Chapter 9: Big Kid Madness
Holding Daddy's hand, he and I walk together. Down on the path that leads from our cottage to the big house where the rest of my family lives.
Daddy and I are first on the walking path in the forest so it's just him and I. Mommy and Auntie Alice are way behind us. That is because Auntie Alice is making Mommy walk as slow as a turtle so she won't ruin her pretty dress. That's because when we were all running, Auntie Alice had a vision.
Auntie Alice gasped in horror. Mommy and I asked what was wrong. She said the vision was terrible, she looked like she wanted to cry. It was all about a big disaster with Mommy and her dress. She saw that the dress would get caught on a tree branch and would get torn to shreds.
That would be very, very bad. The poor, poor dress.
That's why Auntie Alice told Mommy to walk very slowly around the trees and bushes. Kinda like an acrobat on a tightrope so they don't fall. Just until she is out of the forest to make sure the dress survives.
Mommy rolled her eyes but did as she said, only because Daddy told Mommy that the dress would in fact get caught on a tree and there would be nothing left of what she was wearing. He would have to take off his hoodie to cover her up and she would have to go back home and change. Which would make them all late for school.
None of them wanted to be late for school. That was obvious but I'm not sure why.
I look up at Daddy. "Why do you have to be on time for school?" I wonder.
"Because we have to be at school before the first bell rings." Daddy simply answers.
I think about that as we walk through the snow. I wonder why they have to always be on time for school. I also wonder what happens if they are late to school.
"Well," Daddy says, answering my thoughts. "We would get a tardy slip and that would not be good."
"Why?" I want to know.
"Because it just wouldn't be good." He says.
"But why?" I really want to know.
Daddy looks down at me as we keep walking. He gives me a look and I know that he's thinking of a longer answer because he hears my thoughts. He knows I will keep asking "why" until he gives me an answer that makes more sense.
We have been down this road before. It was with the question about why the weather changes all the time. I drove Daddy bananas during the summer when I was four and wanted to know all about the changes of the seasons and why the weather can't stay the same. I asked him "why" five thousand and thirty six times. Or a big number that was very close to it.
Mommy and Daddy tried to give me a simple answer by explaining that seasons change and so does the weather. That's just what happens. But that wasn't enough for me. I needed more. So Daddy ended up learning all about the weather just so he could properly explain it to me. To get me to stop asking "why".
The word "why" was very fun to say when I was littler. But Mommy and Daddy didn't think so. After a while they told me I maxed out on that word. I couldn't say it for a whole year, since they heard it way too many times.
Daddy ended up doing a lot of research about seasons and weather changes. He went to the library and checked out as many books as she could on the subject. He also bought fun puppets that looked like the sun, clouds, wind and rain to show me about the weather. He also bought me workbooks and a weather and seasons chart.
He and I spent the whole summer learning all about the changes of the season and weather. It was really, really fun. Best of all. I got my question answered.
Daddy chuckles. "Yeah I remember that." He squeezes my hand.
I look up at him and smile. Learning about the weather was really fun. Especially the way Daddy did it.
"If I ever get a job I can be the youngest weatherman on TV." He says a bit sarcastically, but it's funny and not rude. "I have more knowledge about the weather in my brain than I ever thought possible."
I giggle and he does too. I'm thinking about him being a TV weatherman. I find it funny because TV weathermen are old but Daddy isn't. He's not a man, he's a big boy. So I think he would be a TV weatherby instead.
I stop thinking about that. I still want my question answered.
"Back to the question about being tardy." I remind him.
"Right." He says. "Well, a tardy slip is not good to get. When we do receive one we have to go to the principal's office and it draws unnecessary attention to us. We don't want that."
"Why must you go to the office?" I ask. "Just because you go to school late?"
Going to the office just because they would be late doesn't make sense to me. I thought the principal was only for if you are bad. Grandma once had to call my principal, who is my Grandpa, when I threw a fit when I didn't want to do my work. That was on a really bad day. Where I had enough of school for the week and it was only Tuesday.
Grandpa was at his job at the hospital where he always goes. He talked on the phone to me that day for a long time. He calmly told me to listen to Grandma, that I didn't need to be crying over doing math problems. He also told me that if he had to take off work early because I wasn't listening and come home, I would have big consequences. I knew he meant business. So I was good for the rest of the day.
My Mommy and Daddy are my parents but my grandparents are in charge of me too. They get to punish me if I do bad things and make decisions about school for me. I'm told that it's because my parents are still teenagers and always will be. Where my Grandparents are the adults in the family. I don't exactly understand it all but I go with it.
"When you go to a traditional school. And you will one day." Daddy says, getting back to my question. "It's expected of the students to get perfect attendance. Since we're vampires, having perfect attendants isn't always possible because of the weather." He winks at me. I know he's talking about sunny days when they have to stay home. "But we do try to be on time and be good students."
