Chapter 7 - "Dream a Little Dream" - Michaela's Story
April 16th, 2000 - Tulsa, Oklahoma
I brushed my hair one hundred times and put on my dressing gown. I walked out of the bathroom and into..... the attic? What the hell was I doing there? I'd left the attic a year ago. I looked across the attic to my bed. Tweedle-Tay was lying there, his face pressed up against my 'Sixteen' magazine. "Ew! Yuck! What are you doing?" I yelled, running over to grab the magazine from him.
"Kissing Alisha," he replied, holding up the picture of Alisha. What was Alisha doing in 'Sixteen'? She wasn't pretty enough to be a model.
I snatched the magazine from him and looked at it. 'Alisha Reed - the most loved, perfect, girl' the article heading said. "Why is Alisha in the magazine?" I asked my brother.
"Because everybody loves her," he replied nastily. "More than you, anyway!"
That couldn't be true! Everyone was supposed to like me - not Alisha! At least, there had to be someone out there who liked me, hadn't there? "More than me?" I repeated softly. "Why are you kissing the poster then?" I asked.
"Because then I can pretend that it's the girl I really want to kiss...." Tweedle-Tay replied.
"And who might that be?" Cindy Crawford?
"What I really want," my brother replied. "Is to kill you!" Oh no! It was Skipper, not Tweedle-Tay! It was my father.
"No!" I screamed, running to the attic steps. The door was locked. "No!"
"Yes!" my father insisted. "I'm going to kill-"
"Michaela?" Tweedle-Tay asked.
"Oh good - you're here to save me," I said groggily, opening my eyes.
"Michaela, you're awake!" Tweedle-Tay said with relief. I looked around me. It wasn't the attic, it was our rented house. Tweedle-Tay wasn't kissing posters of Alisha. Thank god! The world hadn't gone mad. Alisha wasn't a cover girl. "Michaela?"
"Huh?" I asked. "Sorry, I was thinking about the dream....."
"Michaela, do you have any idea what time it is?" Tweedle-Tay asked. he didn't wait for a reply. "It's nine-thirty. Our parents will be leaving for church any minute. We have to get to their house as soon as possible."
Without any make-up on? I shot out of bed like a bullet. "Sorry Tay, you're going to have to wait half an hour," I said, going through the clothes in my closet. Was there nothing I hadn't worn already? I spotted a navy-blue cardigan and knit skirt. Oh well, that was good enough..... Now all I needed was a t-shirt.
"Half an hour?" Tweedle-Tay repeated in disbelief.
I grabbed a top out of the closet and looked him up and down. "Well you're in your pajamas too," I replied. "Hair? Make-up? Clothes? You know you have to warn me half an hour before you want to leave...." I said, running out of my bedroom and into the bathroom.
Soon I was dressed and walked back out into the loungeroom. I could hear Tweedle-Tay and Grubbery playing basketball in the front yard. How dare they not include me! So much for being in a hurry. I walked outside. "I'm ready," I said, my hands on my hips.
We all walked down the street to Stoneybrook Crescent and our family home. Thirteen was such a creepy number. It was fitting that a weird family would live in a house with a creepy number. Grubbery picked up the blue garden gnome and Tay took the house keys. "I hope you're not going to do anything psycho with the gnome today," I said to Grubbery.
He blushed. "No," he said, putting it back. Today was Sunday and we were planning to turn all the crosses in the house upside down. Apparently this was a sign of the devil. We walked up the garden path and unlocked the door. Once we were inside Mama came running up to us, as she usually did. And as usual Tay showered her with affection. Sometimes I wished that I were a cat so that Tweedle-Tay would be that nice to me. Not that I wanted him to be in love with me or anything. I mean, that would be gross - Tweedle-Tay was my brother!
I walked into the loungeroom and began to turn the crosses upside down. I had to do something really nice for Tweedle-Tay so that he'd like me better than Alisha, like he used to. I had been more cheerful lately, AND I'd been hiding my hate for the short, skinny, redhead, but still, I obviously had to do something more. Why had he liked me in the first place? Because I was pretty and dressed nicely. Well I still looked and dressed exactly the same. I had been thinner in the attic..... Tweedle- Tay could go fuck himself if he wanted me to give up my TimTams. He thought I was smart and bubbly. Well I was still smart, maybe less cheerful. Oh, how I wanted to be cheerful so that Tweedle-Tay would love me again. But it seemed really inappropriate to be totally cheerful in this sort of situation. I would be more cheerful once the revenge was over with. Yes. I had also been really supportive of Tweedle-Tay when we were in the attic. But now I was the more depressed twin and I needed his support more than he needed mine. Still, it was the only thing I could do. I would try to be more sensitive towards Tweedle-Tay's and Grubbery's needs. Then I would have everything that Tweedle-Tay used to like about me. He wouldn't want Alisha then.
