All our lives, we seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Me and my brother. Our father, Stanley Yelnats the 3rd, says its because of this 150 year old family curse. But it's only for the men in the family, so why do I share in the bad luck? Maybe its because me and my brother are inseparable. And we've always gotten along.
We share the same liking in everything, Clyde Livingston, baseball, the color blue, and chicken alfredo. We're the best of friends, and that's how it's always been. So this should come as no shock to you that we've never gotten into a fight with each other. We love each other, and take care of each other.
My name is Samantha Yelnats and I'm the only woman to have the family curse. Take today for example...
~Earlier Today in 3rd Person POV~
It was a normal school day for the Yelnats twins. They were simply walking home one day from school, having a discussion about the recent baseball game where Clyde Livingston hit 3 home runs and got 2 outs.
"So, lets just agree that no one can beat Livingston's speed, or hits. No one from this year, of course." Samantha said as she walked backwards, facing her brother. "Nor his pitches." Stanley added in with her argument. Samantha simply nodded. "You got that right."
The walk continued with Samantha humming a familiar song to the both of them, and then, out of nowhere, a pair of shoes came crashing down on both of them. The left shoe hit Stanley in the top of his head while the right one hit Samantha in her temple. Stanley fell on his stomach to the concrete and Samantha landed next to him.
A few seconds went by before they both groaned and looked at each other. "What the heck...?" They both looked at what hit them and stared vacantly at the shoes.
"Sammi... You know what those are?" Stanley looked over at Samantha. She laughed. "Uh... A pair of shoes?" She smirked.
He rolled his eyes and picked them up. That's when she saw the red X.
She gasped and stared. "No way!" They were both on their feet to stare. They were Clyde Livingston shoes! Sweet Feet's shoes! They both stared at them, awestruck. "That's bizarre..." Stanley looked back up at the sky and to his sister again before sniffing the inside of the shoe. Bad choice.
"Oh, jeez!" He covered his nose. Samantha snickered. "C'mon, we have to show mom and dad!" She said, grabbing his wrist and running as the pair of shoes were in his other hand. All of a sudden, they heard sirens. Figuring it was for someone else, they didn't slow down. But they were cut off by a police car.
Two officers climbed out. "C'mere, boy!" The tall black man said. The short white woman ran up next.
"Why you two runnin'?!" They both held up their hands in surrender, the shoes hanging by the laces in Stanley's hands. "We didn't do anything!" They said in their defense.
"Did you steal those shoes?" The man yelled. "Where'd you get those shoes?!"
Samantha jerked her hand into Stanley's and looked at him before looking at them. "What're your names?" The woman said. "I'm Stanley Yelnats VI." Stanley said, grabbing Samantha's hand tighter. "I'm Samantha Yelnats. The first." She smirked and Stanley groaned. "Not the time, Sam." He scowled at her and she rolled her eyes.
"C'mon! You're both coming with us." The cops pushed them into the back of the squad car and Samantha's heart was pounding in her chest. She reached for Stanley just as he reached for her hand and they both felt their cold and clammy flesh. "We'll be OK, Sammi. I promise." He said.
~Their Apartment~
The cops began to knock on the door with the numbers 306 on the frame, and then their landlord came out of his apartment. He laughed when he saw the cops. "I'm glad you're here!" And yes, he was from another country. Definitely. Where he was from, they can't say.
"This whole floor smells like stinky feet!" He said, speaking in emphasis with his hands. The doors opened up and their mother stood there, paralyzed in fear. "Oh, my poor babies!" She saw the scratch on Samantha's temple. "Ma, don't freak out." Samantha said. "It's a bloody mess, baby." Her mother started wiping the blood away.
"It's just a cut. I'm okay." Samantha said. They're father started to speak to the cops. "Let me just say, right off the bat, this is a big misunderstanding."
