Chapter 5
Disclaimer: I do not own Goosebumps Clock of Doom or any of the Goosebumps books.
Michelle stayed in her room that night, thinking hard. Plotting a way to get Tommy in trouble. But nothing came to her. At least, nothing good enough.
She had to be sneaky. Michelle was known for her cleverness and her ability to be very secretive and sneaky when she needed to be, but she was drawing a blank.
Then the clock arrived. A few days later, Tommy did something that gave her an idea.
Tommy couldn't stay away from the cuckoo clock. One afternoon, their dad caught Tommy playing with the clock hands. He didn't get into any real trouble, of course—not sweet little Tommy Webster, who could do no wrong. But their dad did say, "I've got my eye on you, young man. No more playing with the clock."
At last! Michelle thought. At last Dad realizes that Tommy's not a perfect angel.
At last, Michelle found a way to get him into big trouble.
If something went wrong with the clock, Tommy would be blamed for it. So Michelle decided to make sure something did go wrong.
Tommy deserved to get into trouble for the hundreds of terrible things he did to Michelle. Michelle could barely show her face at school because of Tommy.
So what if just once he gets blamed for something she didn't do? Michelle thought. It's only evening the score a little.
That night, after everybody was asleep, the older sister snuck downstairs to the den.
It was almost midnight. Michelle crept up to the clock and waited.
One minute to go.
Thirty seconds.
Ten seconds.
Six, five, four, three, two, one…
The gong sounded.
Cuckoo! Cuckoo!
The yellow bird popped out. She grabbed it in mid-cuckoo. It made short, strangling noises.
Michelle twisted its head around, so it faced backwards. It looked really funny that way.
It finished out its twelve cuckoos, facing the wrong way.
Michelle giggled, quietly. When their dad saw it, he'd go ballistic!
The cuckoo slid back into its little window, still facing backwards.
This is going to drive Dad insane! Michelle thought wickedly. He'll be furious at Tommy. He'll explode like a volcano!
Finally, Tommy will know what it feels like to be blamed for something you didn't do.
Michelle crept back upstairs. Not a sound. No one saw her.
For the first time since Tommy was born, Michelle fell asleep a happy girl. There's nothing like revenge.
Michelle slept late the next morning. She couldn't wait to see Dad blow up at Tommy.
Michelle hurried downstairs, unable to wait to see her father explode at his perfect angel. She checked the den.
The door stood open.
No one there. No sign of trouble yet.
Good, Michelle thought. I haven't missed it.
She made her way into the kitchen, hungry. Mom, Dad, and Tommy sat around the table, piled with empty breakfast dishes.
As soon as they saw her, their faces lit up.
"Happy Birthday!" they cried all at once.
"Very funny," Michelle snapped, still angry about her parents' treatment of her the night the clock arrived, opening a cabinet. "Is there any more cereal left?"
"Cereal!" Mom said. "Don't you want something special, like pancakes?"
Michelle scratched her head. "Well, sure. Pancakes would be great."
This was a little strange. Usually if Michelle woke up late, her mom told her she had to fix her own breakfast. And why should Michelle want something special, anyway? What was the occasion?
Mom mixed a fresh batch of pancake batter. "Don't go in the garage, Michelle! Whatever you do, don't go in the garage!" She hopped up and down, all excited. Just as if it were Michelle's birthday again.
Weird.
Her dad excused himself, saying, "I've got a few important chores to do," in a strange, jolly way.
Michelle shrugged and tried to eat her breakfast in peace. But after breakfast she passed through the dining room and stopped dead. Somebody had decorated it with crepe paper. One strand
had been torn down.
Weird. Totally weird.
Her dad came into the room, toolbox in hand. He picked up the torn piece of crepe paper and started to tape it back up again.
"Why won't this crepe paper stay up?" he asked.
"Dad," Michelle said. "Why are you covering the dining room with crepe paper?"
Dad smiled. "Because it's your birthday, of course! Every birthday party needs crepe paper. Now, I bet you can't wait to see your present, right?"
Michelle stared at him.
What's going on here? Michelle wondered.
This chapter is a lot like the book, but during most of the past events, it'll start to drift away from the book because the memories will need to be altered to fit a girl and not a boy.
Thanks for reading!