Nuisance
October 2 1987
It was cold and miserable outside. Rain was falling hard from the sky, making clunking noises against the windows. You could hear distant thunder crashing in the distance. The echoes of cars as tires splashed over puddles could be heard from the street.
Luckily for Yakko, it was nice and warm inside of the apartment. He was glad to be sheltered from all the rain. He was sitting on the couch with his baby sister, cuddling her while the TV played in the background. Dot had been easy on him so far today, no diaper changes or tantrums, at least not yet. If life decided to be good to him, then his sister would be happy and cheerful throughout the day and he'd have nothing to worry about.
His brother was sitting on the floor next to the couch, playing with some of his toy cars. He didn't really play with his cars anymore as he was always busy taking care of both of his siblings and keeping the house tidy. The least he could do was do something nice for Wakko to make himself feel good.
It seemed like he was having a good time, whooshing the cars across the thin brown carpet that covered the floor. Yakko couldn't help but smile, he wished he could be having as much fun as he was.
If only I didn't have as many responsibilities.
Wakko had just turned two years old the other day. Time really flies by, it only felt like yesterday that his brother had been born. He felt happy for the little guy, he'd been looking after him mostly by himself for almost two years now. The fact that he could manage it all on his own was incredible to him. He didn't think he could take care of him all on his own, yet here he was.
It was hard to remember sometimes how easy he had it. Whatever he was doing was definitely working for him.
He continued to snuggle the baby in his arms. She was fast asleep, a thumb in her mouth.
"Good morning my sweet little sister," he said to her," you're looking adorable this morning".
Dot continued to sleep, he smiled, he couldn't get enough of her. She was simply the cutest little thing.
His brother suddenly got up from the floor and joined him up on the couch. He scootched close to him, looking down at his sister in interest.
"Hi baby", Wakko said to her," baby sleeping".
"Yeah, baby still sleeping", Yakko repeated," it seems like she's always sleeping, doesn't it"?
Wakko looked up at him in wonder.
"Why baby always sleep, why never awake"?
"Don't know Wak, mom said that babies just sleep a lot".
"But why?", Wakko asked again.
"I told you, I don't know. I'm not an expert at this. You can ask mom when she gets home later".
Wakko looked away from him," Ok big brother, mom know lot of things"!
He wasn't wrong, his mom seemed to know how to handle almost every situation. If he ever had a problem, he knew that he could always go to her. He sighed, he wished he could be as good at problem solving as his mom was. It would really help with the hard situations he had to face on a daily basis.
His sister's eyes suddenly started to open, she was waking up. She then made a whimpering noise, which then rose into cries. What luck, Dot had woken up in tears this morning.
There goes my peace and quiet, I guess!!
He sighed as he slid off the couch. It was time to give his sister her morning bottle. Balancing her in his arms, he carried Dot to the kitchen. Wakko followed behind, looking to be curious as to what his brother was doing.
Yakko went into the kitchen, opening the fridge with his open arm. Trying his best not to accidentally drop his sister in the process, he could barely grab the small bottle of milk from the fridge.
Closing the fridge, he stuck the bottle into his sister's mouth and started to feed her. Dot's whimpering suddenly came to a stop. Her eyes closed, and her cheeks grew puffy as the infant sucked on the tip of the bottle.
He noticed that his brother was looking up at him in interest as he fed his baby sister. He had that sort of look on his face where he was both confused, but extremely fascinated at the same time.
"What do you want sib", Yakko asked his brother.
"Why you give sissy milk"?
"Because mom says that all babies need to drink milk".
"Me want", Wakko said to him," me want milk too".
He shrugged his shoulders," Ok, you can have some".
Wakko then did his usual thing, where he would get really excited and jump and squeal dramatically. Who knew a kid would get so excited over milk.
"Yes..Yes..me want milk, me want, me want!!", the boy chanted. Yakko was barely able to understand a single word his brother had said.
"Ok Wakko, calm down a little", he told his happy little sibling," I have to finish feeding your sister first".
"No, me want milk now"!!!
"I'm gonna give you some milk, just wait a second, alright"?
He watched as his brother's face scrunched up. It looked like he'd just sucked on a lemon or something.
"Please big brother", Wakko whined, " please give me milk!! Me want some"!!
Yakko groaned, his brother had fallen into tantrum territory.
"Please, don't cry now", he pleaded," I'm going to give you your milk".
"But me want milk nowww"!!!
"Wakko stop!! You have to wait"!!
