Chapter 5 - Eagerness
July 14, 1986
Why is it so hot in here? Yakko thought to himself as he peered out the car window.
Yakko wiped sweat off his forehead, he felt uncomfortable sitting in the backseat of his aunt's car with how hot it was in there. The weather outside during the summer months in Burbank was always scorching hot. His parents and aunt didn't seem to mind the heat, they said that it's normal weather conditions during this time of year. Personally, he couldn't stand it. He rolled down his window and leaned his head outside, desperately waiting for a cool breeze to hit his face.
"Honey, please don't stick your head out the window like that," his aunt told him, giving him a light slap on the face.
The slap scared Yakko, causing him to jolt back, peering over at his aunt who had an angry glare on her face.
"Ow! Auntie," Yakko grunted, rubbing the spot where his aunt had slapped him. "Why can't I look out the window?"
"It's not that I don't want you looking out the window, It's when you're leaning your body halfway out the window is when I become nervous. If you're not careful, you could fall out of the car and get badly hurt," his aunt told him in a serious tone of voice.
Yakko signed, hanging his head low. "Sorry auntie."
"It's ok, just don't do it again. I know you didn't mean to do that, but now you know better, right?"
"I suppose so."
"Hey, why the long face?" She asked. "You and Wakko are going to have a little sister tomorrow. Aren't you excited?"
He had to admit, his aunt did have a point. He was ecstatic about meeting his new little sister, and has been for the past few days. His parents had been making preparations for the arrival of his baby sister for an entire month. His mom had bought onesies, diapers, bottles, baby food and other necessities required to properly look after an infant. Yakko has stepped up his game and has kept a watchful eye on Wakko on days where his parents were at work. His aunt had come over a couple times to help out, which he very much needed.
But still, Yakko longed to become a more responsible big brother for Wakko in the previous months since he found out that his mom had gotten pregnant: a term his mom used sparingly around him. He wasn't sure quite what the word meant, other than it had something to do with babies. His father snickered when he asked what the word meant, playing it off as he had said something funny, saying that he would know what it meant eventually, and he ended off the conversation by saying that his mom would blow her top if he told him.
I hate it when Mom and Dad don't tell me things. I wanna know what that word means!
"Ahem. gonna say something?" his aunt was beginning to get impatient.
"Uh..yes, auntie. I'm really excited for my baby sister to come!" Yakko grinned.
"Good to hear," she replied, then turning her attention to his brother sitting across from him. "How 'bout you, Wakkodoodle? Are you excited to meet your baby sister tomorrow?"
Wakko, who was picking his nose, perked up at the sound of his aunt calling him by a goofy nickname. The little boy grinned at his aunt, showing off his sharp, but tiny baby teeth that were growing in.
"Yes! Yes!" He chanted, jumping in his seat in excitement. "Me want sister to come!"
Aunt Amelia chuckled. "I'm glad you're excited, bud. Do me a favor and buckle your seatbelt, please."
Wakko nodded, reaching for his seatbelt. He fiddled around with it for a while, trying to figure out how to put it on. In reality, the toddler had no idea what he was doing, but he was putting in the effort, even if he couldn't quite figure it out. His aunt did have to help him with putting on the seatbelt correctly. Yakko laughed to himself as he put on his seatbelt, pulling the metal strap into the buckle. He was proud to be able to buckle his seatbelt all on his own, and couldn't understand why his brother was having so much trouble with it.
His aunt turned back to face the front of the car, before she proceeded to place the car key in the keyhole to ignite the car engine. The car engine roared as it turned on, causing the vehicle to vibrate, but it did so suddenly that you wouldn't even notice it happening. His aunt glanced over to the back seat one last time, smiling at him and Wakko. Yakko grinned back, knowing that he was going to be staying with his aunt Amelia for a couple nights while awaiting the arrival of his baby sister.
"You boys ready to go?" She asked them.
"Yes, auntie," Yakko replied in his sweetest voice.
"Yes! Yes!" his younger brother chanted, bouncing in his seat, causing the vehicle to shake slightly.
"Right! And we're off!" his aunt said as she pulled the gear shift into reverse and the car started rolling backwards.
Yakko sighed, resting his elbow against the window. It was going to be a long day for him and his brother, awaiting the arrival of their baby sister. His parents left for the hospital an hour ago. His aunt came over for a while, talking to his mom about grown up stuff he didn't understand. He'll be spending at least one night at his aunt's house. When he asked why he couldn't go with his father to the hospital to be with his mom, his aunt avoided answering the question directly and instead told him that they were going to do some math when they got to her house–as if he were actually excited for that.
