Breaking The Chang Of Sisterhood
A.N. As some of you may be already aware of, I originally wrote a story like this called "Losing Little Lily", which, unfortunately, didn't sit well with some people, so I decided to redo the story with a completely different choice of characters. I hope this one is met with much more success than the first.
One evening at the Changs' apartment in Great Lakes City, Stanley Chang, in his best clothes, was putting on some cologne in the bathroom. He and his wife, Becca, were going out to dinner at The Red Herring in Royal Woods.
"Stan, are you almost ready?" asked Becca. "Our reservation's at seven."
"Almost, my dear." replied Stanley. "I'm just putting on my cologne."
"Alright." said Becca. "I'm just talking with the girls."
The scene then cut to Becca, who was indeed talking with the couple's two daughters, Sid and Adelaide.
"Now, Adelaide, you're going to be good for Sid, right?" she asked.
"Yes, Mommy!" replied Adelaide.
"That's good." Mrs. Chang smiled as she patted her younger daughter on the head.
Stanley then came out of the bathroom and gave Sid twenty dollars.
"Here you are." he said. "You can order a pizza for dinner if you'd like."
"Thanks, Dad." replied Sid.
"And if there are any problems, our cell phone numbers and the number for the restaurant are on the fridge." said Becca.
"Alright." nodded Sid.
Stanley then looked at his watch.
"We better get going, honey." he said. "Or else our reservation will be given to someone else."
"Right." agreed Becca. "Bye, girls!"
"Bye, Mom!" called Sid as she and her sister waved. "Enjoy yourselves!"
Soon, Mr. and Mrs. Chang had left the apartment and subsequently the building in the taxi that had been waiting for them the whole time. Sid then turned to Adelaide.
"So, what do you want to do, sis?" she asked.
"Can we watch a movie?" her sister responded.
"Sure." said Sid. "Maybe that will keep you quiet while I order the pizza."
Adelaide giggled, and Sid got out four DVDs. They were Blue's Big Musical Movie, Thomas And The Magic Railroad, A Bug's Life, and The Aristocats.
"Okay, Adelaide, your options are Blue's Big Musical Movie, Thomas And The Magic Railroad, A Bug's Life, and The Aristocats." said Sid. "So, what will it be?"
Adelaide, after taking some time to think, chose the second DVD, Thomas And The Magic Railroad.
"Good choice." smiled Sid.
Sid put the other three DVDs away and put the DVD Adelaide had chosen into the DVD player. Afterwards, she got on her cell phone and ordered a medium cheese pizza. After she made her order, she and Adelaide settled in to watch the movie. Halfway through it, Sid felt something inside of her.
"Hey, sis, I gotta get up for a bit." she said as she paused the movie. "Will you be okay on your own?"
Adelaide nodded, and Sid got up and went straight for the bathroom. During this time, Adelaide decided to play while she waited for her sister, so she got up herself and went to her room to find a toy to play with. After scouring her toy box for a bit, she found the Pullback Racers model of Percy The Small Engine, which had originally belonged to Sid, but had since been given to the younger Chang sister. She laughed with delight as she watched the toy zoom across the floor every time she pulled it back. In the bathroom, Sid had just finished on the toilet and was now washing her hands.
"Gee, I haven't gone that long in my life." she said. "That'll teach me not to drink that much water in one day."
Just as Sid was drying her hands, she heard a loud crash.
"What was that?" she asked.
Once were hands were dry, she went to investigate, and low and behold, what met her eyes was truly unexpected. There were the remains of what was once a pink ceramic bowl with purple polka dots and some Jaw Buster candies scattered all over the floor. Adelaide was standing next to the mess. Needless to say, Sid was shocked at what was before her.
"Adelaide!" she cried. "What did you do?!"
"I was just playing with my Percy Racer and he hit the table and knocked the bowl over." explained Adelaide. "I'm sorry, Sid."
But Sid was growing very angry with her sister.
"Gosh darn it, Adelaide!" she barked. "That was the bowl I made Mom in pottery club for Mother's Day! And now you've broken it!"
"I said I was sorry!" protested Adelaide. "It was an accident!"
"I don't care!" roared Sid. "I worked so hard on that bowl and now it's ruined!"
"It's not that bad." replied Adelaide.
""Not that bad"?!" Sid snapped. "You completely destroyed it!"
"But like I said, it was an accident!" said Adelaide. "You have to listen to me!"
"Shut up!" growled Sid. "Why don't you just take your excuses and go to bed?!"
