The Masks of Amelia

Cleaning

I woke to the usual screaming with a sense of dread in my stomach. I shoved clothes on and got mentally prepared for everything that could happen today. I opened my door, stepped out, and locked it behind my back. 

I was then faced with scorch marks everywhere. It looked as though firecrackers had been set off everywhere in the house. I went downstairs and was pummeled with waves of heat and two very angry sisters. I had only ever seen them like this once before, when they had fought over who was to get which room in the house. Both of them completely overlooked my room, because, and I quote, "Stairs."

This was a full-blown tantrum between the two of them. Olivia was towering over Ava, and Ava was trying to out scream Olivia. Both were unaware of the effect they were having on their surroundings. I could see the walls getting blackened with the force of their anger.

I had never tried to intervene in anything like this before, and I didn't have any background knowledge as to why on earth they were fighting. It was dangerous, but I needed them to calm down a bit before things actually started burning in flames.

I slowly entered the room they were in, picking up some words out of the screaming as I went.

"Why should you dance with him first?! I'm older! I'm more talented! Everybody says so! You just try to grow plants!" Ava screeched plants the way one might refer to the mold that grows in sewers.

"You're not talented! You sing as though our cat has got your throat in a vise grip! You screaming is more pleasant than that gods-awful caterwauling you call singing!" Personally, I agreed with Olivia, but that wasn't going to help me settle the argument before the house was in ashes.

My mind darted around solutions, trying to find the one that would end the argument the quickest, and hopefully settle it until the ball. Finally I landed on one I hoped would stave them off of each other for a while, until their dull brains came up with something else to pester each other about.

I cleared my throat, but their screaming completely drowned it out. I considered shouting for their attention, but they were too engrossed in each other. That left me with one option: I had to enter the fray, at my own risk. I hated it when it came to this. I hated getting involved. I was more of a behind the scenes girl.

Cautiously approaching them, I touched their shoulders, which was a mild accomplishment for me when it came to Olivia. This had the desired effect, as they stopped yelling at each other and screeched "WHAT" at me. I now had their undivided attention.

"Why don't you both look the best you can be, and let the prince decide?" I tried to say it in as appealing a voice I could imagine. The sisters glared at me, glared at each other, huffed, and stomped off to their rooms to go pamper. I watched them go with bated breath, desperately hoping that would be the end of it.

When there was relative quiet from both doors, I let go a tiny sigh of relief, and went to go retrieve cleaning supplies. There was a large amount of soot everywhere. Thankfully, I had a method figured out to help me, since both sisters had a temper, and tended to incinerate things that annoyed them. Thankfully, those things had not been people. Yet.

While I set about the fairly daunting task of scrubbing residual anger off of the walls, I got together a loose plan of action on how I was going to keep up with whatever was thrown my way.

It still didn't prepare me.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~

Hey everybody! I'm a horrible writer, but at least I've not murdered anybody! I'm still an alright human being, I promise. And wow. I haven't done, like, anything since school started. Dang. Yeah, dreadful writer, good student! Yep... I'm just gonna leave this here... And back away...

Anyhitherwho!

~KK