Chapter 2: Maureen: Applause
A/N: Sorry this took so long. Blame school, I've been so busy. I hope this is good. Thanks for all your nice reviews. I hope to get more. I'm hoping I kept Maureen in character, since I meant to. I'll update as soon as I can, but school really sucks. So many project all at once! Enjoy this chapter. The next one focuses on Roger.
It was Thursday, the day 5 year old Maureen Johnson hated the most. This was the day that her mother invited all of her lady friends over for lunch. It happened every Thursday, and Maureen was always terribly bored. She liked action, and her mother's friends didn't. Most of all, Maureen didn't like her mother's friends. They were old, boring, and they smelled bad. All Maureen wanted to do was sing and dance. Her mother's friends preferred things quiet. This particular Thursday, Maureen wanted to show everyone her new dance. Her mother said no, so Maureen was throwing a tantrum. When Maureen had a tantrum, it was best to stay away.
She threw herself on the floor, and began crying loudly. "I…want…to …show them!" Maureen half screamed and half cried. She was bright red, kicking, screaming, and pounding her fists. She was making such a racket, that the whole neighbourhood could probably hear her. One of the rules of Thursday was that Maureen was to be a good girl. Maureen Johnson was never a good girl, and she knew it. Her kindergarten teacher sent home bad notes often enough. Being bad had proved to be much better than being good. When she was bad, she got what she wanted.
"Maureen, darling", Mrs. Johnson said as calmly as she could, "You can't dance for my friends. I only get to see my friends once a week…and I don't want you disturbing them." One would think that Mrs. Johnson would have been used to this by now. She took care of Maureen all day long, and her daughter had always been…difficult. Mrs. Johnson sounded very tired. Being Maureen's mother was enough to make anyone constantly exhausted.
Maureen furrowed her brow, and looked at her mother quizzically. She looked confused, and Maureen hated being confused. "What's…. 'disurbeded' mean?" Maureen asked. One thing she hated was people saying things she didn't know, which happened often. Maureen liked to know everything.
"Well, it's like…when you're bothering them by doing something they don't like", Mrs. Johnson explained slowly. Maureen understood now. This big word didn't mean anything new. It was just a fancy grown up way not to be bad. Her mother and everyone else told her that all the time. If that's the way her mommy wanted to do things, then fine. She wasn't going to give up without a fight. It would be her mommy's fault, since her stupid friends had to come over.
"You're sisturbing me!" Maureen yelled at the top of her lungs. She was using her mother's big word against her. She ran up the stairs as fast as she could, ran into her room, and slammed the door shut. Maureen vaguely heard her mother say that she ought to have said disturbed. One thing she hated more than not knowing things was being corrected. Only a real meanie would correct her. Her mommy was a real meanie.
Maureen sat cross legged on her neon green bed spread. Maureen loved her bedroom the best out of all the rooms in the house. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson didn't like going in Maureen's room. Other than the constant mess, they also regretted the decision of letting her decorate her own room. They wanted to foster her creativity. The room really reflected the 5 year old's personality. If you were to walk into the room, everything would seem to shimmer. Her Barbie's still lay in a pile on the floor from the last time she had played with them.
For a few moments, Maureen did something that no one had ever seen her do. No, it wasn't that she said please and thank you without being reminded ten times. That had still yet to happen. Normally, Maureen was very loud and always moving. Instead, she sat on her bed completely still and silent. If someone walked passed the door, they wouldn't be able to tell that she was there. She was like this because she needed to concentrate and form a plan. She would show her mother not to mess with her. They would watch her dance, and they would applaud.
As she was thinking, she heard soft and overly polite sounding voices from downstairs. That could only mean one thing. Her mother's friends had arrived at last. Maureen could clearly picture them clearly, drinking tea and talking about stupid stuff. When Maureen decided it was time for her to be bad, things wouldn't be so boring anymore. They would watch her dance and like it. She would make sure of that. She leaped off the bed, and tiptoed out the door. Soon, she would show them all.
Maureen was very quiet as she made her way down the stairs. This was very weird for her, but for her plan to work, she had to be quiet. She didn't want her mother or her mother's friends to look up and see her sneaking down the stairs. None of the very nicely dressed ladies had even seen her. Maureen hated not being noticed, but there'd be time later. All of the lovely ladies were sitting in the living room. Maureen had long ago learned how these afternoons worked. Eventually they would move into the kitched, and Maureen would be waiting.
