"Yes. Mr..Hocoogle..No Hortoogal...Horcotoogal?" My mom said as she switched the phone to her other ear, holding it against her shoulder.

She thrust Piggy (he has some other name but I can't bring myself to call him anything but piggy), my baby brother into my arms. He was screaming. In fact he was crying so loudly I was surprised the person on the other side could hear my mom. Feed him, she mouthed to me. Mom was talking on the phone with some tutor, who she thought could help her with her english. Her english isn't that bad...but she thinks there’s always room for improvement.

I propped Piggy on his high chair. He hates sitting there. He opened his mouth to let out another barbaric cry, but I took to opportunity to shove some of the cereal into his mouth. But then he wouldn't close his mouth. He cried with his mouth open and his cereal dribbling down his chin. I set the bowl of cereal aside and shut his mouth for him. He wouldn't swallow it and kept on crying, even as I held his lips together.

He would have swallowed it if Mom hadn't interfered and pushed me aside.

"FINN! GET YOUR STUPID BUTT OVER HERE!" That was my older sister. I knew why she was calling me. I had used her white eye shadow to make myself a beard for our play at school. I wasn't going to glue cotton balls to my chin, like my teacher had suggested. Besides her eye shadow smelled nicer.

"DON'T SHOUT! NOREEN! YOUR GRANDMA IS SLEEPING!" yelled my mother (louder than my sister).

"Mom she's deaf" I reminded her.

I didn't bother to go upstairs and get yelled at by Noreen. I didn't have to. She came downstairs, with her very-little-eye shadow.

"Do you torment me on purpose!?"

"Yes I do. But I didn’t use your eye shadow to torment you."

"THEN WHAT DID YOU USE IT FOR? You don't even wear makeup."

"I needed it for my rehearsal. I was Santa Clause."

"Santa does not wear WHITE EYESHADOW!!!"

Then I ever so calmly explained to her that, he does have a white beard. She didn't take that too well.

"MOM SHE USED EYESHADOW....that I bought with my own money FOR A BLODDY BEARD!"

She rarely pays for her stuff, so the things she has, that she has bought with her own money are apparently more precious that Princess Diana's wedding ring.

My Mom just said "Finneesa Whylma Bruntis!"

Then she told Noreen to take the whole dilemma to her father.

Noreen reminded her he was at work, so she said to tell Nana.

"But she’s sleeping"

"THEN WAKE HER UP! I'm busy with the baby."

I think the idea of telling on her younger sister to her deaf Nana through sign language, didn't strike Noreen as very appealing so she climbed back up the stairs, to slam her door very loudly.

The house shook slightly, but it’s been bearing Noreen's door slamming habit for quite a while now so I think we were ok.

"I think I'm gonna go see Milly, mom" I said very quietly. I knew Mom couldn't hear me over Piggy's wails, but that was her problem. I had to let her know…even if she couldn't hear me.

I took in the air of freedom when I finally got out of my noisy house. Though it was just as noisy outside because Romeo and his wife Juliet, from next door were having a very, very loud argument in their backyard. The whole street could hear it. The only reason I think they got together was because his name is Romeo and her's Juliet. Never in my fourteen years of living next door to them, have I ever seen them laughing or smiling when they are together.

I crossed the street went over to Milly's. Her oldest brother opened the door. He had been away for some time, I remembered Milly telling me he was coming back.

"Milly here?" I asked him. He yawned showing me his multi coloured teeth, then he scratched the hair on his chest for a minute or so, I think he'd been sleeping. He looked over my shoulder and just stood there, looking into nothingness. Eons passed by but he stared, at I don’t know what.

"MILLY!" I screamed. I hoped she could hear me. I tried looking past her brother but his belly filled the entire doorway.

"Yes?" Milly's head popped up behind her brother’s shoulder.

"MARCUS MOVE IT!" Marcus seemed to get back to earth.

He grunted and shoved passed me. He walked onto the street, bare foot and without his shirt, the whole time playing with his chest hair. Even Romeo and Juliet stopped their gibbering and stared after him.

"You coming in?" asked Milly completely ignoring her brother's weird behavior.

I nodded, my chin still hanging loose.

Milly's room is small and very cramped, she shares it with her little sister Jenny. It's probably the messiest place next to our kitchen. The best way to picture Milly's room is to imagine Emerald City, except of it being green its a of burst of bright sparkly pinks.

"I seriously think Romeo needs to find another Juliet and Juliet another Romeo." I said to Milly as I threw a disgustingly pink pillow at her.

"Yes. But apparently, that's not how the story goes so they're gonna have to kill themselves to rid of each other." said Milly throwing the pillow back at me.

Then I sat up.

"What's up with Marcus?"

"He was drunk." she answered.

"Oh."

"And how's house of terror? Did Noreen notice her eye shadow?" she asked.

I nodded.

"..and?"

"Well she isn’t exactly a creative person so...I think she prefers keeping eye shadow as eye shadow."

------------------------------