Daily Drama (In American TV Shows)

Chapter 37

After my attempt at a warning, I was expecting even a slight hint of remorse on the faces of any of the children; instead, the three quickly exchanged glances before facing me seriously side by side. "You're going to be down," Francis said seriously, advancing from their small formation, puffing out his chest. He even seemed to stand on tiptoe slightly, trying to appear intimidating, followed by his two even younger brothers who simultaneously nodded seriously.

Unable to help it, I chuckled at the children's clumsy attempt at intimidation. "Well, while you're at it, I'll be with Dewey," I said, still amused, as I walked out of the room. "Oh, and if you want to watch TV or play a game before dinner and your parents arrive, you know where to find me," I sarcastically teased as I left their room.

They were just kids, what could they do?

Returning to the living room, Dewey had somehow managed to change the TV channel to a completely inappropriate movie for a child his age. "Wow, buddy, that's not cartoons," I quickly remarked as I took the remote to search for cartoons again on TV and remove the semi-naked woman Dewey was watching.

"I'll stick with this," I said, putting away the remote after finding cartoons, shaking my head slightly at the calm child. "Do you want a snack?" I asked the child, who responded by nodding while maintaining deep eye contact.

"Okay," puzzled by the child's behavior, I said as I walked to the kitchen.

Midway to the kitchen, Malcolm suddenly appeared in the hallway, looking surprised to find me in his path. "Oh, PJ," the child quickly said, moving swiftly past the dining table toward the living room. "I wanted to watch TV too," the child continued with a strangely forced smile.

Again puzzled by another child's behavior in this house, I nodded, pointing to the chair where his younger brother was sitting. "Do you want a snack too?" I asked the child, pointing with my thumb to the kitchen behind me.

"Yeah," the child said strangely nervously as he sat next to his brother. "Oh, PJ!" before I could turn to continue walking to the kitchen, Malcolm suddenly exclaimed, catching my attention.

"Yes? What's up?" surprised by the sudden shout.

"Oh, nothing," after a few seconds of calming his suddenly agitated breathing, the child quickly responded. He seemed to be watchful behind me, as if searching for something. Obviously, his behavior was suspicious, making me quickly turn sharply to see what was grabbing his attention. Again, I could sense that something was going on.

The kids were planning something.

Checking the kitchen with confusion as I hadn't heard or seen anything coming from there, I approached slowly, prepared for anything the kids might have prepared.

Not seeing anything, I approached much more calmly before being drawn to the window pointing to the Wilkersons' garden. Being mid-October, the sun set much earlier, making the garden in front of us dark, or at least it should have been. "Is that fire?" surprised, I quickly asked, heading out the glass door beside a round table.

Inside one of those metal trash cans with a horrible chemical smell emanating from it, a 'controlled' fire was lighting up the garden. Quickly looking for something to extinguish the fire, I found the metal lid a few steps away, which I immediately used to close the container, hoping it would be enough to smother the flames. A few seconds later, with the garden hose and careful not to burn my hands, I removed the lid to spray the remnants of whatever the kids used to start the fire.

Now I saw that the woman's warning was not in vain. What kind of kids start a fire? And why did they do it?

Moving away from the smelly mess the kids caused, I returned the hose to its place before trying to re-enter the house, or at least attempting to.