His brother had been bombarding him with questions, much to his annoyance. Almost every day, Yakko would be doing something mundane such as watching TV or playing with toys, when Wakko would suddenly run up to him and tell him just how happy and excited he was. To be fair, he himself had acted ecstatic about being a big brother before Wakko was born. But Yakko started getting quite tired of being asked the same questions over and over again. When is sissy coming? How long before sissy comes? Why is she in mama's belly? The constant stream of questions asked by his younger brother has aggravated him endlessly. He didn't even know the answers to most of these questions. How was he supposed to sooth his brother's curiosity if he himself was curious about these things too?
He sighed again as he looked out the car window in boredom; perhaps he shouldn't ponder on these questions right now. It seems to him that this was going to be a long week. He would have plenty of time to ask his parents, as well as his aunt, the plethora of questions running through his mind. For now though, Yakko figured that he should give his mind a rest for a while.
Gazing out the window, he saw as the apartment complex grew further away from him as his aunt drove down the street. The apartments were made up of three story brick buildings, surrounded by a sea of parking. There was a small playground located next to the apartments, including a basketball court and a bicycle rack. Yakko and his brother would often play here with the other kids who lived there. He and Wak would often play for hours, burning themselves out from running and playing.
Speaking of his brother, Wakko had seemed to be experiencing a growth spurt as of recently. The toddler was now nearly half the size of his big brother. He was able to run faster and further now, which made for fun games of tag. The boy was also expanding his vocabulary by a lot. He was able to say and pronounce more words than he was before. While he still wasn't fluent in his speech, Yakko did notice the jump. Still, though, Wakko remained a quiet boy. It seemed that Wakko only ever spoke to him–he hardly ever said a word around his parents.
"Yak?" A squeaky voice came.
Yakko gave his brother a look. "Is it about sister?" He asked.
"Yes! When she come? Me wanna see her now!" Wakko told him. "Me can't wait no more!"
Yakko rolled his eyes. He could tell that his younger brother was beginning to grow impatient. The tiny little boy was bouncing in his seat, fidgeting with his hands.
"We're going to see her soon, Wak," Aunt Amelia promised. "Mommy and Daddy are at the hospital right now. Your sister will come before you know it, ok?"
Wakko groaned,"Me wanna see her."
He was watching his brother closely. Wakko looked to be angered by what his aunt had told him. He pressed his hand up against his face and started to bite on it anxiously. Yakko made a face as he watched his brother slobber all over his hand.
"Honey, please don't bite your hand," his aunt had a disgusted look on her face. "You're gonna leave teeth marks all over your hand."
"Wak! Wakko, look!" Yakko stepped in, trying to distract his brother from his fidgeting. "I can make a funny face."
Yakko pulled his mouth open, letting his tongue roll out his mouth. His brother looked up at him, his teeth still planted on the side of his hand. To his pleasure and relief, Wakko giggled and squealed when he saw his funny face, and proceeded to make a gookie in response. Yakko chuckled, happy to know that his brother seemed to have calmed down from his panic.
It wasn't the first time that Wakko had done something like this. He had noticed his brother biting the top of his hand on several occasions, and doing other odd things such as pulling on his ears, fidgeting with his hands, and flapping his arms around in circles. His mom seemed rather concerned by Wakko's sudden urge to make these movements. Yakko honestly didn't care about it too much, and didn't see it as a problem. Usually, Wak would cool down after a while and would return to normal. Playing with his brother seems to keep the toddler entertained and happy, so Yakko figured he would keep having fun with his baby bro.
Mom wants me to keep my brother happy, Yakko figured, so that's what I'll do. Me and my brother, and my new little sister too.
The next day
"Come on, Yakko. You don't have that much left to do."
"But I don't want to do it anymore!"
"Please, it's not that hard. You've done it plenty of times before. I don't see how today is any different."
Yakko pouted. It was the same deal every time he visited his aunt Amelia; he would be forced to do the same boring addition problems again and again, and afterwards, he would also do reading and spelling for half an hour more. Only when he was completely done with all of this would he be allowed to play with toys with Wakko. Needless to say, Yakko absolutely hated this, and only hated it more the older he got. He never understood why he had to do this, rather than the usual excuse his aunt gives him of it being good for him. And because he dreaded it so much, the amount of time he spent doing these activities lengthened the more he would sulk and complain about it.
