Disclaimer: As Jake said," Two Words! - I own nothing." All belong to the writers and creators and WB.
A/N: Sorry I took a long time to come up with this chapter. I've been having sleepovers all week and didn't get much time to spend it with my computer. Hopefully, this story comes out alright. Whoa! I think it's going to be a considerably long chapter so I hope you'd understand what goes on in the story. Enjoy!
Rating: PG-13. Just in case. A bit of curse words here and there but nothing too vulgar. I'm not a person with such 'colorful' vocabulary.He he!
The Split of the Dozen
By avren
3 Making Arrangements
2.58 pm
Tired, dirty, and with hair sticking out all over the place, Sarah dragged her feet towards her locker to grab her stuff. School was over and she had just finished lacrosse practice thus, that explained her current state of appearance. She had changed out of her lacrosse gear and was heading for her locker, lacrosse stick propped on her shoulder, like a soldier carrying a rifle. Reaching her locker, she grabbed her pack and beanie that was hanging on the inside of her locker door and slammed the door shut. Adjusting the beanie atop her head, she headed towards the parking lot, lacrosse stick in hand.
She was allowed to bring home her lacrosse stick cos' she could practice her catching and scoring with Mike and Jake, whom even though does not play lacrosse, but they do play hockey which is about the same thing.
Once outside, she dropped her pack and lacrosse stick on the curb and plopped down along the roadside. Glancing at her blue Fossil, she saw that it was five minutes past 3 pm.
Told us not to be late but where the heck is he now? She thought to herself.
"And where are Jake and Henry?" she said aloud, looking around the parking lot for any sight of either of them. Sighing, she tried to make herself comfortable on the cold concrete ground, which proved to
Be difficult, while waiting for her brothers to come.
A few minutes passed and there are still no sign of Jake or Henry or evenCharlie.
"Where are they?" she fumed, stretching out her legs to prevent cramps from sitting on the ground too long. She started humming to the song 'Work It' by Missy Elliot and was so engrossed that she didn't notice Jake and Henry approaching from behind.
A tap on her shoulder made her jump.
"Jeez!" she shrieked and whirled around to face Jake and Henry, who were looking at her in amusement. "Don't EVER scare me like that again!"
"So how should we scare you the next time then?" Jake grinned at her.
All that he received was a glare that could penetrate through a block of lead. Huffing, she crossed her arms and ignored them.
"Fine, fine, I'm sorry for scaring you like that. But I'm surprised that you of all people can be startled with just a tap on the shoulder," he reasoned. Plopping down beside her on the curb, he rested his elbow on her shoulder. Narrowing her eyes at him at that comment, she just shrugged off his elbow off her shoulder.
"So where's Charlie?" Henry spoke up, looking at his watch. "He should've been 'ere by now. In fact, he should've been here 10 minutes ago!" a puzzled expression on his face.
"Yeah," agreed Jake, "if I knew he'd be late, I wouldn't have rushed here so fast!"
"Oh, and leave me to wait for you and Charlie?' Sarah raised her right eyebrow at them.
"Err..." both of them smiled sheepishly back at her. She rolled her eyes at them and changed the subject.
"So where were you today during lunch Henry?"
"Yeah! You missed one heck of a show- Oof!" Jake cried as he received an elbow in the ribs from Sarah. She just smiled innocently at him. "That hurts you know," he complained, rubbing the sore spot.
"Oh, I was held back in Algebra class. Had to finish my work assignments before I was released for lunch. But by the time I was releasedfor lunch, it was nearly over. Luckily I got to grab a bite before gym though." Henry explained.
"Oh," was all that the both of them replied.
"So," Henry prodded on, "What did happen during lunch today?"
"Oh, it's just that Sarah got into a fight with Joshua Garvin and I went to her aid and we all got dragged into Pukeface's office. It was fun!" Sarah's jaw dropped as he blurted out their secret to Henry. She shoved Jake on his side, sending him into Henry. "What did I do?" he cried, unaware of what he was not supposed to say.
"You blabbed! I told you not to tell anyone!" she cried out, exasperated.
"Three words dude- Take it easy!"
"Take it easy! Now Henry's gonna tell Dad and then he's gonna blow his top AND double our punishments!"
"It's not as if we got any punishments or anything. Puceton let us off!"
