1.15

Makoto decided it would be fun to egg our neighbor's house.

Of course they were home and one of them walked out as soon as Makoto was throwing another egg. She had thrown at least a half dozen by then. You think she'd throw one or two and make a run for it. I wonder if she wanted to get caught. They called the cops, I was at work, but Will was home.

Makoto called him from the police department, "Dad! I didn't do anything that bad! I was just having a bit of fun!"
"Your mother will be very disappointed in you, Makoto. I'm not even sure if you're safer there or here."
"Please don't tell Mom!"
"Makoto, you know-"
"Dad, I can't talk long, just please come get me or I have to stay here all night."
All he could do was sigh as the line went silent.

The car ride was pregnant with silence, but as soon as the two made it through the door, Will had thought of a little something to say.
"I don't know why you're being like this, Makoto, what are you so angry about? Young ladies shouldn't be acting like hoodlums!"

"Dad, I was just, you know, frustrated with things!"
"You know I will have to tell your mother."

"Ugh, what do you care anyway, Dad!? All you ever do is read and stay cooped up in your room on the computer all day. You don't even get involved in my life at all! Go jump off a bridge or something!"

He pursed his lips and looked a bit hurt. He headed into the bathroom, Makoto could hear the sink running. She waited a moment outside the door, wondering if he was going to punish her for saying such mean things, then scoffed, grabbing her homework and joining Mandarin at the table.

"Well, that was interesting!" Mandarin exclaimed cheerfully, not lifting her eyes from her work.
"Don't talk to me, Mandy."

"You know maybe if you were nicer about it he wouldn't tell Mom. Not that I wouldn't tell her, but you should really be more respectful to your elders, especially your parents."
"Shut up, Mandy..." Makoto growled.

"Well I don't know how you're ever going to get a boyfriend with an attitude like that. Maybe you should take anger management. You should probably start wearing make-up, too, I mean, you're no spring chicken!"

That's when Makoto jolted up with such force the table was knocked back. Mandarin, startled, stood up as well.

"What the hell is your problem, Mandy!? You're such a loser, why can't you close your mouth for two seconds!? I've already been through enough today I don't need your snide comments on top of it!"

"Blah blah blah blah, youra sucha loozah, Manduh-dee!!" Mandarin mocked.

"It's not my fault you go throwing eggs at houses. You're soooo stupid, Mako! You keep blowing up like this all the boys will be making fun of you!"
"That's all you care about, Mandy? God, you're such a slore!"

Mandarin's cheeks were red hot, "What did you call me!?"
"A slore, Mandy. Mandy the Slore!"
Mandarin let out what could only be classified as some sort of warrior cry and jumped  on Makoto. "I'll kill you!!" She screamed, swinging her arms around like noodles.

The fight ended quickly, as it was pretty much one sided. Makoto is much stronger and much more athletic than my dainty little Mandarin flower. Makoto went relatively easy on her, surprisingly. Maybe she didn't want to get into much more trouble.

Mandy lifted herself to her feet, let out a little whimper and ran to my bedroom. At the sound of her cries Willard finally looked up from the book he was reading. "See, Dad, you didn't even get involved!" Makoto shouted at him.
"You should be nicer to each other," is all he said.
"Are you serious, Dad? She attacked me!"
Willard finally got angry, "That is enough, Makoto! I'm telling you right now, you both are grounded!"

"Fighting in this house is uncalled for!" he yelled, "Now go to your glob blob bedroom NOW!"

Makoto slinked silently into her room, no arguments at all. She's never seen her father so angry with her, maybe she did go a little too far calling Mandarin names.
Willard opened our bedroom door to a sobbing Mandarin.
"Daddy!" she cried immediately, "Daddy! She is s-s-soo meeaaann!!"
"Don't give me that crap, Mandarin, I heard the whole argument. You and your sister think I don't pay attention to what goes on between you two!? You said nasty things to her! I'm not saying she doesn't deserve it, but not from you, young lady!"

+
"You are sisters! Twins! You should be looking out for each other, not stabbing each other in the back! You're grounded, both of you."
"Dad, that's not fa-"
"Don't argue with me! You're grounded!!"
And with that Will left Mandarin to her tears in our room to continue his reading.

