SWNOVELS Chapter 9 Family Ties
Sorry to say that I woke up on Sunday morning with zero answers, and I was not happy about it. Other people in this house might have thought I was just being grumpy in the morning, but you know the real reason. Did I lose my cool? Well, you see, on that particular Sunday night, I thought I had planned for every scenario. I did all of my chores and even went to Ben’s stupid CCD class during church (which I didn’t even know he had) in hopes of meeting up with Al and Josh to settle things. But the worst part was that Josh and Allison weren’t even there! They didn’t even go to this church! So I couldn’t even talk to them or call them both at the same time.
As soon as I got home from church, I started on my homework. I wasn’t about to get denied watching TV! I needed something to take my mind off of middle school drama, and video games weren’t cutting it. But I guess I didn’t plan on my annoying and dramatic older sister foiling my plans.
I was flipping through channels in the living room when I saw that the Jags and Giants were going to be playing any minute. I remembered the photo of Ben and his family at the Giants stadium in his room, and I knew he wouldn’t want to miss it. The only problem was that his mom turned off the TV in the middle of the game to announce dinner was ready. After that, I was so engrossed in the Giants game, waiting to see if they would make the final field goal to maintain their lead, when suddenly the TV changed to an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I was so pissed! I mean, who changes the channel in the middle of a semi-close game?
Like what the heck!
“What the--who changed it?!” I yelled.
“Oh, I did!” Meg said, jumping onto the couch next to me. I turned to her, my eyes wide.
“You did?”
She nodded, grinning. “Yeah, I thought it would be funny.”
I shook my head. “You’re such a brat.”
She laughed. “I know. But I have a good reason. My show Buffy The Vampire Slayer’s newest episode of the series finale is about to start soon and I don’t want to miss a second.”
“Really… now? I was kinda in the middle of something. Can it wait?”
“No, it certainly cannot. Not even for a second. Besides, you’ve been here all day and you’re not the only one who lives here, dude. You can watch your little game somewhere else.”
“But I like to watch it here though.”
There was a silence as tension filled the air and after a few moments, she broke it and said,
“Tough luck, loser. You have a TV in your room. I don’t, so go watch it there. I don’t want to be the odd one out of my friends.” she screeched. “Jeez, all of this over a dumb show.” I muttered as I started to leave, but I guess she must’ve heard me because she said,
“Hold up, get your butt back here. You better not have said what I think you just said. What’d you say?!” she demanded, poking me in the chest as I was now facing her again.
“W-what season are you on?” I stammered.
She gave me a weird look. “Are you serious? I just said it was the last season. That means it’s season seven and-” She stopped and smirked. “Oh, I see what you’re trying to do. That may have worked the first time, but nice try. Quit stalling before I make you leave!”
She ended with a huff.
“IF I catch you down here and you make me miss one second of this new episode, you’re dead meat!” she said with a hint of anger.
“I’m not stalling!” I protested, trying to look innocent. She didn’t believe me. “Yes, you are. And you would, too. I know you and your little tricks.” She glared at me.
“I’m not scared of you,” I scoffed, crossing my arms and not being intimidated at all.
“Oh yeah? We’ll see about that,” she said, giving me the biggest evil smile I’ve ever seen. She took a deep breath and shouted the word that made me cower in fear.
“MO-O-O-O-M!”
Oh..…she…is…g-o-o-d-dd. I totally underestimated her. There’s one person in this world from the beginning of time to the end, who can make anyone cower in fear: a mother’s wrath. I guess Ben and I have that in common. Anyway, Megan kept shouting,
“Ben’s hogging the big TV again.”
I heard their mom screech, “What?!” followed by her angry footsteps coming towards us. Megan just snickered. “You should’ve left when you had the chance.” Her mom came storming in, her eyebrows furrowed and her voice raised. “Benjamin Nathaniel Harper, I need to talk to you!”
“Oh, come on, she’s the one who—”
“Now!”
Before I could finish my sentence, my mom grabbed my ear and dragged me to the kitchen. Megan waved goodbye to me with a smirk on her face. When we got to the kitchen, my mom whispered, “Do me a favor and stop making a scene. Go watch the rest of the game in your room.”
“Why?” I asked, annoyed. “Come on, just tell me.”
“Don’t make me bring Dad into this,” she said. “He’s already stressed out about his big presentation tomorrow. I don’t want to add to it.” She glanced over at Megan and whispered, “Please just let her have her way. You’re not the only one who’s bothered by her antics.”
I sighed. “Fine,” I said. “I’ll let her watch her show. But does that really excuse her for changing the channel right in the middle of a field goal? How would Dad like it if that happened to him?” I scoffed.
His mom thought about that for a moment. “Okay, touché, touché,” she said. “She could have been a little nicer to you. I’ll give you that.”
“A little?” I asked, trying to get her to admit more.
“A whole lot,” she said. “But unlike you, your sister can’t handle one night without the big TV or any TV for that matter. That’s the real reason why your dad and I gave you a small one for your birthday last year as a way to compensate.”
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever, Mom.”
“I’m serious,” she said. “She’s got some serious issues when it comes to TV shows.”
“Whatever you say, Mom,” I said with a smirk, already imagining her reaction to streaming services like Disney plus or Netflix when Megan would get access to that. That was all I could really say before I was banished to my room with strict instructions not to mess with her under any circumstances. Where she couldn’t help me out anymore. Not that it mattered anyway.
There I was, stuck in my room, watching the rest of the football game on this tiny TV. It wasn’t the same, especially with that stupid Buffy the Vampire show blaring in the background. It really didn’t help my ego. After the football game was over, I heard a commercial break coming from the living room. Then I heard footsteps marching upstairs, and they were coming towards me, where Megan just had to barge in my room and rub my punishment in my face. In the middle of her gloating, I decided it was time to give her a taste of her own medicine. With a smirk on my face, I told her, “I think the commercial is over now. You better go check just to be sure.” She bolted out of my room and slammed the door. I can only imagine that when she got to the living room and saw that the commercial was still playing, she angrily shouted,
“You jerk!”
Oh, that was definitely about me. But I just laughed maniacally and muttered under my breath, “Man, I can’t believe I have to deal with these people for one more day.”
Better make the most out of it.