Disclaimer: Wonders Have I said that I don't own a single character of the Cheaper By the Dozen clan? I have? Okay. Good. Now since that's settled, I expect no legal letters in my mailbox.

A/N: I'm really sorry for being such a lazy bum in updating this fic cos' sometimes, I don't feel inspired or enthusiastic enough to get on the laptop and continue this story. But after reading some of the reviews…and for those faithful reviewers (you know who you are), I feel like I owe these people cos' they patiently wait for me to slowly update this fic and then they review each time they read it. I feel so grateful to you guys! hugs So now, I'm back writing and hopefully, if more people reviewed, I'll update it faster!

Rating: Nothing violently descriptive. Hey, this is a family movie. But just in case, it's PG 13. Contains loads of sarcasm, bantering, chucking things on the head, and annoying siblings and even more annoying classmates.

Reviewers:

NcsoccerplayerHahaha…you're dying just cos' I didn't update this fic? Your review had me rolling around in laughter (which I seriously need)! And since the life of a person depends on me updating, so I decided to get on with it and continue writing! Beams

Points to note about this fic: I made Jake and Sarah to be about the same age, which is thirteen years old. Somehow, in the movie, I didn't accept that Sarah was older than Jake because Jake looks so much older than her and taller. I guess, Girls do mature faster than boys, and they wanted to make Sarah the chief troublemaker in the Baker family, so that's why they probably made her older I think. But they're not twins, although compared to the rest of the cast members, they tend to look the most sibling like due to the same hair and facial appearance.

The Split of the Dozen

By avren

14 + Play Woes

Previously

She bent down and picked it up and saw the words….'Dear Tom'….

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But before she could manage to read on further, it was rudely snatched out from her hands.

"Sarah!" she gasped when a blur of pigtails and a hand suddenly grabbed picture.

"Oh sorry Mom! It's mine. I dropped it just now," she fibbed and quickly slipped the photo in her back pocket.

"What picture was that?" Kate asked, curious when Sarah had a shifty look in her eyes.

"Umm…." She tried to think of a lie.

"And how come there's 'Dear Tom' written on the back?" She eyebrows rose higher.

"Well, cos' that's a picture of a guy in school name Tom whom Sarah has a crush on," Jake suddenly quipped as he enters the kitchen, covering for her.

He grinned cheekily and gave a not-so-subtle wink at Sarah, who seemed relieved at first but her face turned a deep shade of red as Jake's words registered in her mind. She gave a discreet shove to his stomach which Kate noticed anyway which made him let out a painful 'Oof!' and she looked innocently at Kate, going along with his lie, even though it is totally embarrassing her.

"Sarah! Don't do that to your brother. And how come you didn't tell me anything about this Tom?" Kate frowned, but her lips curved to a smile at the thought of her daughter having crushes. "Aww…my girl is really growing up." she started to coo, causing horrified looks on both their faces. "Come on, show me how he looks like," she tried reaching for the picture but Sarah immediately backed away out of reach.

"Erm, mom, I think we need to get back to our homework now," she said quickly, grabbing Jake by his shirt and dragged him out of the kitchen before Kate can bombard them with more questions.

Once safely out of Kate's earshot, she turned to Jake and punched his shoulders. Hard.

"Hey! What was that for?" He cried out.

"The guy that I secretly like? Of all the things you can say you HAD to choose that!"

"Well I don't see you coming up with anything better." He grumbled, rubbing his head. "And at least it worked didn't it? What are you complaining about? It's not as if she's going to check out this 'Tom' guy." He rolled his eyes at her. "Oh and another thing, you really need to control your hands. At the rate you're hitting me, no guy would want to ever go out with an abusive chick." He muttered under his breath. She raised her hand to smack him again but he managed to grab it.

"Haha!" He grinned triumphantly and she glared at him.

"Next time, just DON'T ever say Sarah and crushin the same sentence alright?" She threatened, snatching her hand back.

"Looks like you just did" He smirked.

"You –"

"So, did you get it?" Henry interrupted before their bickering continued.

Sighing, she decided to let Jake's last comment go and turned to the others who were there waiting. "Yeah," she patted the back pocket of her pants, "I'll show it upstairs. Come on, let's go up."

They headed upstairs and as they passed the living room, they saw Fern in front of the mantelpiece, looking at the frames of pictures displayed there.

