Dennis walked out of Elliott’s bedroom. He could hear music playing from the living room. He didn’t understand why anyone would play music at a time like this.647Please respect copyright.PENANAq80VDie1Pg
Dennis really badly wanted to be with his mother. He wanted to tell her not to worry about anything. He also wanted to tell her that he had changed.
And he had. Only hours earlier, Dennis did not want to be around anybody. And he now wanted to be with everybody.
Or, almost everybody.
Almost instantly after he walked out of the bedroom, the Anderson Girls walked down the hallway that led to the bedroom. They all grinned as they saw Dennis.
“Well, well, well,” Dory said. “Look’s like somebody decided to come out for some fresh air.”
“He doesn’t have any fresh air available at his broken down home!” Callie shouted.
“Daddy’s broken down home,” Lily corrected her.
“Daddy’s broken down home!” Molly shouted.
Dennis rolled his eyes.
“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Dory asked. “Did you get your tongue caught in a door?’
“It’s not like he’s going to need it,” Elsie said. “He doesn’t have any friends to talk to.”
“Yeah,” Robbie said. “Nobody likes poor people.”
“Nobody likes poor people!” Molly shouted.
Dennis cleared his throat. He was ready to lay some facts down.
“You can torment me all you want,” Dennis said. “But I no longer care. I have changed.”
“Changed what?” Dory asked. “Your underwear?”
“No,” Dennis said. “My personality has changed. I will no longer take any offense by any of your rude comments. I am no longer unhappy about being a poor person.”
Dory got a strange look on her face. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“I’ve been depressed for most of my life,” Dennis said. “I’ve always thought that there was no point in talking to anybody because they would be just like you: snot-nosed bitches that think poor people are scum.”
Dory chuckled. “Call us whatever you want. It will never change the fact that poor people are scum.”
“You may think that,” Dennis said. “But most people don't. I just realized it tonight. There are many people out there who actually care about the non-wealthy.”
“Like who?” Dory asked, grinning.
“Alan Freeman and Luis Elliott.”
The girls all laughed.
“He’ll never learn!” Callie said.
“I’ve already told you, Dennis,” Dory said. “Elliott does not give two craps about people like you. And Freeman is a loser who nobody liked except for your dumb ass father.”
Dennis took another breath.
“You know, when Freeman was about ten years old, he could scare the living daylights out of anybody because of his size. I’ve seen pictures of him. You’d crap your pants if he’d ever confronted you.”
“We don’t wear pants,” Dory said, placing her hands on her hips. “Only dresses.”
“Pants were made for men, dresses were made for women,” Callie said.
“Dresses were made for women!” Molly shouted.
“Whatever, I don’t care,” Dennis said. “My point was that Freeman was huge as a kid, and he scared anybody who even tried to be mean to my father for being poor. And Elliott tried to stick up for him as well. People do care about poor people, and Freeman and Elliott are only some of those people.”
Dory closed her eyes and pretended to yawn. She obviously wasn’t getting the message.
“I’ve learnt another important lesson tonight,” Dennis said. “In a way, I’d much rather be poor than rich.”
The girls all howled with laughter.
“I can not believe he just said that!” Poppy shouted.
“He’s such a dumb ass!” Lily shouted.
“Like father, like son!” Heidi shouted.
“Like son!” Molly shouted.
“Why in the hell would you ever think that?” Dory asked, chuckling.
“I’ll tell you why,” Dennis said. “Look what being rich has done to you! Your parents give you whatever you want, and it’s turned you into spoiled, rotten brats!”
“Yadda, yadda, yadda,” Dory said.
“Look at yourselves!” Dennis said, “You are dressed like spoiled whores!”
The girls all looked down at there dresses and looked back up sternly. They all folded their arms.
“We are pretty,” Dory said. “I already told you that. And I told you that our family is genuine and it’s because of our Daddy.”
“That’s another thing!” Dennis said. “You talk about your father like he’s some sort of God. I know very well that the only reason that you ‘love’ your father is because he gives you whatever you want. You don’t love him for who he is.”
“Our Daddy is the greatest man to have ever existed in the history of the human race,” Dory said. “That’s why we love him.”
“I love my father as well,” Dennis said. “But the reason I love him is because he cares so much about me. It’s been years since I’ve told him that I love him. I feel ashamed of myself for it. All these years he’s tried to show me what a good father he is to me, and I’ve never shown him that I respect him because of that.”
The girls all stared at him strangely.
“As I said,” Dennis continued. “I am not unhappy about being poor. And I will not take any offense to anything you say. I have changed."647Please respect copyright.PENANAGJ9QBdwDh7
Dory grinned. “You’re so full of crap. Nothing you just said made any sense. Get it through your head. Being rich is better than anything else and poor people can go fall into a hole.”
“You might as well go give your speech to a wall,” Callie said. “Nobody else cares about it.”647Please respect copyright.PENANA6G2JtAngyU
“The wall wouldn’t even care about it,” Elsie said.
“The wall wouldn’t even care about it!” Molly shouted.
Dennis shook his head. Trying to establish a point with the Anderson Girls was impossible. It was better to just get rid of them.
“By the way,” Dennis said. “I heard your mother talking with someone. Your parents have some sort of surprise for you in the backyard.”
The girls all got a look of excitement on their faces.
“Really?” Callie asked.
“Cool!” Lily said.
“What’s the surprise?” Dory asked.
“Beats me,” Dennis said. “You may have to see it for yourself.”
“Oh boy!” Elsie shouted. “I can’t wait to see what the surprise is! Maybe it’s another horse!”
“Or brand new wardrobes!” Callie said.
“Brand new wardrobes!” Molly shouted.
“Screw waiting!” Dory said. “Let’s go see what it is right now!”
“Yeah!” Heidi said.
The girls all excitedly skipped to the backdoor, still shouting ideas about what they thought the surprise was. Dennis followed behind them.
The girls opened the glass door leading to the backyard and walked out onto the porch. They all looked around in confusion.
“I don’t see anything,” Dory said.
“I know, right?” Dennis said. The girls all quickly turned around and saw him quickly close the glass door behind them and lock it.
“Hey!” they shouted.
Dennis smiled at them through the glass and said: “Did you know that if you say ‘gullible’ really slow it sounds like your saying: ‘SYKE!!’”
Dennis busted out laughing and walked off. He could hear the Anderson Girls screaming and pounding on the door, but he just ignored them.
“I should have thought of that long ago,” he said to himself.
Dennis walked in the direction of the living room, ready to give his explanation about how he had changed to somebody that actually would listen to him: his mother.
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