"He did?" Henry stared at them, mouth agape. "What did you do, bribe him?"
"Yeah right. But he did let us off easy. I wonder why too. I don't think he has ever let anyone off THAT easy. He didn't even give ME any detention, not that I'm complaining or anything," Sarah told him.
"Henry, just don't tell Mom and Dad," Jake pleaded, "Since Puceton treats it as no biggie, so neither should we. So therefore, Moms and Pops should NOT know ANYTHING about today's incident. Cool?"
"What will you give me if I agree?"
"Oh I'll give you something. I'll give you HELL if you ever tell Mom and Dad about this!" Sarah gave a menacing glare that made Henry cower slightly under it.
"Fine. Alright," he gave in.
"Good."
Far away, faint screeching noises could be heard and it gradually became louder as a dusty, large red and white Chevy A/N: Sorry I don't know what type of car Charlie drives. pulled to a stop right in front of them, clouds of dust billowing behind it. Ever since Tom Baker had bribed him with the Chevy, he's been driving them to school since their Dad uses the other family vehicle to send the other kids to their school. Charlie decided not to change to a new car as he wanted to have a reminder of life back in Midland even though the car was sputtering and constantly breaking down.
As he halted the car with its tires screeching noisily to a stop in front of them, the trio quickly jumped up from the curb and out of the way just in the nick of time.
"Whoa, Charlie! Be careful! You nearly ran us over just now - "
"Not nearly enough," Lorraine muttered from the front passenger seat.
"- but lucky we have good reflexes," Sarah finished, glaring at Lorraine who just rolled her eyes away.
"Sorry, sorry! C'mon! Are you gonna get in or not? What are you three still standing there for?" Charlie leaned towards the side door window, urging the three of them who was still planted firmly on the pavement.
Snapping out of the near-death trance, Henry got in first, followed by Jake and lastly Sarah, who rolled her eyes at Lorraine who sat in the passenger seat, applying her daily dose of lip-gloss. As she slammed the door shut, Charlie drove away from their school gate and towards home.
Leaning forward behind Lorraine's seat, Sarah spoke up. "Who are you planning to put the smacks on when you get home anyway? Gunner?" Snickers can be heard from the guys. Lorraine just ignored her.
"And exactly how many tubes of gloss have you used today?" She questioned incessantly.
"Just two," Lorraine replied casually. Sarah just shook her head at her.
"If you cut down on the amount of lip-gloss you put on everyday, Dad surely would have a ton of money by now," piped up Jake from the back seat.
"Oh shut up," Lorraine snapped.
To prevent further sneering remarks, Henry called on to Charlie who's concentrating on the road. "So why were you late then, Charlie?"
All eyes turned to Charlie. Glancing from the rear-view mirror, he replied, "Oh I just went to see Beth just now."
"You ditched school!" Lorraine cried out.
"No, I didn't," he defended himself, "I was let off earlier than usual so I thought I'd go back to Midland for a while to see Beth."
"So how was she?" she asked.
"She's fine but she's feeling lonely and she misses me a lot," he admitted.
"Why was she feeling lonely for? You guys talk to each other practically EVERY night!" Henry blurted out. Jake and Sarah chuckled.
"How did'ya know that? Were you spying on me!" he whirled his head around for a moment. Screams and yells of "Charlie! Watch the road!" erupted from Lorraine, Jake and Sarah and he immediately focused back on the road.
"Well, considering my room is practically across from yours, how could I NOT hear you talking on your phone every single night, sometimes even till morning!" Henry claimed. "Oh Beth, I really miss you. I wanna smell your hair. Man! It makes me wanna yak sometimes!" Henry said in disgust.
Sarah and Jake started teasing Charlie. They were having fun mimicking Charlie and Beth. 'Oh Charlie, I miss you," mimicked Sarah, who is pretending to be Beth. She turned towards Jake, who's pretending to be Charlie.
Snickering, Jake joined in. "Oh Bethie, I wanna smell your oh-so-fragrant hair!" he pretended to caress Sarah's ponytail and smelling it. Then, they both burst out laughing, rolling on their backs, and clutching their stomachs from the laughter. Lorraine and Henry also joined in.
From the rearview mirror, Charlie shot a venomous glare at Henry and when he saw it, he immediately quietens. "But hey, you can't blame me. It's the truth. You did speak a little too loudly during your conversation with Beth. It's not my fault I can hear you from across the room." He tried to appease him, which is by the way, not working.
