DISCLAIMER: The Mummy characters are not mine; they belong to Steven Somers
and Universal Studios. I am just borrowing them. Imitation is the sincerest
form of flattery…
Hello Mummyfans. In the tradition of the wonderful Shelby, I present my own Alex story. It will appear in serial form, I think 4 chapters ought to do it. Here is chapter one. Read, review, and write me. Praise it, trash it… I love and learn from all comments. Thanks in advance,
Jackie Donovan
[email protected]
Two Weeks
Chapter 1
It had been a long day. Just after 6pm, Rick O'Connell pulled into his circular driveway. Simon, the doorman stepped out into the gravel and Rick stopped next to him. "May I park the car for you, sir?" he inquired.
"Yes, thank you," said Rick as he got out. In nearly ten years, Rick had still not gotten used to having servants, but sometimes they came in handy. Times like this. In just over three weeks the O'Connell family was going on an extended trip to Egypt and Rick had been working overtime at his export business to get things ready for his absence. Today he had had a serious dispute with one of his buyers over the purchase of a shipment of ivory figurines. Rick did not approve of the purchase of ivory; he felt that the slaughter of elephants for that kind of exploitation was wrong and would not be a part of it. The buyer, Jones, had promised an importer a large sale and Rick refused to sign off on it. They had argued and Rick ultimately had to fire him. That meant even more work to do in the little time he had left. Tonight, all he wanted to do was eat a light meal, take a shower and fall into bed. As he swung open the front door, he was greeted with his wife's worried voice.
"Alex?" called Evy as she rushed into the entry hall. "Oh, its you…" she said.
"Ah, just what every man wants to hear when he comes home," quipped Rick.
Evy rushed to him and wrapped her arms around her husband. He returned the embrace. "So what's he done now?" he asked.
"Well, he's not home, for one thing," she replied. "And Miss Quinn called from the school again. He didn't turn in another homework assignment."
Rick sighed. He did not want to deal with this tonight. Their eight-year old son Alex had been a holy terror ever since they told him about the upcoming Egypt expedition. To add to his distraction, a traveling aviation exhibit was in town. All of the boys were buzzing about it and Alex spent most of his time neglecting his studies in favor of daydreaming about the distant past or the newest technology. School was almost over for the summer and Alex apparently thought he could coast through on the good grades he had gotten all year long. It wasn't working. Rick and Evy had instated a 5pm curfew so that Alex could be supervised by his mother during the hour they had agreed upon for homework. This was the third time this month that Alex had ignored it. "I told him three strikes and he's out," Rick said. "I'll take care of this when he gets home."
Evy knew Rick meant to spank him. "Rick, don't," she said. She only approved of spanking for the worse offenses and she didn't think this merited it. She empathized with her son—she was excited about the expedition herself and was having trouble concentrating on her work at the British Museum.
Rick released her and held his wife at arms length. "This is the third time, Evy…"
"I know," she said.
"We have to do something…"
"We will," she said. "We'll ground him for two weeks. That will take him nearly through the end of school. If he's home right after school every day and stays in on weekends he'll get his grades back up."
"And if he doesn't?" asked Rick.
"Then we'll smear him with honey and feed him to the bears at the zoo," Evy said with complete seriousness.
Rick's face took on a goofy grin.
"What are you thinking?" Evy asked suspiciously.
"Hmm. I got kind of sidetracked. Did you say something about being bare and smeared with honey? We haven't done that in a really long time…" He grabbed her and pulled her close.
Evy turned her head and pretended to fight him. "Mr. O'Connell! What makes you think I'm that kind of girl?"
"I don't know," Rick smiled. "Maybe it's because two nights ago you…"
They were interrupted by Mrs. Wallace, the cook's "eh-hem!" She stood in the entrance to dining room, looking discretely to the side. "Dinner is ready, ma'am. Shall I serve it now or will we be waiting for Master Alex?"
"We'll wait," said Evy.
"We'll eat now," corrected Rick.
