Lucas’ Revenge

Lucas’ Revenge

A short story by
Emily W.

It was the last straw.  She had really scared him that time.  Lucas pounded on the door, using every insult in his narrow vocabulary.  His twin, Amy, sat peacefully inside, her precious R.L. Tankard novel regained and open.  After five minutes of futile pounding and yelling, Lucas gave up and slinked to his room.  The bathroom door remained locked.  Scores of seething thoughts rushed into his mind at once.  How could she trick me like that? He thought furiously.  All because of her stupid book.

Behind the closed door of his room, Lucas lost no time in devising a retaliation strategy.  The main thing, he thought, is to use the enemy’s weapon against them.  He and Amy both knew that she was the smarter one.  There was, however, one loophole.  She was also good at scaring herself.  During the few moments that the book had been in his possession, Lucas had sneaked a peek at the page she had book marked.  One phrase caught his eye.  Like the sound of a big piece of raw meat being flung to the floor.  His mind was working swiftly.  He remembered that his mother had put a big beef roast on the counter….

The moon rose to its full height, thrusting aside wracks of clouds, and shining thin bands of blue light through the window blind.  Lucas’ trap was set.  Amy had whipped to her room the moment he had turned his back.  The book was locked in a chest, and barricaded with a general assortment of boxes and chairs.  That didn’t matter now.  Let her think I want the book, he thought gleefully.  Lucas glanced around.  His parents had already gone to bed.  He sneaked to the living room, and flicked on the TV.  Then he cranked up the volume.  After a few seconds, the audio muted.  An ominous silence filled the house.  Stealthy footsteps approached Amy’s room, and then SPLAT!  A huge, raw piece of beef roast rolled into the room.  The sight was unbearable.  Hiding behind the wall, Lucas bared his teeth, trying to make his voice sound horrific.  “You’re next.” A hearty scream broke out from somewhere under the covers.  Lucas flew to his room, dove under the covers, and pretended to snore.  Just as he suspected, his sister came bursting into the hall, wild-eyed and gasping.  He stifled a giggle.

The next morning, the family sat around the breakfast table.  Lucas gulped down his cereal, and downed his orange juice with one swig.  Amy sat playing with her Fruitee-Os.  She stared suspiciously at her full glass of apple juice.  Her father glanced at her, annoyed.  “What was that scream for last night?  Nobody broke into the house.”  Amy blushed a deep shade of rose, but said nothing.  Lucas’ face paled slightly.  He suddenly remembered that the meat was still on the floor.  Oh, great.  “May I go to my room?  I’m not hungry anymore, “ he stuttered.  His father nodded.  Lucas whipped up the stairs like a frightened mouse.  He grabbed the squishy roast, rinsed it vigorously under the bathroom tap, and wrapped it in some loose-leaf from his room.  He hastily stuck it back in the freezer.  That was too close.  Lucas wiped the perspiration off his forehead.  He tried to step casually down the stairs.  He could hear Amy whining.  He stepped into the kitchen to see his two parents glaring at him.

Lucas’ explanation tumbled out in haphazard fashion.  Every second, his father’s eyebrow rose higher and higher.  Finally he shouted, “You did WHAT on the floor?”  He stomped upstairs and opened the freezer lid.  “Lucas!”  Lucas cringed.  Now I’m done for.

Amy smiled smugly as Lucas forked over his money to a man at the door.  The man wearing a one-piece gray suit with the words, “Stevie’s Steam Cleaning” embroidered on it.

“There’s a stain on the upstairs hall carpet,” Lucas mumbled.  The man plodded obligingly up the stairs with his portable steamer.

Amy rolled her eyes dramatically.  “You better think next time before you roll meat on the floor, meat-head.”  Lucas grumbled something under his breath.

“Hey!  No name-calling!” came their mother’s voice from the kitchen.  She appeared with flour all over her apron and hands.  “Amy,” she frowned.  “No reading that book for a month.  Got it?”  Amy’s sarcastic grin dropped, replaced by the hanging jaw of disbelief.  Lucas chortled.  Suddenly his heavy punishment was all worth it.