“You’re so mean Rosie!”
It seemed the cling wrap on the toilet claimed the wrong victim and Taffeta was none too pleased. I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Don’t laugh at me! MOOOOOOM!”
“Mom’s not here,” I said trying to turn the door handle. “Let me in.”
“No,” she spat.
“Please.”
“You’re just going to do something else.”
“I promise I won’t.”
Reluctantly Taffeta unlocked the door and let me inside. She had already cleaned herself up, but her face was still mangled into an angry scowl. “What?” she snarled.
“I’m sorry.” I said with a laugh. “It wasn’t meant for you.”
“Yeah well guess what. I peed all over myself.”
“Oh it’s not that bad.”
“You’re such a jerk!”
To an extent she was right, I was huge jerk most of the time. It was just hilarious to watch people squirm, but in all honesty I had set the trap for my older sister.
“It was just a little joke,” I explained to my fuming sibling.
“Well I can tell a joke too,” she said pulling her phone from her pocket.
“Don’t call mom.”
Too late. Tearing through the hallway, Taffeta ran to her room, hitting her speed dial as she went.
Barreling down the hallway we went. Me yelling, “Don’t call her!” while Taffeta ran for her life, waiting for my mother to pick up. She ended up making it to her room before I could get to her and left me standing outside banging on the door. Those little legs move fast!
“Taffeta, let me in,” I pleaded through the door.
“No!” she called back.
“Just hang up the phone, I’m sorry.”
Silence.
Holding my ear to the door, I listened through to the other side, “Hi can I speak to Mrs. Chiffon please? This is her daughter.”
Oh sugar balls. I banged on the door again, “Come on now, this isn’t funny! I said I was sorry!”
“You’re gonna be sorry! Mommy? Mommy, Rosaline-“
I didn’t even stay to hear the rest, but it was easily translatable. I was in a sugar load of trouble.
Distracted by a late night jogger on the beach I shrugged, continuing to look out the window.
“You really hurt your sisters feelings,” my dad interjected gruffly.
“I told her I was sorry.”
“Couldn’t you just not put the cling wrap on the bowl instead?”
“I guess.”
“You guess?” my father said with a sigh.
“I don’t know what you want me to say!?”
“We want you to say you’ll stop harassing your sisters.”
I winced, “But it’s fun.”
“Not for them it isn’t. Now I swear to the great berry above if you prank your sisters one more time I will send your butt off to your grandmothers for the rest of your life.”
“Yeah, I highly doubt she would live that long.”
Suddenly my father’s face turned a funny shade of pink and I swear his stare could have burned a whole right through the couch, “Go to your room,” he said with controlled calm. “Now…”
“What’d you do this time?” she asked, walking close to the bed.
“Why do you assume I did something?”
“Because I know you.”
“I’m unappreciated.”
Bobbin shook her head, taking a seat beside me, “It’s hard to appreciate terror.” she teased.
“It’s not that bad.”
“I spent an entire year of my life afraid to eat cereal because you told me there were spiders eggs in it,”
“That was pretty good,” I grinned.
Bobbin’s expression changed from playful to serious in less than a blink, “You gotta let up on the fam Rosie. It’s exhausting.”
“I can’t help myself.”
“I know you can’t, but you gotta try. Can’t you at least try?” Rarely did my sister ask me for anything so earnestly. She really meant it, this was serious.
With a heavy sigh, I could see all my future prank plans flying out the window, “I’ll try.”
3 Nights later…
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Onny tugged nervously at my arm drawing us back from the road, “I mean, you just got over being grounded didn’t you?”
Looking to the white house guarded by trees I nodded resolutely, “You know what those Laces are like. That stuffy old man is trying everything he can to ruin our school.”
“Yeah, I know, but will this really help?” she asked shaking a brown paper bag, careful enough not to break the eggs contained within.
“Someone has got to stand up for the students rights!” I snapped.
“It hasn’t even been passed yet, and more than likely it won’t.”
“Doesn’t matter, it’s the principle of the thing. If the Lace bill passes they’ll start implementing restrictions on all school functions. You and I couldn’t even go to prom as friends, let alone anything else. Not that we would… it’s -it’s the principle of the thing!”