His brother suddenly stopped crying, he gave him a sad glare. He must have scared him or something, because it looked like Wakko was about to burst into tears. He didn't mean to make his brother sad, he was just frustrated because he wouldn't stop carrying on about getting some milk.
Yakko took a deep breath before speaking.
"Look, I'll get you a glass of milk. Just wait a second ok"?
Wakko sadly nodded yes.
"Good, why don't you go sit in the living room. I'll bring you some milk, I promise".
Yakko's saddened brother slowly left the kitchen to go to the living room. Wakko remained quiet the whole way there, if he was lucky enough, he would stay that way for a while.
When he finished feeding his sister, he threw the empty bottle into the sink. After burping the infant, he decided that it would be best to put her right back in her crib. She could get an early start on her morning nap, so he could spend more time with her later.
He carried his sister back out into the living room. He was happy to find that his brother had resumed playing with his Hot Wheels cars quietly in the living room. He placed Dot gently down in her crib, she almost immediately went to sleep. Yakko gave a small smile at seeing his sister sleeping, babies were adorable when they slept. He covered the baby up, just to assure that she would be comfortable while napping.
Trying not to stand by the crib and admire his sister for too long, he hopped off the stool that he was standing on to go get his brother some milk.
"Is brother getting milk?", he heard his brother ask.
He flinched, as Wakko had surprised him a little. He turned his head to where his brother was staring at him, a humongous grin was smeared on the little boy's face.
"Yup, I'm getting it", Yakko reassured his sibling," won't take too long".
He turned his head once more, making his way back to the kitchen. Upon entering, Yakko grabbed a small, clear glass from the dish drainer. He placed the cup on the counter. He then grabbed a carton of milk from the fridge, carrying it over to where the cup was sitting. He opened the carton, and carefully poured some milk into the cup. After the cup was about half full with milk, he closed the carton, and put it back in the fridge.
He then grabbed the small cup, and carried it out into the living room. Wakko grew to be very excited as he walked closer to him. His brother ran towards him squealing. He was reaching his arms in the air, jumping up and down trying to reach for the cup.
"Here you go Wakko", He said, handing the cup to his brother, " enjoy".
His brother smiled as the small was handed to him. He walked away from him, promptly taking a seat on the couch. Yakko followed, sitting next to his brother. Wakko was taking small sips of the milk, it seemed that he was enjoying it.
If only I could do the same.
He slumped back into the couch. The cushions were stiff and lumpy, they didn't have a really comfortable couch. The thin green cloth on the couch was covered in a thin layer of dust.
It wasn't just the couch though, every inch of the apartment had a little bit of dust on it. His aunt's house is a lot cleaner, Yakko didn't recall seeing any sort of dust throughout the entirety of her house on any of his weekly visits there. Part of him doesn't understand why that was the case. If their aunt Arenia could keep her house so clean, then why couldn't they do the same with theirs?
Suddenly there was a thud. Yakko perked up from the couch. He looked at his brother, he groaned when he saw what had happened. Wakko had accidentally dropped his cup of milk on the floor.
"Wakko, did you have to drop it on the floor"?
"Didn't mean to", he said innocently," it a accident".
Guess I should've known that I couldn't trust him.
"Never mind", Yakko said," why don't you play with your toys while I clean this up"?
"Ok", his brother replied as he slid off the couch.
Yakko sighed, he couldn't blame his brother for being clumsy. He's only two after all. But why did he have to make so much trouble for him? He didn't want to waste anymore time though, as the milk would dry up if he doddled any longer.
Later that day, Yakko was playing with his Hot Wheels cars with his brother. He had nothing else to do, as his sister was still in her crib napping. He'd noticed that Wakko had seemed to be a little bit lonely lately, always seeming to be playing by himself away from him.
He didn't want to make his brother think that he didn't love or care about him. Yakko thought that he'd been a little harsh on his younger brother, so he thought that he would make it up to Wakko by playing with him. Besides, he forgot how fun playing with toys could be.
To his pleasure, it seemed that his plan had worked. Wakko seemed to be very happy that he was playing with him. They both were giggling as they pushed the small metal cars around.
Maybe I should do this more often, Yakko thought to himself, it would benefit us both.
"This fun", Wakko stated," Big brother, this is fun"!
"Glad to hear sib", he replied, rubbing his brother's head.
His brother looked up at him, smiling.
"This fun", he repeated," this very fun. Me love cars very much".
Yakko laughed at Wakko's innocence.
"Oh do you now", he said to him, smirking," do you love playing with cars more than you love me"?