"Don't say nothin' until we talk to our lawyer!" Their grandpa spoke angrily. "You're gonna be sorry you ever messed with Stanley Yelnats!" He snapped and ripped the search warrant out of the police officer's hand. "Lemme see that."
"Don't just grab it out of their hands." Their dad said to grandpa. "Why not?" He protested with his son.
"Cause you're gonna make them angry,"
"I don't care about them."
Samantha rolled her eyes as the two bickered back and forth. The cops walked passed them and looked around. There were so many crazy contraptions around with different pairs of shoes and sneakers. They've been looking for a cure for foot odor. It seems ironic that they work with shoes and the police are here because of shoes.
"Now that is a fine pair of shoes," Their father said, looking down at the man's shoes. "Could I just smell your shoe?" Their mother groaned and pulled her kids into a hug.
"Wait, just a minute!" Their grandpa shouted. "This warrant isn't warranted. This'll never hold up in court." The female officer walked into the room and saw all of the Clyde Livingston posters on the walls. Samantha and Stanley shared the room. Its always been that way. Granted, there wasn't just Sweet Feet all over Samantha's walls. There were band posters on her side as well, but not that girly stuff like Backstreet Boys and Justin Timberlake.
There were Star Wars posters here and there and only one Linkin Park poster. The rest is all Sweet Feet- Clyde Livingston. "Uhuh, here it is." The woman took a picture of Stanley's walls as evidence.
"We got 'em." And that was it. Their fate was sealed.
Later at dinner, their grandpa was talking about how they weren't to blame. Samantha had a bandage over her cut now and was shoveling fork full after fork full of food into her mouth, trying not to talk or socialize with her family right now. But her family knew that they were both innocent. They have never been bad kids, always got along with people, and never stole anything. Ever.
All they've ever done was help out others. So why would they steal from anyone?
"It's all because of your no good, dirty rotten, pig stealing, great, great, grandfather!" Their grandpa said.
"There is no curse on this family." Their mother said, flatly, looking in between all of them and Samantha sighed. "There is on the men in this family." Their father stated.
"But, pa, if its only on men, how come I share in Stanley's bad luck?" She said, frowning. Her father smiled. "Cause you and Stanley are inseparable. It is like you are one person in two bodies." He said. Samantha rolled her eyes a little.
Her grandpa started to sing. " 'If only, if only,' the woodpecker sighs," He sang. "Please don't sing that song." Their mom begged.
"The bark on the tree was as soft as the skies!" Their grandpa and dad sang together. Their mother got mad.
"Don't sing that song, not at my table!" She slammed her hand down on the table and Stanley put his hand on hers. "Mom, relax. We don't believe in the curse anyway. That right, Sammi?" He looked at her and she nodded with hopeful eyes.
"We're gonna need a damn good lawyer." Grandpa said, looking at everyone. "We don't need a lawyer. Stanley and Sam will just tell the truth." Ma finished and Samantha's face fell as she stared at her half eaten food. Suddenly, she lost her appetite.
"May I be excused?" She said, wiping her mouth with a napkin. "Go on ahead, sweetheart." Pa said. She smiled gratefully and stood up from the table, walking into their shared room and started to get undressed, just as Stanley came in.
"Sam," He said as she pulled off her white tank top and stood in front of him in just her bra and jeans.
"What will happen with us, Stanley? What if they separate us?" She said, biting her lip as she stared up at her older brother. "That won't happen, Sammi. If the judge has a heart at all, he won't separate the two of us." He reached down and grabbed her hand, holding it tightly. She wiped the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes.
"What do we say?" She turned and rifled through her clothes. "What do you mean?"
"Tell the truth? That a pair of Clyde Livingston World Series cleats just... fell from the sky and nailed us in the head? Yeah, that'll go over smoothly." She rubbed her forehead and leaned over her dresser, feeling her dinner start to crawl up her throat as she almost got sick. "Sam... Sammi..." He repeated her name several times but she still didn't answer.
