Mercedes: POV

"Noah!" I put my hands on my hips. "Why didn't you dress her?!"

"She's not goin nowhere!" He threw up his hands.

I undid the clasps on Rae's car seat and picked her up. "Did you do that to Beth, too?!"

"She likes her pyjamas!"

"Get out!" I rocked Rae.

"Mama!"

"Got my baby wearing this dirty onesie in public!"

"It's not dirty!"

"Then why does it have all these spots on it?!" I turned Rae around and pointed out the yellow spots.

"She did that on the way over here! That's not my fault!"

"Uh huh." I rolled my eyes.

He sighed. "I'm sorry, Mama. I should have put real clothes on her. Forgive me?"

I kissed his puckered lips. "You better dress my baby like the diva she is from now on."

"Can't be a bigger diva than her momma." He muttered.

"What was that?!"

He jumped and kissed me quickly. "Nothing! Love you, Mama! See you, Rae! Bye!"

I stared at him as he ran all the way to his truck. I rolled my eyes and shut the door before locking it and looking at Rae. "Papa's a mess, isn't he?"

Rae made a high-pitched noise then set her chin on my shoulder.

"Silly girl. Wanna go see your cousins?"

She opened her mouth and made shapes with it before closing it.

"Yeah. You wanna see them."

The front door opened and I turned around. It was Marcy. "Hey?"

"Hey!" I waved Rae's hand. "How was class?"

She shrugged. "Just prepping for the final."

"How do you think you'll do?"

She shrugged again. "I have no idea."

"I'm sure you'll do well. You're too bright."

"Stop buttering me up. You're not my type."

I blinked at her until I laughed. "Shut up, girl!"

She smirked. "Where's the twins?"

"Watching TV with Marionette."

"Well I guess that means I'm going to destroy that."

I laughed again. "Let them watch TV!"

"Nope!" She hung her bags on the hooks by the door and walked to the den.

I followed behind her and sat on a couch. She picked up Mally and set Mickey on her lap as she sat in a chair.

"They ate breakfast with the Changs." Marionette said in slow, precise English.

"Thank you." Marcy responded in kind. We had to speak slowly around Marionette. "Have they gone to the bathroom at all?"

"No."

Marcy made a face. She wanted to start potty-training the twins but Mal insisted they didn't rush them (even though Mally has started taking his diaper off whenever he had to use the bathroom; just like his father used to). "Maybe we should give them some oatmeal?"

"Marcy, you can't rush them." I said. "They're still breastfeeding. They have to do things at their own pace."

"This is ridiculous. I was trained by now."

"You did everything early and you wanted to wear panties like Momma. You didn't even let me do it first. You just watched people go to the bathroom then never wore a diaper again."

"And I think we should do the same with them." She was so stubborn!

"Marcy!"

"They need to be potty-trained. I don't care what you say."

"You're going to scar them for life!"

She narrowed her eyes.

"You know I'm right. There's nothing worse than being pushed to do something you're not ready for."

She looked away. Mally cupped her cheeks and kissed her nose. She smiled. "I'm sorry, baby. Mommy's not trying to be a monster."

"Monster!" He yelled.

"Mommy just wants you to be as normal as possible."

"Marce, that's impossible." I told her. "We're not normal; why would our kids be?"

"I can want it, can't I?"

"Have you talked to Dr. Jackson yet?"

"Yeah." That didn't sound promising.

"What'd he say?"

"Something about giving myself a break." She rolled her eyes.

"You should! You have these impossibly high standards. No one can meet them. At least give yourself some slack."

"If anyone should meet those standards, it's me. They're mine."

"You're going to be upset your whole life then."

She kissed Mally's cheek. "Let's go shopping."

I stared at her. "What?"

"Let's go shopping."

"Book shopping?"

"Clothes shopping."

I knew she was trying to get me off talking sense into her but she'd never volunteered to go shopping before. "Okay! Let me go get changed! And Rae, too. Did you know Noah brought her out the house looking like this?!"

"What are those stains?"

I dropped my head back and groaned loudly. "I know!"

MAP

"Mercy, you have to let these go!" Lucy tugged the sweatpants away from me.