She walked into the kitchen and hid behind the counter. She was the only one who could fit there. When it was the perfect moment, she would jump out from her hiding spot and surprise them. They would never suspect a thing. She waited there for a whole bunch of minutes, she didn't know how many, which was normally very hard for Maureen. Today, she was determined to learn to wait.
They were talking about their homes, their clothes, and their husbands. Stupid stuff, and Maureen had always known it. She began jumping up and down, since she was so bored of waiting. She wanted it to be a good surprise for them. Still, doing nothing was so hard. She decided that she only had to wait a little longer. Then, they would definitely want to watch her dance.
She only had to wait a little longer so she could be sure that no one would notice her before it was time. When she was sure that they were immersed in their conversation, she jumped from her hiding spot. The ladies gasped in surprise, just as Maureen wanted them too. This was working perfectly.
Maureen smiled mischievously, which was becoming somewhat of her trademark. It was the smile that Mrs. Johnson knew all too well. It was the smile that mean her daughter was up to something. Whatever she was up to, it had to be bad. It was the smile Mrs. Johnson had come to dread. Mrs. Johnson braced herself for the worst. "I'm going to show you! Maureen exclaimed proudly. Mrs. Johnson didn't know what that could mean. With Maureen, people rarely had a clue.
Mrs. Johnson quickly ran through all the possibilities. None of them were good. Then, all of a sudden, Maureen started to dance. She had a huge grin on her face the whole time. All of the prim and proper ladies looked at the little girl in shock. None of their children would ever dare to behave like that. They all knew better. Mrs. Johnson turned bright red with embarrassment. Her friends would never let her live this down.
Maureen finished her dance with a curtsey, just as her dance teacher had taught her to do. She looked like she was enjoying herself. Then she waited very patiently, just as she had been taught. Maybe she wouldn't need to do anything drastic after all. Maybe for once she would get some benefit out of being good. She waited and waited for them to clap. That's what you were supposed to do, but the ladies did nothing but stare. They were doing things all wrong!
When someone was done performing, you were supposed to clap. That was the way things worked. Maureen learned that in dance class. Sometimes, she forgot, but she knew you were supposed to clap. Also, it made her really happy when people clapped for her. Why would those ladies not clap for her? That was mean. Did they not like their dancing? Well, they didn't know what they were talking about.
Maureen figured that they might have forgotten. Sometimes she forgot to do things after all, and it wasn't so bad. "What're you supposed to do?" Maureen said encouragingly. She thought she was helping them. The ladies still stared at her blankly. They were the rudest people ever! She couldn't take it anymore. She screamed, partly out of frustration, and partly out of her love for the dramatic. Ten she ran upstairs to her room, stomping her feet the whole way.
She slammed her door loudly, simply for dramatic effect. Her mommy was such a meanie. Her friends were mean too. Everyone was supposed to watch her when she danced, and they were supposed to like it. She hated all of them, and she didn't understand. Her mom wanted her to be different than she really was. Her mom was always acting good. She could never be good, and she couldn't help it. She tried to be the way her mommy wanted. She would always like to sing and dance.
Maureen was very angry, and when she was angry like that, she began to cry. She couldn't help it. As the tears began to flow freely down her face, she immediately wiped them away. It was no fun to cry, unless you did it on purpose. It also made her look uncool. She heard faint noises coming from downstairs. The mean ladies hadn't left yet.
She didn't care about them. She had always known they were stupid. They were just like her mommy. She had finally stopped crying, so she had got up from her bed where she had been sitting. She went through her dance one more time in front of the mirror. She did it perfectly. So she couldn't understand why nobody liked it and clapped. She was really pretty and really great, just like always. That was what she couldn't understand.
As she finished her dance, she thought she might try it again later. It was really fun, and after her mommy's stupid friends left, maybe her mommy would watch. If she tried a whole bunch of times, she could only get better, and then the ladies would have to be nice. She just had to keep trying to get what she wanted, just like she always did. When she grew up, she would perform on a real live stage, and she would make everyone clap for her.
TBC...