“You already said that and I get it, I do, but egging the dudes house isn’t going to change anything.”
“It’ll make me feel better.”
“This really upsets you doesn’t it?”
“Of course it does! They want to take away students rights! Everyone should be upset!”
Onny stopped to weigh the consequences, then after a long pause and a pouty face from me, let out a deep sigh, “Alright, I’m with you.”
It was easy getting through the fence, a little too easy actually, but I was so angry and determined that I chose to disregard all the warning signs. Leading us both to the front of the house we prepared for our eggy assault.
One by one we went through the two dozen in our cartons and it felt great. With every smack made against those perfect white walls I felt the anger draining. Onny was right, the whole issue did upset me greatly. It wasn’t just a student issue, this was personal. I’d known for a while now that I was into girls, my sister knew and I’m pretty sure mom and dad did too, but Onny, I’d never gotten around to telling her, and it wasn’t that I was embarrassed or ashamed really, just seemed like a non issue, well… it was a none issue.
Oh but all good things must come to an end, especially when the house you are egging has motion alarms under every porch light. Yeah, I didn’t count for that at all. Probably should have, a huge berry hole like that would need all the protection he could get.
The cartons were empty and we were on our way back to the road when a police car pulled up silently lights a blazin. “I knew it!” Onny cried. “I knew this would happen!”
Two patrolmen stepped from the car, walking quickly toward us. We could have made a run for it, but my house was just over the fence, we wouldn’t have gotten very far.
“Hello girls,” said the officer. “You do realize there is a curfew in affect for the greater Starburst Shores area?”
“Yes,” I said.
“So… what are we doing out here?” he asked shining a flashlight at the paper bag in Onny’s trembling hands. “Little late for grocery shopping. You weren’t by chance egging this house were you?”
“Nope,” I answered calmly.
“Mr. Lace says other wise. In fact he identified you both just a few minutes ago.”
Double sugar balls.
“I need you both to get in the car please. We’ll save you the embarrassment of cuffing, as long as you come quietly. Onny was frozen, thoughts of her parents disappointed reaction flashing through the eyes of her terrified expression. With a defeated nod I nudged her to the car, “We’re comin.”
Our next confrontation wasn’t quite as civilized as the last. There were no calm voices, only angry shrieks and long tirades in french that I maybe understood half of. My parents were fit to be tied and their angry outburst managed to wake Bobbin, so she too was in hall for our big showdown.
“This is absolutely unacceptable!” my father shouted. My mother continued on in her native tongue; something about in all her years she never would have eaten something so… yeah, I’ll be straight with you, my french is terrible.
“I can’t believe this,” my father started again. “What in berry’s name were you thinking Rosaline!?”
“He deserved it and more,” I snarled. “He’s trying to ruin the school!”
“So you egg his house?”
“He’s trying to strip us of our rights! Take away our freedoms that every berry should have! This is an important issue.”
“I understand this is important to you-“
“It’s not just important! It’s going take rights from me too! Dad, I’m gay!”
My father pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, “And you are also a Chiffon,” he said calmly. “And Chiffons don’t go around defacing other peoples property, no matter the reason. You want to make a change? A real change, you need fight the law! Go to college! Educate yourself, that’s the way to do something about it!”
My hands fell to my side, “Well maybe I will.”
“Good and in the meantime stop tormenting your sisters and stop defacing our neighbors homes!” With that, he turned and headed back for bed. “This is the last time we have this discussion,” he called back over his shoulder. “Is that understood!”
I failed to answer as my mothers narrowed her eyes, but I could feel deep down, it was understood. I could feel the fight within me shifting. He was right, acting out wasn’t going to get anything accomplished, I had to go above and beyond all that.
With a shake of her head, Bobbin threw an arm over my shoulder walking us back to our room, “You never learn do you?”
She was right, I never did learn. It was always the same, but things were about to change, now I had a new goal, something to strive for. Next step of my plan, get my berry butt into college.
Splash of Color 