"WHY DO YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO MAKE SUCH A MESS!"
Those were the words that rang in my ears as I cleaned the house, my grumbling matching the mechanical hum of the vacuum cleaner.
For the longest time, I'd always been labelled as the messy kid, and I hated it.
Sure, I wasn't the tidiest kid in the world, but I wasn't as horrible as everyone made me out to be.
Besides, I'm twelve! I'm supposed to be messy.
But apparently my mom did not share that point of view.
That much was confirmed when she screamed at me this afternoon about how untidy I am.
Normally, after my mum was done screaming and ranting, I'd just go back to playing video games. But today, today I decided there was gonna be a change. I'd make my mum finally admit that I was clean.
I turned off the vacuum cleaner and looked around, beaming with pride at how spotless the house was.
I looked at the clock; 7:30pm.
Mom would soon be back from her weekly yoga class and when she sees this, she'd eat her words.
This calls for a reward. I thought to myself.
I dashed upstairs to my room to play video games and await my dear mother.
After a while of playing my favorite video game, I was just grinning like a fool.
First, I was gonna prove my mom wrong and now I'm about to beat my high score. This day just kept getting better.
I was desperately tapping my gamepad when I heard a loud crash downstairs.
BANG!
I dropped my gamepad in shock and my character died.
Game over. The screen read.
My groan of frustration was cut off by another crash.
What the heck was going on?
Was there a burglar??
I tiptoed down the stairs, peering down the railings at the living room
Nothing was there, just two broken vases.
Wait...
Those were my mum's favorite vases!
I ran to the scene ignoring all caution
No no no no no no no no
So much for my mom saying I'm tidy
now she's gonna break me just like these vases
CRASH!
Another sound, this time from the kitchen.
Picking up my bat, I darted to the kitchen.
If I could knock this intruder unconscious and take him prisoner, I wouldn't have to face my mom's wrath.
I rushed in expecting to surprise the intruder but what I saw stopped me in my tracks.
It was the culprit; but it wasn't human.
I watched as this...creature rummaged through the fridge.
I first thought maybe it was a weird looking raccoon, but raccoons didn't have 4 arms and scales.
Now I wasn't a biology expert, but even I knew that this wasn't a normal animal. That could leave only two options.
Either this thing was from Australia, or it was an alien.
I let out a gasp and the alien turned to look at me. It's large beady eyes staring into my soul.
I don't know why I hadn't screamed yet. Maybe because I had watched too many horror movies.
Either way, I was still scared. But I was more scared of my mom blaming me for the broken vases. So I swallowed my fear and tightened my grip on the bat.
Whatever this was, I'd capture it.
The alien let out a shriek that sounded like a mix between a broken lawnmower and an 80 year old Chainsmoker and it darted to the living room.
"No way, I won't let you get away." I said to myself as I ran in pursuit.
It tried to escape through the windows, but everything was locked. It was pollen season and I always lock everywhere during this period because of my allergies.
It was trapped.
It thrashed around the living room, growling and shrieking like a rabid dog. It jumped from table to couch to curtain, ripping everything to shreds,
I tried to catch it, but it was too fast; like a squirrel on steroids.
After a while of both of us playing cat and mouse, the alien ran upstairs.
I looked around at the wave of destruction this thing left behind. Now it was personal.
The upstairs corridor was cold and silent as I tiptoed through it, searching intensely for any sign of the alien.
I was about to give up when I heard a faint beeping. It was coming from my room.. I peeped through the keyhole and there it was. Sitting on my bed, it's beady eyes were staring intently at a device.
This was my chance, it was way faster than me so I had to take it by surprise, I tightened and grip on my bat and barged in, screaming like a maniac.
My surprise attack worked, the alien was too startled to move.
With one whack of my bat, it went flying and the device it was holding rolled to my feet.
I picked up the device. It was shaped like a small remote and it had a circular display that was divided into 8 smaller segments. Six were lit up and the seventh was blinking.
The recovered alien shrieked at me and started jumping about, tearing apart my room.
I watched as this little freak ripped apart my blanket,my backpack and – oh no, it was heading for my PlayStation!
I bolted to try and stop it, but I was too slow. Within a few seconds, my once pristine and gorgeous PlayStation was shredded.
My heart dropped. I let out a defeated "No..."
Memories of what I had to do before I could save up to buy that console came flooding back.
Cleaning dog poop, scrubbing toilets, washing my grandma's feet...
I cradled the shattered remains of my PlayStation and anger consumed me.
"You break my toy? I break yours!" A guttural scream escaped my lips as I slammed down my bat on the device. i
It scattered into multiple pieces.
The alien shrieked as if in pain and rushed at me, But I was prepared. The fury I felt gave me a strange calming effect and gave me strength I never knew I had.
I planted my feet, arms squared, eyes focused as if I was about to hit the home run, and with one heavy swing of my arm, the bat connected with the alien's face. it crashed against the wall and landed with a heavy thud. It's body went limp.
Victory.
I quickly bundled up the alien in some clothes and took it downstairs to await my mom. If she saw this, she definitely won't kill me... Right?
Then I heard a knock on the door.
We weren't expecting any visitors so I wondered who it could be.
Opening the door revealed two large men in suits, they had on shades that were darker than the night sky.
One of them held up a badge. It read "CIA".
Immediately, I knew what they were here for.
After a while of searching the house, one of the agents came from upstairs with the pieces of the device in a plastic bag. "House is clean." He declared.
"What exactly is that thing?" I asked, pointing to the remains of the device.
"That was a homing beacon. If it had finished counting down, it would've sent a signal to the alien's home planet. And they would've invaded Earth." The first agent replied.
"So... I saved the earth?"
"Quite possibly."
"We'll take our leave now." The second agent said.
"You're not gonna erase my mind? Don't I know too much?" I asked.
"No need, no one will believe you anyways. Thank you for your service."
And with that, they left with all traces of the alien.
I plopped on the mutilated couch and let out a deep sigh.
Wow, I just saved the world. I started to laugh and cheer. But my jubilation was cut short as the door abruptly opened. It was my mom.
At that moment, my mind came back to my surroundings. My horribly vandalized surroundings.
Crap.
Her eyes scanned the living room, widening with each blink.
I closed my eyes and prayed to God for mercy as she screamed the words I dreaded.