"No!" I tugged them back.

"You have to get out of sweats!"

"No!"

"Mercy!" Marcy snatched the pants from me. "Quit it! What did you tell me after I had the twins? That I was more than a mommy. I was also a woman and I had to show it. Now find something sexy!"

"I don't wanna!" I didn't. I wasn't comfortable showing skin.

She ripped something down and threw it at me. "Put that on or I'll swear you'll be rocking it with a black eye."

I glared at her with her mean self and stalked to the dressing room. "I don't know why we're here anyway! I can't fit anything here!"

"Oh shut up!"

I took my sweats off and slipped into the dress. I pulled it up and made sure it fit right before staring at myself in the mirror.

I was shocked… It looked great on me. It was a deep claret color with lace cutouts. It fell to mid-thigh and had a square neckline with thick straps. I wasn't naked like I thought and I felt… sexy.

"How's it look, Merce?!" Lucy called out.

I couldn't say a word. I was just transfixed on my reflection.

The door opened and there they were. They celebrated. "You look great!"

"This can't be me." I was still in awe.

"Mercy, you've lost quite a bit of weight." Lucy took my hands. "It's going to show when you put on clothes that fit."

"But-?"

"No buts." Marcy cut in. "You were beautiful before but you're drop dead gorgeous now. Puck's going to be doing some heavy duty fighting to keep guys off you."

My bottom lip stuck out as my eyes misted.

Lucy hugged me. "What's wrong, sweetie?"

"I know I was going on and on about being fine when I was bigger but-"

"You were fine." Marcy cut me off. "You just got healthier and it's reflected on the outside. Just because you like what you look like now doesn't mean you didn't before. You're still you. Just happier."

"Is this how you guys felt?"

"I felt so relieved when I lost weight." Lucy said. "I never thought I would and then I did and it was all I could do not to lose my mind with happiness. I was even happier when I lost the pregnancy weight. I thought I'd balloon up again and I fluctuated until I got my thyroid under control last year."

"So you were relieved and happy?"

"So relieved and so happy."

"How about you, Marce?"

"You know weight never bothered me but I was happy to lose weight. I don't care what other people say but words do hurt and being big in a small town is not fun." Marcy shrugged. "Plus it's not easy to hear, "Why'd he knock her up?". Like I was just that repulsive."

"People actually asked that?!" I was outraged on her behalf.

"Rude, ain't it? I'm amazing."

I loved her ego. I sniffed. "So it's okay to like what I see now?"

"How many times do I have to tell you; your feelings are valid."

I hugged both of them. "Love you!"

"We know." Lucy let me go and picked up something slung over Beth's stroller. "Try this on!"

I stared at the tiny items in her hand. "I'm not putting that on."

"Why not?" She pouted.

"There's no fabric there!"

"Yes, it is!"

"I'm not going to be one of those girls that lose the weight and her clothes!"

Marcy turned to me slowly. "What was that?"

I grimaced. "Marce,-!"

"You had me in skirts that were hiked up to my ears, heels that I tottered in and shirts so tight, I broke ribs! Fuck you mean you're not wearing it?!"

"Marcy! Language!"

Her face didn't move.

I sighed. "Okay. I'm sorry. I just wanted to dress you. I always have. I shouldn't have pushed you outside of your comfort zone when I knew I wouldn't return the sentiment."

"Try on the clothes." She took the clothes from Lucy and pushed them into my chest.

"Marce,-"

"Try on the clothes." Her face said she wasn't accepting anything other than "absolutely!".

I nodded. "Okay."

Lucy giggled as they turned to go.

I couldn't stand her! She let me get yelled at! I slammed the door behind them before trying on the clothes. I checked the tags before I pulled them on. I wouldn't fit them.

I pulled the shorts on first. They were a pair of dark wash blue jean shorts. They went over my legs easy but then I had to hop to get my backside in. But they went over. I buttoned them and zipped them up.

They actually went!

I tugged the shirt over my head. It was a short sleeved red and grey baseball shirt. I put my arms through the holes and pulled it down over my breasts. That was a bit snug but it fell over my stomach with no problem.

