Chapter 7
Two days later, the Bradys and Alice were discharged from the hospital. They hadn't expected to stay so long, but in retrospect, it made sense – given their unusual situation. The doctors and nurses were uncertain why the Bradys and Alice looked like African-American people – especially since they had never encountered such a situation before – and hoped that the battery of tests performed on them would eventually provide answers. However, the results of the tests would not be available for a few weeks, and since they showed no signs of being in critical condition, the doctors allowed the Bradys to return home.
Despite being released from the hospital, the Bradys and Alice didn't feel much better. They were certainly happy to be together again since they had spent so much time apart while staying at the hospital, but they worried that something was wrong with them. They worried how others would perceive them in their condition.
The drive home felt long and silent, and although they had started getting used to their new situation, they still couldn't help but sometimes stare at each other in bewilderment. This was just too sudden and bizarre. There was no way that this was actually happening. When they weren't staring at each other, the family members stared sullenly out the windows of their station wagon.
"Don't worry, everyone," Mike said – his voice now sounding. "At least we're not in critical condition, and we've still got each other."
A smile crept across Bobby's dark face. "And I told you guys that I had nothing to do with this!" Greg rolled his eyes and smirked while Marcia laughed. "And we get to stay home from school!"
"Well, we're still going to have to figure out what's wrong with us," Mike said.
"Yeah, you kids shouldn't miss out on an education just because of this!" Alice said in her deeper, "sassier" voice. She shifted in place and adjusted her seat belt. She also partially unbuttoned her uniform and frowned while looking down at her enlarged abdomen. "And I think that I'd better stick more closely to my diet." For the first time in a while, all the family members smiled and laughed in their new black voices.
"See, that's the spirit!" Mike grinned as he turned the steering wheel to guide the station wagon into the Bradys' driveway. Cindy smiled. Although she loved her dad when he was white, she liked the soothing and confident tone of her dad's black voice.
"Really, though, Mr. Brady, I might need some new clothes," Alice said while squirming in place. "These don't fit me anymore!"
Carol looked at Mike. "Some new clothes might help us feel better," she agreed.
Mike stopped the car and let out a jovial laugh, which made Cindy smile. He was starting to remind her somewhat of Mr. Carmichael. "I wish you'd told me before I pulled into the driveway, but okay! Why not? Let's get some new clothes." Mike then shifted into reverse and backed the station wagon out of the driveway.
"You know…" Peter said, "now that we're apparently black and getting new clothes, maybe we should have new names as well."
Marcia smiled as she started combing her long, black hair. "I like that. I can be 'Moesha.'"
Jan toyed with her braided black hair and said, "I can be 'Jade.'"
Greg ran his hand through his afro and said, "You can call me 'Grady.'"
"'Grady Brady?'" questioned Bobby with a smirk. Peter and he both laughed.
Grady rolled his eyes and smirked again. "Oh yeah, well what are you guys gonna call yourselves?"
"I can be 'Benjamin' – like Benjamin Banneker," Bobby said.
Grady snorted. "'Benjamin?'"
Peter than ran his hand through his own afro and said, "Call me 'Prince!'"
"What about you, Cindy?" Benjamin asked. "What's your new name going to be?"
Cindy looked up in thought before smiling and saying, "Ciara."
"Hey, that's a great name," Alice said.
"What about you guys?" Ciara questioned the adults.
"How about 'Marcus' for me?" Mike suggested. The other family members voiced their approval of the name.
"Maybe I can be 'Chloe,'" Carol said. Again, the others voiced their approval.
"And you can call me 'Aretha' – like Aretha Franklin!" Alice declared with a smile. Everyone else in the station wagon laughed.
"Hey, Pete – Prince," Grady started to say, "you know that you look a lot like Michael Jackson, right?"
Prince's face lit up. "Really? Wow…maybe that means that I can sing now!" Grady then narrowed his eyes as he noticed Prince staring at him. "And you look like Tito Jackson." His head shot back and forth as he looked at his other siblings. "And Ben looks like Randy Jackson – and Jade looks like Janet Jackson – and Moesha looks like La Toya Jackson!"
