The morning started the same as it usually did, Anna woke up
in a cold sweat. Her bed was damp and her night clothes were soaked through.
That meant she'd have to do another load of wash, probably more than she needed
to. Her brothers always took advantage of her constant laundry loads, and
bombarded her with pile after pile of dirty socks, underwear, and gym shorts.
Anna wasn't even sure if they were even her brothers. The amnesia had wiped everything away, including family memories. She'd been told that this was her family, and she was to live with them until she moved out of the house. That wouldn't be any time soon. Who'd want to give a job to an amnesiac? Even McDonald's probably wouldn't hire her. There was also no way Ma and Pa would let her out on her own either. They practically babied her, making it hard for Anna to do anything outside of the house.
Anna began to separate Connor's laundry in the nifty bins she had bought the week before. There was a compartment for whites, a compartment for colors, and one for darks. She set the timer and began her work. She liked to see how quickly she could do her chores. It was one of the more fun things to do for her. Anna had finished sorting in 10 minutes and 37 seconds, an all time low.
"What," she whispered to herself, "is up with me today?" She decided to step up her game for her bedroom cleaning, but that took twice as long as usual too. Anna was baffled. Did time speed up somehow? Maybe it did. Maybe Anna was just slow that day. Maybe the Earth was spinning off of its axis. Maybe it meant something big was going to happen.
Whatever it was, Anna took it as a sign to be a bit lazier today. Sliding on her fuzzy slippers, she scuffled along the kitchen's gray tiled floor and into the living room. The couch was empty and bare, all of the colorful throw pillows and quilts on the floor in an intricate design. Anna picked up a pillow and a quilt, put them on the couch, and went to lie down.
Before her body touched the cushion, a muffled voice came from under a quilt on the floor. "Hub! Tap wib ma puwwow n quote. Gib em bawc!" Anna lifted up the blanket to find Harley's little head.
"Could you repeat that please?"
Harley rolled his eyes and began again. "Hey! That was my pillow and quilt. Give 'em back!"
"Why do you need them? You've got plenty already."
Harley shimmied out from under the pillow pile. "I was making a fort, and it doesn't work without the pillow and quilt you took. I was about to make it not look flat." His tiny arms were crossed across his chest, his eyebrows trying to look like Pa's when he's mad. Pa could make his eyebrows touch. Harley couldn't, but he looked cute trying.
For a seven year old, Harley was the model of innocence. He'd sit and read in the corner while the other boys would be smashing action figures. He loved to draw, and apparently he was quite the ladies' man. Anna had found several love notes from girls in his backpack. She once asked how he got them, and his response was simple. "I draw them a picture and they give me a letter with hearts on it." Harley didn't have a care in the world, and over the past two years, he was the brother that Anna tolerated the most.
"So can I have them back or what?" Anna relented and gave her nap-time essentials back to Harley. She could find something else to do, but after baking, doodling, writing, and reading, Anna was pretty darn bored. She'd done everything in this house one thousand times over. Except for one thing. For her to do it though, she'd need Ma and Pa out of the house, and her brothers occupied.
"Hey Anna? I'm leaving for Ladies Night at church. I'll be back by ten thirty. Connor's at Jake's for the night, so you're in charge of Harley and Tyler. Make sure they eat dinner and brush their teeth. They can stay up until nine since it's Friday, but no later. Bye kiddo!" Ma called in a hurry. The front door slammed shut, and Anna locked it behind her. Perfect! Pa wouldn't be home until about nine thirty, so she'd have a few hours to work on her special project. Harley and Tyler needed to be busy though.
At around six p.m., Anna, Tyler, and Harley all sat and ate dinner in silence. The microwaved mac-n-cheese wasn't satisfying the boys, so they kept stabbing at it with their plastic forks. "This tastes weird," Tyler stated, his nose wrinkled up.
"You can make yourself something else if you don't like it. You know Ma's rule." Tyler promptly got up, scraped his mac-n-mush into the garbage, and got out the ingredients for his favorite thing in the world, Nutella and banana sandwiches. Harley did the same.
Once everyone had finished eating, it was beginning to get dark, and Anna couldn't send the boys to play outside even if she wanted to. She'd have to keep them busy another way. Video games? No, that always ended in tears. Movie? No, that ended in popcorn bombs everywhere. Episodes of "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" on Netflix? Yes. That could work.
The TV screen flickered on, and Tyler pressed the Wii's power button. He grabbed the remote and started to click Ninja Turtles when Harley took the remote out of his hand so he could press the button. Tyler didn't make a big deal out of it, which Anna was grateful for. She'd have hated to waste precious project time on breaking up an argument between a ten and seven year old.
Once the boys were happy, Anna sprinted up the steps, going up two at a time, until she reached Ma and Pa's room. Luckily, the door was unlocked, and she could go inside. To anyone else, the room would have looked normal. The bed was big enough for two people, there were nightstands and dressers, and a mirror for Ma's make-up, but Anna noticed something different about it. A year ago, she'd gone in to get something for Pa, when something had caught her eye. It was a lock on the top drawer of their bureau. Why would they lock their bureau? Ever since then, Anna had been searching for the key to open up the drawer.
That past weekend, Anna found a key just lying on the ground in Harley's room. It didn't look like the house key or the car key or any kind of key Anna had ever seen. She immediately picked it up, hoping it would be the top drawer key. Now, as Anna slid the key into the lock and turned it, she heard the satisfying click she had always wanted to hear. She'd opened it. She'd opened the top drawer.