I was so shocked! They actually fit and without being tight! Well other than the bust area…

I turned to the mirror to see if I had any bulges. I twisted and turned but I looked good from all angles. No back-fat and muffin top. I really rocked this outfit!

Lucy opened the door. "Let us look at you-! Ooh! It fits! I knew it! You look so cute!"

I hid my face. "No!"

"Stop it, Sissy! You look beautiful!"

"Puck is going to lose his mind." Marcy leaned against the doorframe.

I blushed. "Is not."

"Okay." Marcy snapped a picture of me. "Let's see."

I gasped in horror. "No! Don't send that!"

"Too late."

I stomped a foot in anger. "You rotten-!"

"Ah, ah, ah! Language, Big Sis."

I glared at her. "Get out! Just get out!"

"Don't you want to know what he thinks?"

I stopped. "No."

"Really? Not even that he says he wants to peel you out of that and have his way with you?"

"He- he said that?" I was afraid to hope.

"Amongst other things." She smirked. She was so smug!

I rolled my eyes as I fought my blush. "I suppose I could keep this outfit."

"And all the other ones we're gonna get you." My eyes widened and I tried to speak but she ran over me. "I'm calling the girls and we're shopping for a whole new wardrobe for you. You're going to be the sexiest thing to hit New York since G-Ma."

When she got set in her ways, there was no convincing her. No way was I interested in letting them play Barbie with me.

Right?

MAP

Anna: POV

I sat down at the table. "Hey! Sorry I'm late. I know I should have been early since I'm the one who suggested today instead of tomorrow-"

"Relax, Big A." Marcy soothed me.

I took a deep breath. "Sorry. Just stressed about the last week of school."

"You don't think you'll do great in your classes?"

"I have no idea. I've been studying day and night but I'm not sure I'm prepared. What about you? Are you ready?"

"Yeah. My teaching assignment went off without a hitch and my marks test is Thursday with my final exam being Friday. I'm good in 'RO."

"What about your band class?"

"That's easy. I just have to play a piece for a concert."

"How'd your soccer banquet go?"

She grinned. "That was amazing. We all promised to keep in touch but I'm not holding my breath."

"Aw. That's too bad. I want to keep up with the cheer team."

She quirked a brow.

"Don't you?"

"They okay."

"Marcy!" I giggled.

She cracked a smile. "All you can do is study. I'm sure you'll get it. You're a smart girl."

I blew out a breath. "I really wonder sometimes. My mom wants me to go to State. She said she wants to keep an eye on me."

She looked at me.

"I know! I hate it, too!"

"Obviously not that much."

"What am I supposed to do?"

"You're not going to listen to me. You're not even listening to yourself." She looked down at her book.

I sighed heavily. "Thanks for getting me that deal with Apple. It was really great."

She didn't say anything.

"Can I- can I see a picture of Rae?"

She sighed. "You're lucky I believe in the right to self mutilation."

What? I stared at her as she brought her phone out and brought up a photo. I smiled when I saw it. Rae was getting cuter every day. My baby. I sighed heavily. What was I going to do?

MAP

Puck: POV

How did I get roped into this? I didn't want to clean!

"So this is it?" Tina gasped.

"Yup." Mini Mama nodded.

"It's so beautiful. It looks like a hotel."

"Wait until you see the inside."

Tina clapped. "I can't wait!"

We went inside and Tina and I looked all over while Mini Mama and Mike went straight for the elevators. The lobby was big with pink marble(?) walls and tons of artwork.

There were doors leading to different parts of the building and a doorman station off to the left. It had a bunch of screens and there were two security guards there.

On the right was a bunch of large metal mailboxes. Each had a letter and number. Before you got to the elevators, there was a big fountain. It had grass and rocks and fish in it. It looked chill as shit.

The elevators themselves were glass and gold. I would have said yellow but I think this shit's real gold.

We got on one elevator and Mini Mama hit six. "We're gonna take it from top to bottom."

"Got it!" Tina nodded.

"Hopefully we'll get done in one day but if we don't, no worries. I can come back tomorrow."

"We should be able to get done today." Mike said. "It shouldn't be that dirty."

"You'd be surprised."

We hit the sixth floor and went down the hall. We walked to 6B, which was our apartment.

