy fashion. Her eyes glanced around the room, and widened slightly at the mess apparently Josh had made in the living room in such a short amount of time.
"Oh Megan, I'm s-s-so glad you got up. You see I was looking around for my science books, and I looked in the kitchen, here in the living room, and now here I am trying to catch my breath after a rampage of searching and tossing and-inhaler!" the young man said just as he fell onto the ground gasping for air. Obviously, he still had asthma, even though he was sure he had out-grown it a few years back when he lived with his Dad. His eyes widened, and he moved his legs around like crazy on the floor.
Megan, who wasn't surprised by this event, calmly walked into the kitchen, avoiding the fallen chairs which Josh must've knocked over when he was in there. She looked around in one of the cabinets, moving some other junk out of the way. After a few seconds, she grabbed an inhaler that had his name labeled on it with a sticker. She closed the cabinet door and walked back into the living room where her older brother was still having quite an episode on the hard floor, grasping his neck and still shouting/choking for his inhaler. Megan tossed the thing onto his stomach, and he frantically grabbed it and put it to his mouth. A few puffing noises were heard when he pressed down on it to give him air or however she thought those inhalers worked. But, it did what it was supposed to, as Josh got up slowly from the floor. He seemed a bit dizzy at first, but he regained his focus and looked at Megan who had her arms crossed.
"Thanks Megan, look I just-"
"Listen here, Count Boobula. I don't what happened to your stupid science books, I didn't even touch them. So stop making so much noise down here, it's only six thrity and I want to go back to sleep. And you wouldn't want to see me cranky, would you?" Megan said with anger in her eyes, but also with slight satisfaction in her voice that she could still easily intimidate someone much older than her.
"No, no I would not..." Josh said while deep in thought, imagining the horrible things that could, would, happen if Megan were to be cranky and irritable. He quickly snapped out of this, and managed to catch a quick glance of Megan as she went back upstairs. He stood, feeling empty and disappointed that he didn't find what he was looking for anywehre downstairs. But something clicked inside his head, and he glared at the wall, his eye twitching in anger as the memories of past incidents with this particular person ran through his mind.
Drake.
Tired of this game, he ran upstairs, making each one of his footsteps loud and clear when he climbed up the stairs. Moving through the narrow hallway, he opened the door to his and Drake's room, walking stiffly over to his brother's bed. When he was close enough, he began to shake him and he woke up with a yawn.
"Ugh, what do you want Josh?" he said sleepily, rubbing his eyes and siting up in bed.
"Oh, you know very well what I want!" Josh said accusingly, pointing his finger at Drake to emphasize his speech.
"No, I- oh, you're stupid science books. I heard you moving around like an angry squirell a while ago looking for them, but I didn't take them. Besides, why would I steal your books when I don't even study, let alone actually do my homework?" Drake replied while falling back into bed, burying his head into his pillow.
"But Drake, please I-
"Leave."
"But..."
"Now."
"Okay then." Josh said while hurrying out of the bedroom. It was now obvious that Drake had no interest in his books, and that he wasn't willing to cooperate and help him find them. It didn't matter, since there was only one other logical suspect remaining.
Megan.
"Megan!" Josh said, this time taking the time to knock on his sister's door. He waited for a few minutes, shaking his head at the fact that she was probably ignoring him, and finally barged into the room (although he was surprised it wasn't locked or rigged...). To his surprise, she was still awake, watching tv from her bed with the remote in her hand. Raising an eyebrow and smirking, she looked at him, as if expecting something to happen.
Josh didn't hesitate to begin interrogating her. "Could you at least have the consideration of answering me when I knock on your door?"
"No."
"Why?!" he said almost hysterically.
"Because I didn't feel like it." Megan said plainly. Her smile grew, becoming more and more amused by his behaviour. Maybe he might even go insane and we'll have to put him in the crazy house...she chuckled slightly at the thought.
"Aw come on! This isn't right, it ain't right I tell you! All I wanted to do was spend a nice weekend studying, but no, my science books had to be gone, all because of some little devil who thought it was cool to put my good grades at risk just for a little chuckle at her poor older brother. You probably thought "oh, Josh is just a moron, he won't suspect me!" Well I did! And here I am, confronting you...and...I...have accomplished...nothing..." Josh has a blank look on his face as he muttered the last work of his rant, and put his head against the wall. It was hopeless.
Megan began to laugh uncontrollably, almost falling out of her bed. Josh, who had a look of evil on his face, turned to face his little sister. How dare she start lauging after all this just happened!
"What's. So. Funny?"
"Your books are in the garage, you must've left them there yesterday when you got home or something"
Josh, taking in those words, was overwhelmed. "B-b-but, that c-c-can't be, I honestly cannot...aaaaah!" Josh sprinted out of the room, more than likely off to the garage to retrieve his books so he can study. But Megan still had her usual triumphant smirk, the one she wore after one of her pranks went perfectly and her two brothers were miserable. Josh knew it all too well...what had just happened?...
"Too bad he didn't realize I was the one who hid his books..." Megan said to herself while still smirking to herself.
Josh's eyes began to open, although his vision was still a bit blurry. He must've dosed off for a bit...and he felt relaxed and at ease. Although one name, one person, was still fresh in his mind.
Megan.
