The Bradys' First Computer
By Joe
Summary: The Bradys get their first computer – leading one person to become obsessed with it.
Author Notes: I do not own The Brady Bunch, its characters, or any other copyrighted material. I wrote this solely for entertainment purposes and not to make a profit.
This story was written largely as a nostalgia piece. Although it takes place in 2019 (when I first began writing this story), life in the Brady household more closely resembles the way it was at the end of the fourth season of The Brady Bunch. Also, although Cousin Oliver didn't first appear until the end of the fifth season, in this story, he moves in with the Bradys one year earlier. Also, as a bit of trivia, Shanana Thrift Store is based on Shanana Vintage Clothing, which appears in the movie A Very Brady Sequel.
Chapter 1
Greg and Marcia Brady were the first siblings to arrive home early one June Friday afternoon. Both had big smiles on their faces – happy that school was over and that their summer vacation had finally begun. Under normal circumstances, the youngest kids in the household, Bobby, Cindy, and Oliver, would have been the first to arrive home from school, but Greg and Marcia had to take only a few final exams – and could go home as soon as they finished. Since neither of them had many exams to take that day, they got to go home early, which made the start of their summer vacation even better.
"I'm so psyched that I'm done with eleventh grade," Greg said – opening one of the double doors leading into the Bradys' house. "Just one more year, and I'll be all done with high school!"
"Lucky," Marcia scoffed. Greg and she then entered the house, and Marcia closed the door behind her. "I'll have two more years."
Greg smiled and tousled Marcia's long, golden hair. "Don't worry, kid – the years will fly by before you know it – trust me!" Marcia laughed and tousled Greg's curly brown hair in response – prompting him to laugh as well.
Just then, the kids' father, Mike, emerged from the kitchen. He noticed Greg and Marcia and smiled. "Hey, Greg! Hey, Marcia! Back from school?"
"Yeah, Dad!" replied Greg. "We finished our exams, so we got to come home early!"
"That's great!" Mike said. "Think you did well?"
"Yeah. Mine were pretty easy," Marcia said.
"And so were mine," added Greg. He then realized that while Mike was wearing a tan suit and a striped black, white, and gray necktie, he was not at work. "Aren't you supposed to be at work, Dad?"
"I did go to work, but all I had to do was make some finishing touches on some designs and then have some copies made. I got to go home early, too!" Mike said.
"Groovy!" Marcia said.
"And," Mike added, "on my way home from work, I picked up a surprise for the whole family!"
Greg and Marcia looked at each other excitedly – their jaws dropped and eyes popped open – and then looked back at their dad. "What is it, Dad?" Greg asked enthusiastically.
Mike laughed a little and said, "I'll tell you later. I want to wait until dinner when the whole family's here. I think you'll all really like it!" With that, Mike briefly brushed his curly brown hair and walked through the living room to his den – leaving Greg and Marcia to look at each other in bewilderment.
"What could it be?" Marcia wondered. "Maybe it's a new TV or stereo system."
"Or maybe it's a motorcycle!" Greg exclaimed.
"Greg, I think we're getting ahead of ourselves. Let's just wait until Dad tells us what the surprise is," Marcia said.
"Yeah, you're right. Let's just wait until dinner to find out," Greg agreed. With that, Greg and Marcia headed upstairs to their respective bedrooms to kick off the beginning of their summer vacation.
Several hours later, the whole Brady family was sitting at the dining room table – eating some delicious meatloaf prepared by Alice – the family's middle-aged, live-in maid. Greg and the other two brown-haired boys, Peter and Bobby, sat across the table from Marcia and the other two blonde-haired girls – Jan and Cindy. Mike, who was now wearing a plaid shirt, sat at the end of the table closest to the stairs, and his wife and the kids' blonde-haired mother, Carol, sat on the opposite side. Oliver, the young John Denver lookalike, sat between Carol, his aunt, and the Brady boys. The siblings were chattering excitedly – happy that school was over for summer. They discussed their summer plans, which ranged from sewing new doll clothes to learning some new surfing moves. Once they had finished eating, a few of the Bradys started to get up and leave the table. That was when Mike stopped them.