"Very good, sir," said Mrs. Wallace. She hurried to the kitchen.
Evy disengaged herself from her husband's embrace and followed her, calling, "Mrs. Wallace… Do we have any honey?"
"Family obligations," Rick sighed. Between his son and his wife, he was definitely getting no rest tonight.
*~*~*~*
Alex came home during dinner. He feigned nonchalance, even acting mildly surprised and hurt that his parents had started dinner without him. They let him finish and when he asked to be excused, Evy dropped the bomb.
"Oh, Sweetheart," said his mother. "By the way, since you neglected your curfew for the third time now and didn't turn in your homework today, you're grounded for two weeks."
Alex was stunned "Two weeks!?"
"Two weeks," she said.
Alex looked at his father. "Two weeks," said Rick.
"The aviation exhibit at the science museum will be gone in two weeks!" cried Alex.
"I'm sorry," Evy said. "You should have thought about that before you broke your curfew and didn't do your homework."
"It's not fair!" wailed Alex.
"Neither is the current political situation in Eastern Europe, so in perspective I think that your not being allowed to go to a museum exhibit is rather insignificant in the grand scheme of things," his mother told him.
"But I've been planning on it for a month!" he protested.
"You have really been pushing our limits lately and it's going to stop. You are grounded for two weeks and that's final," Evy said.
"But…"
"Don't give me any ideas," warned Rick. "You heard your mother. Be glad that you're only getting grounded."
"I…"
"One more word and you're going over my knee," said Rick. Alex knew he meant it. He turned and stalked up the stairs to his room.
*~*~*~*
Alex couldn't believe how mean his parents were. They were surely the meanest parents in the world! They knew how much he wanted to go to that exhibit and some stupid missed homework and stupid bad test scores and they wouldn't let him. He had to go to that exhibit! Every one of his friends was going. There would be famous airplanes there and a dirigible and balloon rides. He had planned on it ever since he saw the poster a month ago. He just had to go! Alex knew better than to argue about his punishment. That never worked; they would only increase it and maybe he'd even get spanked. They were being so unreasonable about this school thing. There had to be a way to get them to change their minds.
Alex hatched a plan. He would be pathetic. For the first week he moped around the house trying to make his eyes as big and sad as Little Orphan Annie's. He sighed loudly at the merest physical excursion and barely spoke above a whisper. He turned down dessert every night except the one they had chocolate cake. Incredibly, none of these things had any effect at all on his parents. Were they made of stone? They even seemed amused by his suffering, though to their credit they never openly laughed at him, they just shook their heads sadly at him as if they were sympathizing. Cruel!
The second week Alex tried a different tactic. He was the most perfect, helpful, sweet boy there ever was. His speech was sprinkled with "Yes sirs, Yes ma'ams" and "I love you Mums and Dads." He did his chores without being asked. He volunteered for extra chores. His homework was done on time and done correctly. His bedroom was kept spotless. He helped his mother fix breakfast and helped his father with the yard work. He even went to bed without being told. Amazingly, still no effect. His parents were heartless.
The final weekend of the exhibit arrived. Alex was desperate. A plan had formed in his head; a terrible, awful, dangerous plan. He had refused to entertain it for days; it was very risky and his Mum and Dad would surely relent and let him go to the exhibit… but it became evident that they would not. They were as cold and mean and heartless and evidently hated him. There was only one thing he could do: he would go to the exhibit himself.
He only had a couple of days to plan. He couldn't do it Saturday because he would be with them all day. It would have to be on a school day because he would be out of his parent's sight for seven hours. That should be plenty of time to go across town to the science museum, have a good look around and then make it back by curfew. OK, so there were a few flaws. He wasn't exactly sure where the science museum was or how he would get there. Alex knew he could take the bus or train, but which one? Also, he had no money for either one, or for admission into the museum for that matter. Even if he made it home by curfew he would surely be missed at school. School would notify his parents and he would be in big trouble; probably he would get grounded for another two weeks. It would still be worth it and then it would be time to go to Egypt.