I nod my head.
"Speaking about being a good student." Daddy adds. "Listen to your Grandma today. She's in charge. You are not. Don't forget that."
"Okay." I press my lips together.
"Do what she tells you to do." Daddy says. "And get your school done with complaints. No fussing understood?"
I nod my head.
I love my Grandma. But it's just not fair that I have to do school work all day long. Daddy doesn't understand what that's like.
"I don't?" He turns to me, raising an eyebrow.
"Nope." I answer, popping the 'p'.
Daddy laughs. "I've been in high school since the 1920's. Longer if you count when I was human." He shakes his head.
I do the math inside my head. That's a very, very long time.
"You must really like school." I say.
Daddy makes a face.
By the face he makes I can tell he doesn't like going to school. Or maybe he's been going for too long and he's tired of it. I'm not sure.
"No one really likes going to school." Daddy answers my thoughts.
"Then why do you go?" I wonder.
"It's just something we have to do because technically we are kids." Daddy answers matter-of-factly. "Besides, your grandparents are very big on education."
I think about what he said as we walk down the path. But I still wonder why all kids have to go to school. It would be much more fun if we cut out school from our day and just played.
"Can't do that." Daddy says, again he's answering my thoughts. "School is necessary. No matter if it's for human children, teenage vampires or a Vampire Princess, such as yourself."
I giggle.
But I still wish I didn't have to do school. It would be better if I could play with my dolls and make up games all day. School takes way too long to do.
"Consider yourself lucky." Daddy answers my thoughts again. That is getting on my nerves. "You actually have it easier than the rest of us."
I look up at him. "What do you mean?"
"Well, since you don't go to a brick-and-mortar as we do," The "we" he is talking about, is him, Mommy, and my aunts and uncles. "You get to end the school day at lunchtime. Where the rest of us have to stay at school from seven in the morning until three in the afternoon."
I have no idea what a brick-and-mortar is but I nod my head anyway.
"Promise me you'll be good. That you won't give your Grandma a difficult time." He says.
"I promise." I answer.
What I say is exactly what I think. Daddy smiles his crooked smile.
As Daddy lets go of my hand so we can play a little jumping game to get to my grandparents house faster. He tells me that today I am not allowed to ask the question about where babies come from. Because he says it's not appropriate for little girls to ask that. I promise him that I won't. That makes him happy.
Holding his poster board that is his Science project, protectively under his right arm. He and I stand side by side. On the count down from three to one, which we say together. Both of us hop and ribbit like frogs all the way to the big house.
It's a tie as we enter the yard and stop hopping.
I look and see Uncle Em standing on the porch. He is wearing his black and blue Rick and Morty hat, his black Pickle Rick hoodie. He also has on his dark blue jeans that have patches of the characters from the grown up cartoon Rick and Morty. He really likes that show.
I like how the characters look, especially the talking pickle. But I'm not allowed to watch that cartoon. Because it's for grown-ups and teenagers and not for little kids like me. It has bad words on it and even though all my uncles and aunts watch it as well as my mommy and daddy sometimes. I can't.
"That's because it's not for children." Daddy reminds me as we walk up to my Grandparent's house.
"I know." I say sweetly.
"Hey, Small Fry." Uncle Em smiles at me.
"Good morning, Uncle Em." I greet him with a big smile.
I step onto the porch where he is. He and I do our special handshake.
"Hey, kid." Uncle Em says to Daddy. "Where are the girls?" He's talking about Mommy and Auntie Alice.
"They are right behind us." Daddy points his thumb over his shoulder, in the direction of the walking path in the forest. "They are slowly making their way over here."
"Oh?" Uncle Em says. The word sounds more like a question.
"It's about fashion." I explained. "The dress can't get ripped."
Uncle Em laughs his booming laugh as the front door opens. He then begins talking to Daddy about something boring.
Suddenly Auntie Rose rushes out of the house, picks me up and wraps me up in a big hug. Happy to see her I wrap my arms around her neck. She spins me around in lots of circles as we squeal in excitement.
Just as Uncle Em and I have a special handshake. This is Auntie Rose and my special thing.
"And how is your morning?" Auntie Rose asks as puts me down.
"Good." I say. I begin to think about my morning and what happened at home. "I have something important to say."
Auntie Rose looks at me, wondering what it could be.
"Oh no." Uncle Em sounds scared and Auntie Rose RoseI look over at him. "It's not going to be the question that you kept asking me all day yesterday. Is it?" He shivers.
I stare at him. Auntie Rose puts her hand on her forehead and Daddy laughs.
"No." I say very slowly.