Mini Mama opened the door with a key and turned on the lights.

I was shocked. This place was fucking huge! The space in front of the door was wide and open with dark tan walls. Artwork was hanging up and there was a- what the fuck was that thing Q had in her room? I think she called it a chase?

It was like a dark pink or something and was pushed against the wall. Next to it was a table with a phone on it. Mama them agreed that we all should have a house-phone.

"Wow! It looks so good in here!" Tina closed the door behind us.

"Let's go upstairs and start vacuuming." Mini Mama said. "I have no idea why they wanted so much carpet."

"Carpet's nice. I have carpet in my room."

Mini Mama just turned and walked off.

Mike glared at her back. "Hey!"

"Mike, it's okay." Tina pulled on his arm. "I'm used to her."

"I'm so sorry."

I grinned but made sure I didn't laugh. "I'm going to follow her. I don't want her to yell at me."

"And the mean thing will."

I smirked and led them out but I didn't actually know where I was going.

Mini Mama was waiting around the corner. "Nice of you to join me. The stairs are this way, 'Zilla."

How'd she know-? She's a fucking witch!

We followed her upstairs (which were carpeted) and to the first room up there. It was Mama's studio. It was like a real studio in there! It had everything I've ever seen on TV in there!

"We're just vacuuming and dusting in here." Mini Mama said. "Mikey, you have long arms. Clean the glass off."

He gave her a look. "What's the magic word?"

"Do it or I'll stab you with a mic?"

"I was looking for platypus."

Her head fell back and she laughed. "Pretty, pretty platypus?"

He kissed her cheek. "Of course!"

So we cleaned the studio. It took like five minutes and we went off to the next room. It was a spare bedroom. We made sure everything was alright in there before cleaning off the glass in there and vacuuming.

We went to the next room and I saw it was Beth's. It was kinda awesome for a baby's room. She had yellow curtains and carpet with about three windows. Her bed was pushed against a wall with her name written above it in yellow. That wall matched the others in that they had people of all races standing around holding hands.

I looked up and saw the ceiling was a bunch of colored triangles together with a circle in the middle with a big B in it.

I looked around more and saw she had a window seat in one window with a bunch of stuffed animals on it. She had a big, low white table in a part of the room with little chairs around it in different colors.

Toys were on them, too with a tea set on the table. She had furniture set up by another window that would fit her. A door opened up to a closet. It was definitely bigger than mine back home but not like her mother's.

As I gawked, the others were busy cleaning so I jumped in and began doing my share. We did the windows, vacuumed and Mini Mama used Fabreeze on everything. She even used some powder on the floor before we vacuumed.

Then we moved on to the other room upstairs. Q's, Finn's and Rachel's room. That room was no fucking joke! It was red and pink with gray swirls. The bed was against a window while the furniture was against another one.

They had a TV on the wall across from the bed and a couch at the end of the bed. They had gray carpet and gray walls. I don't know how but it actually looked silver.

Mini Mama led us to the bathroom (fucking huge!) and we got started cleaning. The bathtub was one of those old fashioned ones with the weird feet and silver knobs. The shower was huge with a square shower-head. The tiles inside were gray and the shower opened by a handle.

The girls said they didn't want the bathroom affected by the toilet so the toilets in the private bathrooms were all behind a door.

Their door was pink. We cleaned the tub, shower and toilet before hitting the windows and the double sinks. Mini Mama stayed behind to mop the floor.

The rest of us moved into the closet, where I was about to lose my shit. It was probably bigger than the room! It had red carpet and had all these compartments for clothes and shoes. A lot of stuff was put away but there were still some boxes lying around.

There were three dressers in the middle of the room, two facing one way, the last another. A pink high heel shoe was at the end. A fucking pink high heel shoe…

We didn't know what to do really in someone else's closet so we just vacuumed and pushed the boxes against the walls.

Tina went to this part of a wall that had a table sticking out and a chair. She peeled at a paper covering the wall. "I wonder what's this?"

"Take it off. It should be done."

We jumped at hearing Mini Mama's voice. "Hey!"

"Oh shut up." She gave us a dirty look.