Sarah and Jake were still giggling even after Charlie ordered them to 'Shut up'. Fearing that Charlie might not speak to him after this, he whispered harshly to the duo beside him. "Quit it both of you! If not, I'll blab to Mom and Dad," he threatened and since they knew exactly what he was talking about, they immediately silenced themselves.
Charlie, wanting to get back at them for teasing him, spoke up.
"Oh by the way, Jake, Beth's sister, Bonnie told me to tell you that she misses you and she hopes that you write letters to her during the summer," he hid his smirk and said it with a straight face. He glanced through the rearview mirror to catch a glimpse of Jake's reaction.
True enough, he got the reaction that he wanted as there it was, plastered on Jake's face, horror and disgust. He knew that Jake tremendously disliked Beth's sister as she was seen to be too clingy and was always following him around. Sarah chuckled, obvious amusement on her face. Charlie, wanting to get back at Sarah too, added on.
"Oh and Sarah, the paper boy that always comes to our house, you know the one who's always trailing after you back in Midland, told everyone that you 're his girlfriend."
"What! You must be kidding me!" she screamed, horror at the thought of being the girlfriend of that geek. No way! She thought aloud. " He's DEAD I tell you! If I ever get my hands on him…."
Now, it was Henry, Charlie and Lorraine who were laughing uncontrollably at the reaction on the duo's faces.
"Now THAT is funny!" Lorraine squeaked from giggling way too hard.
Jake and Sarah just glared and huffed angrily at them.
Soon, they pulled into their driveway. The other family vehicle was already there so that means, the Baker's dozen are all at home. Parking the Chevy at the curb, they all got out from the car. Jake and Sarah, who were still sulking, slammed the door and stomped off inside. Lorraine, Jake and Henry just snickered at them.
"So, were all those things that you've said true?" Lorraine asked curiously.
"Yeah, were they?" Henry prodded.
Glancing around to make sure that they were out of earshot from Jake and Sarah, he whispered. "Nope. Of course not. I just made it all up to get back at them for that little performance that they gave in the car just now. Which is of course, all thanks to you," rounding in on Henry. Henry tried to back away but was trapped between the Chevy and Charlie.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he apologized. "Next time, if you want me to make it confidential just let me know cos' if you, yourself talk so loudly, it's as if you wanted everyone to hear."
"Fine. C'mon, let's get inside before Sarah and Jake gets a chance to think up of a revenge since I humiliated them like that." Charlie urged, pushing them inside.
Once inside, havoc ensued which is the normal routine at the Baker's house. Kyle and Nigel are roughhousing with Gunner on the front area and causing all the tables and chairs to fall. Mike was tying a rope on the spiral staircase and was trying a new stunt, since he was bored with bungee jumping from the roof. Kim and Jessica were in the living room, one of who were painting her nails and the other painting strands of hair with the nail polish. Mark was nowhere to be found but since that day when he ran away from home, he now fits in better with the family and his siblings even though he was still called 'FedEx'. Nora had moved in back with the family since she broke up with Hank and they couldn't be much happier for her. She and Tom were still at their workplace so, for the meantime, it was void of the 'working people'. Their mom, Kate Baker, was back in-charge of handling the house and kids. Although, now she has the cooperation of her dozen kids as a result of the previous fiasco, which made the children, realize that their mother truly was a superwoman, able to keep their names straight, house clean and organized and kids to do what they were supposed to do.
5.00 pm
Nora parked her car behind the family vehicle and switched off the ignition. Getting out from the car, she waited till her dad does the same.
"Now today was extremely exhausting," Tom remarked, shutting the door of the white SUV that belongs to Nora. Since Nora now works with him, he could just ride home with her without needing to use the family car. The family car is used by Kate to chauffeur the kids to and fro from school and football practices.
"Tell me about it," Nora replied, slipping an arm behind her dad and together they walked into the house. Both of them looked tired and that's saying something. Tom had finally found a job that is not too demanding and is flexible enough for him to spend time with his kids. He had decided to take up on the offer of coaching a High school football team that pays enough for him to support his family. Coincidentally, it was the same school that Nora had been teaching as an English teacher in and she also helps out to pay for the family bills since she is living with her family again.