"Hey Fern, you still here?" Henry called out, snapping her out of her browsing.

She looked up and smiled when she saw them.

"Oh hey Henry," nodding at the rest of them, "I'm waiting for Charlie actually. He's supposed to send me home but he's on the phone right now. "

"Poor you, didn't anyone tell you that when Charlie is on the phone, it's going to be a long time before he finally hangs up unless someone pesters him." Jessica sympathized.

"Yeah, and especially when he's talking to Beth. They could talk for hours!" Kim declared.

"I thought he only ever talks to Beth?" Mark asked aloud to no one in particular.

"Yeah, that too."

Fern laughed lightly at the 'revelation'. She already suspected that of Charlie.

"Someone better tell him Fern's waiting." Jessica said.

"I'll tell him," Jake offered and they thought he was going to run upstairs to do so but boy were they wrong.

"CHARLIE! FERN'S WAITING! GET OFF THE PHONE ALREADY!" Jake hollered, making all of them winces from the sudden blast of shouting and they all clapped their ears for protection.

"Well. That's one way of telling him." Sarah chuckled in sarcasm, though her ears were still ringing from Jake's holler.

"GIVE ME A FEW MORE MINUTES!" came Charlie's reply from above.

"Oh well, that's Charlie alright. Do you need some company while you wait for him to come down?" Jessica offered.

"Oh no, that's alright. I'll just wait for him here. I'm sure he'll be down anytime soon." Fern smiled.

"Hey, I'll wait here with you." Henry offered quickly and turning to them, he added. "You guys go on ahead. I'll join you guys later."

Sarah and Jake smiled knowingly to each other at Henry's intention and chuckled amusedly to themselves. "Oh I'm sure you will." Sarah whispered under her breath, making Kim, Jessica, Mark, Mike and Jake giggle.

"Alrightey then. We'll keep you updated about…. urmm…the thing later. Have fun! " Sarah smirked and bounded her way upstairs, with the rest of them in tow.

Meanwhile in Charlie's room.

"Look Beth, is it okay if I call you back later?" He hesitated, unsure if that's going to be a good idea cos' they were in the middle of their argument and he didn't know if he could get through to her the next time he calls cos' he's been having a hard time trying to talk to her on the phone for the past few days. It was either she was out, busy studying, or doing something that she couldn't spare a few minutes of her time to talk to him, her boyfriend.

"Why?" Her voice was laced in suspicion over the phone.

"I need to send Fern home cos' it's already late for her to go home by herself," he explained.

"Are you sure that's the reason? Are you just being considerate or are you secretly seeing her behind my back?"

Her accusation was totally uncalled for and he inwardly fumed

"BETH! How could you even suggest that! I've already told you that she's tutoring me for Chemistry and that's all there is to it! Why are you suddenly being so unreasonable? You're the one who's been avoiding me for the past couple of days and each time I tried to call you, you're always busy with stuff." He retorted.

"Well I've been studying! Exams are around the corner and it's senior year in case you haven't notice!"

"I have exams too but at least I took the time to call you a few times but every time I did, you're never there to answer it! It's either your Mom or Bonnie who answers it."

There was momentarily silence from the other side and suddenly, beeps came on the line indicating a call waiting.

"Look. Beth, I've got another line and I also have to send Fern home cos' I already said I would. We'll talk later. I'll call you when I reach home and we'll discuss stuff alright?" He finally said.

The call waiting line was impatiently beeping now.

"Maybe." Was all the answer that she gave and she hung up on him. Exasperated, he sighed and clicked the Flash button to answer the other line.

"Baker's residence. So sorry to keep you waiting…there was another line earlier."

"Urm…. that's okay." A guy's voice on the other line replied.

"So, who do you want to speak to?" The voice on the phone was unfamiliar and sounded quite young, around Jake's age, and Charlie was just a tad curious.

The voice hesitated before answering. "Is Sarah Baker home?"

Interesting. A guy calling home asking for Sarah? That's a first. He mused to himself but answered nonetheless.

"Yeah she's home. Hang on, I'll get her." He grabbed his car keys on the top of his dresser and headed towards Sarah's room, cordless in hand.

