At exactly 7.30am the alarm clock went off. As quick as a flash a hand shot out from under the covers of one of the beds, hitting the snooze button and plunging the room back into silence. Gradually the covers on the bed slid back to reveal a face.

Reese opened his eyes and smiled to himself. 'So this is freedom' he thought. He looked around the room, his gaze falling on the beam of light which streamed through the gap in the curtains and illuminated the face of his brother, Malcolm. Malcolm was snoring gently, looking very peaceful as he lay in the double bed he shared with their other brother, Dewey. Neither of them had been woken by the alarm. Malcolm rolled over in his sleep. 'Just call it even' he mumbled to himself, obviously deep in some dream of his.

Slowly Reese sat up and, rubbing his eyes sleepily, got out of bed. Somehow the room looked different to him, as if he were seeing it for the first time. For the last month he had been grounded, confined to his room at all times, except when he was at school. No TV, no phone, no friends, even no desert. As the weeks had passed he come to hate this room, his very own prison cell, with the walls closing in by the day. At times he thought perhaps he was going mad, but eventually he came to accept his fate, as all prisoners do over time, and to focus on the day when it was finally over, when he would finally be free. That day had now come.

Taking great care not to make a sound he crept across the room to the closet in the corner. He knew the hinges always creaked, so he had oiled them the night before. Gingerly he put his fingers on the handle of the door, and pulled. The closet opened without a sound. He reached into the drawer where he kept his underwear and rummaged around. A few seconds later his hand emerged, holding a small package. A small package, wrapped in glossy red wrapping paper, bearing a small label. He examined the package, and, convinced that everything was in order, tiptoed towards the door of the bedroom.

As he passed Malcolm and Dewey's sleeping forms he couldn't resist gloating. 'So long, suckers!' he whispered to them as he reached the door. Of course, he knew that nobody would be awake yet, but he checked the hallway anyway before he stepped out of the room. It was empty. Lois wouldn't be up for at least another 15 minutes, and she was always the first one awake in the morning. Reese slowly entered the kitchen and looked around. The curtains were still drawn, but the rising sun shone through them and cast the room in an eerie glow. He headed for the table and placed the package in the centre of it, where no one could possibly miss it.

Reese grinned to himself once more and, with a final glance at the table, he headed back into the bedroom and slipped back into bed, shutting his eyes and pretending to be asleep. In the kitchen the light gradually grew as the sun rose higher. It shone now on the small card attached to the package on the table. The card read: 'Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad, Love From Reese.'

***

'Oh my God, Reese that's so generous, that's so thoughtful' said Lois, unable to contain the happiness than now spread across her face. She held in her hands the remains of the small package, the package which had contained a gold picture frame. The frame now lay in the middle of the table. There was a photo in it, a photo which had been taken on their last vacation. It showed the family standing together, all smiling, all looking happy.

Hal reached forward and picked up the gift. Reese fancied he saw a tear form in the corner of his eye as he looked at. 'Thank you son' he said, looking at Reese. 'You have no idea how much this means to us.'

'That's all right Dad,' said Reese, 'Just seeing the look on your face is thanks enough for me. And Mom,' he said, turning to Lois at the other end of the table, 'you as well. Your reaction says more than words ever could.'

Across the table from Reese, Malcolm and Dewey looked positively stunned, and even a little sheepish. They were surprised not only by Reese's generosity, but also annoyed at the fact that he had not told them that Mom and Dad's anniversary was coming up. They had an unwritten agreement to always go in together on presents, an agreement which Reese had just violated in the worst possible way. Their look of shock turned to one of anger as Reese smirked at them, rubbing it in their faces.

'Well thank you anyway, son,' said Hal, and then turning to Malcolm and Deway he said 'and you two could do with taking a leaf out of Reese's book., following his example. Isn't that right honey' he said to Lois.

'I'm very disappointed with you boys, especially you Malcolm' said Lois. 'I would have expected better of you. How would you like it if your father and I forgot to get you a present on your birthday? Then maybe you'd appreciate how it feels when someone you love doesn't care enough to remember special occasions'

'I'm sorry Mom, Dad' replied Malcolm, forlornly. He couldn't think of anything else to say, so he hung his head and began to eat his cereal, trying to avoid Lois's gaze.

For a while no one spoke, Lois and Hal still smiling and occasionally extending a look of gratitude towards Reese, Malcolm glaring at him across the table. They ate their pancakes in silence. After a couple of minutes Lois said:

'You know I really don't feel like giving you boys good news, but I guess I'd better tell you anyway. I spoke to Francis last night, he's coming home for the weekend, to see your father and I on our anniversary. I'm picking him up from the airport this afternoon.'

'Yay!' said Dewey happily. Malcolm just smiled, still eager to keep a low profile.

'And,' continued Lois, 'he's agreed to look after you boys this evening while we're at dinner, he said something about taking you the movies. Anyway, I'm sure you'll be happy because now you don't have to have a babysitter.'

'Yay!' said Dewey again. At Lois's last remark Reese looked up from his food, a hint of concern on his face.

'I can still go to my party, can't I Mom?' he asked. The party was the ultimate way to celebrate his new-found freedom. It was being organised by a girl in his class named Delilah. For several weeks now Reese had secretly had a crush on Delilah, but to date he had been too nervous to ask her out. He planned to get over himself and do it at the party that evening, and so obviously he was still eager to go, despite the fact that Francis was coming home. 'I can see Francis all weekend,' he thought to himself, 'but I can't miss that party. I'll never get a better opportunity to get to know Delilah'

'Sure you can, son' replied Hal, 'but you'll have to get Francis to drive you there. Your Mom and I are going out quite early, we're uh, gonna go out for a few drinks before dinner.' Hal had planned his and Lois's anniversary dinner down to the smallest detail. They were going to go to a bar for a couple of drinks, and then on to the restaurant. It would be the perfect evening.

Malcolm had stayed quite for a while, but this was the final straw. Reese may have got one over on him with the anniversary gift, but he sure wasn't going to go to a party whilst Malcolm was stuck at the movies. Malcolm, however, hadn't reckoned with Lois.

'Can I go to the party too?' he asked.

'Of course you can't,' snapped Lois. 'For one you weren't invited, and I won't have you gatecrashing, and two I don't really feel inclined to let you do anything at the moment. Just be grateful you're allowed to go out with Francis rather than staying at home with a babysitter.'

Malcolm knew it was futile to attempt to argue with Lois in this mood, so once again he shut his mouth, not wanting to give her further ammunition. Reese continued to look smug, occasionally grinning in the direction of Malcolm and Dewey.

'It'll be nice to see Francis again' said Hal eventually. At the other end of the table Lois remained poker-faced. It was well known that the last time she had seen Francis they had parted on less than friendly terms. Hal was eager to lay the groundwork for reconciliation. But his remark served only to kill the conversation, with none of the boys wanting to tread on Lois's toes if she was still mad at Francis. The rest of the meal passed in silence. When they had finished Reese headed into the bedroom to fetch his back for school. Malcolm quickly followed him, grabbing him just inside the door and pinning him against the wall.

'What the hell do you think you're doing. You know we always go in together on presents. I can't believe you didn't even tell us it was today. You totally crossed the line, man. I mean, this is like betraying us to Mom.'

'Welcome to the NFL' replied Reese, freeing himself easily from Malcolm's grip. 'If you can't take the hits, don't play the game.'