Chapter 8
Greg's P. O. V.
When I woke up this morning, a pile of textbooks rested on my night stand. I smiled, mentally muttering thank you to Charlotte. I dragged myself out of bed, trudging groggily to the bathroom. I washed up, changed out of my pyjamas and went into the kitchen breakfast, where everyone was eating other than Rodrick, who wakes up just in time for lunch. Mom slid a plate of pancakes and bacon to me and a fork. I wolfed down my food. Mmm, delicious. Mom's pancakes are always the best.
I looked up for a second and saw Charlotte on her phone.
Can I just add that her phone cover is also so... perfect. It was the same polar bear on her jumper and it was pure white. Curiosity finally getting the better of me, I plucked up the courage to ask her.
"What's that polar bear's name?"
Charlotte's head snapped up in shock but relaxed when she saw me, "Oh it's you. And this is ice bear from we bare bears, you know, the cartoon. Do you watch it?"
I shook my head, "Nope, I've only heard of it before, but never watched." Charlotte slumped in disappointment, and sighed, "They are so underrated." I shrugged, not knowing what to say, though I felt a little bad.
I continued with my breakfast, savouring every morsel. I was done in a jiffy and I was returning from putting my plate into the sink when I noticed that Charlotte didn't eat breakfast and was on her phone the whole time. Since when did Mom allow us to skip breakfast and use our devices at the same time? I felt a surge of annoyance rise up in me, Mom is not going to get away with this act of biasness.
I marched up to Mom, my face serious. "Mom, how can you be so biased towards Charlotte?" I exclaimed. The whole room instantly went silent and everyone looked up at me. Dad frowned at me and said, "What are you talking about, Greg? You mother didn't do anything."
"Exactly. What's going on Greg?" Mom frowned. I faceplamed, grunting in frustration before bursting out, "Why do you allow Charlotte use her phone when she hasn't ate her breakfast yet?" An awkward silence filled the room as everyone stared at me in confusion. Mom blinked, before clarifying, "Charlotte already finished her breakfast, she woke up long before you did."
My face flushed red. I had jumped to the wrong conclusion.
"Oh, sorry. I---"
"Greg, you should really learn from your sister. Her time management is so good. She woke up at seven thirty just so she can unpack her things. Now her room is filled up and her luggage is empty. Most of all, she's so organized. All that happened in half an hour. And the last time I checked, you took two days to do so." Mom chided, shaking her head. Charlotte suddenly became very interested in looking at the floor.
"Alright, I'm sorry. I'll manage my time better." I muttered. Mom shook her head in disapproval.
"That's what you say everytime, but never actually take action. You know what, you need someone to help you. Charlotte, so you mind if you help your brother with his tidiness?" Mom asked, turning to Charlotte. Charlotte's head snapped up in surprise, apparently zoning out, but quickly recovered and replied, "No problem."
"Ah that's great to hear. Frank, don't we have something in plan today?" Mom winked to Dad. Dad caught Mom's eye and smiled mysteriously. My stomach lurched, what's the meaning of surprise?
"Ah, yes. Greg, Charlotte, go wake up Rodrick, we have a surprise for you guys." Dad whispered, making the suspense even more unbearable.
"Okay..." Charlotte replied as she frowned, grabbing me by the wrist as we headed towards the basement stairs to wake up Rodrick up.
"Hey, something's up. Mom and Dad are really suspicious." I whispered.
Charlotte nodded her head in agreement.
"I know. Whenever my parents do that, it either a good thing to them or that the surprise isn't so 'surprising' " she remarked, air quoting surprising.
"I have a feeling it's a family meeting, Mom does that sometimes and it's never good." I replied, and Charlotte gritted her teeth.
We soon arrived at the basement. When we reached Rodrick's door, I turned to Charlotte and said, "We just barge into his room because if you do it gently he will never wake up."
"Ok." Charlotte replied.
Boom!
The door banged against the wall forcefully as we made our dramatic entrance. Rodrick still slept on. Wow.
"Rodrick, wake up! Mom and Dad have a surprise for all of us now!" I yelled, flinging his blanket aside.
Rodrick grunted and mumbled, "No...me want...sleep...go way." I didn't give in, though. For the next minute, I hollered and hollered, saying all kinds of stuff to wake him up but when I ended my tirade, all Rodrick gave me was a loud snore. That was the last straw for Charlotte. She burst out into laughter, doubling over, and soon I joined in too. We laughed and laughed till we cried, but it didn't even stop there.