Tina went back to picking at the paper. "What is it?"

"It's the vanity." She went to the wall across from it. "Did you get the windows?"

Mike jumped. "Forgot. I'll do it."

Tina peeled off the paper and gasped. "It's so beautiful!"

I stood behind her and looked at it. "What's it say?"

Tina leaned forward. "Beautiful. Kind. Smart. Talented. Did you do this, Marcy?"

"Yeah." Mini Mama peeled off the other paper.

I looked at the one in front of me and noticed a crown. Every point had a light bulb and in the middle was "Que". "Is this Q's?"

"Yeah."

"Are these positive affirmations?" Tina turned around.

"Just figured it would be a good thing to see every morning."

Tina had that face that girls got right before they "happy" cried.

"Stop that."

Tina stuck her bottom lip out.

"Stop it."

The lip trembled.

"I'll leave."

Tina burst into tears.

"Aw hell."

Mike came back to pull Tina into his arms. "What's wrong, T?"

"She's so sweet!" Tina sobbed.

"And goodbye." Mini Mama walked out.

"Why won't she admit to being such a good person?!"

Mike looked at me over her head and I shrugged. "She will one day. It is a lot to handle."

She sniffled. "I'm glad I'm her friend. We're even best friends."

"I'm sure you are."

She hugged him before letting him go. "Let's go see what Rachel has on hers."

"Sure." Mike took her hand and led her over.

Rachel's vanity looked like Q's. Square cutout with colored back. Instead of a crown, she had a star and the letter "R" in the middle. The booth was pink and gold with gold words saying nice stuff. The chair was white and silver like Q's. It had a high back and four legs.

I looked between the two and noticed they both had drawers. Three on one side and two on the other. I opened one and I saw it was empty. "What goes in here?"

"Makeup and hair products." Tina said.

I grimaced. Makeup. "We're done in here. Let's get out."

We left the closet and noticed Mini Mama had vacuumed. "We can go organize the hall closet before vacuuming up here."

So we did.

The hall closet was big and filled with a bunch of linen. The hallway only had a table with a vase on it and a phone. We cleaned the other bathroom up there then Mini Mama vacuumed the stairs.

After, we cleaned the full half bathrooms downstairs before tackling the "library". It was a pretty dope room but I wouldn't be in it much. It had desktop computers on every desk and the bookcases were filled with books.

Not my type of room at all…

We cleaned it and went over Rae's room. Her walls were different sky pictures. Like different times of day. It was pretty cool cuz the ceiling was painted dark blue with all these yellow and silver stars. Her room really matched Beth's but her carpet and name on the wall was sky blue.

See what I did there?

Anyway we went through there like a tornado before going to me and Mama's room. It was set up almost exactly like the master upstairs but instead of gray, it was purple. I didn't think I'd like it but after cleaning it, it was starting to grow on me.

The bathroom was kinda the same except there was a lot of purple and gold. Our tub was black with gold fixtures. It was sick. I didn't take baths but I wanted to try that shit out.

The tile in the shower was gold and our shower-head was a circle. We cleaned up in there and Mini Mama mopped. The closet was just as big as upstairs but the walls were purple and pink with red stripes.

We only had two dressers but for some reason had two vanities. Mini Mama said you couldn't tell the future by the past. Confused the fuck outta me. I just nodded and helped clean. Mama had a crown like Q but hers had "Vic" in it.

We went to the den next and I saw all the furniture Finn and I picked out was there. We got a couch and a bunch of chairs. The tables were red and made out of wood. The entertainment system was red, too and we got a big screen.

We dusted and cleaned everything before vacuuming and going to the living room. It was scary clean in there. Everything was white with just a bit of red. They even had a white piano.

We cleaned in there before vacuuming then went to the kitchen. That room was cool as shit. There was a big bench built into the wall and an island in the middle of the floor. There was a sink and oven in it.

There were two more ovens on a wall along with a pizza oven! It was the coolest shit I've ever seen in my life! A real fucking pizza oven! I just stood there, sticking my hand in and wiggling it.

"Got Parkinsonism?" Mike asked as he was washing down the stove.

"Not only do I not know what that means, I don't care! This is fuckin' cool!"

