Chapter #4I thought we were family... by: Vlard   The following is a slightly altered scenario from the previous chapter.
You feel the world spinning around you until something knocks you down and you go flying. You land on a doorstep in front of a brown wood door. Getting up you feel a sense of familiarity, as if you've seen this place before but can't put your finger on it. Then the front door opened up to Al Bundy and you realized you must have been sucked into your favorite sitcom. That or you are in some type of very realistic dream or hallucination. "What do you want?" Al asks you, he is wearing brown loafers, brown slacks, a light blue button-up and a tie.
"Are you Al Bundy?"
"Yeah, what are you a debt collector. Jokes on you, I'm broke." You hear a laugh track. Yup, you're definitely on a TV show
Quickly you think of a backstory for yourself.
"I'm...your cousin... twice removed...Rocky Bundy. I-I'm, uh, traveling the country and thought I could stop by to meet some family,"
Al narrows his eyes at you a while. You can practically hear the rusty gears cranking in his brain as he stares you down. You're almost certain he won't buy it until he shrugs and says "Yeah, that makes sense."
Thank god for sitcom contrivances. You’re still not sure about how you ended up inside a TV show—something with the remote, you think—but you’re not worried. What’s there to be worried about anyway? You get to live out an episode of Married with Children. And after the show’s done, you’ll be sent back home, as if nothing happened. Just like it happened in that movie…
Wait…what movie are you thinking of? Was it a movie? Maybe it was a Twilight Zone episode. Or was it from Tales from the Darkside? The Outer Limits? Family Matters? Come to think of it, how do you even know whatever’s happening follows those rules? How do you even know there’s an end to all this? And most importantly, why are trying so hard to ruin this for yourself? You’re on Married with Children You’re thinking harder than the average viewership of the show. Just enjoy yourself and go with it.
“The hell do you think you’re going?”
The laugh track rumbles in the background as you stop heading into the Bundy house. You turn to see Al glaring at you like a hawk.
“Uh…In the house?”
“Why?”
The audience giggles
“Be…cause we’re family?”
“And? I’ve already got four hyenas squatting in there. Why do I need another one?”
“Come on, man,” Your voice cracks a little. The audience cackles at the awkward pitfall you’ve trapped yourself. “I, uh, don’t have anywhere else to go.”
“Yeah?” Al looks away to point over the fence and towards the street. “There’s a park bench two blocks down. All you gotta do is peel the homeless guy off it.”
This isn’t how you thought this was going to go, but you feel you should’ve expected it. After all, this is Al Bundy you’re talking to. He’s not exactly a people person. But if you can’t get into the house, what’s the point of getting on the show? You try to think of a better excuse, but the audience’s rancorous laughter isn’t making it easy.
“C’mon, cousin Al. Have a heart,” you say in your most flattering voice. “You know, I always looked up to you when I was growing up. Mom used to tell me stories about how cool you looked running all those touchdowns. How you stormed through those defensive lines like a runaway train. She did a decent job telling the story but always wanted to hear it firsthand from the legend himself. I’m sure you could go on for hours telling me about-“
“Alright, alright, you get to stay,” Al said, begrudgingly. “One day. And you sleep in the dog’s bed.”
“Great,” you say, smiling while trying your best to ignore the laugh track. You start moving toward the house again when you feel Al’s hand clap down on your shoulder.
“Buuuut, that all depends on if you’re willing to do something for me. Just so happens there’s…” Al trails off for a bit, like he’s trying to choose his words. “Somewhere I gotta be today. Problem is, I’ve got some stuff that needs doin’ before I can get to it.”
You see where this is going.
“Well, I’m happy to help wherever I can, Al,”
“Glad to hear it,” You almost buckle over as Al gives you a firm pat on the back. “Here’s what you gotta do…”
 indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
| Members who added to this interactive story also contributed to these: |
<<-- Previous · Outline  · Recent Additions © Copyright 2025 Vlard (UN: vlard at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.
Mr.Z has granted Writing.Com, its affiliates and syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work within this interactive story. Poster accepts all responsibility, legal and otherwise, for the content uploaded, submitted to and posted on Writing.Com. |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
More by this author