Hello Mummyfans. In the tradition of the wonderful Shelby, I present my own Alex story. It will appear in serial form, I think 4 chapters ought to do it. Here is chapter one. Read, review, and write me. Praise it, trash it… I love and learn from all comments. Thanks in advance,
Jackie Donovan
[email protected]
Two Weeks
Chapter 1
It had been a long day. Just after 6pm, Rick O'Connell pulled into his circular driveway. Simon, the doorman stepped out into the gravel and Rick stopped next to him. "May I park the car for you, sir?" he inquired.
"Yes, thank you," said Rick as he got out. In nearly ten years, Rick had still not gotten used to having servants, but sometimes they came in handy. Times like this. In just over three weeks the O'Connell family was going on an extended trip to Egypt and Rick had been working overtime at his export business to get things ready for his absence. Today he had had a serious dispute with one of his buyers over the purchase of a shipment of ivory figurines. Rick did not approve of the purchase of ivory; he felt that the slaughter of elephants for that kind of exploitation was wrong and would not be a part of it. The buyer, Jones, had promised an importer a large sale and Rick refused to sign off on it. They had argued and Rick ultimately had to fire him. That meant even more work to do in the little time he had left. Tonight, all he wanted to do was eat a light meal, take a shower and fall into bed. As he swung open the front door, he was greeted with his wife's worried voice.
"Alex?" called Evy as she rushed into the entry hall. "Oh, its you…" she said.
"Ah, just what every man wants to hear when he comes home," quipped Rick.
Evy rushed to him and wrapped her arms around her husband. He returned the embrace. "So what's he done now?" he asked.
"Well, he's not home, for one thing," she replied. "And Miss Quinn called from the school again. He didn't turn in another homework assignment."
Rick sighed. He did not want to deal with this tonight. Their eight-year old son Alex had been a holy terror ever since they told him about the upcoming Egypt expedition. To add to his distraction, a traveling aviation exhibit was in town. All of the boys were buzzing about it and Alex spent most of his time neglecting his studies in favor of daydreaming about the distant past or the newest technology. School was almost over for the summer and Alex apparently thought he could coast through on the good grades he had gotten all year long. It wasn't working. Rick and Evy had instated a 5pm curfew so that Alex could be supervised by his mother during the hour they had agreed upon for homework. This was the third time this month that Alex had ignored it. "I told him three strikes and he's out," Rick said. "I'll take care of this when he gets home."
Evy knew Rick meant to spank him. "Rick, don't," she said. She only approved of spanking for the worse offenses and she didn't think this merited it. She empathized with her son—she was excited about the expedition herself and was having trouble concentrating on her work at the British Museum.
Rick released her and held his wife at arms length. "This is the third time, Evy…"
"I know," she said.
"We have to do something…"
"We will," she said. "We'll ground him for two weeks. That will take him nearly through the end of school. If he's home right after school every day and stays in on weekends he'll get his grades back up."
"And if he doesn't?" asked Rick.
"Then we'll smear him with honey and feed him to the bears at the zoo," Evy said with complete seriousness.
Rick's face took on a goofy grin.
"What are you thinking?" Evy asked suspiciously.
"Hmm. I got kind of sidetracked. Did you say something about being bare and smeared with honey? We haven't done that in a really long time…" He grabbed her and pulled her close.
Evy turned her head and pretended to fight him. "Mr. O'Connell! What makes you think I'm that kind of girl?"
"I don't know," Rick smiled. "Maybe it's because two nights ago you…"
They were interrupted by Mrs. Wallace, the cook's "eh-hem!" She stood in the entrance to dining room, looking discretely to the side. "Dinner is ready, ma'am. Shall I serve it now or will we be waiting for Master Alex?"
"We'll wait," said Evy.
"We'll eat now," corrected Rick.
"Very good, sir," said Mrs. Wallace. She hurried to the kitchen.
