Chapter 4 - "You Burned Me Out But I'm Back At Your Door" - Grubbery's
Story
April 8th, 2000 - Tulsa, Oklahoma
Bang bang. Bang bang bang. Bang bang bang. I shot at the television screen. Tweedle-Tay had brought his Playstation with him to Tulsa, which was a good thing because I didn't really feel like going back home to get mine. "Wow, Grub," he said, as my new high score flashed up against the screen. "You are so much better at this than I am. You make me feel like such a loser....."
I laughed. "Come on Tay, you've been living in LA for the past year and I've been in Tulsa - the most boring place on earth. There isn't anything to do BUT play video games." I handed him the controls.
He took them and began to shoot. Bang bang bang. "You could go out to parties," he suggested. "You don't have to live in a big city to go to parties...."
I snickered. "Tweedle-Tay! You should know better! You lived with me for fourteen and a half years. You know our parents don't let us go to parties, that's why we had to make our own parties," I said wistfully, thinking of the fun we used to have.
"Then why don't you do that?" he asked.
"And who would I party with? Elizabeth?" I said sarcastically. "I'm not all that fond of Aaron Carter."
"Whatever...." Tweedle-Tay replied, becoming disinterested.
I'd been staying with Tay and Kay for a few days now. It was kind of weird, I hadn't known Michaela all that long and I hadn't seen Tweedle-Tay for two and a half years.... but we all seemed to have kind of similar philosophies, so we were getting on okay. I felt like a bit of an outsider sometimes, because the other two were so close, but, considering that, everything was going pretty well. Bang bang. Bang bang bang bang.
"Tweedle-Tay!" Michaela walked into the room, annoyed. "Why are you playing that awful game?"
Tweedle-Tay and I turned around to face her. She was standing there in a little pink dress, frowning, with her hands on her hips. Tweedle- Tay's character was shot and his game was over. "I thought you hated pink- Barbie-girls, Michaela," Tweedle-Tay said, teasing her.
"I do," she said sheepishly. "But yesterday I was at the Woodland Hills Mall and I saw it and it just looked so pretty and I had to have it. It's not often that you find designer clothes in Tulsa...." She frowned. "But that's not the point. I thought you'd given up paintball and guns and shooting things Tay. I've told you before, it's not fun, it's -"
"Pretending to kill things," Tay cut in. "I know. But this isn't paintball, it's Playstation. Have a go, I'm sure you'll like it."
Michaela shook her head and sat down. "No, it's okay."
Tweedle-Tay turned back to the screen. "Shit Michaela! I'm dead. You totally stuffed up my turn."
I took the control from him. "And that means it's my turn..."
"Actually," Michaela said. "I was thinking that we could do something else. Like....." she paused. "Talk."
"Talk?" I asked in disbelief. Why would anyone want to talk when they had a video game?
"What about?" Tweedle-Tay asked, more obligingly. Living with a girl for two and half years must have feminised him.
"Well, Tay and I are in Oklahoma doing - nothing. We've checked on you Grub and you're okay, so we don't really have a purpose," Michaela said. They were leaving already?
"We can't leave Michaela," Tweedle-Tay said. "We can't make Grubbery go back to living with our parents." That was for sure.
"I don't think we should leave," Michaela replied. "I just think we should do something. Something other than playing with the Playstation and watching TV."
"Such as?" I asked. They seemed like pretty good pastimes to me.
"Don't get me wrong," Michaela said. "It's just that we can do those things, and more, in LA. We have to do something that we can only do in Tulsa." She paused and sighed. "I guess you both know about how upset I am, inside, about our parents and the attic. And when Tweedle-Tay and I were in LA there was nothing we could do about it. But now that we're in Tulsa we can do something to make it less painful for us."
"Or more painful for our parents." As usual Tweedle-Tay was thinking along the same wavelength as Michaela.
"Revenge," I added.
Michaela smiled. "Well yeah. We've all been damaged by our parents. Why should we suffer and not them?"
I liked this girl. Even if she did spend half an hour getting ready every morning and was a little preppy, she had the right ideas on the left side. "No reason at all," I said.
"We'll make a revenge plan!" Tweedle-Tay said excitedly, getting up and finding himself a pen and paper. He sat down again.
There was silence. "So what are we gonna do?" I asked.
Michaela shrugged. "We should expose them for all that they've done to us." She thought for a few seconds. "You two would have media connections - sort of - and we can get a tele-broadcast about their abuse of us. The whole country would see and they'd be punished by the law."
Tweedle-Tay smiled and scribbled down the idea. "Perfect," he said.
Michaela smiled happily. "It is good," I agreed, "But it's not enough."
Tweedle-Tay raised his eyebrows. "Like how?"
"Well sure, if we did that they'd be punished for their actions, but they wouldn't have suffered the mental anguish we all - and especially the two of you - have suffered," I pointed out.
"But how can we do that?" Michaela asked.
