Chapter 32 - How is My Mom More Rebellious? We thought that Mom's close call with death might make her slow down a little--take some time to enjoy the little things, keep out of any more trouble. Instead, she's having a great time vandalizing Sunset Valley--or, as she puts it, "coloring the world." It's kind of hard to admit that your mom is more rebellious than you are!
She actually met a few new people this way--including Alex's son with Anne Ursine, Brain. The poor guy--he's cute, but I wouldn't dream of cheating. Not even to make Brandon a
little jealous. Anyway, he has a pretty bad tan job in this picture.
As for me? I've been hanging around the house in my sleepwear in hope of making Brandon break the no-teen-young-adult-rules. But it turns out that his job starts at eleven, so he sleeps in until I leave for school. Great.
Then I figured out that I have no chance of beating Dad in the race for Brandon's attention. Well played, Papa, well played.
I don't know how Brandon handles seeing
that around the house, but I have my own methods of coping. "
I did not just see my dad naked . . . I did not just see my dad naked . . . just three more days until I can make out with Brandon again . . . I did not just see my dad naked . . .
Then Dad decided we were going to have "a little chat," which basically constituted telling me anything. Paintings, sculptures, photographs, ambrosia, immortality--the whole thing. Why Grandma is still alive, even though she's way older than Kaylynn.
I must have looked shocked, because he broke off mid-sentence and gave me a big hug. I still couldn't believe it--at first, it seemed like one of his practical jokes.
Alexander rose out of bed one morning for his own appointment with Grim.
A mad scientist with a passion for fishing, Alexander Crumplebottom's early life was difficult. His own mother seemed to ignore him, while school and art weren't fun for him. Nevertheless, he struggled through his reputation as the town scoundrel to master gardening and fishing, provide Deathfish for the rest of the dynasty, and father many children. Salvador, Marisol, Donna, Seneca, Kip, JoAnna, Brain, Lionel, Tanesh, Janell, I believe.
Grandma decided the least she could do was cast love charms on all the Alexander-children she could find. Let's hope the witch's magic takes effect soon!
Mom let me help her organize a really rowdy protest against low wages in Sunset Valley. She even let me scream profanities into the crowd! How awesome of a mom is that?
Actually, the whole family attended--just normal bonding time. Dad got a little worked up and tackled this poor guy.
In the end, government officials agreed to give everyone in town a fifteen percent raise. Go Mom!
To celebrate, the four of us went out to the bistro for dinner. Dad even let me sit alone with Brandon--even though he was keeping an eye on us the whole time. That mural is courtesy of Mom.
Little did I know that Brandon and Dad had collaborated to convince me to go to my school's Prom. I didn't really want to go without Brandon, but it was fun enough. I just danced with my friends and helped spike the punch, which was exciting.
Meanwhile, Brandon took out his frustration by getting arrested for vandalism. Thank the Watcher he wasn't taken to jail--since it was a first offense, they just took him home with a warning.
My parents have been hanging out a
lot lately--even more than usual! Mom's been organizing dozens of protests, but Dad loves sneaking up behind her in the park and surprising her with a kiss.
He's also been helping me look up potential colleges, and we've narrowed it down to five. Dad's really excited to see me go to university with Brandon--university, more than the Brandon.
At long last, my young adult birthday arrived. It's strange--my teenage years seemed so long as they occurred, but in retrospect they were far too short. At least as a teen I didn't age up in this . . . outfit. There are so many different kinds of
wrong here!
Aha! Much better. I kept my old hairstyle, and Mom
finally let me put on a bit of make-up. I'm seriously proud of my epic wardrobe, especially the everyday outfit. I think it really expresses my stylish jock personality. All of my outfits are cute and show just enough midriff to make Dad faint without giving the excuse to lock me in my room. Perfect-o!