His brother went quiet, there was a moment of silence. If Wakko said he loved cars more, he would probably burst out laughing at his brother's innocent comment.
After a few more seconds of silence, Wakko finally said," you".
Yakko wrapped his arms around Wakko, pulling him in for a great big hug. He very well understood that his brother loved him more than anything. Wakko probably loved him more than he loved his parents. He doesn't know if that's a bad thing, but who cares, at least he loved him.
They stayed like that for a while, both boys hugged each other. Yakko even gave his brother a kiss on the cheek. How could it get any better than this?
"You're so cute", he said to his brother," I love you".
"Love you", Wakko replied, giving a kiss of his own.
Small whimpering noises suddenly filled the room. Yakko looked over at the crib across the room, his sister had woken up from her nap.
He looked at his brother, " looks like sissy woke up".
"Sissy wake up", Wakko said," big brother go and get sissy".
Both Yakko and Wakko got up off the floor and ran towards the crib. They both hopped onto the stool, staring into the crib at the infant. Dot was wiggling around inside of the crib, stretching her arms and legs. Her face was scrunched up, tears were coming out of her eyes. This is the second time today that she has woken up crying.
Wonder why that is?
He carefully lifted his sister out of the crib, bringing her close into his arms. Dot's whimpering hushed, and soon the baby had stopped crying completely. It seemed that she would always stop crying whenever he held her.
"Shh, there there Dottie", he spoke softly to her," your big brother is here".
Dot looked up at her big brother. Her eyes were wide and large. Her facial expression remained neutral, but Yakko could see there was a slight curiosity in her. His brother was looking up at the both of them. There was an eagerness in him, eager for attention.
"Is sissy awake?", Wakko asked.
"She is, she just woke up".
"Me wanna see", his brother said excitedly, trying to grab Dot from Yakko's arms.
"Wakko be careful", Yakko said to his brother," sissy could fall and break her head. We don't want that now don't we"?
"Me careful"!
"No, you're not. Remember when you dropped your milk on the floor"?
"That accident", Wakko protested," you said so"!!
Oops, maybe I shouldn't have brought that up, Yakko thought, You're going to make Wakko upset and now he's gonna throw a tantrum.
His brother's face was now scrunched up again, just like how it was earlier. He was gonna throw another tantrum.
"I didn't mean to make you upset", he tried to reassure Wakko," you're right, it was an accident".
Unfortunately, it was too late. Wakko started screaming, he was shaking and stomping his foot on the floor.
"It was accident!! It was!! Me no mean to make brother mad"!!!
"Wakko stop, it's not a big deal"!
"Yes it is!!! Brother mad at me"!!!
"Stop it Wakko!!", Yakko snapped," stop screaming now"!!!
His brother's whining came to a halt. He looked up at him, pouting. His eyes were red with tears.
"You need a nap", Yakko told the upset child," your going to your room".
"No, me no want to"!
"Wakko, it's naptime. You're cranky".
"Noooo, me be good", his brother pleaded," me no cry no more".
"A little too late to say that", Yakko told him," come on sib, it's naptime".
"No, me no go"!!
He groaned, Wakko had always been fussy around naptime, but he's never been this fussy about it before.
"Wakko, you're cranky, you're tired. You need to take your nap".
"Me no want one", Wakko said softly," me no tired".
"Too bad, you're gonna take a nap whether you like it or not".
Wakko groaned, he crossed his arms. He did not appear to be happy at all.
"Fine, me take nap", he muttered angrily.
Yakko grabbed onto his brother's hand, still balancing Dot in his arms at the same time. He led Wakko towards their bedroom. He struggled a little, as his brother kept trying to pull away from him. He had to keep yanking him back every time he tried to run away.
"Stop it", Yakko ordered," your going to take a nap"!
"No, me not want to take nap"!!
With some trial and error and a lot of self confidence, Yakko was able to get to their room successfully without much trouble. Now came the hard part, getting his brother to take his nap.
He closed the door, standing in front of it so his brother wouldn't try to escape. He finally let go of Wakko's hand. To his surprise, his brother decided to run towards the bed.
Yakko snickered," Oh, I thought you didn't want to take a nap".
"No, brother want me to take nap. Me do it"!
"Are you going to give me a hard time"?
"No, me good boy".
He was surprised, his brother went from screaming to calm in under a minute. He must have known that he had no choice, he would have to take a nap no matter how hard he tried to avoid taking one.
Well, at least he won't be a pain in the butt anymore.