I thought for a few seconds. What would upset our parents more than anything else? Of course. Religion. "Well you know how pious our parents are?"
"How could we forget?" Michaela said sarcastically.
"Tay and I know a lot about Christianity, everything they taught us, so all we have to do is drop a few hints to them that God is not pleased with them," I explained.
"Like he would be," Tay added. "Abuse, neglect, cruelty, attempted murder...."
"Incest," I added helpfully.
Michaela and Tweedle-Tay nodded. "It's shocking," Michaela said.
"So we should leave signs around our house, signs that imply that God knows about how bad they've been," I went on.
"Such as?" Michaela asked.
"We could take all the crosses in the house and put them upside down!" Tweedle-Tay said excitedly, scribbling down his idea.
"Good," I approved. "We could take the Christening candles," I saw the look of shock on Tay's face. "Not ours," I reassured him. "And put them in the shape on five pointed stars...."
Tweedle-Tay nodded and wrote that down as well.
"And we could write messages about how we know what they've done. Make it look supernatural," Michaela suggested.
For someone who was not a Christian, Michaela was pretty good at this. There was a silence as Tweedle-Tay wrote down Michaela's idea and we all thought some more. "We could smear blood on their wedding photos," Tweedle-Tay suggested.
I nodded. "Yeah, that's good..... Michaela, when do you get your period?"
Michaela gasped. She knew exactly where I was heading. She shook her head. "There is no way you're getting me to do that," she said.
"Oh come on," I pleaded. "It's easy access to blood. It would be very...." I looked at Tweedle-Tay, searching for the right word.
"Satanical," he suggested, shrugging.
"Yeah," I said, nodding. "It would really freak them out. Way more than any other blood. When do you get your period, Michaela?"
Michaela frowned and sighed. "Now," she said reluctantly. "I'll do it, but I'm only doing it because I hate them so much."
"Great then, we'll do that part tomorrow," I said, as Tweedle-Tay wrote down my idea.
We sat in silence. "Well, if that's all we'll get back to the Playstation," I said, looking for a less violent game, for Michaela's sake. She was doing me a favour, so I'd do one for her.
"Wait!" she said quickly. "I know just the show we can go on!" She moved closer to Tweedle-Tay and whispered in his ear.
He gave her the thumbs up. "Brilliant," he said. "No wonder you're the smart twin."
"I don't think so, Mr. 1st-in-Music," she replied. She walked over to me and whispered in my ear.
"Excellent," I said softly. Our revenge was going to be just great.
Story
April 8th, 2000 - Tulsa, Oklahoma
Bang bang. Bang bang bang. Bang bang bang. I shot at the television screen. Tweedle-Tay had brought his Playstation with him to Tulsa, which was a good thing because I didn't really feel like going back home to get mine. "Wow, Grub," he said, as my new high score flashed up against the screen. "You are so much better at this than I am. You make me feel like such a loser....."
I laughed. "Come on Tay, you've been living in LA for the past year and I've been in Tulsa - the most boring place on earth. There isn't anything to do BUT play video games." I handed him the controls.
He took them and began to shoot. Bang bang bang. "You could go out to parties," he suggested. "You don't have to live in a big city to go to parties...."
I snickered. "Tweedle-Tay! You should know better! You lived with me for fourteen and a half years. You know our parents don't let us go to parties, that's why we had to make our own parties," I said wistfully, thinking of the fun we used to have.
"Then why don't you do that?" he asked.
"And who would I party with? Elizabeth?" I said sarcastically. "I'm not all that fond of Aaron Carter."
"Whatever...." Tweedle-Tay replied, becoming disinterested.
I'd been staying with Tay and Kay for a few days now. It was kind of weird, I hadn't known Michaela all that long and I hadn't seen Tweedle-Tay for two and a half years.... but we all seemed to have kind of similar philosophies, so we were getting on okay. I felt like a bit of an outsider sometimes, because the other two were so close, but, considering that, everything was going pretty well. Bang bang. Bang bang bang bang.
"Tweedle-Tay!" Michaela walked into the room, annoyed. "Why are you playing that awful game?"
Tweedle-Tay and I turned around to face her. She was standing there in a little pink dress, frowning, with her hands on her hips. Tweedle- Tay's character was shot and his game was over. "I thought you hated pink- Barbie-girls, Michaela," Tweedle-Tay said, teasing her.
"I do," she said sheepishly. "But yesterday I was at the Woodland Hills Mall and I saw it and it just looked so pretty and I had to have it. It's not often that you find designer clothes in Tulsa...." She frowned. "But that's not the point. I thought you'd given up paintball and guns and shooting things Tay. I've told you before, it's not fun, it's -"
"Pretending to kill things," Tay cut in. "I know. But this isn't paintball, it's Playstation. Have a go, I'm sure you'll like it."
Michaela shook her head and sat down. "No, it's okay."