Meanwhile in Sarah's room

"Man! Can we ever get to see the picture? There's too many disruptions already." Kim ranted once they were all gathered back in Sarah's room.

"Anyway, we were this –" showing two fingers spaced a few centimeters apart, "- close to being busted just now! " Sarah heaved a sigh of relief and plopped back on her bed.

Jake wedged himself in between Henry and Jessica on the rectangular beanbag.

"Too many close shaves we've had so far. Fortunate really. Mom didn't see the picture….did she?" His eyes widened at the thought of her mom ever finding the picture and he looked at Sarah for confirmation.

"Nope. Thank god! I managed to grab it just as she was reading the message on the back. She only got to the part 'Dear Tom'. "

"Can I see it?" Kim asked, reaching out for the photo and together, the rest huddled over it, scrutinizing the piece of glossed paper like it holds the key to a buried treasure or something.

"So…" Mike asked from his spot near the door after a few minutes of intense scrutiny of the picture, "Any clue yet on whom that might be?"

But before Kim could answer, suddenly, Charlie's head popped out from the doorframe, startling all of them when he said, " Sarah! Phone for you." And he held out the cordless to her.

They quickly hid the photo from Charlie's sight when Sarah gestured them to do so and luckily, Charlie didn't notice a thing.

"Who is it?" Sarah got up and headed towards him.

"No clue. Wait, " he put the cordless to his ear and asked the person on the other line. "What's your name?" The rest of them chuckled in amusement at Charlie's action.

The guy on the other line was clearly startled on the sudden question but he nonetheless replied, though hesitatingly. "Umm….Ryan. From her school."

"He said his name is Ryan and he's from your school." Charlie told her and immediately, the rest of the room break out in giggling and teasing.

"Ooo…Ryan…."

"A guy is calling Sarah on the phone! At home!"

"That never happens...does it?"

"Not unless that's the principal."

"Is he cute!" Lorraine popped out of nowhere at the corridor and looked eagerly at her.

Oh brother. Sarah rolled her eyes and put on a mask of nonchalance even though she was a little surprised that Ryan was calling her at home. Why the heck is he calling me at home?

She grabbed the cordless from Charlie's outreached hands and shoved both him and Lorraine out of the way.

"Hey! Talk in the room!"

"Yeah! We wanna hear too!" The gang shouted at her as she left the room in search for a place where it is not infested with her siblings' eavesdropping ears. She gave a parting 'Ahh..shut up!' before she left the room and she could hear giggles and chuckling as she went further away from the room.

Once out of earshot, she finally answered to the person who's been waiting on the other line.

"You've got three minutes from now. Shoot."

"Aww…great to hear from you too," an amused voice sarcastically replied. She could imagine him smirking on the other side and rolling his eyes.

She smiled despite herself. "Well, I'm saving you from being burdened with lies cos' I'm sure your tiny little brain couldn't handle it."

"Ouch." Followed by faint chuckling could be heard from the phone.

"Reynolds. Tick tock. 2 minutes and I'll hang up." She said in a clipped tone.

"Alright alright, It's not as if I'm swimming in a pool of sunshine talking to you too."

"One minute and thirty seconds." Was all she said.

On the other side, Ryan was smirking to himself, amused. He knew she was getting all riled up and it's giving him endless amount of glee. So he did the next best thing.

He teased her even further.

"Found a new job Sarah? I didn't know you worked for the telephone company as a countdown timer." She heard him chuckle at his own joke.

Hilarious. He thinks he's funny. Sarah rolled her eyes to herself.

"Times up. Goodbye and have a nice day." And she made a move to put down the phone and he realized that she was being serious cos' he started to call out for her.

"Wait! Hold on…alright..I'll get to the point. Hello?" His voice sounded unsure whether she was still on the line or not.

She chuckled inwardly. I'm good. She mused.

"Hello? Baker? You still there?"

"Make it quick Reynolds." She clipped.

She could hear him mutter to himself. Something along the lines of 'wretched…Jenkins…never…Baker… again'.

"I'm waiting." She tapped her feet impatiently.

"Jenkins called earlier and told me to call you. She wants us to be in school tomorrow in school at six am sharp at the theatre room." He finally said.

" WHAT!"

"Ahh my ears!" She heard him yelp on the other line. She ignored him and continued.