Mini Mama slapped me upside the head. "Your swear jar's gonna get filled right away."

"Swear jar? We can't have that!"

She picked up a plastic jar and shook it.

I groaned. "Great!"

Tina eeped when she opened the fridge.

"What's wrong, T?" Mike turned around, prepared to protect her.

"There's no freezer!"

"Yeah. I got the idea for a separate freezer and those copycats stole it." Mini Mama adjusted the placemats on the table.

"Where is it?" She closed the doors.

"Off the side."

I went over to the fridge to look inside. First off, it was white with double doors. The inside was white with a bunch of shelves and four drawers. One for fruit, one for vegetables, one for deli meat and the last for eggs. There was nothing inside but a box of baking soda.

There was even an ice machine in one of the doors.

I looked around the kitchen more and noticed the cabinets were white wood and the counters were a red color. There was a double sink and a dishwasher with a garbage disposal. A garbage can sat at the end of the island with a tiny table set by a window.

The curtains were this fat chef. All the pots and pans were in there with a bunch of stuff on the counters. A coffeepot, a four slice toaster, the works.

"Let's get the freezer. Then one of you can do all the closets while someone else sweeps. I'll go through with the mop." Mini Mama said.

"What about the dining room?" Mike asked.

"Someone else could do that. It's nothing more than wiping down the surfaces and doing the windows. The sweeper will go through and I'll come after with the mop."

"No time like the present. I'll sweep."

"Thanks, Mikey."

We went to the freezer, which was literally like a meat locker. It was a cold room that had racks set up. The door had a handle and a little window.

We made sure that was straight before we split up to do our duties. I will not make a joke about that… I'm nineteen now.

So we finished and Mini Mama went over the non-carpet rooms with a mop before putting a thick, long rectangle rug down.

"What's that for?" I asked.

"Artman." She pushed us out and across the hall.

"Why does he need a carpet?"

"Because your girlfriend can't let me have an idea for myself."

"And I assume he'll have one here?"

"Yes." She opened the door to 6C.

"Why?"

"He'll switch chairs and he needs something to wheel on."

She was so serious about this germ business… I shrugged. "Alright, what's first?"

"Upstairs." She pointed.

We went to the stairs and saw the craziest thing. "What's that?"

"It's a contraption that'll help Artie get up the stairs." She skipped up the steps.

"That's so nice of you!" Tina was right behind her.

"Mmm. Nice." Mike was behind her. And I knew what he thought was so nice. I punched his back and he almost fell. He threw me a dirty look but I just grinned.

We got upstairs and it looked like our place except the floors were wood and the table in the hall was a dark brown.

Mini Mama them room was really light. The walls were white with orange and green "starbursts". Tina actually said what they were. I thought they were messy dots…

Anyway, their bed was against a wall and faced a window. A small table and chair was in front of it with a TV on the wall to the left of it. It had a DVD/VCR hookup.

The furniture was pretty okay and it didn't feel cluttered, except for the bookcases, which already had a ton of books in them. But there was music in there, too.

The closet was kinda the same as the others except it was green and black with orange and white every so often. It looked like a whorehouse. Not that I've ever seen one outside of a Western.

Her vanity had what looked like a wave. In the middle was "Evie". White lightbulbs surrounded it. On the other side of the room was Elle Woods' and hers had a giant heart with "Ellie" in the middle with lights surrounding it.

There was a cool round chair that I liked in dark blue. I sat on it and spun around. Mini Mama told me I wasn't four and to get off her chair. I pouted but got up.

Mike pointed out a mattress set up by a window. She told him it was for her demonic dog, Secret.

That just made me want to leave so we cleaned up and vacuumed the white carpet before going to the bathroom. I'm in love with her bathroom…

The tub was built into the floor with a wall sticking out. It was a greenish blue tile while the inside of the tub was black. The shower was green with a circle shower-head. The door slid open.

The doors to the toilet closet and the supply closet were painted blue while the walls were a greenish gold. The double sinks were also blue while the countertops were white marble(?) with blue and pink swirls. The floors matched.

I pointed out a box I'd seen in the other two master bathrooms. Mini Mama pressed a button and music came out of nowhere. She let it go for a few seconds before turning it off.