He was tapping his pencil against the edge of the table, bored out of his mind. His eyes were burning from looking at the same boring math problems for minutes on end. Aunt Amelia was looming over his shoulder, making sure that he was doing the addition as intended to do. Yakko, try as he must, desperately wanted to escape from this, but sadly couldn't, not with his aunt around.
"Yakko, I don't have all day!" She finally snaps. "Either do the problems, or you won't be able to have ice cream for dessert. It's your choice."
Yakko grunted. "I already know how to do this, auntie."
"Well if it's that easy, then why aren't you doing it then?"
"I don't know," he muttered," I just don't wanna."
"Not a good enough excuse," she deadpanned. "Look, I'm not going to take your excuses right now, so you better just do the work or-"
"Please auntie!" he pleaded. "I already wrote my abc's and wrote my name ten times. And I almost completed all of the math problems that you wanted. Please Auntie! Please let me play with my toys and not do this stupid work!"
He was becoming desperate by this point, trying to make himself look as innocent as possible to somehow convince his aunt to excuse him from the torture of doing all this work. Unfortunately for him, the woman seemed unconvinced, in fact, she scowled at him. His aunt then picked him up by the ears and held him close to her face.
"Listen mister! Either do the work or spend the rest of the night in your room!" She scolded. "I have had enough of your excuses tonight! Frankly, I don't tolerate this type of behavior, and I won't stand for it any longer! Do your work and stop giving me a bad attitude! Do I make myself clear!?"
"Y…y-yes a-untie," Yakko stammered, cowering in fear.
"Good. Then no more excuses." She finished ominously, lowering her voice into a deep pitch.
He gulped, his aunt left his whole body shaking. His aunt let go of his ears and sat down next to him. Yakko wasn't complaining anymore after that, he knew too well that his aunt was dead serious about what she told him, down to her last words. Quickly, he picked up his pencil and worked his way through each individual equation, trying his best to answer each one correctly. After the harsh warnings he was given, he did not want to see how mad his aunt would be if he were to get some of the problems wrong.
Aunt Amelia could be very intimidating when it came to tomfoolery. She had zero tolerance for any sort of misbehavior, and Yakko was well aware of that. If he wasn't behaving like he was supposed to, his aunt would tug on his ears–or even the fur on top of his head–and scream in his face until he was on the verge of tears. It was really scary to Yakko, and he hated that his aunt would do this to him. But, it got him on task, which seemed to be his aunts' intention. Still, Yakko didn't take punishment too well. He always felt on edge after being reprimanded for something he did, mostly because he felt miserable for making his guardians upset with him.
Yakko knew better than to get angry at his aunt, knowing that there was a 99.9% chance that she would get angry back. But sometimes, words would escape from his big mouth and he would say something that he wasn't supposed to. He knew he had to be careful about what he says if he doesn't want to face the dire consequences for making a smart remark.
Soon later, Yakko finished the math sheet, relieved that it was now over with. He quickly glanced at his paper to make sure he hadn't gotten any of the problems wrong before his aunt checked it. If he got more than five wrong, she would make him do extra to make up for it. Yakko groaned at the thought, that was the last thing he wanted to do right now. The sooner he got to play, the better. Thankfully, it looked like he got all of the problems correct. Yakko wasn't too overjoyed by this though, which was understandable; he was only doing basic addition, after all.
His aunt retrieved his paper and started to check through it. Yakko crossed his fingers, hoping that he got all the problems correct so that he could finally go and play. It didn't seem fair that Wakko got to spend his day playing with toys, running around, and napping for an hour while he had to do a buttload of boring education stuff.
Lucky, he thought, Wakko gets it easy! Why isn't he doing anything?
After waiting patiently for about two minutes, he got his paper back from his aunt–graded and everything. Yakko noticed a large smiley face drawn at the top of the paper. He grinned brightly, his tail wagging below him. He was more happy than usual to finally be done with the torture that was arithmetic.
"Good work," Aunt Amelia praised, placing her hand on his shoulder. "You're getting a lot better at the math part. I see you have mastered addition by this point. I'm impressed."
Yakko nodded in agreement, trying to act enthused by this. He was actually proud of himself and that he was improving his math skills, he just didn't want to have this conversation right now.
"Perhaps we should move into something a little more challenging," she suggested. "We can start with practicing some subtraction and will go from there. How does that sound to you?"
"I dunno," Yakko told her honestly. "I don't like math that much."
"I understand, sweetie. But you have to practice this with me. Your parents will be upset with me if you don't do this. It's for your own good. I apologize if you don't like this, but look at it this way: if you do your work like you're supposed to, then you will get back to doing what you want to do a lot sooner."
Yakko sighed. "I know, but I don't like learning about stuff that I don't want to learn about."
His aunt chuckled. "Oh I see. You just don't feel like learning, huh? I mean yeah, doing math and writing can be boring at times, sure. This doesn't really interest you, doesn't it?"
He nodded. His aunt had a peculiarly wide smile on her face; it was sort of disturbing Yakko.
"Learning isn't just about doing math and stuff, it's about discovering the world around you," she noted. "You need some sort of hobby, don't you?"
Yakko cocked an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"You know, some sort of interest. Something you like; something that you find pride in doing. I like to crochet in my spare time. But I mean, it's up to you. You'll figure out what you like soon enough."
A wave of confusion hit him as Yakko tried to process all of what his aunt had said. He wasn't sure what any of those new words meant - then again, Yakko hears his parents say strange things all the time. But it wasn't really confusion that he was feeling, but wonder. He was strangely intrigued by his aunt's words, and wondered what they could mean.
You need some sort of hobby, don't you? His aunt had told him.
Yakko realized that he had been spacing out, as his aunt was giving him a weird look. He had been engulfed by his thoughts once again.
"You can go ahead and play, bud," his aunt told him, ruffling his hair. "You finished everything you needed to do today."
"Ok."
At long last, he could leave. Yakko jumped down from the chair and ran into the living room where his brother was happily playing. He was about to join in when an idea came to his head. Putting his hand up to his chin, Yakko thought for a second. He suddenly had the urge to run back into the kitchen to ask his aunt a question. Aunt Amelia was reading a newspaper and drinking a cup of coffee. He tugged on his aunt's shirt.
"Auntie? Can you help me?"
"With what?" She asked him.
"Can you show me how to do that coin trick?"
His aunt smiled. "Oh, now you want to learn something. Well, I suppose we still have time to spare until grandma gets here. Sure, I can show you how to pull a nickel from your hammerspace. But I think you're forgetting to say something, am I wrong?"
Yakko gave an annoyed sigh. " Please can you show me how to do it?"
"Of course. Come on, let's go to the living room so I can show you. There's plenty of space out there."
Yakko grinned gleefully, he was genuinely surprised that his aunt was so willing to help him after the way he treated her. But that was beside the point. He had attempted several times to pull a coin out from his hammerspace to no success. In fact, Yakko hasn't been able to pull anything out of his hammerspace since he first learned about it a few months back. Apparently, his aunt teaches this kind of stuff at a toon school. If anyone was going to help him perform a simple trick such as pulling a coin out from behind his back, it would be her.
At least that's what he hoped would happen.
Entering the living room, he noticed Wakko still blissfully playing with his toys on the wooden floor of the living room. The toddler had found the big box of Hot Wheels cars that his aunt had originally got for him. Now it belongs to both him and his brother, since Wakko likes to play with Hot Wheels cars too. The child looked up at him and Amelia, curiosity in his eyes.
"What Yak doing?" Wakko asked.
"I'm going to teach Yakko how to do a cool trick. You can watch if you'd like."
"Me watch! Me watch!" He chanted as he got up off the floor and trotted over to the couch. He climbed up onto the soft cushions and laid on his stomach, making himself comfortable.
Yakko took note of his aunts' facial expression; she had that peculiar grin on her face again. It was a sign that his aunt felt really excited about something, in this case being the coin trick. He never understood why his aunt got so worked up about these sorts of things; it wasn't too big of a favor for him to ask his aunt for some assistance.
"Now I want you to pay close attention to what I'm about to show you," his aunt started, her eyes narrowing at Yakko. "I'll start and then you try and copy me, sound good?"
"Sure," he nodded," show me how."
Amelia smiled," I appreciate your enthusiasm, Yakko. Now, this is an easy trick and you should be able to do it. First, you stick your hand behind your back like this…"
Yakko watched as his aunt reached behind her back, looking closely to exactly what his aunt was doing. While he wasn't the most eager to learn how to use his hammerspace properly, he was still curious as to how to use it. Like she said, the nickel trick was easy, he should be able to do it by now. But for some reason, he wasn't.
"..Once you can sort of feel where your hammerspace is," his aunt continued,"start to think about your end goal, in other words, what you want to pull out. Think about what a nickel looks like, what it feels like. When you start to feel something in your hand, pull your hand out of the space quickly."
He gasped. There was now a shiny silver nickel in his aunt's hand.
"Wow," he said in amazement.
"Cool, huh?" She smirked. "And if you want to put this nickel back into your space, just reach your hand behind your back again and put it in there." His aunt put the shiny nickel back into her hammerspace as she explained it to him. "So Yak, you wanna give it a shot?"
The truth was that Yakko was actually unsure if he wanted to try doing the coin trick or not. There was a chance that he could fail at doing it, which would be a shame. Although, he didn't really have an opportunity to back out of this, seeing how happy his aunt looked at that moment.
"Sure. I wanna do that," he replied.
"Splendid," Amelia grinned, folding her hands together.
"Yak do it!" Wakko chirped, clapping his hands obnoxiously and squealing.
Yakko turned his head to look at his brother.
"Thanks, Wak," he said, appreciating the encouragement. Wakko made his "gookie" in reply, which made Yakko giggle a little.
Ok, here it goes, Yakko told himself as he took a deep breath and reached behind his back. He found his hammerspace fairly easily (He's found it before after all), he could feel a tiny bump indicating where the entrance of the space was. Digging around in there, he attempted to repeat his aunt's steps.
Start to think about what you want to pull out, she instructed him. Think about what a nickel looks like, what it feels like.
He thought it was easy at first; he knew what a nickel looked like. It was fairly light and easily fit into the palm of his hands. Yakko had tossed a nickel into the fountain at a local mall before. He could see other nickels gleaming at the bottom of the fountain. As Yakko thought about this, he started to feel something.
"I feel something…wait? Amelia, I think I got it! I got it I-"
But when he reached his hand out, Yakko could clearly see that his hand was empty. He frowned, feeling disappointed in himself. For a second he thought that he'd done it. But sadly, his hands turned up empty.
"I-I didn't do it," he whimpered, lowering his head. Yakko was on the brink of crying, devastated that he couldn't do something that seemed ever so simple, yet too far out of his reach.
His aunt understood how Yakko felt. She knelt down and put her hand on his shoulder. Yakko, frustrated with himself, refused to even look her in the eye.
"It's not fair!" He told her. "I want to do that coin trick like you, but I can't! I'm never gonna be able to do it!"
"Hey, that's not true. Don't say that to yourself," Amelia said in a firm but comforting voice. "Practice makes perfect. Keep on trying and you'll get it eventually. Don't get easily discouraged by these sorts of things, Yakko. That will do nothing for you."
Yakko sighed. "I know. I just see how you do things and I want to do them too," he explained. " I want to do that coin trick, auntie, and everything else that you do."
His aunt had a thoughtful look on her face. Yakko could tell that she was taking his words into consideration. He had been endlessly fascinated by the things he had seen his aunt Amelia do. She could pull a rabbit out from her hammerspace; she can morph into a rabbit; and she can bend and stretch in all sorts of directions. She says that she practices what she calls "toon skills'' on a daily basis. Yakko had become curious about these things and had asked his aunt about them many times. His aunt teaches these skills to her students at a toon school - located in her hometown of Glendale. As far as he's aware, his aunt loves what she teaches and seems very passionate about it.
Suddenly, his aunt showed a warm smile on her face, before embracing her arms around him. Yakko was startled, but soon grinned as he embraced the hug.
"You don't know how happy you made me right now," she said, "I really needed to hear that. Thank you."
"You're welcome," he replied, feeling proud of himself.
"Now you know what I'm thinking?" Amelia
Suggested,"why don't we try that coin trick again, shall we?"
Yakko was delighted. "Ok, Aunt Amelia."
"Good to hear! Like I said, all you need is to practice again and again 'till you get it. Trust me, you'll never forget how to do it once you learn. If you want, I can show you some of my books about how to do more tricks with that space of yours. Now how does that sound?"
"Sure! I want to see them, I want to see them!"
His aunt chuckled. "Eager, huh? Well in that case we can-"
A knock was heard at the door, interrupting they're conversation. With everything that has happened from this morning to now, Yakko had totally forgotten that he, his brother and his aunt had to go to the hospital to see Mom and Dad and his baby sister. He also had forgotten that someone was coming over to see him and Wakko - Yakko's grandma.
"Gamma here!" Wakko exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.
Wakko flung off the couch and ran to the front door. Yakko followed suit and chased after him.
"I'll get it!" Aunt Amelia hollowed as she hurried to open the door.
The boys were jumping up and down excitedly, they both knew what it was time for. His aunt opened the door and Yakko's grandma walked in. She wore a purple sweater and jeans, holding a big blue bag in her left hand. She held her arm out for Yakko and Wakko. Both boys ran into their grandma's arms, giving her a warm welcome.
"Hi, grandma!" Yakko said cheerfully. "Are those presents for me?" He gestured at the bag that his grandma was holding.
"Sorry, sweetie. I didn't get you anything this time," his grandma replied, patting his head. "I bought this for your little sister."
Wakko frowned. "No Hot cars?"
"It's ok, Wak. Grandma will get you something next time," Yakko informed his brother.
His grandma smiled a warm, comforting smile, chuckling to herself. She closed the door and came into the house. She sat down on the couch; Yakko and his brother sat next to her. Yakko liked his grandma. He didn't get to see her often- only ever around the holidays or his birthday she would come and visit. Of course today was a very special occasion. Soon, he would get to see his sister for the first time at the hospital. His tail wagged frantically as he thought about this. He would have a new little sibling to look after; a sibling that he would share love and affection for.
Wakko was looking at him with a happy little grin, tongue out as per usual; he brother looked to be just as excited about this as he was. He loved his younger brother very much. He loved when he would start making silly faces and squeal for no reason. His parents always expected him to look after his brother and "guide him" as they put it. True, it wasn't always easy taking care of his brother (Wakko had the tendency to act fussy sometimes), but Yakko still loved him anyway. He had to - they're family, after all.
They're aunt entered the room, her arm reaching behind her shoulder; she appeared to be nervous.
"Anything bothering you?" His grandma questioned his aunt's movements.
She sighed. "Oh, it's nothing. I'm anticipating Rocko calling, telling us that it's time."
"I understand, Amelia. Elizabeth's third baby; time is flying by." She chuckled, and said: "I'm really starting to feel my age now. I still remember when Yakko was a baby, it feels like ages ago since he was that small."
His grandma smiled at him, running her hand through his fur. "Gotta love em' while they're still young and sweet. Soon, they'll be heading off to college."
"Don't even mention it. I'm already feeling exhausted. I'm practically old already," Amelia grumbled.
"You're just anxious, honey. Be happy that you're still young and have a lot of years left in you. You're always stressed and running around worrying all the time. Slow down every once in a while, it's good for you."
"Yes, mom," she muttered.
The phone then rang, prompting Amelia to leave the room to answer it. Yakko looked up at his grandma and grinned. He knew exactly what was happening and what was to come.
"It's your father," she told him, "he's waiting for us at the hospital. We better get going so we get there on time."
Yakko smiled. "I can't wait to meet her."
"Sister at hospital. She wait for us," Wakko said.
"That's right," the old cat said, smiling an old but bright smile back at him. "Come on now, we'll take my car."
His grandma got up from her seat, swung the bag of presents over her shoulder, and walked towards the front door. Yakko grabbed his brother's hand and followed after her. Glancing at Wakko, Yakko could see that his brother had become giddy in excitement, probably excited to meet his young sibling for the first time.
"You happy, bro?" He asked him.
"Me veeeryy happy!" Wakko answered.
His aunt got off the phone around the same time. She wore a nervous grin on her face, looking to be more nervous than she was previously. She approached his grandma and tapped her on the shoulder.
"We have to go," she told her with urgency in her voice. "We're already an hour behind than we should be."
"Ok," was his grandma's reply. "I'm taking the kids in my car; we still have plenty of time. Get everything you need and we'll go."
And with that, his grandma urged him and his brother out the door. Yakko didn't like being rushed, but by the sound of his aunt and grandma's exchange, it seemed like they were in a hurry. In Yakko's eyes, it was jarring going from hanging with his aunt to rushing out the door to get to the hospital on time.
Aunt Amelia didn't even get to show me her books. What are they even about anyway? Yakko shrugged, Oh well. They might have been boring anyway.
When they had arrived at the hospital, Yakko, Wakko, and they're grandma sat down in the waiting room area, while Aunt Amelia got all of them checked in. According to his grandma, they still have plenty of time to spare, despite being rushed out the door. Yakko thinks that grown ups make such weird decisions sometimes.
He sighed, growing bored. The waiting room looked dull, with fading blue walls and fluorescent lights; not the ideal environment he wanted to be in. Yakko twiddled with his thumbs, having nothing to do but patiently wait. Wakko, who sat in the chair next to him, was even more antsy than he was; the toddler just couldn't sit still for the life of him. He was bouncing himself in his seat.
"Where's sister? Me wanna see her!" Wakko whined.
"Wakko, shh. We have to be quiet now."
"Me no want to be quiet!" His brother sulked, crossing his arms and scowling at him.
Yakko groaned, realizing that his brother was in one of those moods where everything bothered him. He's dealt with this sort of stuff before, and from past experience, he knows that it's never easy to deal with.
" Please Wakko," Yakko said firmly, "Please be patient. We will meet our sister soon, I promise."
"Me no wanna!" He refused. "Me wanna see sister now!!"
"No, you can't," Yakko tried to reason with him. "It's not time yet."
"Why you no let me see sister!?" Wakko whined. "I wanna see her now!!"
"Wakko, shut up!" He barked.
His harsh reaction didn't do anything to make the situation better. In fact, Wakko only grew more angry.
"You no let me see sister," his brother whined. "Yakko, you mean. You big meanie."
"Don't call me that," he snarled, grinding his teeth.
"YOU MEANIE!!" Wakko screamed, now standing up on the chair. "YAKKO MEANIE!! I WANNA SEE SISTER NOWWWW!!"
By now, Wakko was throwing a complete fit. He fell onto his back, kicking his legs in the air and screaming. Other people had taken notice of the dilemma and were looking over at him and Wakko. A baby alligator toon has started crying too, her mom shushing her. Aunt Amelia, who was talking with a nurse, glanced in his direction. Yakko's face turned red with embarrassment. Why his brother chose now to throw a tantrum was beyond him. His grandma finally decided to intervene and picked up the crying child.
"There there, Wakko. Calm down for me please," she soothed him as she snuggled him in her arms, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
Yakko sighed of relief not having to deal with his brother's tantrum anymore. While they are close and get along nicely with one another most of the time, not everything is peachy keen between him and Wakko. Whenever he was in a bad mood, the flames would ignite and the fire spread rapidly. He would become so angry that he would become practically out of control. It was a real treat having to deal with his brothers' fuming temper–The kicking, the screaming and the crying. Once that raging fire deep down inside his little brother ignited, it would all be downhill from there.
If he and his brother were back at home, this would have gone on for a lot longer. It would have probably taken almost half an hour for him to be able to calm Wakko down from his nasty fit. Thankfully, he had his grandma here to help resolve the situation, saving him the time. He hoped that he didn't make her mad by yelling at his brother like that.
"I'll be right back," his grandma told him. "I'm going to take your brother to the bathroom. You stay here and wait for Auntie Amelia, alright?"
Having nothing to reply with, he simply nodded. His grandma shot him a quick smile as she started to walk away with Wakko, his head resting against her shoulder. The boy's face was drenched with tears as he cried into his grandma's sweater. He hated to admit it, but Yakko felt sort of bad for his brother at that moment. Then again, Wakko was acting crabby and was getting on his nerves.
He can be so annoying sometimes! Hope he calms down soon.
Now sitting by himself, Yakko suddenly remembered the coin trick. He had nothing else to do at that time, so he decided that he would give it another shot. He remembered vividly the steps that his aunt had told him to follow. Reaching his hand behind his back, Yakko repeated the steps accordingly–having the image of the nickel in his head, knowing what it looked like and felt like.
He took a couple tries at it, all of his attempts turned out unsuccessful. No matter how hard he tried, Yakko couldn't get the trick down. He was starting to become frustrated with himself practicing over and over again, not being able to turn anything out. He was about ready to give up, that is when he remembered what his aunt had told him before. He could hear her voice talk directly into his head.
Practice makes perfect, she advised. Keep on trying and you'll get it eventually. Don't get easily discouraged by these sorts of things.
With that in mind, Yakko thought he would give it one more try before giving up. With a deep breath, inhaling and exhaling fully, Yakko reached his arm back into his hammerspace one more time, following the same steps he had before. He thought as hard as he could, thinking intensively about his end goal. He was thinking hard and long about that nickel, thinking of every last detail about the small object. He was more anticipated than ever to get this right. Then, like a miracle, Yakko started to feel something form in the palm of his hand.
Wait…I.
He swore that his heart skipped a beat. He clearly felt something form in his hand. It was faint enough where he couldn't know for sure, but Yakko felt something. It was there, he knew for sure. Growing excited, Yakko pulled out his hand quickly, and sure enough there it was. Gleaming in the palm of his hand was the nickel in all its glory; the nickel that he made out of his invisible space.
His face grew blank. His jaw had dropped as he stared down at his hand.
"I-I…I-I did it," he stammered, so shocked that he could barely speak.
"Yakko?"
Yakko jumped up as he was snapped back into reality. He was so caught up in what happened that he hadn't realized that his aunt had been staring at him for the last minute or so.
"Look," he said as he showed his aunt his hands. Her face brightened up immediately one she noticed the nickel.
"You did it," Amelia said, surprised. "I guess the practice paid off, did it?"