I got home from my show and Will told me everything. Makoto was already asleep, or pretending to be, and Mandarin was still holed up in my bedroom facing the wall. Of course most of the conversation was Mandarin ranting and raving about her sister. She's convinced Makoto is her evil twin, here to test her throughout her life.
"Mandarin, dear, you have to learn to be friends with your sister. As you mother, it breaks my heart to not see you two get along. What about you brother, Maddox? What will he grow up thinking about you two? He will never have happy memories of his big sisters because they were so busy screaming at each other."

"I love you three very much, with all of my soul. Please just try to be nicer to your sister."
"I'll try, Mom.."
I kissed her forehead and sent her off to her room. Willard and I had a nice chat about the girls and the events of the day. I never thought raising twin girls would be so difficult!

1.14

I had fallen asleep to Mandarin's beautiful music. My dreams were just as beautiful, colorful. She had a real talent for music, no wonder she loved the music channel so much. The girls were ready for school and I sat down with them on the couch and immediately praised Mandarin's music. She told me she wanted to sign up for the music club at school and she thinks it's her dream to be a part of the music industry. Makoto scoffed and swiftly stood up.

"Blah blah! Wowie wowzers, Mandy, you're just so wonderful and perfect! How could I ever be so lucky to have a twin sister like you?" she mocked.
Mandarin glared at her, "No one said I was perfect, Mako!"
"Whatever! You get a secret gift from Dad and I get nothing! Quit playing stupid, Mandy! You know you're the favorite!"
I did feel a little guilty, but I thought both girls would enjoy the keyboard. It was quite expensive.
"Don't talk to me," Mandarin demanded.
"Little perfect Mandy with her little perfect pigtails!"
Mandarin stood up and got in Makoto's face.

"Glob! Just shut up, Makoto! Don't speak to me ever again, not here, not at school! Just leave me alone! You're so jealous of me!"
"Ha! What do I have to be jealous of? You couldn't win a fight if your life depended on it!"
"What does that have to do with anything!?"
Makoto smirked, "You're total weaksauce, Mandy."
"Aah!" Mandarin screamed.

"That's enough, girls! Don't make me get your father!" I guess it was time to break it up. Teenage hormones, ugh.
"I'm going to school early!!" Mandarin screamed and off she went, slamming the door behind her.
"Makoto..-"
"Leave me alone! I'm going to play with Maddox until the bus comes," she mumbled disappearing into Maddox's room.

I followed her through the hall and listened outside of the door. Apparently she was helping him take a potty break.
"Whattya think Maddox? These guns can take care of her!"
He grunted.
"Ew! Maddy! Why does it smell so bad?"
He giggled at her displeasure.

These girls are starting to worry me, but I hear that sisters fight all the time. Maybe I'm thinking about it too much. The bus arrived and honked the horn, Makoto walked out with Maddox, both of them laughing. "Okay, bye little buddy!" she gave him a kiss and a tickle. Yeah, I think I'm over-analyzing, they're just regular teenagers.

After the Makoto was gone and I gave Maddox his breakfast, I told Will I'd be back around 10. I was doing a show and I needed to stay after to meet a man from France who was filming a video of my performance.

Everything was going perfect for me, but apparently things were a different story at the homefront. Momma can't be there to fix everything, I've told Will this. Mandarin was practicing her piano and Will was listening when Makoto walked into the room, not saying a word, presumably to listen as well. Will was a bit suspicious since he now knows Makoto is very jealous of Mandarin and her keyboard.

Mandarin didn't even know she was there until she spoke. "Glob, I don't know what the big deal is! You can't even play a real song! This is terrible!"

"Makoto! That is uncalled for, young lady!" Willard gasped. He probably didn't know his daughter was capable of such a tone.

She ignored him and continued to heckle Mandarin. "You think you'll get any better with practice? Maybe then it'll be tolerable!"

"Shut up, Makooo..!"
"Shutupmakooooooooo..!" Makoto whined mockingly, rolling her eyes. "You're pathetic."

Mandarin walked into Maddox's room to get away from Makoto's craziness, but she followed. "Glob, just get away from me!!"

"You're crazy, Makoto! You're just jealous because you don't have musical talent like I do! You're such a b-"

"Whatever! Fine, I'll leave you alone."

