Chapter 2

The rest of that day passed by in a painful blur for Nazz. At dinner that evening, Julia talked about her college life as well as her new boyfriend, Zeke. While the girls' parents were thrilled to hear about Julia's new boyfriend (despite having never met him before), as well as her pursuit of higher education, Nazz just found her sister's ramblings boring and annoying.

Later that night, as Nazz went to shower before bed, she found Julia's undergarments strewn about, much to her dismay. Making matters worse, when Nazz turned on the water, she found that Julia had used all the hot water.

"Damn it, Jules!" Nazz said fiercely under her breath, slamming her fist on the shower tile wall.

After finishing her shower and toweling herself, Nazz returned to her bedroom, which she was sharing with Julia for the long weekend. To Nazz's unpleasant surprise, Julia had taken her place in Nazz's own bed.

"Sorry, Nance!" the elder von Bartonschmeer sister said apologetically. "I forgot to bring my sleeping bag! But I can move over and make room!"

"No thanks, Jules," Nazz replied, trying hard to sound hospitable. "My chair is more comfortable anyway." Nazz settled into her chair as Julia started snoring loudly.

"The faster Jules is out of here, the better!" Nazz remarked breathily.

The next morning found Nazz sitting on the curb in front of her house. Julia was nowhere to be seen; she had offered to do the family's grocery shopping. Though the sun was once again shining brightly and birds were chirping happily, the charms of spring break were lost on Nazz in her funk.

Nazz was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she didn't notice when Kevin pulled up on his bike.

"Hey babe!" the ball-cap wearing adolescent called out.

"Hey Kev," Nazz responded lifelessly.

"What's eating you, babe?" Kevin inquired.

"My sister Julia is visiting for spring break," Nazz answered.

"What's so bad about that?" asked Kevin.

"Where do you want me to start?!" Nazz yelled. "She uses up all the hot water when she showers, she leaves her personal shit strewn all around, she forgot her sleeping bag, and last night at dinner, she went on and on about her boyfriend and college life!"

"Wow...harsh," Kevin replied.

"Let me put it this way, Kev," Nazz continued, "Do you know what it feels like to have a headache so bad that your eyeballs are trying to evacuate from your skull? Because after being around my sister for one day, I certainly do!"

At the conclusion of Nazz's tirade, a voice rang out.

"Sounds like you need some pest control!"

Nazz and Kevin turned around to see the short, stubby Eddy, a sly grin on his face. After getting their attention, Eddy spoke again.

"Sister giving ya trouble, huh?" Eddy resumed his spiel. "A quick call to Ed's Pest Control and your Julia problem will vanish...for a fee!"

"Geez dude...I thought you would have given up this scamming bullshit since you got a girlfriend?" Kevin asked Eddy, somewhat disgusted.

"Are you kidding me?!" Eddy replied. "Now that I have a girlfriend, I need money more than ever!"

"Yeah, I'm sure Lee really appreciates you saving up your quarters to buy McDonald's cheeseburgers!" Kevin said sarcastically.

Nazz, however, jumped at Eddy's offer. "Here!" the blonde girl said to Eddy as she handed him a crisp dollar bill. "Next time, you can get Lee an extra french fry. Just please keep Jules out of my hair!"

"Come to papa!" Eddy cried triumphantly, stuffing the bill in his pocket. Following this transaction, a familiar voice greeted the group.

"Hi Guys!" Jonny called out cheerfully, carrying Plank over his left shoulder.

"Jonny!" Eddy exulted. "Just the guy I wanted to see! How would you like to make a new friend? Nazz's sister is in town for the week!"

"Awesome!" Jonny exclaimed. "Nazz has told me so much about Jules! I can't wait to meet her!"

As Eddy and Jonny conversed, and as Kevin left on his bike, Nazz noticed Julia's Volkswagen Beetle coming down the street. Eventually, Julia's car pulled into the driveway, after which the young woman got out and opened the trunk.

"Hey Nance!" Julia addressed her younger sister. "Can you give me a hand with these groceries?"

Reluctantly, Nazz approached Julia's car to bring the groceries into the house.

"I hope you bought more than just fifty boxes of Fudgy Ding-A-Ling bars," Nazz said under her breath. Still, Nazz was somewhat hopeful that Eddy's plan would work.