Bumps N Bruises

Chapter 3: Shannon and the "In" Crowd

The next morning, Brendon and his friends had understandably overslept. It was 10:30 am by the time they woke up. Brendon was the first to wake up alongside Jason and Melissa. "Man...I had the craziest dream last night." He moaned, rubbing his tired eyes. "I dreamt that Shannon crashed our sleepover and helped us make part of our movie..." It was then he heard someone clearing their throat. "That's because it actually happened, Carrot-Top." Shannon said, his face close to Brendon's ear, causing the boy to jump. "So it WASN'T all a dream!" Brendon exclaimed, resulting in Melissa and Jason waking up. Shannon stepped back from Brendon and headed for the doorway. "By the way... Your mom is making chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast." He said before walking out. "...Last one down has to do my homework for the next week!!!!" Shannon then slid down the railway from the staircase, causing Brendon to run after him. "Brendon? Pancakes? What is going on??? I just woke up here!" Melissa said in a groggy voice. "Aww....No fair...." Jason moaned, rising from his tight sleeping bag. 

By the time Brendon had made it down the stairs, Shannon had already found a seat at the table. "I wonder why Jason and Melissa haven't come down yet?" Shannon pondered. "Knowing someone like Jason, he probably would have come running down here on his puny little legs." "Did somebody say 'pancakes?'" A nasally voice said, Shannon and Brendon turned their heads and saw Jason and Melissa taking the last step from the staircase. "Well god morning, Jason and Melissa." Paula greeted, turning her head away from the stove. "Good morning, Miss. Small!" Jason and Melissa mused, grabbing their seats. Brendon felt annoyed and cleared his throat. "Oh, and good morning to you too, Brendon." Replied Paula. The kids began to make plans for their next movie as well as what they wanna do for going trick or treating together that night. "I bet I'm gonna get a BUTTLOAD of candy." Brendon said, "Are you kidding, Brendon? I'm gonna get the most candy out of all of us." Jason replied. "As if!" Melissa scoffed, interrupting Brendon and Jason's argument. "If anything, I'm gonna get more candy than the three of you put together!" She declared before the kids were served a plate of pancakes. "Oh, you'll be getting that candy, Melissa." Shannon smirked. "But you won't be seeing it for long..." He muttered under his breath before snatching the bottle of maple syrup from Jason's hand.

Time went by as the kids talked during breakfast, Paula not being able to get a word in edgewise. At least until after Brendon finished his plate. "So. I was wondering if you kids wanted to go to the park today." Paula said. Little did she know, Shannon would suddenly get a bright idea in that moment. "Miss. Small!" Shannon exclaimed, "YOU'RE A GENIUS!" He slammed his fists on the table, causing syrup to fly on Jason's pajamas. "Oops..." Jason muttered. Paula was silent for a moment before deciding to hear the boy out. "And just what are you getting onto, Shannon?" Paula asked in a semi concerned tone. Shannon began to clear his throat. "Y'know what's 'in' right now, guys?" He asked, Brendon and his friends giving shrugs and confused glances in response. "This doesn't sound good..." Brendon whispered to Melissa. "I dunno...What?" Jason responded. "WELL, a lot of those 'cool park montages' have become popular in music videos nowadays. And MAYBE we could film some interesting stuff at the park today!" Shannon proposed. The kids thought it was a great idea before turning their heads to Paula.

"...Well, that doesn't sound so bad." Paula said. "I'm assuming you're-" She was cut off by the kids leaving the table to get ready for shooting. "...Why do I EVEN bother..." She sighed, taking Josie out of her highchair. "Come on, Josie. Let's get you dressed." The mom then carried her baby upstairs while Brendon and his friends were busy. Her motherly instinct knew that it was gonna be a long day with 5 kids. 

Shannon came sliding down the rail once again once he was dressed, Brendon and his friends followed from behind. "Where did your mom go, Brendon?" Melissa asked. "She's probably taking care of Josie right now." Brendon replied, "Now where's my camera?" Shannon then pulled Brendon's camera from behind his back. "Right here, Small!" Shannon said, handing Brendon his camera. "Thanks, Shannon. Now let's get this show on the road!!!" Brendon declared, holding his camera up in the air as Paula came downstairs. The mom smiled, knowing how much Brendon cared about his little passion projects. "Alright kids, let's get a move on!" She announced, causing the kids to follow from behind. 

This would not only be the beginning of the next scene, but also what would lead to a major disaster in both filming, and plans to go trick or treating....