The French guy was nice, probably way more peaceful than the war going on at home. He didn't say much, just that he got a lot of good footage and was going to edit the best parts together and that he might need more footage for later, in case he needed some filler or a better angle. Maybe he did say a lot, but he was just so boring that I didn't care to listen much.

I came home to the funniest sight, my family is a trip. Makoto was working out, huffing and puffing, yelling at her sister to get out of her space. "She's mocking me, Mother!!" she shouted as I walked through the door. Mandarin continued to dance, flailing herself around, proclaiming she can dance whenever and wherever she'd like. Willard, of course, was sitting on the couch, reading, not paying attention to the situation.

"Well, Makoto, maybe that's her way of working out."
"Stop defending her, Mom! She is teasing me!"

When I was here earlier it was the other way around. Makoto would not stop taunting Mandarin over her musical talent. "How is she mocking you Makoto? You don't even like to dance."

She stopped her jumping jacks and dragged me into my bedroom. "Mom, I was messing with her earlier, okay? But I stopped, we got in a big fight and I stopped!! But I was just walking through the kitchen to get a snack and she was being such a brat!"

" 'Hey, Mako..'

'Isn't this about the time you start working out? Should you be eating? I mean, I know how much you care about your weight and I noticed you look a little bigger lately..'

'Are you kidding me, Mandy!? Get you slimy pigtails away from me!'

'Whatever, I'm just looking out for you. You're never going to get a boyfriend at school looking so fat.'"

"So I just walked away, Mom! I just started my workout and that girl just came over and started dancing in front of the screen telling me she doesn't have to work out to look good, that she can just have fun and she's naturally hot!"

She was generally upset over her sister calling her fat or whatever. I placed my hand on her shoulder and reminded her that they are family and should be looking out for each other, not fighting. I would have a talk with her sister.

1.13

Mandarin was getting fed up with her sister and instead of coming home to do her homework with her sister she made it a habit of going to the park or staying on school grounds until she was done.

Makoto find a new interest in working out. She told me she had to be big and strong for when she ruled the world, that silly girl. At least she has aspirations.

Maddox has taken a liking to this crazy doll Willard's parents sent, for being his first and only son. He has named it "Mel'dy". I think it's supposed to be Melody. He's such a smart kid.

He is the happiest baby! Always smiling and laughing!

The girl's birthday is coming up, but they both still act like they're three years old. Makoto loves being read to sleep.

And Mandarin has just as much fun playing peek-a-boo and Maddox does!

I'm always talking about how Mandarin is annoyed by Makoto, but I've caught her in the act of pestering Mako. Makoto was trying to do her homework, as they've stopped doing it together, and Mandarin decided she wanted to play racecar on the couch.

She was purposely being loud and obnoxious, which I had to put a stop to. That caused more obnoxious screaming from both of them. These girls fight way too much!

My baby girls were finally becoming young ladies. We invited their friends from school and some of Will's and my acquaintances. We made sure to have two cakes so they didn't fight over who got which piece and who blows out the candles.

Mandarin was first, then Makoto, and man! Did we ever hear the end of that from Makoto.

Besides that mess, it was a wonderful birthday party. The girls and I joked and talked about whether or not they would date anyone at their new high school. Of course I told them not to tell their father.

After the party I put Maddox in his crib and kissed the girls goodnight. Makoto went to bed right away, she was excited for her first day of highschool. Willard and I had bought a gift for the girls, but we knew Mandarin would have a real use for it. She had a talent for the arts, I went to bed, but I sent Willard out to give Mandarin the present.

"Mandarin," Willard pulled the box out from behind him, "Now, this is for both you and your sister, but your mother and I wanted to tell you, we think you'll have more use out of it than Makoto."
"Daddy! What is it? You didn't have to!"
"You're becoming a young woman," Will said with a sniffle, "and you need to start deciding what you're going to do with your life. You seem to have a more level head than Makoto, but I'm sure she'll find her place."

"Oh, Daddy! Thank you! Tell Mom I said thank you so much! I'm sure I'll love it!"
"Just have fun, sweety."

