Same Show On Every Station
BO
I walked back into my room and shut the door. I tucked myself in and put the covers over my head. Then I remembered my water. I didn't get a glass yet. So I crossed my fingers and leaned over the side of the bed, lifted up the comforter and peered around underneath. I couldn't see anything so I climbed out and quietly walked to the bathroom. The door opened just as I reached for the knob and I jumped back in surprise. It was Morgan who came out and as he turned the light off, he saw me.
"Bo, why are you out of bed?" he asked.
"I need a glass of water," I whispered. "There's a monster on the roof and I told Dad."
Morgan rubbed his eyes. His pajamas were all wrinkled. "Bo, there's nothing on your roof. Go back to bed."
"Yes there was!" I said.
"Sssshh!" said Morgan. "You want to wake everyone up? Come on, I'll take you back to your bed." He held out his hand but I turned away from him and went into the bathroom. He sighed and followed me. I switched on the light and picked up a cup that was sitting next to the sink taps. Morgan turned the cold water on for me.
"Morgan?" I asked.
"What, Bo?"
"Did Aunt Carolyn do something to Houdini?"
Morgan didn't say anything. I watched him in the mirror. His hair was all sticking up and he looked really tired. Maybe I should have left him alone. "Yes," he mumbled.
We both didn't say anything. My glass was filled so we walked back to my room.
"I left the light on," I said, turning around.
"Don't worry about it." We walked into my dark room. It felt safer with Morgan there. He took my hand and helped put me back in bed. "You want me to get a nightlight?" he asked.
I nodded. Morgan just stood there in the darkness. "Well?" he said.
"What?"
"Do you want it or not?"
"Yes."
I heard him turn and walk out of the room. It was so dark and there were no lights on in the hall or outside. I pulled the blankets up to my chin. Two seconds later, Morgan came back, holding his own nightlight.
"Won't you need that?" I whispered, as he leaned behind my night table to plug it in. It came on and then I could see him, yawning. He stood up and shook his head. Then he sat on the edge of the bed.
"I'm sorry about Houdini," he said. "I know you really liked him. Isabel's OK, though. She's in the garage but I bet Uncle Merrill will bring him in later. Go back to sleep, Ok? Everything will look better tomorrow. Aunt Carolyn's gonna come back to visit, so - "
"Why are you talking so fast Morgan?" I suddenly said. "Are you scared?" He didn't say anything, so I sat up and gave him a hug. I whispered in his ear. "Don't be scared, Morgan."
He hugged me back. At the same time we saw, out of the corner of our eyes, the lights in the yard come on. We saw them out the window. Morgan stood up and went over to it. He rolled it open and put a finger to his lips, telling me to be quiet. I put my hands over my mouth and we both listened.
Then we both heard at the same time Uncle Merrill screaming. "We're gonna tear your head off!"
Then Dad: "It's time for an ass-whoopin'!"
I looked at Morgan and he looked at me. Then he quickly rolled the window shut. He had a weird look on his face and I turned my head sideways to look at him better. He came over to me and gave me another hug. "Goodnight, Bo." Then he started to walk out of the room.
"Morgan?"
He turned around and sighed loudly. "What?"
I looked at him. "What's a whoopin'?"
I couldn't see him very well, but he looked like he was smiling. "I thought you were gonna ask what an ass was."
I bit my lip and lay back down. "But I already know what that is," I said.
This time I actually heard Morgan laughing.
"What?" I said.
"Night, Bo." He turned away and shut the door. I snuggled down into the covers.
GRAHAM
Merrill and I met up on the other side of the house, as planned. We were both breathing hard and looking around frantically. "I cursed," I panted.
Merrill nodded. "I heard."
Then, at the exact same time, we heard a thud on the roof. We whipped around and I nearly broke my back in doing so. Merrill started breathing harder. "How did he get there so fast?"
I ran my eyes along the top of the roof, craning my neck and pacing back and forth. Beside me, Merrill was doing the same. "I can't see anything!" I whispered.
There was a sudden thud, like someone jumping and the sound trailed over our heads and to the fields. Then there was a clump on the ground. We stared at the cornfields and heard violent rustling around. I shook my head in disbelief. The jump was at least thirty feet from the roof to the fields. From the roof!
Suddenly, an ear-splitting sound erupted from the corn. I squinted my eyes to look from exactly where but it was so dark. The sound came again, louder and high-pitched. It was almost like a scream. A high-pitched shriek, one that I had never heard the likes of before. Merrill was still and silent, peering out before him.