"Alright alright, I'll wake up! Happy now?" Rodrick exclaimed, glaring at me. I merely chuckled, telling him to go to the dining room where everyone would be waiting for him.
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Rodrick's P. O. V.
I can't believe Greg woke me up so early in the morning. It's only ten thirty! Well, the only consolation is that Charlotte was there too.
Ever since I saw Charlotte, I'm sort of hypnotized by her. And maybe a little infatuated. Not just her beauty. Her elegance, the way she does things and her personality. I just want her to notice me. I know that she does but more. Like how she bonds so well with Greg, probably twin power or something like that.
I promptly washed up and headed to the dining room. When I reached there, everyone was making exclamations.
"Charlotte! How did you do that?!" Greg yelled, looking really scared. Charlotte had this amused expression on her face as she held her phone to show Greg something. Mom and Dad were sitting beside Greg on the sofa, jaws dropped.
"What? What happened, why are you so shocked?" I exclaimed, rushing over.
"Just...l-look..." Greg muttered, playing a video from Charlotte's phone. It was a video about Charlotte doing triple backflips.
"Oh my...Charlotte, you..." I trailed off weakly, shook. Man, that was so... great. She. Is. Such. A. Pro.
"Is it really that cool? I mean, haven't you seen cheerleaders or gymnasts do it?" Charlotte asked, probably feeling a bit weirded out.
"I have, but it's really cool to know someone who can actually do it." Greg protested.
"Your gymnastics is so good, you must have trained so much." Mom and Dad said.
"Yeah, it took me nearly a month and a sprained ankle. Now that everyone is here though, what's the surprise? I can't wait any longer." Charlotte pleaded. I fervently bobbed my head up and down.
"Everyone, there has been a new addition to the entertainment facilities in Plainview. It's just opened yesterday and it's a trampoline park." Mom announced grandly, elicting several gasps from us kids. Plainview, as it's name suggests, never had anything as interesting as this before. All we have are those stingy indoor playgrounds in malls and they were mostly designed for little kids. This is probably the first time something great had ever actually happened! I really hoped Mom got us tickets because I really want to go. I've watched many videos, but never actually went to one.
"Mom can we please go there? I loved trampoline parks, I used to go twice a month when I was back in Singapore." Charlotte pleaded like she was a three year old asking for sweets. Seeing our enthusiasm, Dad let out a chuckle.
"Of course we are. Because my company helped design the archeitecture, the whole team, including me, got complimentary tickets for our families. I have five tickets, since Manny gets to go there free till he turns five." Dad said, flashing a piece of paper with some particulars and a barcode on it.
Greg's jaw dropped in disbelief.
"Wait, Dad. You knew about it the whole time and yet you never told us?!" Greg exclaimed, making it look as if he got cheated of his money.
"Well, if I told you, then there won't be a surprise anymore. Plus, you would have told your friends about it," Dad reasoned and I knew exactly what he meant, "Your mother didn't even know till last week. We decided to give you a treat before you start school tomorrow."
Upon hearing Dad mention school, I felt really scared. My life has been great so far, but this year the exams are especially important if I intend to not drop out, but I can't possibly neglect my video games. I've gotten so far in Twisted Wizards and I just can't give it up. I'll guess I'll just cross the bridge when I come to it.
"Hang on, school's starting tomorrow? I thought it starts next Monday?" Charlotte inquired, bewildered.
"Unfortunately, it does. You came just in time for a good start." Mom replied with an apologetic smile. Charlotte's brow furrowed.
"But I haven't looked through what we will be learning and I'm scared that I can't cope with the homework and..." Charlotte trailed off, distraught. Mom embraced her and whispered, "Everything's going to be fine, you're not going to struggle. I'm sure you can catch up."
"We are going to have lunch in an hour and we'll leave at twelve thirty since our session is from one to three in the afternoon." Dad said while scrutinizing the paper.
"Come on, Heffleys. We're going to have so much fun!" Mom cheered. I totally agree.
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Greg's P. O. V.
"Mom, do you mind if I take Charlotte around our neighborhood and also catch up with Rowley? We still have an hour before lunch anyway." I asked Mom casually, hoping she won't suspect anything. Ever since Charlotte came here, I had this 'big brother' responsibility I never had before. I wanted to show her out neighborhood and introduce her to Rowley.
