Mornings in the Puckett household were hectic to say the least, especially on school days. Max was usually shaken awake from PJ desperately trying to wake him up to turn off the 'noise box' on his bedside table. Beep. Beep. "Hisssssssssss" Hissing Pete didn't like the alarm clock either.
"Mister Max," PJ's voice cut through the blaring alarm, "your-"
Before the pj clad ghost child could nervously shout another word in his ear, Max shooed him away. "'M on it," Max mumbled into his pillow while continuing to dig his face further into it as his hand felt for the snooze button. The sweet absence of silence graced his ears once his fingers found the giant space bar button. He turned his head and let out a yawn of relief. He sat up and pressed the power button for his alarm. Last thing he needed was to wake the rest of the dead.
PJ circled Max as he began preparing for the day, telling him all about the sorts of things that happened while Max slept. "And Lefty gave them an ol' fright by-" He paused his tale and looked around the room.
Max followed PJ's eyes confused, "What's up?"
PJ scratched his head, "Lefty's missin," he shrugged his shoulders, "Probably resting in his usual spot," He laughed but Max could tell he was worried.
"Relax PJ," Max ruffled the ghost's hair, "Lefty will turn up when he wants."
PJ gave another nervous laugh before straightening out his hair with his hands, "Y-yeah of course!" He grinned a 7.3 on the creepy smile scale.
"I'm gonna go brush my teeth," Max stated pointing to his door and giving the doorknob a tug.
PJ nodded, "Of course Miser Max. I'll keep lookin' for ol' Lefty." Max nodded before shutting the door behind him. He gave a sigh of relief and stretched his back. The Activity Club was always up to something, and since the dead didn't need sleep it usually meant late nights of fighting spirits wanting to cause chaos of some sort. Thankfully none haunted his bathroom…yet. He never did get an answer from Isabel when he asked about the Bloody Mary legend.
He rubbed his eyes in attempt to remove the tired pain from them. His other hand reached for the toothbrush. He yawned once more and blinked, the bathroom mirror finally coming into focus. He yelped, accidentally tossing his toothbrush into the sink as he took a step back. He stumbled on the bathtub's edge, grabbed the wall and the tub for support before sitting down. On the mirror was a message written in what seemed to be smeared blood, "Don't forget to brush after you eat."
"Maaaaax are you done yet?" Zoey's voice called from the hallway followed by a yawn, "I have to use the bathroom."
Max scrambled through the cabinets for a dark washcloth, "In a minute Zoe," he yelled in reply as he hastily ran the washcloth under the sink and furiously scrubbed at the writing on the mirror. He only made it worse, until he ran the washcloth under the sink again and managed to wash it all off. Water mixed with the crimson liquid ran down his arm as he repeatedly rung out the washcloth and wiped off the mess he made in the sink. He released the breath he was holding and dried himself off, "That should do it."
"Max!" He jumped. He had forgotten about his sister. The door swung open just as she was about to take another gulp of air, "Oh."
"Sorry about that, bathroom's all yours," Max said as he slid past her. As soon as the door slam shut he quickly ran back to his room and closed the door, "Hey PJ-" He frowned, not spotting the ghost boy anywhere. Max hummed. He'd have to ask PJ about the mirror later. His eyes glanced at his clock and felt his heart stop. Not literally but just enough for him to kick it into high gear and rapidly finish getting ready.
Max passed the kitchen and then had to back track. His father wasn't butchering breakfast like he usually was during any meal time, but it was the freshly smeared red liquid slowly dripping down the oven's clear door that made him do a double take. He checked the hallway behind him before throwing his backpack to the side and crouched in front of the oven. "Stop ordering pizza for every meal."
Max chewed his bottom lip. It was the same handwriting and while he should scrub off the message, it was kind of right. He was getting a little sick from eating pizza constantly. The delivery person even recognized Zoey after their fifth time ordering. He flipped open his phone and felt his stomach flip. The oven can wait.
He grabbed his backpack, bolted for the stairs and down he went to the convenience store, "Son," He stated as soon as he reached the last step.
Dad Puckett hefted a box onto the counter, his glasses reflecting the overhead lights, "Father."
"Daughter!" Zoey yelled from the top of the steps.
Max raised an eyebrow as his father pulled out a rubber spider of the box, "Think fast!" Max jumped out of the way as the spider landed on Zoey's feet. She shrieked and ran back up the stairs, "It's fake Zoey!" Dad Puckett hollered.
Max picked it up and tossed the spider back into the box, "Are those…Halloween decorations?"
"Some of them yes," Dad Puckett said with a grin, "You can never be too early when stocking up with Halloween decor."
"Dad."
"Yes loins fruit?"
"It's the middle of March."
Dad Puckett flicked his son's cap up, "Exactly." Max rolled his eyes and made his way towards the exit, "Oh hey Max."
"Yeah?" He spun on his heels and saw Lefty float by carrying what appeared to be a bottle holding red liquid.
"You wouldn't happen to have seen where I put the fake blood would you?" He asked rubbing his head, "I could've sworn I placed the stuff next to the zombie flamingos." It clicked.
"No Dad I haven't," the doors slid open behind him, "I think this is getting a little out of hand. I'm gonna go wait for the bus."
"Have a great day at school!" Dad Puckett shouted waving after his son.
Zoey jumped down the last step and stared at the glass fridge doors. She knitted her eyebrows and narrowed her eyes before pointing at them, "Dad is that part of the 'Halloween display' you were doing?"
He turned and noticed the "Drink Water" message written in fake blood. "OH SO THAT'S WHERE IT WENT!"