Hey guys (: So, I said I was going to update once a week, but it's been like 5 days since I posted this story and SERIOUSLY the response has made me want to post a chapter every day! haha So yeah, enjoy chapter 2, keep the reviews coming in, shamelessly promote me to your friends ;) Love you guiiiise
Disclaimer - Not mine (: Matilda NORE glee. I wish (:
Harry Anderson ran up the path to his home, skipping up the few steps with an unusual bounce in his step.
"I'm great," He said, throwing his keys up in the air only to catch them again with a swipe of his other hand. "I'm incredible. Michelle, pencil and paper in the kitchen." He jutted his index finger out, pointing in the direction he had commanded his daughter to go.
"Did we sell some cars today, honey dew?" Zinnia came tip toeing out of the kitchen in her stiletto heels and mini skirt, air kissing her husband before passing him his routine beer which had been waiting on the kitchen counter.
"Did we." he answered with a smile.
"Does that mean I get that new TV?" she said hopefully, looking down at her short and fat husband.
"Yeah," he said before clasping his hands on his daughter's shoulders. "Daughter, one day you're goin'a have to earn your own living and you're next in line to run the family business. It's time you learned the ins and outs. Sit down, and write this down." He said, pulling a seat out for his daughter at the dining table.
Blaine was sat on the other side, trying his hardest to not let his father's conversation interrupt his reading. He looked up from his book, failing to block out the sounds of his father's raspy voice and the flipping of the pages of a notepad.
"The first car your brilliant father sold," Harry said, clutching at a piece of wrinkled paper he retrieved from his pocket. Michelle sat at the table, baseball hat clad head bent over – scraping something into the notebook with a pencil. "Cost $320. I sold it for $1,158."
Zinnia sat down next to her daughter, gasping at the prices and profits Harry was spitting out.
"The second one cost $512." Zinnia nodded and mumbled something to show she was listening. "I sold it for $2,269."
Harry held up two fingers to prove his point, the sly smile taking over his face.
"Wait Daddy, you're going too fast." Michelle shouted, causing Blaine to hold back a laugh at his sister's slow writing and slow memory. He had remembered the digits and worked out the profits for both sales already before Michelle could even write the numbers down.
"Just shut up and write." Their father said pointing a fat finger at his daughter, not wanting him to ruin the glorified moment.
"The third cost $68. I sold it for $999," His eyes widened as his smile did once more. "And the fourth cost $1,100. I sold it for seven thousand, eight hundred and thirty-nine big American buckaroonies."
"Oh harry." Zinnia gasped out, clutching at her husband's shoulders and kissing him square on the lips before returning to the card game she had been playing absentmindedly.
"What was my profit for the day?" Harry bellowed, pointing his finger once again at his daughter and bending down to look at his daughter's face.
Michelle's eyebrows knitted together as she tried to make sense of the figures she had been jotting down.
"Can you repeat the last o-"
"Ten thousand two hundred and sixty five dollars." Blaine interrupted his sister's question, saving them all the hassle of trying to figure it out on their own and prolonging the interruption to his reading.
Both parents and Michelle's heads shot up turning to look at Blaine, unmasked shock in their eyes.
"Check it if you don't believe me." He said head held high as he looked directly into his father's eyes. All three of them checked the bottom of the paper Harry was holding eagerly, curious whether Blaine was indeed right.
"You're a little cheat, you saw the paper." Harry said, once again trying to find an excuse for something he had missed about his son. In one week he had realised that he was in fact not four, but six and now that he was a genius? He knew that this wasn't normal and cheating or lying was the only way he thought it possible.
"From all the way over here?" Blaine said, keeping his light tone but letting the question rise in pitch towards the end. His father blinked and shuffled backwards at the tone his son had used.
"Are you being smart with me?" He pointed his finger once again as he stepped around his wife towards his son at the other end of the table. "If you're being smart with me, young man, you're goin'a be punished."
"Punished for being smart?" Blaine's voice took on the same tone once again as he looked from his father's pointed finger to his round face.
"For being a smart aleck." Harry said taking another step towards his son, now glaring down at him with wide eyes laced with anger. He bent down to put his eyes at the same level as his son's.
"When a person is bad, that person has to be taught a lesson." Blaine kept eye contact with his father having learnt that showing fear in such a situation would only make it worse. The chubby finger continued to shake mere inches from his face.
"A person?" Blaine said, clearly having understood the statement more than his father had intended him too.
"Get up... Get up!" Harry said, clutching Blaine's curly hair with his chubby hands and tugging him from his chair, leading him towards his room before shutting the door behind him as Zinnia remained un-phased by the situation and the violence being shown.
Harry Anderson had given Blaine his first piece of practical advice he could use. He meant to say 'when a child is bad' but what he had said instead was 'a person' and thereby introduced a revolutionary idea that children could punish their parents. Only when they deserved it of course.