I couldn't believe we had music in the bathroom and she told me she had a surprise for me downstairs.

We finished cleaning up in there and left to go to the twins' room. Their walls had forest scenes. It looked like out of one of the kids' storybooks. It was sweet to look at and the ceiling looked like the top of a forest with a bit of moon poking out.

They didn't have carpet either and all their stuff was either blue, red or white. It looked really patriotic.

We finished in there and went over the spare room, closets and other full bathroom before hitting the studio. That was a cool place. On one side, there was a bunch of artwork. Stacks of wood with pictures on them and hanging up. There were walls on one side that held shelves filled with artist crap.

There was a thing. That thing they sat at. Whatever it is, it was by a window with a highbacked stool and an unfinished painting on it. Another stool held a fishing tackle box. I asked her why'd she have that and she opened it.

It had all kinds of art supplies in it!

I went over to a big square tan table that was slightly slanted. A picture was on there, too. All that was by a row of windows that had sunshine hitting mirrors on the left of it.

Those bar things were set up in front of the row of mirrors with a bunch of instruments behind them. She had a full out drum set with a smaller green and black set, a couple guitars, acoustic and electric, lead and bass. They sat on black stands.

There was a cubbyhole behind them that held black cases while a keyboard sat in front. Off to the side, furthest away from the windows was a big, black box. It had a window in the door but we couldn't see inside.

Mini Mama said it was the place Mal and Elle Woods would develop their pictures. I poked my head inside and it had a sink, a counter and a few shelves that were filled with things. It had lines strung across it and a red lightbulb.

After cleaning, we left and Mini Mama mopped the floor and stairs after Mike swept. She had a wheelchair ready at the top of the stairs.

We went to the kitchen which looked like ours but had black cabinets with silver knobs, black countertops, black fridge. The walls were half brick, half whatever they make walls out of.

The bricks were orange, the other part was red and the ceiling was yellow. They had the same stuff we did, like the three ovens and dishwasher and stuff. The sinks were really white against all that black. There was even a phone in the kitchen.

We cleaned up and left to go to the freezer, pantry and half bath. All three rooms looked like ours. We went to the carpeted den (that looked like a rainbow threw up), the living room (that calmed me even though I didn't know why [with that huge piano]) and dining room (that looked like a fucking raspberry).

We went to their library and it was like ours but the floors were darker and the walls were "wood-paneled". It was dark as shit but kinda cool when you got used to it.

We went through the two spare bedrooms and the full bath before hitting the closets. Then we tackled the other master bedroom. The bed was against the wall and was low compared to the other ones. The furniture was set up against a window. The bed faced a wall that had the TV set up.

Their closet had red carpet (their room had white) and the walls were each a different color. Satan's vanity had a flame with "San" written in the middle while Britt's had "Britt" in the middle of a rainbow. The walls of the vanities had the same nice messages as the others.

We went to their bathroom next and it had a billion different colors, too. The tub was made like upstairs but was blue. The tile surrounding it was purple. The shower (with an oval shower-head) was red. The sinks were yellow with pink countertops. Unlike the other bathrooms, the space for the toilet was bigger. For Wheels I was sure.

We cleaned then Mike swept all the rooms as Mini Mama showed me the music system. Apparently it was rigged throughout the house and took everything from vinyl to wireless sharing.

She also pointed out something I'd missed on the other master's doors; a doorbell. She said that we wouldn't be able to hear a knock. I could see that turning against us…

Anyway, we left there as she mopped then put a white rug down. She rolled a wheelchair to the end behind the door then picked up something from a bench against the wall.

Then we left. We hit the elevator and went down to the third (fourth) floor. We went through Mike them place. They had 3A. They had a dining room, living room, den, kitchen, three bedrooms and two bathrooms with plenty of closet space.

Their kitchen was light blue and "chrome" and white. They had a super huge fridge with a freezer attached. They had a dishwasher, two ovens and a lot of cabinets and counter space. They had appliances, too.

The den and dining room matched in the darkest way possible while the living room was green. They had a black piano.

The bathrooms were white and standard, even if they were big. Both had showers, tubs, sinks and the toilets were out in the open.