The corn stopped rustling, along with the noise. My brother and I looked at each other and silently walked backwards to the house, not taking our eyes off the fields. When we reached the steps, we both bolted inside and slammed the front door, locking it up.
We both leaned against the door, panting. I peered out the peephole at nothing. Then I sank to the floor and stretched my legs out on the carpet. I closed my eyes and heard Merrill do the same. I opened them and looked at him. He looked at me. A slow grin started to grow across his face and I felt the same thing happening to me. Before I knew it, we were both sitting there laughing it up. I slapped him on the shoulder. "Is it just me or do your schemes always involve a tangled web of violent actions?" I choked out.
He threw his head back and rested it against the door. "It's you," he cackled.
* * *
The next morning, I called Carolyn again and she came down to investigate what had happened. She sat across from me and Merrill at our long dining room table, her at one end and us at the other. Morgan was sitting beside her, fiddling with her police radio.
"You know, you can use that as a walkie-talkie," she said to him. He looked at her and his eyes lit up.
"Really?" he said.
"Of course, it only works one way," she shrugged.
Merrill was sitting beside me, looking at the radio. "Doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose?" he whispered to me.
I shot him a look. He gazed back, innocently. "What?" he asked.
Across the table, Carolyn shooed Morgan away and cleared her throat. She took out a notepad and flipped it open to the first page. "So, gentlemen, can you give me any opening statements?" she started. "I'm sorry but I have to be all official this morning."
I shook my head. "It's OK, Carolyn, you're just doing your job."
Merrill nodded and folded his hands on the table.
Carolyn started again. "Any opening statements?"
Me and Merrill looked at each other. We were completely silent. What else had we seen last night? Merrill started to speak but Carolyn held up her hand.
"Besides: 'it was very dark'," she said.
I looked up at the ceiling and then turned my head to the living room. Bo and Gwen were watching TV and cuddled under a quilt. I yelled in to them. "Can you turn that down?"
Gwen stood up and pressed the button on the TV. Thanks, I mouthed at her. She nodded, and went to sit with Bo again.
"Sorry about that," I said, turning back to Carolyn. "So, where were we?"
"It was very dark," she replied, not even looking at her notepad.
I nodded. "Oh."
"Is there someone that might have a grudge against you?" she asked. "Maybe, I don't know, uh, someone from the church or - ". She stopped when she saw the look Merrill was giving her. "Someone else, then?"
I shook my head. "I don't know - it was probably just a prank. The Wolfington brothers do this sort of stuff - this is right up their alley."
Carolyn shook her head. "I can't just go over there and question them with 'it was very dark' written down, guys. I need some sort of description."
Merrill sighed and furrowed his brow. I looked at him. "Tall?" I tried.
"Yeah, yeah. Tall," he agreed.
"Dad," called out Gwen from the living room.
"Hold on, honey," he said.
"Girl or guy?" Carolyn tried.
I shrugged. "Well, have you seen any women over six feet in this town?" I asked. "Or anywhere?"
Carolyn almost fumed. "I've seen these Scandinavian women - at least six feet doing pole vaulting at the Olympics," she said. "They could probably outleap this whole town combined."
Merrill put his chin in his hands. "Excluding the fact," he said "that a six foot female Scandinavian pole vaulter was on our roof last night, what might be some other possibilities?"
I rolled my eyes. Carolyn was not amused but I could tell by Merrill's look that he wasn't trying to be amusing.
"Dad," said Gwen again.
"Gwen, will you just hold on!" exclaimed Merrill.
Bo appeared at my side suddenly. "I can't find the remote and when Gwen told me to look between the cushions, I only found food."
I stroked her hair. "Baby, why don't you just change the channel on the TV," I told her.
"I did."
"And?"
"Same show's on every station."
Carolyn and Merrill looked over. I saw Gwen glaring at her dad. "So you pay attention when the little one says something," she said.
We all walked over into the living room. Morgan came thumping down the stairs and wandered over to us. Carolyn and Merrill sat on opposite ends of the couch and I stood up with Bo in my arms. We didn't take our eyes away from the TV.
A breaking news bulletin was being broadcasted live, from India. An image of a cornfield was being shown to us from a helicopter's point of view. In the cornfield was a huge crop circle, unlike ours in design but filled with the same mystery.
Gwen leaned over and turned up the volume. A newscasters voice filled the room: This eerie crop circle was found early this morning, in southern India. Cameras have been on it all morning and local authorities have been keeping it under constant observation.
Morgan reached to his belt and lifted his puffer to his mouth. He took a breath. "Extra-terrestrials," he muttered.
"What in God's name is going on?" whispered Carolyn.
