Alex woke up to see Allen above him, crying all over him. "He's awake" Alec cheered in the background.
"You sure?" Louis's voice.
"Dude! You've been blacked out since yesterday. It's Tuesday afternoon bruh, and Mr. Mistard said no classes because of what happened to Brick." Alec smiled an ugly smile.
"Mom, Dad" Alex mumbled.
Alec smile faded. "What about them"
"Mom, Dad"
There was a slight knock on the door and Alec opened it Mr. Mistard stood in the doorway.
He looked grimmer than usual. Today he wore black and had a sad frown on his face.
"I'm sorry to inform you but, your parents…. they have passed away"
Mr. Mistard held out a newspaper to him. Its headlines read:
COUPLE SLICED INTO PIECES IN THEIR APARTMENT"
Alec burst into laughter after reading the whole article. "Now that's a good joke"
"I wished it were, boy. They were killed in their home at Rise Estates. Sliced into pieces. Reports say…."
The door was shoved right in Mr. Mistard's face as it was closed. Alec stood shivering at the door. He turned to face his brothers.
"Who was that" asked Allen.
Not even a squeak came from Alec's mouth.
"What happened. Tell me!" Allen demanded.
"Mom, Dad, gone" Alex slurred.
A piercing feeling stabbed Alec's heart when he thought of his loving parents. His father, an honest lawyer with a lot of flaws including his over-persistent clumsiness. His mother, a teacher to kids from one to three years old at the small nursery she owned, who always dressed in a yellow sundress that matched her perfect grey eyes. Her special recipe for Jollof rice that no one in the world will be able to reproduce. The two sitting together on the dining table munching on their favorite food of all time; cereal with strawberry milk.
Then the unexpected happened.
A tear trickled from Alec's eyes, followed by a sob as he fell on the floor crying hysterically. Allen just stared at him and also started babbling in tears, guessing what had happened.
Alex laid on his bed moaning quietly, in his own form of grief. He hated the thought of having no parents.
Having no one to smile at you, make funny jokes or tell sad stories for you to try to respond emotionally to it. He had honestly enjoyed the attention.
Now they were gone. Gone to never return.
Gone to never give him a smile, or give make Allen feel better after an outburst or to pat Alec on the back when he gives Mr. Grefriender a dollar from his allowance each day to help him buy a new mat on the street.
Gone forever.
Louis just stared, confused. "You mean your mom and dad are gone. Like gone, gone?" he placed his hand over his mouth. "I'm so..."
"Shut it and leave. Leave now!" bellowed Alec in rage. Louis stood also enraged.
"You shut up you…"
The door opened slowly again. Mr. Mistard's face appeared at the doorway again.
"Louis" he sighed. "Your uncle and aunt are gone. Died the same way the triplets' parents did. They lived in the same neighborhood. There's a killer abreast. It's news from your dad. Sorry kiddo" He shut the door slowly and walked away again.
Louis just glared at the door. Alec calmed down.
"I'm so sorry. It's just…. I have never done that before. I'm confused. Anger is so uncontrollable. Sorry about your aunt and uncle. I'm so…"
"I'm going to my room" Louis waddled away, still stunned by the news.
Alec shot him a smile and he smiled back, flushed with joy as he pranced back to his room.
"How do you do that" asked Alex.
"How do you tell people to hang themselves and they actually do it" Alec said.
"Why what happened"
"You made Brick kill himself bro"
"I did?"
"Duh. Yeah, you did. You told him to go hang himself. Go look at his body now. Remember when you told everyone to shut up in the hall and they actually shut their mouths up. The whole school was quiet! So, we're freaks now?"
"I don't know. I figured it out years ago though. I just never told you" Alex said plainly. "Remember fifth grade. Ms. Goordle? Well, I told her I liked her name better as Ms. Google, and that's what she called herself."
"Wait, Ms. Google was called Ms. Goordle?"
"Not the point. See, it happens on people sometimes, not all the time, and unfortunately it doesn't work on anyone related to me"
"Yep. Now I understand why you got in trouble after telling Uncle Ferdinand to pour his cereal in his goatee when he visited us for thanksgiving"
"Guys!" screamed Allen. "Who is going to take care of us now? Now that Mama and Papa are gone."
"I don't know, ok!" cried Alec. "Nice Monday, right? Our parents dead and Alex's somehow a murderer and suddenly we're all freakier than we were before."
"Speak for yourself. I'm not a freak. I can't do any of them stupid ability thingies." bellowed Allen rubbing the tears off his face.
Louis waddled out of the room again. "Mr. Mistard called. You have a visitor. Put on something nice and let's go."
"Why do you have to come?" Allen stared suspiciously at him.
A suspicious look was shot right back at him. "Because I have to make sure this is not a plan for you guys to escape"
In the hallway stood a large man with a large and messy black beard which matched his black eyes. He kept tugging at his overalls that were a size too small. His dark face shined in the room and his smile made the room look jolly in spite of the black color that filled the room. He held a carton of eggs in his left arm, a gallon of milk in another and there was a large box with holes all around it in front of him. The boys forgot all their problems when they saw him.
"Uncle Kwame!" beamed Alec as he rushed to give his uncle a hug. He was gifted with a smell of wet dog and tomatoes as he hugged his uncle. "How is the farm?!"
"Kwashi!" his uncle skreiched in his loud voice. "The farm's fine"
Alec smiled at the mention of his pet name.
"Sorry about your parents' kids. Your Aunt's broken by the news. She couldn't come, but she sent you these eggs and milk and…. the thing in the box. I heard you have someone who's supposed to care for you. Where is he?"
"At the doorway sulking." said Alex.
"Call the fella in here. I want to see him. I want to ask of your cousin. He works here"
"Our what?!" Allen's mouth dropped.
"Your cousin Louis. You met him? Your aunt brought him some goodies too. I sent that to the secretary. She said she'll get it to him."
"Louis! Please get in here." Alec said.
Louis walked inside grunting. Then his mouth dropped open at the sight of the bulky man who stood in the hall.
"Uncle Henry?" he tilted his head. "What are you doing here. Did you hear about Aunt Emma and Uncle Nathan."
"Those names are our parents'!" said Alex. "Louis, you're our cousin? Why didn't I figure this out, with that phone call and all. That means the headmaster is our uncle. Mom has only one brother and that's Uncle Ferdinand, who doesn't have children. The headmaster's Uncle Alford I reckon, Papa's brother. The one who exiled himself from all of us. We've never met him. That's why our parents brought us here. Uncle Alford must've convinced the judge to send us here somehow."
Louis looked uneasy. "My dad told me to lie about my last name in front of you. He told me it was just a coincidence that we had the same surname. I'm very confused. I'm actually called Louis Alfredo Kobla Ashish."
"We need to confront him" Alex sighed.
Their uncle then said "I got to go kids. I didn't know he ever kept this from you. I thought you guys knew all this time. Good luck with my brother. He can be stubborn, my younger brother. Your parents' will said that he'll be your next guardian. He'll also keep your inheritance until you guys are old enough for it. Stay safe. I have to catch my flight before I'm late. Call me later. Bye! Enjoy the dog!" He then rushed out of the room leaving everything on the floor.
"The dog? Which dog" Louis wondered and stared at the box. He crept to it and opened it.
A puppy jumped out of it and Louis fell down, the puppy licking his face.