Chapter One: Welcome to the Family
Author's Notes: Malcolm's monologues are in italics, and I'm still looking for a beta.
"Money's a little tight right now," Malcolm explained as the family was eating breakfast. "And Mom had a brilliant idea. Rent out Francis' room. I pity whoever got suckered into that."
Flashback
"Mom, I appreciate that you and Dad were gracious enough to let me have my own room." Francis started.
"Good."
"But it's a little small." Francis answered.
"What are yout alking about? It's perfectly sized for one person." Losi replied.
To prove his point, Francis tried to open the door, only able to do so about half-way. "The door hits the dresser when you try to open it."
Lois looked thoughtful for a moment. "Move the dresser." She finally replied and walked away.
End Flashback
"To say it's a little small is like saying Dewey's only a little strange." Malcolm summarized.
"Is the new boy going to be my friend?" Dewey asked.
"Well, son-" Hal started
"What's his name?"
"Aron, Aron Parker sweetie." Lois replied quickly.
"Is he going to be the new Francis?"
Reece dropped his spoon into the cereal bowl. "No way. You can't just replace Francis. That has to be illegal."
Lois rolled her eyes at the boys. "We're not replacing Francis. We're just renting out his room."
"What time is Arom coming, Mom?" Malcolm asked.
"Sometime this afternoon. You know what this means, boys."
"Cleanup." The boys said in unison.
Later that Afternoon...
The house is still being cleaned. Hal is vaccuming the living room while Dewey picks up toys and garbae that had been left lying around . Lois is in Francis' cleaning it out. Reece was given bathroom duty and Malcolm is cleaning the kitchen.
"Mom, I have cleaned the toilet twice, it isn't going to get any cleaner." Reece whined from outside the bedroom's closed door.
"Do it again. I want to be able to eat out of that bowl." Lois ordered.
"Mom's on a cleaning rampage. Becasue we all know how teenaged boys are impressed by cleanliness." Malcolm explained sarcastically.
"Malcolm, I don't hear scrubbing." Lois shouted.
Malcolm rolled his eyes and continued to scrub. A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door.
"He's here!" Reece and Dewey said and ran towards the door. Lois stopped them by grabbing thier collars before they opened the door.
"Boys, line up. We have to go over the rules." Lois ordered and the boys did as they were told. "There will be no wet willies, no purple nurples, no charlie horsing muscles, no anything else you may think of. Do I make myself clear?" The boys mumbled a reply. "Okay then." Lois put her hands on Dewey's shouldersas Hal opened the door.
"Hi." A red headed girl said and waved quickly, knocking one of the duffel bags off of her shoulder.
"Dear, I think you've got the wrong place." Lois replied sweetly.
"Oh, this isn't Hal and Lois Wilkerson's place? The girl asked, digging around in her jeans pocket. "I could have sworn this was the address."
"Well, I'm Lois and this is Hal." Lois answered. "Who are you?"
"Oh, I'm Erin. Erin Parker." The girl replied, extending her hand to a shocked Hal.
The boy's jaws dropped. "Mom, what did you say about purple nurples?" Reece asked. Lois rolled her eyes and smacked the back of his head.
A/n: Dun dun dun! So what do you think? Leave a review and let me know!