Yakko walked over to his brother, and covered him up in the white blanket that covered the bed. He tucked him in, making sure that he was completely snug inside the cozy bed. Wakko had a smile on his little face, his eyes glowed in the dim light of the room. He lay innocently looking up at his older brother. Yakko couldn't help but smile himself, it was just contagious. As much of a butthead Wakko could be, he knew that his brother was truly sweet on the inside.
"Alright then Wakko", Yakko finally interrupted the silence," sounds like you're going to be good, is that right"?
His brother nodded his head.
"Good, looks like you earned a story".
"What story?", Wakko asked.
"Bedtime story", he told his brother," well not really a bedtime story since you're only taking a nap. Uuh...a story to help you go to sleep".
Oh dear, I sound like dad!!
"What story brother tell me"?
He thought for a second, he'd told Wakko a lot of stories already. He tells him a bedtime story almost every night, it helps him go to sleep.
Yakko finally thought of a story in mind, one he hadn't told in a while.
"How does the three little pigs sound"?
"Yes Yes", Wakko chanted," me like that one"!
He was pleased, pleased to know that his brother had now fully calmed down and was cooperating with him. He sat down on the edge of the bed, looking Wakko in the eyes. He sighed in relief as he started telling him the story.
Let's see what happened today, Yakko pondered to himself, I fed my sibs, I put Wakko down for his nap, and now I'm changing Dot's diaper. Everything seems to be under control.
He threw the dirty diaper in a small trash can next to the changing table. He then slipped a fresh, clean diaper over his sister's waist. He grabbed the purple onesie she had been wearing, and buttoned it back onto her. Yakko was feeling confident, he once again successfully changed his sister's diaper.
He gently lifted his sister up from the small table which he used to change her diapers. Dot made some kind of high pitched squeak as he pulled her into his arms.
At that moment, Yakko heard the front door of the apartment open. Both of his parents had arrived home from work. Carrying his sister, he walked up to the door to greet them.
Both his parents looked exhausted. Bags hung under both of their eyes, and there ears drooped over their faces.
"Hi mom, Hi dad", He said to both of his parents.
"Hi Yakko", His mom said, her voice was slow and weak," you have a good day"?
He nodded his day," it was good. Wakko is napping right now".
"Glad everything is fine".
Yakko smiled, he was glad that his mom was talking to him. This didn't happen often, most days she would go straight to her room. His father ignored him completely, he grunted as he stumbled towards his bedroom.
"I can hold your sister if you want", his mom offered," you've done enough".
Surprised, he gave Dot to his mom. She held his sister in her arms in a careless manner, she didn't seem to notice. She then walked into the living room, Yakko followed her. She collapsed down onto the couch, he came shortly after. He climbed up onto the couch, he scooted over to sit next to his mom.
His mom was looking down at him with tired eyes. Yakko could feel her breath brush across his fur.
"Did your brother cause any problems"?
"No, he dropped a glass of milk on the floor, but he was mostly good".
"You clean it up"?
He nodded," I did".
His mom then turned toward him and said," your brother, always causing trouble and being a jerk to you".
He was puzzled at his mother's words, she never said something like that before.
"Wakko is not a jerk. He's annoying but he loves me".
"I'm not saying he doesn't, I'm just saying he's a troublemaker. Did he throw any tantrums"?
"Yeah...but a small one, he didn't want to take his nap".
She sighed," just as I said, troublemaker. Acting like a nuisance and making your life harder. Don't you ever get tired of him".
"No", he answered slowly," he's nice. Me and him were playing with Hot Wheels cars earlier".
"Yeah, I see", his mom said, looking over at the small, metallic cars all over the floor. "I almost stepped on them, you forgot to clean them up".
Yakko looked down at the floor, he closed his eyes.
"Sorry", he said," you want me to clean it up now"?
"Yes, do it", she told him," that should be an expectation. It better not happen again".
"Yes mom", Yakko told her," it won't, I promise".
He sadly got up from the couch to clean up all of the Hot Wheels cars scattered across the room. His mom was watching him the whole time, making sure he did a good job.
As he was picking up each individual car off of the floor, his mother's words kept repeating in his head.
Your brother is a troublemaker. A nuisance, nothing but trouble.
True, Wakko did seem to throw a lot of tantrums over small things. But he wasn't a troublemaker, at least he didn't think so. He was too sweet to be called a troublemaker. He thought back to when they were playing together, they had such a fun time together.
Maybe mom is just tired, he thought, she had another long day at work.
End of Chapter 13