Blaine opened the door to his parent's room, stopping just before he knew it would creak, and slipped in. He looked over to where his parent's lay for a second, hearing Harry's snore assuring him that they were indeed asleep.
She walked quietly over to the en suite bathroom they had at the other side of the room, inspecting the many bottles of product which lay haphazardly on the counter. He reached up towards his father's Oil of Violets hair tonic which lay on one of the shelves and grasped it tightly in his hands. Stepping backwards, he took a quick look around the room before seeking out the product he had been looking for – Peroxide. His mother always had some on hand – fake blonde as well as a fake of many other things.
He uncapped the hair tonic and tipped some out down the sink, glancing towards his parent's bed to ensure they were both still asleep. He tipped some of the peroxide into the hair tonic bottle carefully before a loud ringing startled him from the job at hand.
His father reached out to press the button on top of the alarm clock which lay on the bedside table, lifting his heavy body into an upright position while mumbling about having to get up so early.
Blaine recapped the hair tonic bottle and placed it back on the shelf he had found it quickly and quietly, desperate not to be caught. As Harry rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, Blaine crawled stealthily across the linoleum floor and into one of the many closets. Harry groaned as he finally stood up from his bed, stomping in the direction of the bathroom.
Blaine took his opportunity and crawled as quickly as possible out of the closet and towards the bedroom door he had handily left ajar.
He heard a spring of the mattress and when he looked up Zinnia was sat straight as an ironing board on the bed, head faced towards where Blaine was on all fours on the floor. His heart nearly beat out of his chest as his eyes widened and jaw almost hit the floor.
His mother however hadn't reacted as he had thought she would, she continued with her morning stretches and Blaine finally saw the eye-mask which adorned her face. He sighed with relief and an unbelieving smile appeared on his face before he made his quick escape out the door before Zinnia could take the mask off.
He had just made it into his own room when he heard his father yelling at his sister.
"Michelle, come into my room." Harry Anderson stood in front of the mirror in his bedroom, bottle of hair tonic in his hand as he poured an excessive amount onto the already greasy hair.
"What?" Michelle said arms raised at her sides in a shrug.
"My girl, today's the day I take you to the shop. What d'ya say?" He continued slicking back his hair as he gestured to his daughter with the bottle of hair tonic which unbeknown to him didn't only contain the violet smelling liquid anymore.
"I don't know. What d'you say dad?" Michelle shrugged once more.
"I say appearance is nine tenths of the law. People don't buy a car; they buy an investment into me. That's why I personally take such pride in my appearance. Well oiled hair," he gestured with the bottle, "clean shave, snappy suit. Now run along and get ready for a big day of learning, kid."
Michelle wasn't at all like her mother – she didn't like make up and bleached blonde hair – she was more of a jeans and baggy t-shirt kind of girl and the boy-ish haircut just proved this point.
Harry began speaking to himself, oiling his hair further with the hair tonic bottle in his hands. "And there'll be a lot of learning today, too. There's a sucker born every minute and we got 'a take 'em for all they got."
Blaine was stood near the toaster in the kitchen watching his waffles heat up when he heard Harry walk down the hall towards the rest of the family. He quickly rushed towards the kitchen island counter, sitting on a stool eager to see the events unfold from the best position.
Harry hummed as he walked towards the kitchen, unaware of anything different to his appearance and happy at the prospect of teaching his daughter the trades of his car business.
"Okay my girl, heir to the throne. Today we diddle the customer." Michelle dropped the cookie she was currently eating and her jaw hit the floor as she caught his father's appearance while Blaine re-directed his eyes to his breakfast and tried to keep his smile under wraps.
"What's wrong with you? What're you looking at?" Harry said, eyebrows furrowing at the looks he was getting from his children.
"Lovekins, where's my breakfast?" he said, changing the subject as he smiled at his wife. Blaine merely looked over at his father once more, failing to keep the grin off his face. He looked towards his mother, waiting patiently for her reaction to the sudden change in her husband's appearance. Zinnia didn't disappoint, either.
"Here you are my heartstrings - WAAAAAAAH" she squealed, throwing the contents of the cereal bowls in her hands into the air in shock. Blaine chuckled under his breath, trying not to make his amusement too obvious.
"Snickerdoodle, what did you do to your hair?" Zinnia said stepping forward gingerly, empty cereal bowls still tipped over in her hands. Harry just looked confusedly at his wife, blissfully unaware that his hair matched the colour of his mustard coloured suit jacket. He turned on his heel and walked towards the mirror behind him, his wife and daughter gingerly taking a few steps after him.