"But what about the pizza?" Adelaide asked. "I won't get any now!"
"Too bad." huffed Sid. "You should've thought about that before you broke the bowl. Now do as I say and go to bed."
"But Sid..." Adelaide began.
But Sid turned back to her sister, madder than ever.
"I SAID GO TO BED!" she hollered. "NOW! AND TAKE THAT STUPID LITTLE FACE OF YOURS WITH YOU!"
Adelaide's eyes began to fill up with tears and her lip began to quiver. Sid face-palmed.
"Fine!" she huffed. "If you won't do what I tell you to, I'll do it myself!"
Sid then grabbed Adelaide by the arm, shoved her into her bedroom, and slammed the door. Poor Adelaide started to cry as a result.
"That'll teach her." Sid thought to herself. "Now to get this mess cleaned up."
Fortunately, all the Jaw Busters were still in their wrappers, so Sid put them all in a gallon-sized Ziploc bag, then she gathered the pieces of the bowl and carefully put them into a trash bag. Afterwards, she settled in to relax on the couch. Soon, the pizza guy arrived and after Sid paid for the pizza, she got her slices and sat down on the couch to eat them. As she ate, a duplicate of her in an angel-like appearance, wearing white versions of her shirt, shorts, headband, a halo over her head, large white feathery wings sprouting from her back, and in bare feet appeared next to her.
"Don't you think you were a little hard on your sister?" she asked.
"Not really." said Sid. "She ruined one of my greatest works yet."
"Yes, she did." agreed Angel Sid. "But it was an accident. And you know, when she's a big kid and you're a teenager, she'll hate you for yelling at her like that."
Sid was dumbfounded.
"I never thought of that." she said. "I better go apologize to her."
"Atta girl!" said Angel Sid as she disappeared.
Sid got up from the couch and went towards the door to Adelaide's bedroom, but she was suddenly stopped by another duplicate of her. This one was dressed in red versions of her shirt, shorts, socks, shoes, headband, and earrings, horns on her head, and carrying a trident, obviously taking on the appearance of a devil.
"And where do you think you're going?" Devil Sid asked. "You're not going in their to apologize to that little brat, are you?"
"Yes, actually." answered Sid.
"Don't." said Devil Sid.
"Why not?" asked Sid.
"Because you'll spoil her for sure." replied Devil Sid. "You need to be stern and show her who's the boss. You're not gonna get anywhere if you act all "Little Miss Softie" towards her."
"Oh, I do, huh?" replied Sid. "Well, I'm wrong, you're right."
Sid then sat back down on the couch. Meanwhile, in her room, Adelaide was laying down on her bed, crying into the pillow.
"It's just not fair!" she sobbed. "Why did Sid have to be so mean to me?"
But then, she had a thought.
"Maybe I could hang out with the Casagrandes for a while." she sniffed.
However, she then remembered what Sid had said.
"How am I supposed to make it to the Casagrandes' apartment without Sid seeing me?" she asked.
Adelaide had another idea.
"Maybe if I be quiet about it, Sid won't notice me." she decided.
With that, Adelaide slowly opened the door and tiptoed out of her room, then slowly and quietly closed the door behind her. Luckily for her, Sid was too busy playing Just Dance to notice. The younger Chang sister managed to walk out the door of the apartment without incident.
"That was easy." she said.
Meanwhile, in Apartment 2-A, where the Casagrandes lived and which was right below the Chang's apartment, Ronnie Anne Santiago, her older brother Bobby, and her friend Lincoln Loud were playing Lotería* with the rest of the Casagrande family. Bobby and Ronnie Anne's mother, Maria, was working the night shift at the Great Lakes City Hospital. Lincoln was spending the night. Hector Casagrande, Ronnie Anne and Bobby's maternal grandfather, was currently serving as the caller. The only family member who wasn't playing was Carlitos, the youngest of the Casagrandes, who was already asleep.
"El Tambor." he called.
Lincoln saw the "El Tambor" square on his card and placed a counter on it, and he noticed that he had filled out an entire row.
"Buena!" he shouted.
Lincoln then called out all the squares in his row, and once it was confirmed that he had indeed won the round, everyone cheered. However, the cheering was interrupted by a knock at the door.
"Who could that be?" asked Ronnie Anne.
"There's only one way to find out." said Bobby.
Bobby then got up from his seat, went over to the door, and opened it. Sure enough, there was Adelaide.
"Oh, hey, Adelaide." said Bobby. "What's up?"
"Can I come in?" asked Adelaide.