Evy disengaged herself from her husband's embrace and followed her, calling, "Mrs. Wallace… Do we have any honey?"
"Family obligations," Rick sighed. Between his son and his wife, he was definitely getting no rest tonight.
*~*~*~*
Alex came home during dinner. He feigned nonchalance, even acting mildly surprised and hurt that his parents had started dinner without him. They let him finish and when he asked to be excused, Evy dropped the bomb.
"Oh, Sweetheart," said his mother. "By the way, since you neglected your curfew for the third time now and didn't turn in your homework today, you're grounded for two weeks."
Alex was stunned "Two weeks!?"
"Two weeks," she said.
Alex looked at his father. "Two weeks," said Rick.
"The aviation exhibit at the science museum will be gone in two weeks!" cried Alex.
"I'm sorry," Evy said. "You should have thought about that before you broke your curfew and didn't do your homework."
"It's not fair!" wailed Alex.
"Neither is the current political situation in Eastern Europe, so in perspective I think that your not being allowed to go to a museum exhibit is rather insignificant in the grand scheme of things," his mother told him.
"But I've been planning on it for a month!" he protested.
"You have really been pushing our limits lately and it's going to stop. You are grounded for two weeks and that's final," Evy said.
"But…"
"Don't give me any ideas," warned Rick. "You heard your mother. Be glad that you're only getting grounded."
"I…"
"One more word and you're going over my knee," said Rick. Alex knew he meant it. He turned and stalked up the stairs to his room.
*~*~*~*
Alex couldn't believe how mean his parents were. They were surely the meanest parents in the world! They knew how much he wanted to go to that exhibit and some stupid missed homework and stupid bad test scores and they wouldn't let him. He had to go to that exhibit! Every one of his friends was going. There would be famous airplanes there and a dirigible and balloon rides. He had planned on it ever since he saw the poster a month ago. He just had to go! Alex knew better than to argue about his punishment. That never worked; they would only increase it and maybe he'd even get spanked. They were being so unreasonable about this school thing. There had to be a way to get them to change their minds.
Alex hatched a plan. He would be pathetic. For the first week he moped around the house trying to make his eyes as big and sad as Little Orphan Annie's. He sighed loudly at the merest physical excursion and barely spoke above a whisper. He turned down dessert every night except the one they had chocolate cake. Incredibly, none of these things had any effect at all on his parents. Were they made of stone? They even seemed amused by his suffering, though to their credit they never openly laughed at him, they just shook their heads sadly at him as if they were sympathizing. Cruel!
The second week Alex tried a different tactic. He was the most perfect, helpful, sweet boy there ever was. His speech was sprinkled with "Yes sirs, Yes ma'ams" and "I love you Mums and Dads." He did his chores without being asked. He volunteered for extra chores. His homework was done on time and done correctly. His bedroom was kept spotless. He helped his mother fix breakfast and helped his father with the yard work. He even went to bed without being told. Amazingly, still no effect. His parents were heartless.
The final weekend of the exhibit arrived. Alex was desperate. A plan had formed in his head; a terrible, awful, dangerous plan. He had refused to entertain it for days; it was very risky and his Mum and Dad would surely relent and let him go to the exhibit… but it became evident that they would not. They were as cold and mean and heartless and evidently hated him. There was only one thing he could do: he would go to the exhibit himself.
He only had a couple of days to plan. He couldn't do it Saturday because he would be with them all day. It would have to be on a school day because he would be out of his parent's sight for seven hours. That should be plenty of time to go across town to the science museum, have a good look around and then make it back by curfew. OK, so there were a few flaws. He wasn't exactly sure where the science museum was or how he would get there. Alex knew he could take the bus or train, but which one? Also, he had no money for either one, or for admission into the museum for that matter. Even if he made it home by curfew he would surely be missed at school. School would notify his parents and he would be in big trouble; probably he would get grounded for another two weeks. It would still be worth it and then it would be time to go to Egypt.