Blaine was looking down into his glass as he heard a scream and a thud signalling his father collapsing to the floor at the sight of his hair. He simply snorted into his drink, continuing to enjoy his breakfast like nothing had happened.
Harry Anderson took both his daughter and son to work with him that day. Apparently it'd do Blaine some good to see how 'Anderson Motors' was so successful. They walked into the big garage with Harry, eyeing up the mess which took over every part of the building. Car pieces, old cars, tools – everything was everywhere.
"Michelle, one day all this will be yours." Harry gestured widely with his arm towards the mess, insinuating that it would be an honour to own such a place.
"This?" Michelle said killing her father's moment, her lip curled up in distaste. Harry shrugged it off and led both of his children through the maze made out of car parts.
"See this junker? I paid a $100 for her she's got 120,000 miles on her, transitions shot, bumpers are falling off. What do I do with her? I sell her."
He led them further forward towards a sad looking bumper which was balancing on two stools. He took an old looking brush, dunked it into an open can of 'super super glue' and began slopping it all over the bumper.
"We really should weld these bumpers on, but that takes time. Instead we use 'super super glue'. Go on, put it on there." He looked at his children with a smile on his face, seemingly proud that he had saved some time for the business – even if it was at the expense of someone's safety.
"Won't it fall off?" Michelle said, grappling to understand his father's crook tendencies.
"Definitely." Harry said, kicking the bumper to ensure it was stuck tight for now.
"Isn't that dangerous, Daddy?" Blaine said. Obviously he knew the answer. It was definitely dangerous, but what Blaine meant was 'won't you be caught out?'
"Not to me, okay?" Harry glared down at this son, forcing him to shuffle backwards.
Harry quickly recovered from the constant questions and knelt down on the floor, half of his body under the car.
"Twenty years ago we could turn the numbers back by hand, but – here take my hat – but the feds like to test the honesty of the American business man." He got up after attaching a cable to the bottom of the car, opening to door and kneeling beside the steering wheel before indicating for Michelle to step forward.
"Two directional drill," Harry snorted with a smile on his face. "You run it backwards and the numbers go down. Watch the speedometer."
Blaine watched on from a distance as the numbers on the dash went down and as Michelle gasped at the genius behind the scam.
"Daddy, you're a crook." Blaine said the words before he could stop himself and couldn't bring himself to regret them, either. Harry stopped the drool and put it down on the driver's seat before turning to look at his son.
"What?" he said, one of his eyebrows crooking upwards.
Oh well, thought Blaine. He might as well go the whole way now that he'd started something.
"This is illegal," he stomped his foot and pointed his finger down as if to command his father's attention. Harry passed the drill to his daughter and told her to keep drilling as he turned to look at his other child.
"Do you make money?" Harry said, forwarding on his son. Blaine refused to step back this time. "Do you have a job?"
"No," Blaine said lifting his arms up a little bit, "but don't people need good cars? Can't you sell good cars, dad?" Blaine knew he was just asking for trouble but couldn't bring himself to stop now.
"Listen you little wiseacre. I'm smart, you're dumb." Harry indicated with his pointed finger once more who he was speaking about with every statement. "I'm big, you're little. I'm right, you're wrong. And there's nothing you can do about it." He jabbed his son's shoulder roughly before walking back to the job at hand, shrugging his shoulders and grunting at Blaine's behaviour.
Blaine sighed with worry and disappointment towards his father, before turning his head away from the sly actions his father and sister were taking part in. Suddenly an idea came to his mind as his eyes were caught by the open can of 'super super glue' which still lay by where they had glued the bumper earlier. Next to it laid Harry's hat. The conversation he had with his father a couple of days before rang through his mind.
'When a person is bad, that person has to be taught a lesson.'
He flicked his eyes between both objects and frowned before making his decision. Luckily just as he was about to pounce on his idea, his father was distracted by Zinnia honking her horn outside and shouting at Harry. Blaine heard his mother shouting 'I WON, I WON' but wasn't paying any attention to the conversation which went ahead as he concentrated on brushing the glue onto the inside rim of the hat. Of course Harry would place the hat on his plump head before leaving what with the hair situation.
Blaine followed his family when Zinnia told them to get in the car with the hat in his hands, desperate for Harry to put it on. He just caught the end of the conversation as he was walking up.
"...Looks awful. I hope they let you in." Zinnia was inspecting Harry's hair as if looking at it a certain way might change it.
He heard his father snapping at Zinnia before realising this was his chance. He held the hat up towards his father and offered it to him before getting into the car, smirk in tow.
The Anderson's took off from the garage, Harry and Zinnia arguing about the money as the super glue dripped from the brush on the desk.
"It's nice to go out sometimes, isn't it?" Zinnia clutched to her bag as she walked towards the restaurant in which they were planning to go. Harry grunted in agreement, his little legs taking two steps to catch up with only one of Zinnia's.