"Hold on a second – don't leave just yet – I have an announcement to make," Mike said – raising his hand. He then smiled and said, "Earlier today, I picked up a surprise as a special treat for the whole family, and I think you're going to like it!"
The Bradys alternated between looking at each other and at Mike – chattering excitedly.
"What is it, Dad?" Peter asked. "Is it concert tickets?"
"Is it a new car?" Jan asked.
"Is it a pony?" Cindy asked – grinning widely.
"Is it a swimming pool?" Bobby asked.
"You dumbhead, Dad can't just pick up a swimming pool," Peter snorted – before looking at his father in anticipation. "Can you, Dad?"
Mike laughed a little. "I'm afraid I can't, Peter," he said. "But what I picked up is something that you will no doubt like. Just to let you know, it's similar to a TV – but even better!" The Bradys all looked at each other and chattered even louder in excitement. "Follow me into the den," said Mike.
The Bradys all got up and started to follow Mike into the den. The Brady father then crossed paths with Alice, who was exiting the kitchen. "Hey, Alice, come join us in the den," Mike said. "I got a surprise I'd like you to see."
Alice smiled and looked at Mike in anticipation. "Is it a raise?"
The other Bradys all laughed before chanting in unison, "Oh, Alice!"
"It's not a raise, but I think you'll really like it, anyway," Mike said. With that, he led the family into his den. Mike then gestured to a few large objects on his drafting table. The other Bradys' eyes popped open in surprise.
"Oh my gosh, it IS a new TV!" Marcia cried. The other Bradys chattered in excitement.
"Well…sort of," Mike said. "So, on my way home from work today, I stopped to check out the merchandise at Shanana Thrift Store as usual and happened to see these strange contraptions. I've heard about them for the longest time at work, but I never saw any for sale at Shanana until today. I decided that it was time for us Bradys to keep up with the times, so I got us our very own computer! From what I've heard, these things can do everything! You can use them like a typewriter, you can draw pictures on them, you can play games, you can listen to music, and heck, you can even use them like a TV! Computers can do it all, and now, we Bradys have one of our own!"
"Wow!" several of the Bradys said. The rest chattered excitedly and unintelligibly as they approached and stared at the devices that Mike had brought home. One object was a small CRT monitor with a beige frame, and the other was the computer itself: a metal, discolored beige computer tower that was almost perfectly rectangular. It had three bays for 5.25" disk drives – one of which was in use by a CD-ROM drive. Beneath the 5.25" bays were two visible bays for 3.5" disk drives – one of which was in use by a floppy drive. The computer also had two gray buttons and two LEDs. A piece of paper taped to the case indicated that the computer specifications included a 300 MHz Intel Pentium II MMX processor, 64 MB of RAM, a 6 GB hard drive, a 20-speed CD-ROM drive, a 56k dial-up modem, and Windows 98 Second Edition. All in all, it was a typical white box computer from the late '90s.
"Yes, indeed, we Bradys are finally keeping up with the times!" Mike said proudly.
"Actually, Uncle Mike," Oliver started, "with all due respect, this device is laughably outdated by today's standards – "
"How does it work, Dad?" Peter interrupted – grinning with excitement.
Mike laughed a little. "Well, I'm afraid I don't know." He turned his attention to his nephew. "I was hoping Oliver might be able to help me."
"Sure, I can help you, Uncle Mike," Oliver said. He looked around Mike's drafting table as if he were looking for something. "Where's the keyboard?"
Mike raised an eyebrow in confusion. "The…keyboard…?"
"Yeah," Oliver replied. "You need a keyboard to use a computer. And did you get any software for this thing? You know you can't do much on a computer without software, right?"
Mike rubbed the back of his neck, looked down, and laughed nervously. "Oops…" he said. He then sighed and turned his attention to the other Bradys. "Well, gang, it looks like Oliver and I need to go to the thrift store for a few more things."