"She's no longer allowed to ask that question." Daddy announces as the front door opens and Uncle Jazz joins us on the porch.
"Good morning, Nessie." Uncle Jazz taps my nose with his finger.
"Good morning." I say in a sing-song voice as I spin around on one foot.
A very happy feeling is in the air. I know it's coming from my Uncle Jazz. Without a word, he and I give each other a big hug. I love hugging my family.
"Good!" Uncle Em sounds very relieved. He's still talking about the question I can't ask anymore.
I look up at him. "Why is that good?"
"I had nightmares all last night about you asking me where babies come from." Uncle Em says to me. He looks sick again.
What he said doesn't make much sense. I don't say anything
Auntie Rose giggles.
"You don't dream." Uncle Jazz points out and Daddy agrees.
"Yeah." I say. "I'm the only one that sleeps around here."
"It was still very traumatizing." Uncle Em insists.
"Sure it was." Uncle Jazz and Daddy say at the same time. They sound like they are teasing Uncle Em. But I don't understand why.
"Go ahead, Ness." Daddy says to me. "Tell them what you were going to say."
Of course Daddy already saw what I wanted to say. He reads my mind all the time. So it's not a surprise to him.
"The Tooth Fairy came and she left me a five dollar bill." I announce very proudly.
Everyone congratulates me on my lost tooth. Both of my uncles give me high fives. All of them say that five dollars is a very big amount of money to get when you lose a tooth. That's because when all of them lost their baby teeth when they were human, the Tooth Fairy was cheap. She only gave them a few pennies.
I'm horrified to learn that. That would be terrible. You can't buy anything for a penny. If the Tooth Fairy gave me a penny I would be sad. I might even cry.
Finally Mommy and Auntie Alice walk up to the porch. With a funny look on her face Mommy looks at Uncle Em, then she looks over at Auntie Alice who's beside her.
"Why does he get to dress in clothes that have a cartoon pickle on them?" Mommy points to Uncle Em.
"Wubba lubba dub dub." Uncle Em says, imitating one of the characters from Rick and Morty.
Since I have never seen that cartoon before. I have no idea what character says it or would it even means. All I know is that both of my uncles laugh and so does Daddy. So it must be something funny. I just don't know why.
"Bella," Auntie Rose says before Auntie Alice can say anything. "He's a guy. It doesn't matter what they wear."
Uncle Em gives Mommy a silly look and nods his head.
"That's not right. He looks like a walking billboard for Rick and Morty." Mommy complains.
"Why thank you, baby sis." Uncle Em strikes a pose.
"And here you made me change into a dress." Mommy goes on. "All because my shirt didn't match my shoes?" She questions Auntie Alice, in a very irritated voice.
"Precisely. You have to look good." Auntie Alice smiles. "Fanison is everything."
"Us girls have to look nice." Auntie Rose points out.
Mommy grumbles and rolls her eyes.
I look at my Mommy and my aunts. All three of them are wearing very pretty dresses, nice coats with earrings that match their clothes. While my Daddy and uncle are all wearing jeans. Uncle Jazz has on a leather jacket where Daddy and Uncle Em have on hoodies.
All of them wear nice clothes and look nice. But I like what the girls are wearing better. I don't like jeans. That's why I never wear them.
Suddenly it gets loud on the porch. The girls talk about fashion. Or in Mommy's case, it's why Auntie Alice never wants her to wear jeans to school. While the boys are being loud and goofy. All three of them are laughing and quoting sayings from Rick and Morty. I have no idea what they're talking about.
I stay quiet watching the big kid madness.
All of a sudden the door opens. Grandma steps onto the porch holding four backpacks. She and I greet each other with a hug and a smile.
"Kids." Grandma says in her firm voice. The one she uses to get everyone to listen to her. All of them get quiet. "It's time to leave for school now. We don't want to be late."
All my aunts, uncles, and Mommy and Daddy agree.
While my aunts and uncles take their backpacks from Grandma. Mommy and Daddy each give me a kiss, telling me to be good and that they will see me later. I promise I will be good and give them both a kiss. With that it's time for everyone to leave.
Grandma and I stand on the porch, watching all of them go into the garage. Seconds later Uncle Em's red Jeep, that has Pickle Rick stickers on the back of it, followed by Auntie Rose's red car leave the garage and go down the road. We watch until we can't see their cars anymore.
"Well, Nessie." Grandma says and I look up at her. "It's just me and you now."
"Yup." I agree with a smile.
"Shall we go inside and start our day?" Grandma asks.
"Lets." I grab her hand.
Since my school day doesn't start until nine o'clock and it's only six forty five. Grandma and I spend time doing fun things before we go up to our school room.
Grandma opens the front door and we go inside the empty house.
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Thank you for reading. :)))
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