"Samantha!" He shouted and grabbed her shoulder, making him look at her. "Look at me..." He held her head in his hands, making her look him in the eyes. They were glossy and tears streaked down her cheeks. "I'm scared." She said, barely a whisper.
He hugged her as tight as he could. "Don't be, Sam. I won't let anything happen to you. I promise." And that was a promise he intended to keep.
That night, Samantha slept in Stanley's bed. It was always the best way for her to keep the nightmares away. That's what they did when they were younger. Samantha crawled into Stanley's bed and he held his foam sword and promised her he would fight the monsters away. It always seemed to work. But he didn't have a foam sword anymore. He would just sing to her, and she would fall asleep with ease. But it wasn't that song that his mother hated so much.
Samantha sang the song to Stanley as well to get him to calm down. He was always mad as a little boy so it was very soothing to him to hear his little sister sing in her small toddler voice.
But now, it was Stanley's job to sing to her. And she always fell asleep so easily when he sang to her. There were no dreams for either of them. Just blank darkness.
The morning came quickly and shined down on Samantha's face first. Her eyes fluttered open with her beautiful butterfly lashes and she looked at the bright windows. All she did was turn on her side and looked up at her sleeping brother.
Stanley didn't snore. He breathed heavily with his lips slightly parted. He liked to toss and turn though. So when he woke up, he had the worst possible bed head.
"Stanley..." She whispered and put her hand on his chest, lightly shaking him. "Stanley, wake up..." She repeated and he finally opened his eyes and looked down at his sister, smiling. "Morning, Sammi."
She smiled back. They both turned on their sides and stared each other in the eyes before Stanley spoke up. "Sing that song for me again, Sammi..."
Samantha smiled and cleared her throat softly and began to sing.
"Midnight moonlight shining through the curtain lace And you'll never know how much I love you
Paints a perfect picture on your perfect face
One sweet angel sleeping in my arms
You are the promise I knew God would keep
You are the gift that makes my world complete
But I'll keep on telling you my whole life through
Now I believe in miracles, and you're the reason why
So dream on while I sing you my angel's lullaby...
A soft smile played on Stanley's lips and he kissed his sister's forehead. "You have the voice of an angel, Sammi. Never lose it." He whispered. "I don't plan to, Stanley."
~In Court~
"Stanley Yelnats, please rise," The judge said. Stanley, Pa, and Grandpa all rose from their seats. Samantha rolled her eyes. "Stanley Yelnats VI," The judged needed to clear up, making the other two Stanley's sit down.
"I could send you to jail, and I would not lose one bit of sleep over it." The judge said, making their mother want to cry. "But, there is, however, vacancies at Camp Green Lake. They help troubled youth build character." Stanley looked over at Samantha as she smiled a little. "The choice is yours. Camp Green Lake, or jail..."
Stanley leaned forward and spoke into the mic. "Uh, well I've never been to camp before," He said awkwardly. "18 months of Camp Green Lake, son." The judge made the sentence final.
"Now, Samantha Yelnats, please rise." Samantha stood up in front of the judge. "Unlike your brother, little missy, you have only one option. Jail." Her heart was now pounding in her ears.
"What?" She said, staring. "Camp Green Lake is an all boy's camp. You won't be allowed to attend, meaning you and your brother will be separated."
Samantha turned to look at Stanley and then at the judge. "No, sir, please! You can't separate us! We need each other!" Stanley rose from his seat and put his hand on Samantha's shoulder. "Sir, it's true. We won't survive without each other. You must let her come with me."
"And who, might I ask, will ensure her safety?" The judge questioned. "I will." Stanley sand, putting an end to the argument.
"Well...It seems that we have to make an exception. Samantha Yelnats, you will fulfill your sentence at Camp Green Lake with your brother. 18 months for the two of you." The gavel slammed down on the stands and they both hugged each other, tears in Samantha's eyes.
"I almost lost you..." Samantha whimpered as Stanley kissed her forehead. "You aren't going anywhere."