Bowties's room was dark, too and had a bunch of wood and plaid. He had a desk pushed up to a wall by his bed with his TV across from it. His furniture was by a window. He didn't have carpet.

Sam's room was light blue. His bed was also against a wall but his tan desk was against the window. His furniture seemed… lived in and his carpet was dark blue and his TV was one of the old ones that still had a back to it.

On his bed was a box Mini Mama told me specifically not to touch.

I made faces at her behind her back as Tina rolled her eyes.

Mike's room was dark as Bowties'. His room had a bunch of dark wood and his furniture was all black. He was lucky the sun was shining through the window. It'd look like a funeral home…

All three bedrooms had this pop dispenser. I asked Mini Mama about it and she said it was only fair since we all got mini fridges in our rooms. I really wanted to see that.

When we finished with that, we went to the bar off the kitchen by the pantry. Then we did the floors and bounced. We rode down a level and to Kurt's and Tina's apartment. They were in 2D.

We went in and got down to business. Their set up was much like upstairs except everything was ultra fancy and shit. Their kitchen was gold and purple, their den was black and red, the bathrooms were gold and white.

Mini Mama showed off the side by side vanities for them. One said "Kurt" while the other said "T". Kurt's was in the middle of a lightning bolt while Tina's was in the middle of a cloud. Kurt had yellow bulbs while Tina's were black.

Their shower-head was square in that bathroom while circle in the other with an old tub in their private bathroom and a modern one in the other.

We cleaned up everywhere before getting to the rooms. Kurt's room had a bunch of check with red and gold while Tina had black, white and red with no gold.

We even checked on the laundry room. Theirs was black and white (ours was silver and white, Mini Mama them was blue and white and Mike them was tan and white) and had a washing machine and dryer (the penthouses had two of each). We also paid attention to the plants. On the top floor, we each had a room Mini Mama called a "conservatory" and was filled with plants. Even the other rooms had a few plants but none like this room.

Mike them and Tina and Kurt didn't have that extra room but they still had plants. I asked Mike if he could keep them alive and he said his mom was a "botanist". I told him I had no idea what that meant and I thought his mom was a lawyer.

He gave me this look like he wanted to tell me we were no longer friends. He said that he was talking about Moms Jones and that that was her official job title along with florist.

I went to start messing with a plant…

We finished there and got on the elevator to leave but we ran into K-Easy (I finally decided what I'd call Karou). She told us how she was cleaning her place, too and needed help. It was only one more house so we agreed.

She was on the fourth (fifth) floor. We rode up and she took us through it. All her furniture was grey, white or black. But it looked good.

She even pointed out the nanny's room. I knew she was going to be glad…

We went through that place like we were being timed. We were in a groove.

We'd just finished when we decided to get food before going back to Lima. K-Easy was asking about local food as we waited on the elevator when it came and this snooty ass woman walked out, carrying this drowned rat of a dog.

"Excuse us." Mini Mama said as she got on the elevator.

"You're excused." She stuck her nose in the air before stopping the elevator from closing. "How much is your hourly rate?"

"Excuse me?"

"How much is your hourly rate?" She repeated slow like Mini Mama was deaf. "My place is dreadful. Moving in and all. I'd pay you double if you're busy."

We all looked at each other. Yeah, we looked dirty but we've been cleaning. Yeah, we had cleaning supplies but again, we've been cleaning. But to just assume we were cleaners? Harsh!

"We're not maids." Mini Mama shook her head.

"I know you've come to hate that word." She said. "You prefer domestic magician or some such nonsense. Now I'm sure I can pay you handsomely for your time. It's probably more money you'll see all month!"

"You're really willing to pay $25,000 for cleanup?" Mini Mama's eyes went wide.

"$25,000?! No!" She looked horrified.

"I guess you can't afford us." Mini Mama hit the button to go to the lobby as the woman's face tightened and she stomped off.

"I'm proud of you, Moppet." Mike hugged her to his side. "I thought you would get to cursing."

"I can use big people words." She smirked.

K-Easy hit her arm softly. "How many names did you call her in your head?"

"I'll give you a rough number when I finish…"