"Michaela?" Grubbery asked impatiently. "You haven't even finished the loungeroom! Tay and I have done the whole house and you haven't even finished the loungeroom!" Tweedle-Tay followed him into the room.
Well sorry! Maybe I was thinking about more important things, like how to make people happy, rather than making them emotional wrecks. I smiled sweetly. "I'm sorry Grub," I said nicely, "I'll do them now," I added. I quickly turned the remaining crosses upside down.
"Good," Grubbery said, nodding firmly.
"Thanks Kay," Tweedle-Tay smiled.
"We really should get going...." I said slowly. "The rest of..... them.... will be back soon and we don't want them to see us."
"Not yet," Grubbery added.
We all walked out of the lounge room and towards the front door. "I don't want to leave Mama again," Tweedle-Tay said in a rushed voice. "We know what they've done to us, I don't like the thought of them doing the same to her."
"I don't know Tay....." Grubbery said softly.
I smiled. "I think it would be great if we kept Mama," I said brightly. "After the revenge is complete we'd have to take her in anyway. A couple of weeks won't make that much difference."
"That's true," Grubbery agreed.
"So you guys don't mind?" Tweedle-Tay asked. Grubbery and I shook our heads. "Cool!" he said, almost skipping out the door, with Mama in his arms.
"Hey!" I said, as we began to walk down Stoneybrook Crescent. "Do you guys want to go out this afternoon?"
"Where to?" Tweedle-Tay asked.
"How about Bell's Amusement Park?" I suggested. "My treat!"
"Cool!" Grubbery said excitedly. "Can we go on the Demon?"
"Thanks Michaela," Tweedle-Tay said appreciatively.
I smiled. Being 'Nice-Michaela' was going to be just great.
April 16th, 2000 - Tulsa, Oklahoma
I brushed my hair one hundred times and put on my dressing gown. I walked out of the bathroom and into..... the attic? What the hell was I doing there? I'd left the attic a year ago. I looked across the attic to my bed. Tweedle-Tay was lying there, his face pressed up against my 'Sixteen' magazine. "Ew! Yuck! What are you doing?" I yelled, running over to grab the magazine from him.
"Kissing Alisha," he replied, holding up the picture of Alisha. What was Alisha doing in 'Sixteen'? She wasn't pretty enough to be a model.
I snatched the magazine from him and looked at it. 'Alisha Reed - the most loved, perfect, girl' the article heading said. "Why is Alisha in the magazine?" I asked my brother.
"Because everybody loves her," he replied nastily. "More than you, anyway!"
That couldn't be true! Everyone was supposed to like me - not Alisha! At least, there had to be someone out there who liked me, hadn't there? "More than me?" I repeated softly. "Why are you kissing the poster then?" I asked.
"Because then I can pretend that it's the girl I really want to kiss...." Tweedle-Tay replied.
"And who might that be?" Cindy Crawford?
"What I really want," my brother replied. "Is to kill you!" Oh no! It was Skipper, not Tweedle-Tay! It was my father.
"No!" I screamed, running to the attic steps. The door was locked. "No!"
"Yes!" my father insisted. "I'm going to kill-"
"Michaela?" Tweedle-Tay asked.
"Oh good - you're here to save me," I said groggily, opening my eyes.
"Michaela, you're awake!" Tweedle-Tay said with relief. I looked around me. It wasn't the attic, it was our rented house. Tweedle-Tay wasn't kissing posters of Alisha. Thank god! The world hadn't gone mad. Alisha wasn't a cover girl. "Michaela?"
"Huh?" I asked. "Sorry, I was thinking about the dream....."
"Michaela, do you have any idea what time it is?" Tweedle-Tay asked. he didn't wait for a reply. "It's nine-thirty. Our parents will be leaving for church any minute. We have to get to their house as soon as possible."
