Scheming

            Even with the prestigious title of heir under my belt, I got my kicks the same way at home. I enjoyed telling Gloria just how boring she was and making messes for Freddie.

            Not to mention making fun of Freddie’s new ‘friend.’ What a weirdo!

            Unfortunately for me, it was going to be harder to pick on Gloria with little consequence. She aged into a teenager with strong resemblances to my twin. I wondered about Aubrey. She’d been at a friend’s house.

            Keeping her place as my favorite sibling, one of Mom’s coworkers brought Aubrey home on her birthday.

            She and Mom got into a shouting match on the front lawn. It would have been entertaining to watch, but I was preoccupied by building a relationship with Finch.

            Turns out the old guy knows about video games.

            We found out the next morning that Aubrey was grounded from leaving the house, even for school. Seemed a bit unfair to me, but Mom was the self-proclaimed genius.

            At school, my cousin Kylie invited Fredick, myself, and Gloria over for dinner. As much as I would have loved that snooze-fest, I had other plans.

“Where are you going?” Freddie asked when I started leaving them behind.

“Nowhere you need to know about. Cover for me, okay?”

“Whatever. I’m not always going to help you out, loser.”

“Have fun sucking up to Auntie!”

            I took the bus home and then ran to the festival grounds before Mom could catch me. I didn’t want her to have any clue as to what I was up to until it was too late.

            Finch mentioned that he worked at a concession stand during the summer festival. I had asked him why and he said to make sure he still gets out. So, even though he had a crappy job, he was still most likely rich.

            “Hey Finch, remember me?” I asked. The ridiculousness of the question made him smile. “I thought I’d come by and brighten your day. Must be pretty boring with all the rain.” We then went on to have a thirty minute conversation about the weather.

            I made sure to make him laugh more than once. Every time he did, he leaned in closer, which I took as a good sign.

            While I was trying to build the beginnings of a relationship (no matter how inappropriate the age difference was), good old Freddie was practicing the guitar at Kylie’s. Gloria managed to make me snicker when she later told me how uncomfortable he looked.

            When I noticed Finch start to look at the door more frequently, I knew I had to wrap my strategic visit up quickly.

            “You know, I’m about to be an adult, Finch.”

“Is that so?” he asked, keeping his eyes adverted. At the time, I didn’t even bother to wonder about his orientation. Sometimes I forget that people cling to silly things like gay or straight, instead of just doing whatever would help them succeed furthest.

“Yeah, my birthday is actually tomorrow. It’d mean a lot to me if you came.”

“I suppose I could check my schedule. Perhaps I’ll rearrange a few things.”

            “Thank you so much!” I gushed and then went in for the hug. Finch might as well have had my ring around his rich rich finger at that point.

            Later that night, Mom called me upstairs. Sighing loudly, she started to break the news of my being heir. “Francis, you will be an adult soon, so I might as well inform you now. Mother has very vocally announced you as the next heir.” I tried to hold my grin in. “I am very sorry, but I do not have much information to give you. I suppose you could try to move out if you do not wish to bear the title.”

“No Mom, I’ll do it. I’d much rather take the responsibility than to force it on one of my sisters or brother.”

            Apparently, my response was the correct one. Mom smiled and looked quite relieved. She went over the few rules she was aware of, like how I’d have to change my last name to DeMarco and how I could never move off the property. It was when she was warning me about what it was like to have the witch and Grandma in your head that Aubrey walked in.

            “So you get to be heir? Says who?”

“Grandma decided it,” I answered, concerned over her anger. It wouldn’t bode well to have one of my only friends dislike me.

“That’s just crazy!” she spat out and I held back a laugh at her choice of words. “You already get to be the only one who looks human, and now you get the house and money too! This is bullshit!”

            Mom intervened. “Calm yourselves!” She then turned to Aubrey. “Please have trust in that you do not want to be heir. It is very unsettling to have them in your head.”

“There’s already people in my head.”

“Do you have room for two more?”

“I guess not.”

            Aubrey started to walk away. Mom gave me a loud lecture about how it was my responsibility to take care of all my siblings. Just because Milton and Lois found roommates didn’t mean everyone would be so lucky.

            My dear sister interrupted the little lesson, shouting at no one in particular about how it was all their fault. “If you weren’t here, then I’d have room for the witch and I could just fish all day!”

            When I got away, I took time to reflect. The only place I could be alone was outside in the rain, but that didn’t matter. The dark did not scare me. And I wasn’t going to melt in water.

            So far, my plans were exceeding my expectations. My next step was to have a birthday party.