"Isn't it great, Moesha?" Jade asked with a smile. "Now, you're the middle child and not me!" Moesha frowned and rolled her eyes.
"We should be the Jackson 5!" Ciara declared as her black, braided hair bounced.
"More like the Brady 6!" Aretha said. The others laughed.
"Now, after we get some new clothes, we're going to have to figure out what we're all supposed to do," Marcus said. "I don't know how I'm going to go back to work in this condition, and things sure won't be easier on you kids."
"Yeah, good luck trying to get anyone to believe that we turned black for no apparent reason," Chloe said.
For the next few minutes, the drive was silent again, which prompted Ciara to think more about her situation. She started to feel scared. How would she face her classmates in this condition? Camille would surely be far meaner than she had been. Ciara's eyes then lit up as an idea came to mind. "I have a suggestion."
Marcus raised an eyebrow. "A suggestion for what, Cind – Ciara?"
"What if you enrolled us as new students?" Ciara suggested.
"Cind – Ciara, that's ridiculous," Marcus said dismissively. "Besides, it would never work."
"I don't know, Mr. Brady," Aretha said. "It doesn't seem like you have much choice."
Marcus stared out the window for a few seconds before sighing. "Well…I guess it can't be any stranger than turning into black people overnight." The others laughed.
After shopping, the Bradys and Aretha returned home and put on their new clothes before leaving again. Marcus, Chloe, and Aretha arrived with Grady, Moesha, Prince, Jade, Benjamin, and Ciara at the office for the school board – and all walked through the front door.
Marcus was wearing a red checkered jacket, dark red pants, and a dark red shirt. Chloe was wearing an orange vest and pants over a blouse with brown, orange, and yellow stripes – and had gold chandelier earrings. Aretha was wearing a yellow dress and headwrap. Grady was wearing a green shirt and yellow plaid pants – and had an afro pick in his hair. Moesha wore a pea-colored blouse, beige bell-bottoms, and hoop earrings. Prince wore a red sweater, white shirt, and blue jeans. Jade wore a light red jacket, white turtleneck, and light red bell-bottoms. Benjamin wore an orange flat cap, a purple turtleneck, and dark purple pants. Finally, Ciara wore a white dress.
A white man with thinning brown hair sitting behind a desk looked up. His eyes briefly bulged at the sight of the large family crowding the tiny office. "Can I help you?" he asked.
"Why yes," Marcus said. "I'm Marcus Brady, and this is my wife – Chloe – and my housekeeper – Aretha. We'd like to enroll our kids in this school system."
The man smiled broadly. "Sure, that's no problem! Just give me a second." He then took out some papers and marked out certain sections with a pen before handing the papers to Marcus. "Just fill out these forms, and you kids will be enrolled!"
"Thank you, sir," Marcus said. He couldn't help but feel that the process seemed a lot easier than when he had previously enrolled his kids. Marcus looked closely at the forms and noticed that, among other things, sections asking for a birth certificate and proof of residency were marked out. Marcus frowned a little and looked at the man while pointing at the forms. "Excuse me, but why are these sections marked out?"
The man smiled and laughed a little. "Don't worry about them! I know that you people don't always have documentation but deserve an education like everyone else! Just forget about it!"
Marcus raised a finger and started to argue that he didn't want to bend the rules, but he realized that he had no way of proving that his kids were black and named Grady, Moesha, Prince, Jade, Benjamin, and Ciara. Although he felt a little annoyed that the worker seemed to assume that he didn't have documentation, he was also glad. He smiled a little as he spent the next few minutes filling out the forms. At last, he handed them to the man.
"Okay, congratulations! You kids start school next Monday!" the man grinned.
As the Bradys thanked the man and left, Ciara smiled a little. Maybe being black wouldn't be so bad after all.