BO
I walked back into my room and shut the door. I tucked myself in and put the covers over my head. Then I remembered my water. I didn't get a glass yet. So I crossed my fingers and leaned over the side of the bed, lifted up the comforter and peered around underneath. I couldn't see anything so I climbed out and quietly walked to the bathroom. The door opened just as I reached for the knob and I jumped back in surprise. It was Morgan who came out and as he turned the light off, he saw me.
"Bo, why are you out of bed?" he asked.
"I need a glass of water," I whispered. "There's a monster on the roof and I told Dad."
Morgan rubbed his eyes. His pajamas were all wrinkled. "Bo, there's nothing on your roof. Go back to bed."
"Yes there was!" I said.
"Sssshh!" said Morgan. "You want to wake everyone up? Come on, I'll take you back to your bed." He held out his hand but I turned away from him and went into the bathroom. He sighed and followed me. I switched on the light and picked up a cup that was sitting next to the sink taps. Morgan turned the cold water on for me.
"Morgan?" I asked.
"What, Bo?"
"Did Aunt Carolyn do something to Houdini?"
Morgan didn't say anything. I watched him in the mirror. His hair was all sticking up and he looked really tired. Maybe I should have left him alone. "Yes," he mumbled.
We both didn't say anything. My glass was filled so we walked back to my room.
"I left the light on," I said, turning around.
"Don't worry about it." We walked into my dark room. It felt safer with Morgan there. He took my hand and helped put me back in bed. "You want me to get a nightlight?" he asked.
I nodded. Morgan just stood there in the darkness. "Well?" he said.
"What?"
"Do you want it or not?"
"Yes."
I heard him turn and walk out of the room. It was so dark and there were no lights on in the hall or outside. I pulled the blankets up to my chin. Two seconds later, Morgan came back, holding his own nightlight.
"Won't you need that?" I whispered, as he leaned behind my night table to plug it in. It came on and then I could see him, yawning. He stood up and shook his head. Then he sat on the edge of the bed.
"I'm sorry about Houdini," he said. "I know you really liked him. Isabel's OK, though. She's in the garage but I bet Uncle Merrill will bring him in later. Go back to sleep, Ok? Everything will look better tomorrow. Aunt Carolyn's gonna come back to visit, so - "
"Why are you talking so fast Morgan?" I suddenly said. "Are you scared?" He didn't say anything, so I sat up and gave him a hug. I whispered in his ear. "Don't be scared, Morgan."
He hugged me back. At the same time we saw, out of the corner of our eyes, the lights in the yard come on. We saw them out the window. Morgan stood up and went over to it. He rolled it open and put a finger to his lips, telling me to be quiet. I put my hands over my mouth and we both listened.
Then we both heard at the same time Uncle Merrill screaming. "We're gonna tear your head off!"
Then Dad: "It's time for an ass-whoopin'!"
I looked at Morgan and he looked at me. Then he quickly rolled the window shut. He had a weird look on his face and I turned my head sideways to look at him better. He came over to me and gave me another hug. "Goodnight, Bo." Then he started to walk out of the room.
"Morgan?"
He turned around and sighed loudly. "What?"
I looked at him. "What's a whoopin'?"
I couldn't see him very well, but he looked like he was smiling. "I thought you were gonna ask what an ass was."
I bit my lip and lay back down. "But I already know what that is," I said.
This time I actually heard Morgan laughing.
"What?" I said.
"Night, Bo." He turned away and shut the door. I snuggled down into the covers.
GRAHAM
Merrill and I met up on the other side of the house, as planned. We were both breathing hard and looking around frantically. "I cursed," I panted.
Merrill nodded. "I heard."
Then, at the exact same time, we heard a thud on the roof. We whipped around and I nearly broke my back in doing so. Merrill started breathing harder. "How did he get there so fast?"
I ran my eyes along the top of the roof, craning my neck and pacing back and forth. Beside me, Merrill was doing the same. "I can't see anything!" I whispered.
There was a sudden thud, like someone jumping and the sound trailed over our heads and to the fields. Then there was a clump on the ground. We stared at the cornfields and heard violent rustling around. I shook my head in disbelief. The jump was at least thirty feet from the roof to the fields. From the roof!
Suddenly, an ear-splitting sound erupted from the corn. I squinted my eyes to look from exactly where but it was so dark. The sound came again, louder and high-pitched. It was almost like a scream. A high-pitched shriek, one that I had never heard the likes of before. Merrill was still and silent, peering out before him.