Tweedle-Tay turned back to the screen. "Shit Michaela! I'm dead. You totally stuffed up my turn."
I took the control from him. "And that means it's my turn..."
"Actually," Michaela said. "I was thinking that we could do something else. Like....." she paused. "Talk."
"Talk?" I asked in disbelief. Why would anyone want to talk when they had a video game?
"What about?" Tweedle-Tay asked, more obligingly. Living with a girl for two and half years must have feminised him.
"Well, Tay and I are in Oklahoma doing - nothing. We've checked on you Grub and you're okay, so we don't really have a purpose," Michaela said. They were leaving already?
"We can't leave Michaela," Tweedle-Tay said. "We can't make Grubbery go back to living with our parents." That was for sure.
"I don't think we should leave," Michaela replied. "I just think we should do something. Something other than playing with the Playstation and watching TV."
"Such as?" I asked. They seemed like pretty good pastimes to me.
"Don't get me wrong," Michaela said. "It's just that we can do those things, and more, in LA. We have to do something that we can only do in Tulsa." She paused and sighed. "I guess you both know about how upset I am, inside, about our parents and the attic. And when Tweedle-Tay and I were in LA there was nothing we could do about it. But now that we're in Tulsa we can do something to make it less painful for us."
"Or more painful for our parents." As usual Tweedle-Tay was thinking along the same wavelength as Michaela.
"Revenge," I added.
Michaela smiled. "Well yeah. We've all been damaged by our parents. Why should we suffer and not them?"
I liked this girl. Even if she did spend half an hour getting ready every morning and was a little preppy, she had the right ideas on the left side. "No reason at all," I said.
"We'll make a revenge plan!" Tweedle-Tay said excitedly, getting up and finding himself a pen and paper. He sat down again.
There was silence. "So what are we gonna do?" I asked.
Michaela shrugged. "We should expose them for all that they've done to us." She thought for a few seconds. "You two would have media connections - sort of - and we can get a tele-broadcast about their abuse of us. The whole country would see and they'd be punished by the law."
Tweedle-Tay smiled and scribbled down the idea. "Perfect," he said.
Michaela smiled happily. "It is good," I agreed, "But it's not enough."
Tweedle-Tay raised his eyebrows. "Like how?"
"Well sure, if we did that they'd be punished for their actions, but they wouldn't have suffered the mental anguish we all - and especially the two of you - have suffered," I pointed out.
"But how can we do that?" Michaela asked.
I thought for a few seconds. What would upset our parents more than anything else? Of course. Religion. "Well you know how pious our parents are?"
"How could we forget?" Michaela said sarcastically.
"Tay and I know a lot about Christianity, everything they taught us, so all we have to do is drop a few hints to them that God is not pleased with them," I explained.
"Like he would be," Tay added. "Abuse, neglect, cruelty, attempted murder...."
"Incest," I added helpfully.
Michaela and Tweedle-Tay nodded. "It's shocking," Michaela said.
"So we should leave signs around our house, signs that imply that God knows about how bad they've been," I went on.
"Such as?" Michaela asked.
"We could take all the crosses in the house and put them upside down!" Tweedle-Tay said excitedly, scribbling down his idea.
"Good," I approved. "We could take the Christening candles," I saw the look of shock on Tay's face. "Not ours," I reassured him. "And put them in the shape on five pointed stars...."
Tweedle-Tay nodded and wrote that down as well.
"And we could write messages about how we know what they've done. Make it look supernatural," Michaela suggested.
For someone who was not a Christian, Michaela was pretty good at this. There was a silence as Tweedle-Tay wrote down Michaela's idea and we all thought some more. "We could smear blood on their wedding photos," Tweedle-Tay suggested.
I nodded. "Yeah, that's good..... Michaela, when do you get your period?"
Michaela gasped. She knew exactly where I was heading. She shook her head. "There is no way you're getting me to do that," she said.
"Oh come on," I pleaded. "It's easy access to blood. It would be very...." I looked at Tweedle-Tay, searching for the right word.
"Satanical," he suggested, shrugging.
"Yeah," I said, nodding. "It would really freak them out. Way more than any other blood. When do you get your period, Michaela?"
Michaela frowned and sighed. "Now," she said reluctantly. "I'll do it, but I'm only doing it because I hate them so much."
"Great then, we'll do that part tomorrow," I said, as Tweedle-Tay wrote down my idea.
We sat in silence. "Well, if that's all we'll get back to the Playstation," I said, looking for a less violent game, for Michaela's sake. She was doing me a favour, so I'd do one for her.
"Wait!" she said quickly. "I know just the show we can go on!" She moved closer to Tweedle-Tay and whispered in his ear.
He gave her the thumbs up. "Brilliant," he said. "No wonder you're the smart twin."
"I don't think so, Mr. 1st-in-Music," she replied. She walked over to me and whispered in my ear.
"Excellent," I said softly. Our revenge was going to be just great.