"You gotta be KIDDING me! Six AM? In the morning? In school? Tomorrow?" She gasped in surprise and it resulted in broken questions.

"No. Yes. Yes. Yes. Oh…and no…not tomorrow…in two years time."

Sarcasm. She recognizes one when she hears it. After all, she is the QOS. Queen of Sarcasm that is.

"Yes, tomorrow." He added, clearly exasperated. "And trust me, I'm not exactly jumping for joy when she told me that either. I'm just here to share the 'good' news with you, that's all."

"Care to share why she wants us to be there at that ungodly hour for?" She leaned back against the pillar and sighed. She knew that whatever the reason was, she can't get out of it cos' Jenkins had told him to pass the message instead of calling her personally.

"She thinks it's fun to play matchmaker and she set us up on a blind date." He said deadpanned. "For the PLAY d'oh! Why else would she want to meet us there for!" From his tone, he sounded exasperated.

HE'S exasperated? What about me! She ranted inwardly.

"Quit the sarcasm, Reynolds. I know it's about the play but why on earth must it be at six am? It's already enough torture that I have to be in this stinking play and worse having you as a partner –"

"Hey!"

"- and now she 's depriving me of my sleep too! My life has officially gotten 'much better'," she muttered in frustration.

Why am I telling him all this? I'm spending way too much time already on the phone with him. I'd better hang up or else, they're gonna tease me even more she suddenly realized.

"Okay then. Bye."

Ryan was clearly surprised at the abrupt change of tone in her voice but he wasn't about to let her hang up just like that.

"Wait! "

"What now? Isn't that all you called to tell me? Or is there anything else Jenkins wants from me?"

He paused for a while. "Uh..nothing else. I just don't want to let you hang up first. I want to hang up first. Sweet dreams Baker." His voice clearly full of glee.

Urghh! The nerve of him! She fumed.

"Well I hope you have nightmares! Jerk." And she clicked the off button in fury. Stupid Reynolds. Stupid Jenkins.

She marched back to her room where she found the rest of them chattering and playing amongst themselves and when they saw her entering, they immediately started to bombard her with questions but halted when they saw her face.

"Err…..did he break up with you or something?" Mark asked softly and when her face turned even a redder shade of fury, he immediately knew he said the wrong thing.

"Alright! I want everyone out of my room now! I have to wake up at a stinking hour tomorrow and I need to sleep earlier. Out!" She growled and started ushering them out of her room much to their protests.

"But what about the picture?" Kim asked as Sarah pulled her up to her feet and pushing her towards the door.

"Well, you and Jessica can keep it for the while and think of something. I've got other stuff to deal with right now and since you guys are geniuses, I'm sure you'll figure something out."

They all went back to their rooms except for Jake, who lingered at the doorway, arms crossed and thin creases of line marred his forehead as he frowned in puzzlement.

"Who's Ryan? And how come you have to wake up at a stinking hour tomorrow?"

She shoved the things that are cluttered on her bed and pulled over her comforter so that she can slip in and get ready for bed. She grabbed her backpack that was lying at the end of her four-poster and threw it on her bed. She was going to finish her homework on the bed so that she can go to sleep immediately as soon as she finishes her work.

"Jenkins wants to meet tomorrow at six am for that stupid play." She finally said but didn't bother telling him who Ryan is. She grabbed her face towel and her toothbrush and headed out towards the bathroom, with Jake in tow.

"How come it's at six am? Is she crazy?" He paused at the doorway of the bathroom as Sarah went in and started to brush her teeth.

"She's a whole lot of things and crazy is just one of them." She gurgled and rinsed and started splashing her face with the running tap water.

Once she was done, she turned off the tap, wiped her face dry and headed back to her room. "I'm taking the bus tomorrow so I'm not riding with Charlie. Help me tell him. Thanks."

"Okay…no prob."

"Right." She stood as the door and turned to him. "I'm sleeping early so…night then." She gave him a tired smile and proceeded to close the door. He gave her a sympathetic smile, said 'Night' and walked back to his room.

Throwing herself on her bed with a huge sigh, she flashbacked on the day when her life started to get more interesting as they were informed about the play and the whole incident in the Miss Jenkins's form class.

Flashback

TBC…

A/N: So how? Is the story okay? Thanks for reading and do review! It makes me write faster..Hopefully.