The corn stopped rustling, along with the noise. My brother and I looked at each other and silently walked backwards to the house, not taking our eyes off the fields. When we reached the steps, we both bolted inside and slammed the front door, locking it up.
We both leaned against the door, panting. I peered out the peephole at nothing. Then I sank to the floor and stretched my legs out on the carpet. I closed my eyes and heard Merrill do the same. I opened them and looked at him. He looked at me. A slow grin started to grow across his face and I felt the same thing happening to me. Before I knew it, we were both sitting there laughing it up. I slapped him on the shoulder. "Is it just me or do your schemes always involve a tangled web of violent actions?" I choked out.
He threw his head back and rested it against the door. "It's you," he cackled.
* * *
The next morning, I called Carolyn again and she came down to investigate what had happened. She sat across from me and Merrill at our long dining room table, her at one end and us at the other. Morgan was sitting beside her, fiddling with her police radio.
"You know, you can use that as a walkie-talkie," she said to him. He looked at her and his eyes lit up.
"Really?" he said.
"Of course, it only works one way," she shrugged.
Merrill was sitting beside me, looking at the radio. "Doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose?" he whispered to me.
I shot him a look. He gazed back, innocently. "What?" he asked.
Across the table, Carolyn shooed Morgan away and cleared her throat. She took out a notepad and flipped it open to the first page. "So, gentlemen, can you give me any opening statements?" she started. "I'm sorry but I have to be all official this morning."
I shook my head. "It's OK, Carolyn, you're just doing your job."
Merrill nodded and folded his hands on the table.
Carolyn started again. "Any opening statements?"
Me and Merrill looked at each other. We were completely silent. What else had we seen last night? Merrill started to speak but Carolyn held up her hand.
"Besides: 'it was very dark'," she said.
I looked up at the ceiling and then turned my head to the living room. Bo and Gwen were watching TV and cuddled under a quilt. I yelled in to them. "Can you turn that down?"
Gwen stood up and pressed the button on the TV. Thanks, I mouthed at her. She nodded, and went to sit with Bo again.
"Sorry about that," I said, turning back to Carolyn. "So, where were we?"
"It was very dark," she replied, not even looking at her notepad.
I nodded. "Oh."
"Is there someone that might have a grudge against you?" she asked. "Maybe, I don't know, uh, someone from the church or - ". She stopped when she saw the look Merrill was giving her. "Someone else, then?"
I shook my head. "I don't know - it was probably just a prank. The Wolfington brothers do this sort of stuff - this is right up their alley."
Carolyn shook her head. "I can't just go over there and question them with 'it was very dark' written down, guys. I need some sort of description."
Merrill sighed and furrowed his brow. I looked at him. "Tall?" I tried.
"Yeah, yeah. Tall," he agreed.
"Dad," called out Gwen from the living room.
"Hold on, honey," he said.
"Girl or guy?" Carolyn tried.
I shrugged. "Well, have you seen any women over six feet in this town?" I asked. "Or anywhere?"
Carolyn almost fumed. "I've seen these Scandinavian women - at least six feet doing pole vaulting at the Olympics," she said. "They could probably outleap this whole town combined."
Merrill put his chin in his hands. "Excluding the fact," he said "that a six foot female Scandinavian pole vaulter was on our roof last night, what might be some other possibilities?"
I rolled my eyes. Carolyn was not amused but I could tell by Merrill's look that he wasn't trying to be amusing.
"Dad," said Gwen again.
"Gwen, will you just hold on!" exclaimed Merrill.
Bo appeared at my side suddenly. "I can't find the remote and when Gwen told me to look between the cushions, I only found food."
I stroked her hair. "Baby, why don't you just change the channel on the TV," I told her.
"I did."
"And?"
"Same show's on every station."
Carolyn and Merrill looked over. I saw Gwen glaring at her dad. "So you pay attention when the little one says something," she said.
We all walked over into the living room. Morgan came thumping down the stairs and wandered over to us. Carolyn and Merrill sat on opposite ends of the couch and I stood up with Bo in my arms. We didn't take our eyes away from the TV.
A breaking news bulletin was being broadcasted live, from India. An image of a cornfield was being shown to us from a helicopter's point of view. In the cornfield was a huge crop circle, unlike ours in design but filled with the same mystery.
Gwen leaned over and turned up the volume. A newscasters voice filled the room: This eerie crop circle was found early this morning, in southern India. Cameras have been on it all morning and local authorities have been keeping it under constant observation.
Morgan reached to his belt and lifted his puffer to his mouth. He took a breath. "Extra-terrestrials," he muttered.
"What in God's name is going on?" whispered Carolyn.