Mom looked up from cutting the meat. "That's a great idea, Gregory. Just be back in time for lunch."
"Great. Thanks Mom!" I chirped as I headed out of the kitchen to find Charlotte.
"Hey do you want to explore the neighborhood? Mom said we can." I asked. Charlotte looked up from playing with Manny, and replied, "Sure. Manny, I'll play with you later okay? I'm going out with Greg for a while."
"But I want you to pway with me." Manny pouted, his face darkening. It's apparent that a temper tantrum is coming up, and Charlotte detected it right away.
"How about this, Manny? I'll take you out with me." Manny gave a happy "Yay!" to reply Charlotte.
"Ok. Thanks Manny!" Charlotte exclaimed. I waited for Charlotte in the hallway as she put on shoes for Manny. Wow, she's sure good with kids. I never had much patience with Manny, and plus I never forgot the New Year's Eve incident.
"We're done, let's go." Charlotte took Manny by the hand but Manny didn't budge.
"I want you to cawy me." Manny said, sticking his arms out. Charlotte's face softened.
"Awww, how can I refuse you? You're such a cute little brother." Charlotte carried Manny as we walked out of the house.
"So this is our neighborhood. My best friend, Rowley, stays seven houses uphill from me, and the fourth house between us stays a kid from out grade called Fregley. He's a really weird kid though, I'm not trying to be mean but that's what makes Fregley Fregley." I said, pointing to a house identical to ours a few metres uphill.
"Ah I see. If you don't mind, do you want to go ask Rowley if he's going to the trampoline park? Since you guys are best friends you'll have more fun and I can make a new friend too." Charlotte asked. My jaw dropped.
"That was actually what I wanted to do!" I exclaimed, "How did you know?"
Charlotte chuckled, "I have no idea either, must be our twin power working."
We walked in silence for a while, trying to ignore the hot sun shining on us. Soon, we reached Rowley's house. I walked up to his front door, rang the doorbell and waited.
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Rowley's P. O. V.
I was writing in my diary about what Greg told me about his sister when the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it!" I yelled, dashing to the door so Mom and Dad won't have to stop what they are doing.
"Thanks, son." Dad replied, and went back to fixing the TV.
I opened the door, only to find Greg, his brother Manny and a very pretty girl whom I don't know standing outside.
"Hey Greg! I'm so glad you came! I was just writing stuff in my diary." I said excitedly, welcoming them in.
"Hi Rowley. This is my sister, Charlotte. Charlotte, this is Rowley." Greg introduced me to the girl. Woah, I can't believe they look so different even though they are twins.
"Gregory? You have a sister?" Mom asked, carrying a pot of stew to the dining table, a confused look fixed on her face.
"Um yeah, she's my twin." Greg muttered nervously, and I can tell that he was really uncomfortable. Thankfully Mom just nodded her head.
"Nice to meet you, Charlotte." I said, extending my hand to shake hers.
"Nice to meet you too, Rowley. I can't wait to hang out with you guys in school tomorrow! Speaking of which, aren't you going to ask Rowley something, Greg?" Charlotte shot a look in Greg's direction.
"Oh yeah, almost forgot. Are you going to the newly opened trampoline park today? My dad's company helped with the archeitecture, so we got free tickets for this afternoon." Greg asked. My heart burst into happiness when I heard Greg say that.
"I'm going too! Dad pre-ordered the tickets a few days ago to avoid disappointment. Which time slot is yours?" I asked, crossing my fingers that he will reply one to three in the afternoon.
"One to three later." Greg replied.
"We are in the same time slot!" I burst out.
"Woo! We can hang out together!" Greg exclaimed and I rushed to tell my parents about the good news. Mom was pleased but Dad wasn't too hot about the news. I just don't really understand why he doesn't like Greg. I mean, Greg can be a bit unreasonable sometimes, but he's a really nice friend.
"Rowley, I'm so sorry but I have to go t home for lunch now. I'll see you later, then." Greg said, while doing our best buds hand trick.
"Sure. See you!" I said as I sent them out of the door.
A/N
Big thank you to everyone that read this book. It has over 230 reads now!!! 😄
Sorry for the constant change in point of views but I couldn't write the story if I only sticked to one or two of them and also for the excessive dialogue 😬. Hope you guys enjoy my story and stay tuned for more!
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