The Ghost and the McGee Twins

Game Night

So, Mom pulled out our stupid chore wheel one day to plan our chores for the week. Ugh! "Live from the McGee family living room in Brighton's defund manufacturing district. It's Wheel of Chore-Fun!" Mom announces, similar to a game show host. "What the heck is this?" Scratch asked. "Other than a waste of perfectly good macaroni?" "It is a time-honored tradition that all McGees must face." Molly explains. "The McGee Family Chore Wheel!" "Hope I get trash duty." Darryl said. "It's where I get my best blackmail material." "That's where annoying little brothers like you belong." I mumbled. "But why do I have to clean the house? You bought it, you clean it!" Scratch exclaimed, just as Mom gave him the death stare. What would that be called in his situation? "And there's that stare, so I'm in for chores. Count me in." "Okay! Here we go!" Molly shouted, spinning the wheel, which landed on closets. "Ah-hah! Closets! Whoo-hoo! Nailed it!" Dad landed on carpets after spinning. "Carpets." Dad chuckled. "Uh, not great for my dust allergies. But it could be worse." Darryl took a spin, ending up with kitchen duty. "Kitchen." Darryl said. "I'll take it!" "I took a spin on the wheel, which stopped at Trash Master. "Trash, huh?" I wondered. "Darryl, go to the curb after you finish the kitchen." "Not gonna happen, Amber." Dad said sternly. Mom took a spin, landing on compost. "Compost duty." Mom sighed with relief. Finally, it was time for Scratch to spin for his chore. At first, it seemed to stop at laundry duty, but then moved to the worst possible chore, the downstairs bathroom. "No. No, no! Not the downstairs bathroom!" Scratch panicked, also throwing up in his mouth. "That's the... That's the grossest chore of all!" "Very fitting." I commented. "You're the grossest roommate of all." "I command a re-spin!" Scratch commanded. "Too late." Mom said. "The wheel has spoken." Molly, Darryl, and Dad added in unison, then they turned to me. "I already told you that I wasn't doing that." I said. "This is outrageous!" Scratch shouted. "When I became a McGee, I was under the impression that families were all about perks. Like unconditional love, free food, and a bunch of schmoes who do everything for me. I didn't sign up for manual labor!" "It's all part of being a family, Scratch." Mom explained. "Sometimes it means fun and games. Today, it means hard water stains around the toilet." "I guess you're right... huh? What's that?" Scratch sighed, creating a ghost portal to escape. "Urgent ghost business? McGees, I'll be back. I'm so sorry. I gotta go..." "Coward!" I teased.

As I was collecting the trash in Darryl's room, which is literally a dumpster, I was startled by Molly screaming in the hallway. "Mom, Dad, Amber, Darryl, Scratch! Come quick!" Molly shouted. "Huh, what? I'm still working!" Scratch lied as we gathered around the closet. "Look what I found!" Molly gasped, showing off Mega City, a family favorite board game. "Mega City?!" Darryl exclaimed. "Oh, we haven't played this in forever!" "I thought we lost this in the move." Dad said. "It was all the way in back, like someone was trying to hide it or something." Molly explained. "What's the big deal?" Scratch asked. "It's just a board game." Molly, Darryl, and Dad gasped in shock. "Just a board game?" Molly asked. "Mega City is the game that inspired me to become a city planner." Dad explained. "I might just be the best player in the entire world." "Dad, you're not even the best player in this entire family." Darryl said. "Mm, oh, thank you, Darryl." Molly mumbled. "I have won the most games." "No way! Check the tally." Darryl flipped over the box to see the amount of games won by all the family members. "So, you guys play this game a lot." Scratch commented. "Some might say too much." "We used to play every week for Family Game Night." Dad recalled. "Why did we stop playing?" Darryl asked. "Isn't it obvious? The goose eggs over there." Dad pointed at me and Mom. "And it's alright, girls. You're both good at many things! Like board... board games you aren't good at. But other things, you're good at! Oh, I'm blanking right now. This is a bad time to blank. I'm sorry I'm blanking, but many things!" "Uh, thanks?" Mom questions, grabbing the board game. "Now, let's put the game away and get back to our chores!" "Whoa, whoa, whoa, we're just gonna go back to chores?" Scratch asked, taking the game from Mom. "Without playing one game of Mega-whatever? You know, you say I'm a member of this family, yet I've never experienced the camaraderie of Family Game Night!" "That is a really good point, Scratch." Molly said. "And we can finally break the tie and declare the ultimate winner of Mega City!" "Yeah!" Dad agreed. "Game on!"