Alex Reborn

Chapter 8: Prelude

Paul comes in banging a wooden spoon to a pot. "Girls time to get up!" he says with an amused look on his face. He then goes and does the same to the boys. If I could I would kill him for that.

I wake up feeling tired and nauseous. I really didn't sleep well.

I look over at Jen, and she has the same look on her face that I do.

"I wonder if we can stay home sick? I really don't feel good and don't feel like going to school."

"Mom only lets us stay home if we have a fever, and proof of puking."

"Seriously? Proof?"

"Yep, you can thank our big brother Blake for that one. When he was younger he pulled a lot of stunts with Mom, Dad and Aunt Abby. I guess that's why they trust him so much to look after us."

Paul comes back in. "Girls you need to be getting ready. One of you go wake up Nic." Paul turns to leave. "By the way Allie, after talking to your Mom last night, we decided that you can't spend the night with Lisa tomorrow."

"But, Pa..., I mean Dad that's not fair! I already called Lisa last night and told her I could."

"You were about to call me Paul yet again even though I have warned you twice, including last night. That's why your mom and I changed our minds. By the way we hear you calling us by our first names when you are talking to your brothers and sisters. In case you forgot or didn't know your mom can hear a bat fart from ten miles away. Calling us by our first names is disrespectful, and we are not going to put up with it. I am not going to reward that kind of behavior. Am I clear young lady?"

I hated it when Paul called me young lady doesn't he know I am almost as old as he is? No, he doesn't. He thinks I am fourteen instead of thirty-five. "Yes Sir," I say with some sass. "Sorry Dad, I am sure this is all a side effect from my accident." I say hoping he'll buy it.

"Allie, what a bunch of bullshit! Stop lying to me, and stop making excuses!"

"But Dad the accident..."

"The accident wiped your memories, made you super smart somehow, and changed your personality some. Right now, I'm not sure if it's for the good or for the bad."

Paul was normally grumpy in the mornings, especially if he hadn't had his coffee yet. By the looks of things, no coffee yet.

"Dad that's not fair, again. What's the matter you woke up on the wrong side of the bed and decided to take it out on me?"

"Ok, Allie you win! You win Allie! Please stop before Dad gets mad. You can stop playing," Jen says.

I look at Jen, and she gives me the 'go with it' look. I get the sense that she's trying to help.

"Ok, only if you feel like I won."

"Sis, almost getting killed by Dad proves you won," Jen says with an Academy Award winning smile.

"What the Hell is going on now with you two?" Paul asks annoyed as Hell and obviously still angry with me.

"Daddy," Jen says as sweet as a Georgia peach. "We were playing Mark's game 'Aggravate.' Where the goal is to seriously aggravate someone, and see their reaction. The winner gets a reward."

"Yeah Dad, Jen agreed to do my dusting chores next week, and if she won I'd have to clean the bathrooms for her."

"Mark picked the person, in this case you Dad, not us," Jen says.

"Dad I'm not that stupid," I reply.

"Like Allie said we pick the terms for winning and losing, and then we tell Mark how it goes, and he typically gives whoever anywhere from half a day to three days to do it.