"Of course you can." replied Bobby with a smile in his voice. "You know you and Sid are always welcome here."
"Thanks." said Adelaide as she entered the apartment.
"Who's this?" Lincoln asked upon seeing Adelaide.
"Lincoln, this is Sid's little sister, Adelaide." said Ronnie Anne.
"It's nice to meet you, Adelaide." said Lincoln as he and the younger Chang sister shook hands.
"It's nice to meet you too, uh, what's your name?" Adelaide asked.
"I'm Lincoln Loud." said Lincoln.
"Well, then it's nice to meet you, Lincoln." Adelaide replied happily.
"By the way, Adelaide, does Sid know your here?" asked Carlino.
"No, and I don't care." said Adelaide.
Everyone was shocked at the words that left Adelaide's mouth.
"What makes you say that?" asked Ronnie Anne.
Adelaide then relaid to the Santiago siblings, the Casagrandes, and Lincoln about what Sid had done to her, and during that, she began crying again, and Lincoln comforted her.
"Aw, I'm sure she didn't mean it." he said as he rubbed her back.
"Really?" asked Adelaide.
"Of course not." said Lincoln. "I mean, I've had similar experiences with my sisters. Just give her time. I'm sure she'll come to her senses eventually."
"Yeah, I suppose so." said Adelaide.
Adelaide's stomach then growled lately.
"Hey, can I have something to eat?" she asked. "I haven't had dinner since Sid sent me to bed without any food."
"Oh, of course you can." said Rosa, the matriarch of the Casagrandes. "I'll fix you something."
"Thanks, Mrs. Casagrande." Adelaide smiled.
Meanwhile, in the apartment above, Sid was sitting on her bed in shame, her knees drawn to her face, her arms folded across them, and her head resting on her arms. The floor was cluttered with crumpled tissues, hinting that she herself had been crying.
"Why did I have to be so mean to Adelaide?" she sighed. "I knew I was angry at her, but she did not deserve that at all. I'm a terrible sister!"
Angel Sid then appeared next to her.
"So, it seems that your guilty conscience finally got to you, eh?" she asked.
"Yeah, it did." Sid agreed with a nod.
"I thought it would." said Angel Sid.
Angel Sid then took Sid by the hand to Adelaide's bedroom door.
"Tell your sister you're sorry and ask for forgiveness." Angel Sid commanded as she pointed to the door.
Sid was about to go into the room when Devil Sid suddenly reappeared.
"Whoa, hold on there." said Devil Sid. "Weren't you paying attention when I told you not to be spoil your sister by being soft on her?"
"Don't listen to her." said Angel Sid. "Go on in, the door is right in front of you."
"No way." argued Devil Sid. "You stay right where you are."
"It doesn't have to be like this." Angel Sid fired back. "Just apologize to your sister and it'll all be over."
"But you saw what that little brat did!" snapped Devil Sid.
Sid knew right then and there what had to be done.
"You know what? Screw this, I'm going in!" said Sid.
"That's the way!" praised Angel Sid.
Devil Sid had no choice but to admit defeat.
"Alright, fine, you win." Devil Sid groaned.
Devil Sid then disappeared, and in her place appeared a scoreboard that had two rows on it. The first row had "Angels" on it in white and the second had "Devils" on it in red. Both were scored at "10", but the "10" on the "Angels" row then turned into an "11".
"Oh, yeah." said Angel Sid before disappearing along with the scoreboard.
With that whole "Angels vs. Devils" fiasco finally done and overwith, Sid knocked on the door, but there was no response. She assumed Adelaide had chosen to give her the silent treatment.
"Adelaide, it's me." she sighed. "I wanted to say I'm sorry for yelling at you like that and that I love you."
But there was still no response.
"Adelaide?" asked Sid.
Still, no response came from within.
"Alright, I'm coming in." announced Sid.
Sid opened the door, but when she did, she saw that the room showed no sign of anyone ever being in there. This immediately caused her concern.
"Adelaide?" she called again. "Adelaide, where are you?"
Sid then saw the bedroom window, which was halfway open.
"Adelaide Chang, you didn't." she gasped.
Sid opened the window some more until she could easily fit her head through it and looked outside. There was no sign of Adelaide anywhere outside the apartment building.
"Yes, you did!" she cried.
Sid then slammed the window closed.
"I've got to find her!" she said.
