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DISGRUNTLED: The Lewis Applewood Story
Episode 1: The ReportLewis was not happy. Perfection was his creed. Heads were going to roll. How dare anyone try and pull a fast one on him.
"Look at this report!" Lewis erupted, expelling a warm mist into the air. "I don't know where to start! One, it was late, two, it doesn't even include the information I requested and three, the wording is completely juvenile. I want this rewritten and on my desk by 9 pm tonight, and that's final mister!"
"But dad, I wanna play video games!" A high pitched, eight year old voice, shouted back.
"Billy, you don't seem to realize that shoddy work like this will not be permitted." He responded, firmly.
"I liked you better when you worked in the city. I'm going upstairs to play with my Wii!" Billy said.
"Well, that isn't an option. Wait, play with what?" Lewis, stopped.
"Nintendo Wii, dad. What did you think I said?" Billy said, throwing his arms up.
"Oh, right. Nintendo Wii, of course." He said, realizing he almost prematurely opened Billy's eyes to one of the perks of being a male. Forgoing the right of passage that each boy must learn on his own, like a lone astronomer in a darkened observatory, discovering a new star.
Burning up in the atmosphere, Lewis' wandering mind plummeted back to his body on Earth.
"The family must realize that our home is my office from now on, and If I'm going to make this work, I need the WHOLE family's cooperation." Lewis said, in a tired voice, as if he had given this speech a thousand times, much like an amusement park roller coaster conductor instructing passengers. He could have been saying "Keep your arms and legs inside the car at all times, thank you for visiting Lewis Applewood's life, hang on tight and enjoy your ride."
With a frown, a short burst of air from his nostrils, and a groan of defiance, Billy crossed his arms, jerked his body away from his father and stomped up the stairs to his room. Lewis was left with a look of defeat on his face and the incomplete report in his hand. Team morale is at an all time low, he thought to himself, looking down at the crinkled report, written in crayon and including words like 'poop' and 'stupidhead'.
Lewis dropped his arms to his sides and with a sigh, looked up at the ceiling as if he were expecting God to say "I told you so."
He walked through the kitchen and down the hallway to a small room connected to the foyer, which he referred to as his office. He opened two French doors, revealing a small 'study', too small to be the base of operations for a business. Although it did have a window where he could watch the other fathers playing catch with their kids. One of the glass panes had been cracked when Lewis slammed the doors after his six year old daughter, Sarah, had missed the quarterly luncheon due to a nasty case of the chicken pox.
When venting his frustrations, the two beautiful French doors provided no privacy from the rest of the household. Billy and his sister Sarah found this out coming home from school one day. As they walked in the front door, passing by their father's office, both paused and looked at each other peculiarly. Taking a few steps backward, looking through the panes of glass, they witnessed their beloved father, pounding on his desk and throwing papers up in the air. Realizing he was being watched, Lewis, shaking the deer in the headlights look, composed himself and stepped out of his office to greet his children as if he had spent all day not being a complete failure.
I like your description of the home, I feel like I'm there.
Posted by S_Hhager
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