What really makes a bad day “bad”?
It could be one big, dramatic event that defines the trajectory of not only the day, but many of the others following after, like losing your job or getting your car stolen. Even a less impactful, less dramatic even can at least resonate enough to really ruin your day enough to put you in a sour mood, at least until you can sleep off those frustrations and wake up to a new sunrise and a clean slate.
Mikayla wasn’t interested in anything like that. Sure, it’d be relatively easy to trash Brooke’s car, or get her canned, or…well, suffice it to say, she could think of a lot of pretty horrible things she could do to absolutely wreck her big sister’s life.
But Mikayla wasn’t really out for blood or anything like that; while Brooke got all up in her business all the goddamn time, she was still her sister, and demolishing her way of life seemed…well, awfully petty, to say the least.
Plus, she still had to live with her, and her job paid better than Mikayla's gig at the coffee house, so it was probably not in her best interest to rock the boat too much.
When it came down to it, she just wanted to find a way out of doing the chores.
And she seemed to have found it! At least, she thought she had, it’d turned out to be just a bit more complicated than she’d anticipated. But once she’d figured out (well, hypothesized, but same difference) that Brooke’s mood was the determining factor in how susceptible she’d be to accepting bribes in exchange for chore amnesty, she couldn’t help but give it a go a few days later.
So, again, what really makes a bad day “bad”? It could be one BIG thing…or it could be a lot of little things. Things that, on their own, don’t amount to much at all.
But all together? Now, that might just be enough to make the difference…
Mikayla sat on the couch, sipping her coffee as she reveled in the shitshow that was sure to commence any minute now. She’d had to sacrifice some sleep to get up early enough to carry out her plan, but if she’d done it right, it would all be worth it in the long run.
She glanced up at the clock on the wall. Brooke should be out here any minute no-
“Grumhpm…” Brooke grumbled to herself, dragging her feet as she tottered into the living room from their shared hallway, her messy brunette hair emblematic of her having just woken up. She made to head for the kitchen, before she noticed Mikayla sitting down in front of the tv. “Mornin’…you’re up early…”
“Yeah, just thought I’d get a head start on the day! Seems to work for you, so I thought I’d give it a go!” Mikayla was somewhat proud of herself for selling this excuse despite how sleepy she herself was feeling right about now. If it wasn’t for this plan, she’d be sleeping another few hours, at least!
Judging by how haggard Brooke was looking, though, it looked like things were all going according to plan. “How’d you sleep?” Mikayla asked.
“Ugh, like shit.” Brooke groused, as she made her way over to the kitchen. “Some asshole kept honking their horn last night…”
Mikayla was glad Brooke was too far away to see her cheshire-cat grin, since she was far too excited to hide it. Honking the car in the middle of the night was just the first step of many, and she went though her mental checklist as Brooke fell into the various traps she’d set up for her.
“…and for whatever reason my phone didn’t charge, so I get to go to work on 20%…”
Unplugging her phone in the middle of the night? Check.
“Ah, dammit, I thought we had some eggs left…”
Tossing out the remaining half-carton of eggs? Check.
“I guess I’ll just have cereal…wait, really? We’re out of milk?”
Check.
“Now, I know we have coffee grounds her somewhere…”
Oh, big check.
“Mikayla!” Brooke’s frazzled face peeked around the corner as she barked at her blonde sister. “Can you go to the store today?”
“Oh, sorry, Brooke, I would, but I promised Marley I’d meet up after work…I can go tomorrow?” A big, fat lie, but one she'd easily get away with.
“No, I can’t wait that long…ugh, guess I’ll have to swing by after work…” Brooke pulled out a box of Shredded Wheat and poured herself a bone-dry bowl of the blandest cereal the devil ever created. “Shit, I've gotta go soon, I’m gonna have to get Starbucks on the way over if I wanna get through the day in one piece…”
Mikayla could tell just by looking at Brooke’s beaten-down expression that, barely even ten minutes into her day, this was gonna be a rough one for the poor bottom-heavy office worker.
Which meant she was right where Mikayla wanted her.
By the time Mikayla heard her sister yell out in surprise and anger from her car (someone had turned the volume on the radio all the way up), she knew most of her work was already done. Now all it would take were a few phone calls to really seal the deal…
-
The Brooke that shuffled through the front door that late afternoon didn’t look all that different from the one that had shuffled out earlier. Bags of groceries in both hands, she kicked the door shut behind her, slamming the door hard enough to rattle some of the wall decor.
As she put away the eggs and milk, Brooke still hadn’t gotten over the awful day she’d just been put through. It wasn’t enough that she’d been late to work (Starbucks had been, predictably, busy as hell), but then some asshole had gone and called to report Brooke for theft of all things? Like, sure, she’d stolen a pen or two, who hadn’t, but…user data?! What the hell would Brooke even do with something like that?
Even after she’d been cleared (“For now”, the scary-looking Suit had added), that “anonymous source” had completely ruined any progress she’d made that week. Which meant more overtime…yippee.
After changing out of her tight-ass office getup and into her roomy jammies, Brooke dropped her big buns down onto the couch, filled to the brim with all the emotions. All of the shitty ones, anyway; tired, hungry, pissed off…
“Heeeey, Brooke! How was your day?”
…and that sure wasn’t gonna help things.
“What do you want, brat?” Brooke was in absolutely no mood for any of Mikayla.
“Oh, nuthin’…I was just about to clean up around here. Y’know, vacuum the living room, clean the dishes, do the laundry…” This was the moment of truth, where Mikayla laid it all out, where she’d hopefully enjoy the fruits of her labor. “Unless, y’know…”
Brooke closed her eyes, clearly exhausted and done with this whole mess of a day. Cooking dinner would take effort, a finite resource Brooke had very little of in reserve. This spot on the couch was hers until further notice, and she didn’t want to do anything else but…
“Fine.” Brooke grabbed the remote and clicked the tv on. “I want Oscar’s again, and-“ She felt and heard the ravenous growling of her tummy, and was sure Mikayla had heard it as well. “Gimme two large deep dish meat lover’s, extra cheese, teriyaki boneless wings…and those cheesy garlic breadsticks, for good measure. Just get ‘em done tomorrow, and leave me the hell alone…”
“Your wish is my command!” Mikayla chuckled as she pulled out her phone to order. “‘Sides, I’ve got plans tonight anyway. I’ll try not to wake you up later…”
“Yeah, whatever.” Brooke turned her attention away from the blonde brat as she scrolled through Netflix. “After the day I’ve had, tomorrow can’t get any worse…”
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