Mandarin took the package to her bedroom and set it in the corner. She knew she should wait for her sister, but Dad did give it to her. She slowly untied the delicate ribbon and opened the box. It was a keyboard! She always wanted to learn how to play an instrument and now she finally had one! She stroked the cold white keys, contemplating. She should wait until tomorrow to play with it, everyone was going to bed. She lied in bed thinking of all the beautiful music she could make and then the temptation was too great. She quickly sat down on the stool, hesitating before hitting a note, and then hitting the exact one she wanted. All of a sudden music was flowing through her fingertips, songs she's never heard before. She played all night long.

1.12

The girls were really growing to be their own individuals. Makoto was starting to be a little obnoxious, she refuses to eat anything unless it is in juice form and leaves the juice boxes everywhere!

Mandarin was glued to the sofa watching the music channels all day. When she did communicate it was to complain about the mess her sister left around, which seemed to make Makoto leave bigger messes while her sister was around.

There was definitely some sibling rivalry, but we loved them both equally and we tried to show them that.

Whatever we did wasn't stopping the animosity from building between the two.

My birthday was here faster than I expected. I didn't want to celebrate it with a big crowd of people or anything, the girls didn't even know it was my birthday. The television broke and they had been asking for me to fix it all day, but I kept putting it off. I was so anxious about being "old". Will my back hurt? Would I get arthritis? Will I be forced to retire!? I haven't even achieved my dream of being a Master Acrobat, yet! Mandarin was especially upset about the television and didn't seem the slightest bit excited when I started being silly about my birthday. Makoto was in good spirits, though.

I hardly felt any different, except my hair was a gross green-grey color. Makoto smiled at me, "You're beautiful, Mom!" For some reason the compliment sounded forced, but the smile genuine. Mandarin just frowned at me and pointed at the television, "I'm missing Cady Berry perform live in Bridgeport, Mom!" I sighed and searched for my screw driver. "I can't believe you girls are making me do this! On my birthday! How cruel!" I whined dramatically. They giggled a little while I began taking the television apart. I've fixed the old cheap television a hundred times and they all can't be that different on the inside, but when I opened it all I saw was a confusing mess of wires and little colorful, metal cards. As soon as I even touched the screwdriver to the television I was electrocuted.

I heard the girls screaming, but they sounded so far away, a roaring sound was drowning them out. I saw Mandarin and Makoto having a double wedding, Maddox having going with his date to prom. A laughing baby with a green tuft of hair; all the things I'd miss if I died right now. Thank Glob I survived.

I lied on the floor taking deep breaths. "Mom! Mom!" Mandarin cried, "Mom! Please! Are you okay!?" She apologized over and over and then I finally replied, "I'm calling a glob blob repairman!" Makoto screeched with laughter, Mandarin gave her a dirty look so she sulked off to her bedroom. I stood up, called the repairman so that Mandarin could see, then ordered her to bed as well. "You're first day of school is tomorrow and I will not be embarrassed by having you fall asleep in class!"

I took a shower and immediately afterwards I had to hold my little Maddox. I felt so guilty for almost leaving him behind with his crazy sisters.

In the morning I saw the girls were up and talking about something on the couch together. Mandarin looked upset and Makoto was deep in thought about whatever the subject was.

"What's wrong, girls?"

Makoto jumped off the couch, surprised, "Nothing, Mom! We're, um, just nervous about school, right Mandarin?"

"Yeah.." she replied halfheartedly.

"Hmm..Well, did you eat breakfast?" I was slightly suspicious, but two little girls couldn't possibly be up to anything too terrible.

"We don't have time, Mom!" Makoto argued. Then the school bus honked, so I guess she was right, and she bounded out the door. "Come on, Mandy!"

I hated that she called her Mandy, where did she even learn that? I've always called her Mandarin. Anyway, Mandarin sulked after her and they were off to their first day of school!

"Will! I'm going out to book some shows!" I called to him. He was cleaning up after Makoto in the dining room and then he was probably going to start writing. Maddox was sleeping, so there was nothing better to do. I'm ready to be at the top of my career, this is moving too slowly.

"See you soon!" I pecked him on the cheek and called the car service, they arrive pretty quickly so I waited outside. 

I did audition...

...after audition.

I made every audition! I wasn't even that tired, surprisingly, so I decided to work for some tips. I wasn't going to make any money doing anything else that day.

My new title as an "elder" definitely wasn't going to slow me down! Nothing but the grim reaper himself can stop me!