Anna wasn't even sure if they were even her brothers. The amnesia had wiped everything away, including family memories. She'd been told that this was her family, and she was to live with them until she moved out of the house. That wouldn't be any time soon. Who'd want to give a job to an amnesiac? Even McDonald's probably wouldn't hire her. There was also no way Ma and Pa would let her out on her own either. They practically babied her, making it hard for Anna to do anything outside of the house.
Anna began to separate Connor's laundry in the nifty bins she had bought the week before. There was a compartment for whites, a compartment for colors, and one for darks. She set the timer and began her work. She liked to see how quickly she could do her chores. It was one of the more fun things to do for her. Anna had finished sorting in 10 minutes and 37 seconds, an all time low.
"What," she whispered to herself, "is up with me today?" She decided to step up her game for her bedroom cleaning, but that took twice as long as usual too. Anna was baffled. Did time speed up somehow? Maybe it did. Maybe Anna was just slow that day. Maybe the Earth was spinning off of its axis. Maybe it meant something big was going to happen.
Whatever it was, Anna took it as a sign to be a bit lazier today. Sliding on her fuzzy slippers, she scuffled along the kitchen's gray tiled floor and into the living room. The couch was empty and bare, all of the colorful throw pillows and quilts on the floor in an intricate design. Anna picked up a pillow and a quilt, put them on the couch, and went to lie down.
Before her body touched the cushion, a muffled voice came from under a quilt on the floor. "Hub! Tap wib ma puwwow n quote. Gib em bawc!" Anna lifted up the blanket to find Harley's little head.
"Could you repeat that please?"
Harley rolled his eyes and began again. "Hey! That was my pillow and quilt. Give 'em back!"
"Why do you need them? You've got plenty already."
Harley shimmied out from under the pillow pile. "I was making a fort, and it doesn't work without the pillow and quilt you took. I was about to make it not look flat." His tiny arms were crossed across his chest, his eyebrows trying to look like Pa's when he's mad. Pa could make his eyebrows touch. Harley couldn't, but he looked cute trying.
For a seven year old, Harley was the model of innocence. He'd sit and read in the corner while the other boys would be smashing action figures. He loved to draw, and apparently he was quite the ladies' man. Anna had found several love notes from girls in his backpack. She once asked how he got them, and his response was simple. "I draw them a picture and they give me a letter with hearts on it." Harley didn't have a care in the world, and over the past two years, he was the brother that Anna tolerated the most.
"So can I have them back or what?" Anna relented and gave her nap-time essentials back to Harley. She could find something else to do, but after baking, doodling, writing, and reading, Anna was pretty darn bored. She'd done everything in this house one thousand times over. Except for one thing. For her to do it though, she'd need Ma and Pa out of the house, and her brothers occupied.
"Hey Anna? I'm leaving for Ladies Night at church. I'll be back by ten thirty. Connor's at Jake's for the night, so you're in charge of Harley and Tyler. Make sure they eat dinner and brush their teeth. They can stay up until nine since it's Friday, but no later. Bye kiddo!" Ma called in a hurry. The front door slammed shut, and Anna locked it behind her. Perfect! Pa wouldn't be home until about nine thirty, so she'd have a few hours to work on her special project. Harley and Tyler needed to be busy though.
At around six p.m., Anna, Tyler, and Harley all sat and ate dinner in silence. The microwaved mac-n-cheese wasn't satisfying the boys, so they kept stabbing at it with their plastic forks. "This tastes weird," Tyler stated, his nose wrinkled up.
"You can make yourself something else if you don't like it. You know Ma's rule." Tyler promptly got up, scraped his mac-n-mush into the garbage, and got out the ingredients for his favorite thing in the world, Nutella and banana sandwiches. Harley did the same.
Once everyone had finished eating, it was beginning to get dark, and Anna couldn't send the boys to play outside even if she wanted to. She'd have to keep them busy another way. Video games? No, that always ended in tears. Movie? No, that ended in popcorn bombs everywhere. Episodes of "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" on Netflix? Yes. That could work.
The TV screen flickered on, and Tyler pressed the Wii's power button. He grabbed the remote and started to click Ninja Turtles when Harley took the remote out of his hand so he could press the button. Tyler didn't make a big deal out of it, which Anna was grateful for. She'd have hated to waste precious project time on breaking up an argument between a ten and seven year old.
Once the boys were happy, Anna sprinted up the steps, going up two at a time, until she reached Ma and Pa's room. Luckily, the door was unlocked, and she could go inside. To anyone else, the room would have looked normal. The bed was big enough for two people, there were nightstands and dressers, and a mirror for Ma's make-up, but Anna noticed something different about it. A year ago, she'd gone in to get something for Pa, when something had caught her eye. It was a lock on the top drawer of their bureau. Why would they lock their bureau? Ever since then, Anna had been searching for the key to open up the drawer.
That past weekend, Anna found a key just lying on the ground in Harley's room. It didn't look like the house key or the car key or any kind of key Anna had ever seen. She immediately picked it up, hoping it would be the top drawer key. Now, as Anna slid the key into the lock and turned it, she heard the satisfying click she had always wanted to hear. She'd opened it. She'd opened the top drawer.
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