"Hopefully, I can get a nap before dinner. I am thoroughly exhausted!" Tom said as he opened the door to of the house. "Kids! Dad and Nora's home!" his voice rang through the living room area and small screams of 'Daddy's home' can be heard from various parts of the building.
Nora separated from Tom to look for her mom in the kitchen, to see if she needs any help preparing dinner. She took off her coat and rested it on the armrest of the sofa in the living room. Entering the bright pastel colored kitchen with stains blemishing the walls, she found Kate stirring a big pot of stew on the stove, the cordless balanced on the other shoulder. She was busy talking on the phone and just gave a nod to Nora and continues talking. She was surprised to see Jake and Sarah sitting on the high stools near the ceramic kitchen counter, one peeling potatoes and the other chopping them up. She went over to them and kissed the hair on the back of their heads.
"Could you please stop doing that?" Sarah groaned, somewhat embarrassed that Nora still likes to kiss the top of their heads.
Nora just laughed at her and rolled up her sleeves to help them chop some of the vegetables. "So why are the two of you here instead of cooking up some mischief?"
"We wish," they sighed simultaneously.
Jake spoke up, "We got punishments remember? For staying up late playing computer games and waking up late for school?" he waved his hands about, trying to make Nora remember.
"Oh I remember. But I thought Sarah's was laundry and yours was dishes?" she asked, a puzzled expression on her face.
"It was, and still is," Sarah explained, "But mom asked us to help her with dinner too cos' she doesn't want us to be plotting pranks again," she finished.
"What about Charlie, Lorraine and Henry? Or Jessica, Kim or Mark?"
"They get an off today while we're in here laboring to feed them at dinner," Sarah pouted, slamming the peeler on the table.
"Well, at least, mom said that she'd consider lessening our punishments if dinner goes well today," Jake said, hopeful.
"Yeah right. Sorry to burst you bubble, dude, but since when does meals in the Baker's household ever goes well?" she raises her brown eyebrows.
"I can at least hope," he resigned.
Nora just laughed lightly at the two of them, both born to be troublemakers. Sarah and Jake could almost pass off as twins as they have the same features in appearance and same brunette hair and are almost about the same height, with Jake slightly taller. And because Jake came out first, so he was the older of the two. These two are very close to each other, she thought to herself, seeing them shoving and teasing each other and laughing together. Mike was also quite close to them but seeing that he was a few years younger, he is sometimes left out from things such as getting punished.
"So whom is Mom talking to?" Nora asked the both of them, nudging her head towards Kate whose ear was still firmly attached to the cordless.
"Aunt Regina," Sarah replied, scrunching up her nose in disgust at the name.
Jake added on. "She's been talking to her from just now about-"
" - summer vacations which they're gonna spend here-"
"- In our house –"
"- so she's discussing sleeping arrangements-"
"- In our rooms and who's gonna sleep where –"
"- and," lowering down her voice, making Nora and Jake to lean closer to her, "it seems as if she's gonna be bringing a new member in her family-"
"- which I think might be a new baby-"
"- or a new boyfriend. Which I think both are ewwy for Aunt Regina considering her age!" concluded Sarah, disgust evident on her face. Behind them, they heard their mom saying goodbye and clicking off the phone so they resumed their duties.
"Well, looks like it's all set," Kate said.
"What's set mom?" Jake asked.
"I'll tell you over dinner but first, I need to speak with your dad. Where is he?" asking Nora.
"Oh, he's taking a nap and he asked to wake him up for dinner."
"Nora honey, could you help me with the stew please, I need to speak with your dad right now," Kate requested, wiping her hands on her apron and setting it on the counter top. She goes out from the kitchen yelling, "Lorraine, Kim, Jessica, come down and set up the dinner table! Now!"
"I wonder what she's gonna tell us at dinner," Sarah wondered.
"Whatever it is, we'd better hurry. Mom wants this to be done before dinner," Jake reminded her, pointing to the unpeeled potatoes on the counter top. Sarah just groaned and continued peeling, a sigh escaping her lips.
Nora smiled at them and went back to stirring the stew. Life sure is interesting when you're a Baker, she thought to herself, unaware that she had the exact same thought as Sarah had, earlier this morning. Like they say, great minds think alike or in this case, a Baker's mind think the same thing.
TBC