Without any make-up on? I shot out of bed like a bullet. "Sorry Tay, you're going to have to wait half an hour," I said, going through the clothes in my closet. Was there nothing I hadn't worn already? I spotted a navy-blue cardigan and knit skirt. Oh well, that was good enough..... Now all I needed was a t-shirt.
"Half an hour?" Tweedle-Tay repeated in disbelief.
I grabbed a top out of the closet and looked him up and down. "Well you're in your pajamas too," I replied. "Hair? Make-up? Clothes? You know you have to warn me half an hour before you want to leave...." I said, running out of my bedroom and into the bathroom.
Soon I was dressed and walked back out into the loungeroom. I could hear Tweedle-Tay and Grubbery playing basketball in the front yard. How dare they not include me! So much for being in a hurry. I walked outside. "I'm ready," I said, my hands on my hips.
We all walked down the street to Stoneybrook Crescent and our family home. Thirteen was such a creepy number. It was fitting that a weird family would live in a house with a creepy number. Grubbery picked up the blue garden gnome and Tay took the house keys. "I hope you're not going to do anything psycho with the gnome today," I said to Grubbery.
He blushed. "No," he said, putting it back. Today was Sunday and we were planning to turn all the crosses in the house upside down. Apparently this was a sign of the devil. We walked up the garden path and unlocked the door. Once we were inside Mama came running up to us, as she usually did. And as usual Tay showered her with affection. Sometimes I wished that I were a cat so that Tweedle-Tay would be that nice to me. Not that I wanted him to be in love with me or anything. I mean, that would be gross - Tweedle-Tay was my brother!
I walked into the loungeroom and began to turn the crosses upside down. I had to do something really nice for Tweedle-Tay so that he'd like me better than Alisha, like he used to. I had been more cheerful lately, AND I'd been hiding my hate for the short, skinny, redhead, but still, I obviously had to do something more. Why had he liked me in the first place? Because I was pretty and dressed nicely. Well I still looked and dressed exactly the same. I had been thinner in the attic..... Tweedle- Tay could go fuck himself if he wanted me to give up my TimTams. He thought I was smart and bubbly. Well I was still smart, maybe less cheerful. Oh, how I wanted to be cheerful so that Tweedle-Tay would love me again. But it seemed really inappropriate to be totally cheerful in this sort of situation. I would be more cheerful once the revenge was over with. Yes. I had also been really supportive of Tweedle-Tay when we were in the attic. But now I was the more depressed twin and I needed his support more than he needed mine. Still, it was the only thing I could do. I would try to be more sensitive towards Tweedle-Tay's and Grubbery's needs. Then I would have everything that Tweedle-Tay used to like about me. He wouldn't want Alisha then.
"Michaela?" Grubbery asked impatiently. "You haven't even finished the loungeroom! Tay and I have done the whole house and you haven't even finished the loungeroom!" Tweedle-Tay followed him into the room.
Well sorry! Maybe I was thinking about more important things, like how to make people happy, rather than making them emotional wrecks. I smiled sweetly. "I'm sorry Grub," I said nicely, "I'll do them now," I added. I quickly turned the remaining crosses upside down.
"Good," Grubbery said, nodding firmly.
"Thanks Kay," Tweedle-Tay smiled.
"We really should get going...." I said slowly. "The rest of..... them.... will be back soon and we don't want them to see us."
"Not yet," Grubbery added.
We all walked out of the lounge room and towards the front door. "I don't want to leave Mama again," Tweedle-Tay said in a rushed voice. "We know what they've done to us, I don't like the thought of them doing the same to her."
"I don't know Tay....." Grubbery said softly.
I smiled. "I think it would be great if we kept Mama," I said brightly. "After the revenge is complete we'd have to take her in anyway. A couple of weeks won't make that much difference."
"That's true," Grubbery agreed.
"So you guys don't mind?" Tweedle-Tay asked. Grubbery and I shook our heads. "Cool!" he said, almost skipping out the door, with Mama in his arms.
"Hey!" I said, as we began to walk down Stoneybrook Crescent. "Do you guys want to go out this afternoon?"
"Where to?" Tweedle-Tay asked.
"How about Bell's Amusement Park?" I suggested. "My treat!"
"Cool!" Grubbery said excitedly. "Can we go on the Demon?"
"Thanks Michaela," Tweedle-Tay said appreciatively.
I smiled. Being 'Nice-Michaela' was going to be just great.