Downstairs in the Casagrandes' apartment, Adelaide was enjoying the meal Rosa had made for her, which was a simple bowl of albondigas* with ordinary soda crackers and a bottle of watermelon-flavored Jarritos* from Hector's bodega on the ground floor of the apartment building. The Lotería game had since ended and now Lincoln, Ronnie Anne, Carlota, and Bobby were playing Go Fish while the rest of the family just chilled out and relaxed.
"This soup is delicious!" Adelaide praised as she sipped another spoonful.
"I'm glad you like it." replied Rosa.
Just then, there was a frantic pounding at the door.
"Come in!" called Carlos.
The door flew open and in came Sid, who looked to be in a panic.
"Sid, what's wrong?" asked Bobby.
"Has anyone here seen Adelaide?" asked Sid. "She's missing!"
"Yes, actually." said Bobby. "In fact, she's right over there at the dinner table."
Bobby gestured his thumb at Adelaide, who was still at the table finishing her late dinner.
"Adelaide!" Sid cried.
Sid then ran to Adelaide, scooped her up, spun her around, kissed her twice on both cheeks, then hugged her tight. Tears of joy were flooding down her face at this point.
"I am so sorry I was rotten to you!" said Sid. "I was just so mad about the bowl that I lost control!"
Adelaide smiled.
"I forgive you, Sid." she responded as she hugged her sister.
Lincoln, Bobby, and the Casagrandes smiled at this sisterly moment between Sid and Adelaide, but then they heard someone crying. Lincoln turned and saw Ronnie Anne with tears raining down from her own eyes.
"Ronnie?" Lincoln asked. "Are you...crying?"
"No!" denied Ronnie Anne. "I'm...I'm..."
But Ronnie Anne realized right away that hiding her tears was not going to cut it.
"Oh, who am I kidding?" she asked. "Yes! It's just so beautiful!"
"There, there." said Bobby as he comforted his sister.
After a bit, Sid set Adelaide down so that she could finish her meal.
"Would you like something to eat too, Sid?" asked Rosa.
"No thanks, I already ate." replied Sid.
"Alright." replied Rosa.
After Adelaide finished the last of her soup, crackers, and soda, the Chang sisters bid good-by to Lincoln, the Santiagos, and the Casagrandes and left for their own apartment, where they spent the rest of the evening playing Twister while waiting for Mr. and Mrs. Chang to return.
"By the way, Adelaide, I want to ask you something." said Sid. "Why was your bedroom window open?"
"It was for fresh air." replied Adelaide.
"Fair enough." shrugged Sid.
Just then, Stanley and Becca entered the apartment.
"We're home!" said Stanley.
"Hey, Mom, Dad." greeted Sid. "Did you two enjoy yourselves?"
"Yes, we did." said Becca.
Becca then noticed something odd.
"Um, girls, where's that candy bowl you gave me for Mother's Day?" she asked.
When asked this question, Sid told her parents everything that had transpired while they were gone. Mr. and Mrs. Chang were not at all pleased when they learned how Sid had been mean to her sister over the slightest problem and how Adelaide had snuck off to the Casagrandes' apartment without telling anyone, but decided not to punish their daughters when they learned how they had made up in the end. Sid then showed her parents where she had put the garbage bag that held the remains of the candy bowl. Stanley carefully took out the pieces and placed them on the counter.
"Doesn't look too bad, actually." he said.
"Really?" gasped Sid with astonishment.
"Yes." replied Mr. Chang. "All we need to do is just glue the broken pieces back together."
"Wow." said Sid. "It looks like you were right all along, Adelaide."
"Yeah." giggled Adelaide.
Adelaide then yawned.
"It looks like it'll have to wait until tomorrow." said Becca. "I think someone needs some sleep."
"Yeah, and first thing tomorrow, I'll go down to the bodega and see if Hector has any Gorilla Glue." added Stanley.
Adelaide nodded in agreement, and Mrs. Chang put her younger daughter to bed, and Sid decided to turn in for the night herself. As both Chang sisters drifted off to Slumber Land, they felt very happy to have overcome a huge obstacle in their relationship.
The End
* 1. Lotería is a traditional Mexican board game of chance similar to bingo, except with picture cards instead of numbered balls and played on a 4x4 grid instead of a 5x5 grid. Markers for the game are traditionally small rocks, bottle caps, or dried pinto beans. In addition, the winner is the first player to shout "Buena!" after filling in the whole board (which, by the way, is referred to as a "tabla"), a row, a column, or diagonally.
* 2. Albondigas is a Mexican soup whose main ingredient is meatballs.
* 3. Jarritos is a Mexican soft drink brand that I often get from a Mexican restaurant by where I live called "Los Amigos"