Yakko nodded, he beamed brightly. "I did the coin trick!" He exclaimed.
"That's great. I'm very proud of you," his aunt said kindly. "I guess it's time to learn some more tricks, right?"
"I dunno." He shrugged. "That one was hard."
His aunt chuckled. "Well I hate to break it to you, but it's only going to get harder from here. I'm sorry that this first trick was hard for you, Yakko. How about this: we'll take it one at a time. I'll teach you one new trick every week, and I'll give you plenty of time to practice it after I teach it to you. Sound good?"
"I guess so," Yakko agreed, though he wasn't too sure.
At that moment, Yakko's grandma entered the room, balancing a squirming Wakko on her left hip. She set the boy down and he ran right to his older brother. Yakko jolted back as his little brother embraced his arms around him. He couldn't help but laugh as Wakko snuggled him. As much as he could be a nuisance, Yakko's younger sibling still finds a way to be adorable.
Aunt Amelia smiled. "I got done talking with the nurse. Your mom is ready to see us."
"She is!?" Yakko asked, his ears perking up.
His aunt smiled and nodded. "Your father will meet us outside the hospital room. Are you excited?"
"Yes, I am," Yakko replied, excitement building inside him. "I can't wait to meet my baby sister."
"Me excited!" Wakko agreed, shaking his head. "Uppie, Yakko! Uppie!"
His brother raised his arms in the air, emphasizing that he wanted to be picked up. Yakko lifted his brother into his arms; Wakko was heavy for only being half his size, but Yakko didn't mind this. He was excited about meeting his sister for the first time more than anything.
Yakko followed his aunt and grandma down a long stretch of halls. Excitement was growing inside Yakko, his heart beating quickly in his chest. He looked at Wakko's smiling face, his tongue sticking out and tail wagging. He knew that his brother was excited to meet his sister. Perhaps now Wakko could have someone else to play with so he wouldn't bother him as much.
We can only hope.
Finally, after what seemed like an hour's worth of walking, Yakko saw his dad standing at the end of the hallway waiting for him. Wakko jumped out of his arms unexpectedly and took off towards his dad. Startled by this, Yakko ran after him.
"Boys!" His father smiled as he held out his arms for both Yakko and Wakko.
"Dad," Yakko exclaimed as he embraced his arms around his father's waist. Wakko clung his arms around his father's leg.
The man chuckled and ruffled his head. Yakko laughed at his father's gesture. He always liked when his father would bend down and give him a noogie; it was his way of showing affection towards him, which Yakko appreciated.
His father shook him and his brother off of him. Both boys fell to the ground, giggling uncontrollably.
"Settle down, boys," they're dad hushed. "Your mother is in there with your baby sister. We don't want to wake her."
"Ok, dad," Yakko replied, holding back laughter.
His father held out his hand for him. Yakko grabbed onto his dad's arm and he hoisted him off the floor. Yakko rested his head against his father's hip as he held onto his hand tightly.Aunt Amelia lifted Wakko up into her arms; his grandma carried the bag of presents in her hand. Together, the group entered the room. It was dark inside the small room, with only a lamp to the side of the bed illuminating the room with a small glimpse of light.
Yakko could see his mom tucked under a white blanket. She was holding a bundle in her arms, rocking it gently. His father let go of Yakko's hand, and he raced to his mother's side. Yakko looked up at his mom with a smile. Her eyes appeared tired, but she still looked to be happy and in good spirits. He climbed over the edge of the bed to get a better look at the bundle.
"Yakko," his mom said in a soft, nourishing voice. "This is your baby sister, Dorothy."
His eyes grew wide as they focused on the sleeping baby girl cradled in the warmth of her mother's arms. Her fur was a dark shade of black, and shined in the dim light of the lamp beside them. Her face was small, she had big eyes and a small snout. She appeared similar to how Wakko was as a newborn, but one thing was clear; the infant was precious and adorable.
He rolled the name of his sister around his head. Dorothy: a perfect name for a sweet angel like her. In that moment, all feelings of worry and doubt were lifted from Yakko, and were replaced by ones of love and warmth.
"Hello, Dorothy," Yakko said to his newborn sister. "I'm Yakko, your big brother. And that is Wakko. He's also your big brother."
Yakko gestured at his brother, who had a look of wonder on his face. His aunt set his brother down on the bed next to him so he could get a closer look at his little sister. Yakko put an arm around Wakko, as the two smiled at they're newborn sister. Nobody spoke, they didn't need to. The wholesomeness of the moment spoke for itself.