The family walked into the 'The Ritz' and prompted the waiter for a table for four.
"Take your hat off, Harry. This is a nice place, you can't wear it inside." Zinnia said, strutting after the waiter. Harry tugged the hat and was surprised to find that it was stuck.
"I can't take it off." Harry was tugging at the hat roughly by now, trying his hardest to rip it off his head. Zinnia was smiling when she answered him, speaking through gritted teeth.
"Harry, no one cares about your hair." Finally reaching their table, Zinnia dropped her purse and clasped her hands on Harry's hat. As Harry had said, the hat was well and truly stuck.
Blaine watched from beneath his eyelashes as both parents fought with the hat on Harry's head, unaware of the super glue which was the cause of the sudden attachment.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch. You're pulling the skin!" Harry pulled his head out of his wife's hands angrily.
"You're such a baby." She said before once again gripping on either side and pulling with all her might.
"The fibres are fused to the head." Harry shouted, blissfully ignorant to the stares and looks of disgust aimed at them due to the shouting and commotion.
"The fibres are fused? What is that supposed to mean?" Zinnia continued to tug at Harry's head. Blaine bit his tongue in an attempt at suppressing his laugh. He couldn't hold it in anymore as Zinnia's pulling caused the hat to rip along the edges and the force had both parties toppling backwards.
Zinnia went tipping backwards and over a table and Harry banged straight into a waiter before spinning into a table full of desserts. The desserts went into the air and just like the movies, one strawberry tart landed right in front of Blaine where as a pie landed in Michelle's face.
Blaine took a fork and had a taste, smiling at the unplanned outcome of his practical joke on Harry.
Blaine was sat in one of the arm chairs of the living room with a book on his lap as he watched his parents try getting the hat off once more. Zinnia stood over her husband with a scissors, trying to cut around the edges and free her husband's head as they argued over the cause. Finally the hat came off, and Zinnia laughed at the state of her husband's head where as Blaine tried to keep his facade of nonchalance.
"From now on, everyone in this family does exactly what I saw when, and exactly when I say it. And right now, we are eating dinner and watching TV." Harry threw the remains of his hat before dragging his small table closer to where he sat and turning the television on.
It was another one of those reality TV game shows therefore Blaine ducked his head once more and began reading his book, attempting to block off the loud noises the TV emitted. The sound presenter of a TV show called 'the million dollar sticky' blazed out of the television speakers and Blaine's family nestled down into their chairs to eat and watch.
Blaine felt his father's eyes on him before he saw them, and glanced up from his book to see those beady eyes glaring at him. He had stood up and walked over to where Blaine was engrossed in his novel.
"Hi daddy." He said simply, looking into his father's eyes relentlessly.
"Are you a part of this family?" Harry spat out narrowing his eyes. Blaine made a thoughtful sound in the back of his throat before Harry repeated his question before going to turn off the lamp next to Blaine which allowed him enough light to read.
"Dinner time is family time. What is this trash you're reading?" Harry shoved the book a little with his hand to show Blaine what he meant.
"It's not trash, daddy. It's lovely. It's called 'Moby dick' by Herman Melville."
Harry's eyes widened at the word he had heard come out of his son's mouth.
"Moby what?" He ripped the book out of Blaine's small hands and began ripping the pages out. "This is filth, trash... filth..." Harry was ripping and ripping pages out of the library book and Blaine couldn't find it in him to stay silent this time.
"It's not mine, it's a library book." He yelled over his father's whining, stopping suddenly when Harry threw the book to the floor.
"I'm fed up with all this reading. You're an Anderson you better start acting like one. Sit up, and look at the TV." Harry placed his hands on either side of Blaine's face, forcing him to stare at the television. Blaine narrowed his eyes as he was forced to watch the program.
He hated these kinds of programs, the audience laughing in the background and his parents laughing along with the barbaric idea behind it. The man was forced into the cubicle lathered in glue as the money flitted down beside him, rushing to try catch any and as much of it as he could.
His parent's and sister's laughs were ringing in his head as he continued to stare at the television wanting it to just shut off there and then.
He stared and stared, the same sentence running around in his head. Turn off, turn off, turn off, turn off. His eyes narrowed as he concentrated more on his hatred towards the whole situation then suddenly a loud bang filled the room along with his mother and sister's screams.
Finally his father's hands let go of his hold on Blaine's face as he blinked at the screen. He couldn't have caused- No, no way.
Smoke filled the room as his parents conversed about how they came about the TV in the first place, as Harry took a closer look at the burnt out television.
Was it magic or coincidence? Blaine didn't know.
Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed (: Also, I'm intrigued to see how you guys think I'll finish it... lemme know in reviews or just message me (: Thanks again (: