Gen 2 - Chapter 1: The Beginning and an End

(A/N: Before I get started into the actual story, I gotta say that I messed up in my notes at the end of last chapter. Tony's new trait is mean spirited, not hot-headed. Now we may continue with our regularly scheduled programing!)


Heiress. It makes me sound like some rich, snotty brat, doesn't it?
I think it does, but that's what the strange woman, Estiu Calent, called me. An heiress to a gift. Pretty cool, but kind of weird. Anyway, so.. I'm unsure how to do this, because it's been my Mom doing stuff here for ages. First off, the name's Lyric Parodi, and I'm nearly a young adult. The third of six kids.
The thing I want most in life is going to be a rough road to get to, seeing as how I'm much more musically inclined than artistically, but I want to master painting and writing. Quite a dream, huh? Looking at me, you'd think it'd be something more like.. I don't know, having a vampire or a ghost for a husband. I'm not that goth or emo, really, I just love the reaction I get when people realize I'm not depressed or angry. I'm friendly, and flirty, and I adore my family. I want one of my own someday, but that's a little far off. Y'know? I have to live my life first, and I have plenty of plans for my life yet. First off, actually learning to play the drums well. Seriously, I started playing and I sounded like someone over-stuffed a cupboard with pots and pans, then opened it and let them all crash to the floor.


My family.. if I said they were like any ordinary family, I would be lying. Really. Take my Mom for instance, she's nearly ninety years old, but half the time I find her exercising in front of our stereo. In the middle of the night. She doesn't sleep at night, she usually sleeps during the day - it's weird.
And there's Rhett.. Mr. Perfect. I love him, but sometimes I just want to rip my hair out and throw a hissy fit because he's just.. so.. freaking.. PERFECT. Honestly, he charms all the girls at school, is super-popular because of our celebrity status - even if he and I are only two-star, Mom's a four-star - and yet at the same time, manages to be freaking smart. Not a genius, but being a loner, he likes to hide away in some dark corner and do his homework. How can he manage to be a ladies' man and a loner at the same time? I really don't know, but he's exceptionally good at both.


Oh, and can't forget our stalker-paps. I don't remember her name, but she's our most recent stalker. Pretty lady, and my nerdy little brother Feliks seemed to notice that, so when he saw her on the lawn he had to go outside and say hi. That boy might be the most normal of us.. except, no, he really isn't. He cleans up after the rest of us like a maid, even though he's not that much of a neat freak. Guess there's not that much for a kid to do around our house? I thought there was plenty, you know, since we had a TV. Well, actually..


None of us really touch the TV because of Dad. He's terrified of technology, and seriously throws a tantrum whenever we use the TV. Oh, the stereo is fine, but the TV is devil spawn. Yeah, he's another of the weirdos in my wonderful family. No, I am not being sarcastic, they are wonderful!
He's not my real Dad, but my biological Dad died before Rhett was born. I wasn't even one yet at the time, so all I remember about my real Dad is snippets of his voice, and I'm not even sure if I remember that right. So, this Dad, Jett, is the only Dad I've ever known, and I love him. He is one of the weirdest of us, though, I gotta say. He's a vegetarian for one thing, and I can't imagine not eating meat. Then there's the technology thing. There's other stuff, too, but I'm not here to describe my family in one fell swoop, right? There's also Tony, but.. we don't really get along much, because he's turned into a jerk now that he's in high school.


See what I mean? Loner ladies man. Sitting in the hot tub alone with a creepy smirk. I'm sure he was just dreaming about what he'd do with Mildred in that tub.. yuck.



I think Dad might have dementia or something.. whatever he has, you'd think that Mom would have it instead of him, since he's barely an elder. Whatever it is, it's really a good thing he married Mom when he did, because I don't think he could handle living by himself. When at work, he's very professional and good at what he does - I should know, he's my art teacher. But when at home.. he doesn't have very good control over his bladder, and listens to music that isn't there. One time, we were all going to bed, and since the door to Mom's special room is gaping wide open, I glanced in and saw Dad standing there, bobbing his head and patting his leg. Approaching him, I looked in to see if Mom was still playing the drums, to see she wasn't. "Ummm.. Daddy?" I started hesitantly, then looked to him.
He looked over at me, but continued to bob his head and pat his leg. "Oh hi Lyric. Heading to bed?" He obviously saw that I was in my nightgown - I preferred to change into my pajamas before I got to my room, since I share with Rhett. Talking about awk-ward, changing in front of your ladies' man brother..
"Yeah. Uh.. what're you listening to?"
"The drums. It's very good, wouldn't you agree?"
Errrrr. If I could hear it, I'd have probably agreed, but.. "Daddy.. no one is drumming."
He stopped moving to the imaginary music, before looking at the drumset, then at me, his eyebrows raised in surprise. "So they aren't! Thank you for telling me. Now I feel silly.." he laughed, then moved over to me and gave me a hug. "Goodnight, sweetheart. Sleep well."
"G'night, Daddy, you sleep well too. Try not to listen to imaginary drum music too much more, okay? It freaks me out a little."



The day after the imaginary drums incident, was the worst day of my life so far. That morning, I decided to get started on my writing. I'd already painted a little, but had yet to even touch a computer except for school. I knew exactly what kind of a book I wanted to write - a sci-fi. But other than that, it was escaping me. It took me a long time, before I finally came up with a title at least, that immediately made me decide it was a sci-fi/humor: "3168: The Return of Disco." Yes, I am serious! It's never been done, and I wanted to write something that hadn't been done yet. It's bound to be short, but maybe I can squeeze more out of it than just disco.
While I was writing, Tony decided to use my easel and paint a version of the painting I'd already painted. Really? I had a feeling it was just to irritate me, because he also wasn't artistic. It might've been because he wanted the computer, and decided that if I was gonna be on his favorite thing, he'd be on mine. That's how his brain works.



Rhett had other plans for the day. He'd been wanting to go to a game at the stadium for ages, and he wanted to do something with Mildred, so he invited her out to the stadium to see a game with him. She said yes, but he noticed that she sounded less.. flirty on the phone than she had before. It concerned him, and before he left, he brought it up to me, being the only older sibling he has in the house. "Mildred and I are going out.. but she didn't flirt with me on the phone. Do you think maybe she lost interest?"
I sighed in frustration at my brother. One minute he had confidence out his ears, others he had no confidence at all, and he gave me whiplash. Turning to give him a reassuring look, I shrugged. "Rhett. If she accepted your invitation to go out, she's interested."
He half smiled, then went back to his sulky pout. "Yeahbut, we're just going to a game. That's not a real date, Lyric! What if she just wants to be friends?"
"If she just wants to be friends, then go to Katina. You know she likes you. I've always liked her better than Mildred anyway." I said, rolling my eyes slightly. Katina was a sweet gal, and babysat Feliks when we were gone to China. How could I not think that she and Rhett would be so much cuter than Rhett and Mildred? Also, she didn't have an old lady name.
Rhett didn't like my answer though, and glared at me. "Real sensitive, sis." Then he turned and left. Hey, he asked me for my opinion, and I gave him my honest opinion. I knew Mildred wasn't any good for him, all she wanted was a cute, perfect boyfriend like Rhett.


Turns out, Mildred had aged up the day before, and that's why she wasn't flirting with Rhett. She only accepted, turns out, because she and Rhett were close friends; completely oblivious to Rhett's feelings for her. I felt really bad for my brother, but at least this way Katina had a chance with him, 'cause he didn't want to date a young adult while he was still a teenager. Not wanting to be rude, he still went on the date with her, but knew that it wasn't really a date. Poor guy.


Rhett's date just got worse and worse as the day went on. The game was awful, the Llamas lost by a lot, and Mildred kept commenting on how one of the players was 'so hot'. That made Rhett decide then and there that he wanted to be a sports star, because obviously girls went gaga for them. Then, after the game, they were standing around outside, and someone passed away from old age right in front of everyone. As soon as the Grim Reaper had done his job, he turned to Rhett, and stared directly at him for several moments - it's a good thing my brother isn't a coward, he'd probably have fainted. Instead, he tried to ignore the cloaked figure, but he couldn't quite when Grim finally spoke. "I must be going now.. I have a party to get to. Someone there is expecting me - you might know her, Rhett Parodi." Then he vanished, and Rhett rushed home immediately, afraid he knew exactly who Grim was talking about.
As soon as he burst in the door, he rushed to where I was in the kitchen, doing dishes. "Where's Mom!?" he gasped, trying to catch his breath.
I spun around and stared at him, and I gotta admit, I lost a little bit of strength in my legs at that and leaned against the counter. Nothing should have freaked him out that bad, if it had to do with Mom on her ninetieth birthday. "She's at a party being thrown by Vladimir Schlick. Why?"
"Be.. because the Grim Reaper said he had to go to a party and collect someone I knew!"




It was just as we feared. While Mom was about to serve grilled salmon for everyone, she felt a tingling, and the next thing anyone knew, she was floated and there were sparkles everywhere. Then she was a ghost. According to everyone there, they could really tell she didn't want to go, first of all judging by the look on her face..


And second of all, the way she ran and got in the elevator as soon as she saw the Grim Reaper, clicking the button for the lobby. It would almost be funny, if it wasn't that Mom was dying. But Grim just followed her, and got in the elevator with her, telling her that she was being silly. If I know Mom at all, which I do, she probably glared at him for the entire ride downstairs, pressed against the wall.



Meanwhile, at home, both Rhett and I knew exactly what was going on. Not only had we figured it out from what Grim had said to Rhett, but we felt like some part of us was being ripped out. We sought out Dad, and told him what was going on, and that he needed to get to Vladimir's as soon as possible, because Mom was dying alone, without us. He didn't even have time to get dressed - having been in the hot tub - as he got in our Sloppy Jalopy and sped to the apartment. Just in time to see Grim confronting Mom in the lobby. "NOOO, SEAN!" Dad sobbed, and reached out towards them, but was unable to do anything. I wasn't there, but Dad said that Mom fought 'til the end - even after running from the Grim Reaper, she fell to her knees upon seeing Dad's reaction, and begged for Grim to give her just a few more days, she wasn't ready to go, she still hadn't seen Feliks become a teenager. But the Grim Reaper is heartless, and with a wave of his scythe, she was gone.



Dad.. did not handle it well. He stood there in the lobby for several minutes sobbing, before trying to get Mom's urn from Vladimir, but the vampire refused to give it to him. Which just broke Dad's heart even more, because if we didn't have the urn, we wouldn't see Mom's ghost. After that, he went straight home and stood in the living room for several moments, hands over his face, bawling into them. I wasn't there, I'd had to go to work, but Rhett was there, and so Dad told him what had happened, then told him he was going to bed.


Except, Dad was so heartbroken he refused to get in Mom and his bed, and got in mine. As Rhett walked in, he stopped a moment and stared at Dad. "Dad.. what are you doing?"
"I can't.. I can't get in that bed, Rhett. I can't handle it. It smells like your Mom.. it reminds me of her. Everything about it reminds me of her. Sean told me that Lyric was an 'heiress' of some sort, when she gets home, can you tell her that she can have it?" he mumbled, sliding himself under the covers, pulling them up over his head. Rhett told me that it was heartbreaking to watch. After that, he stepped out of the room to call me and tell me everything.


I waited until work was done to break down, but as soon as I stepped foot out of the mausoleum, I couldn't hold it back anymore, and stood there sobbing for several minutes. How could this happen? She was so healthy.. in so much better shape than most women her age! It was unfathomable, and I couldn't handle it. I didn't feel like going home, sleeping in what was once her bed. I wished right then that I was a vampire, because if I was, I could go to the little hang-out area below my feet and sleep on the vampire bed and never go back home and deal with it all. But I was.. kinda sorta the woman of the house now, and I knew Dad wasn't going to be up to dealing with everyone. I would have to take on the responsibility of taking care of everyone.


And I was going to upload a video in memory of my Mom to here, but I just can't get it in, so I'll put the link here instead. In Memory of Sean. It's rather long, because there were a lot of pictures.. and the songs were long.

(A/N: I got seriously frustrated with this chapter. I spent literally all day on it, trying to get that stupid video to upload to YouTube, which I managed, and then to put itself into this post. That refused to happen, so after like, an hour, I gave up. Sorry the chapter is short, but I mainly just wanted to get it out. Jett refused to sleep in his and Sean's bed at all after she died, so I switched bed colors for them. The whole, Sean-dying-at-a-party-then-trying-to-run-away-from-Grim was pretty hilarious, and made me not cry at her death. Oh, and Grim ended up in the bathroom instead of the kitchen where Sean was, too. Yeah, it was pretty eventful. The next chapter should be longer, I hope.. Lyric's pretty interesting to play.)