The Cousin's Clue Crew (Chapter 1)

 

*Disclaimer*: This is a work of fiction. Some events may be based on real life, but some events are made up.

Nabal stood in front of the judge. The judge said, "I am sentencing you to jail for life." Nabal sighed in his heart, outside, he looked tough (or at least he hoped so). Three guards led him out side and into the prison, which was practically his home, since he was in there so often.

Meanwhile, for the Lee family: The ride home from Japan was exhausting for the whole party. Mingmei kept excitedly jabbering about her new home over the racket of the other plane passengers. Clara and Isabella put on their earphones and privately texted each other. But even with their high-tech earphones, Ava had won for them from a competition, Mingmei’s voice could still be heard over the noise and everything. 

“This is going to be soooo exciting,” Mingmei went on ranting, her calm stature seemingly fading to reveal the more exuberating side of herself, “We can all be besties, oh we’ll have so much fun, Clara, you can teach me how to bake those crazily delicious cinnamon rolls, Isabella, we can hang out in the tree-top canopy, oh I can’t wait to get to my new home!” 

“And I can’t wait for you to shut up,” Isabella snorted, “Now can you?” Clara patted Mingmei on the shoulder, leaning over her overwhelmingly stuffed seat. Then turning to Isabella, she frowned. “I still remember when we moved to this house and you were bouncing your head off and visiting the new farm every single day! So there! Mingmei has every bit a right to be happy moving to our house, right?”

“Well I have every bit of right to be annoyed, right?” Angrily, Isabella unbuckled her seat belt, and moved down the aisle towards the homogeneous restroom. A flight attendant quickly tapped Isabella on the shoulder, “I’m sorry, but you have to stay in your seat.” Isabella frowned, plugged in her earbuds, and started scrolling through the movies.

Mingmei put her face in her hands, tears trickling into her cupped hands. Clara quickly whispered to Mingmei, “Don’t feel bad, she’s just jealous about how much attention you’re getting and that you’re much more excited. She’s also jealous that you have your dad. You have to try to stay out of her way when she’s being a grump.”

Apparently, Isabella heard the last part about, “Being a grump.” Her eyes started flaring wildly, and she leapt out of her seat. The flight attendant started protesting, but Isabella pushed past her, and towards the restroom. She heard the attendant telling her to come back, and her mother’s admonishing voice came to play, but she ignored them all. Running into the airplane's bathroom, and her fingers swiftly darting around the lock, shutting the door, Isabella looked around.

Isabella

“Come back, Isabella. You’re embarrassing the Lee family.”, my mother’s voice floated through the wall. “I won’t”, I said, my temper flaring. And then I just started to grow angrier and angrier. I had to bite my tongue to stop from yelling at the top of my lungs. Finally I couldn’t stand it. I let out a shriek. Outside of the bathroom, I heard Ye Ye. Uh oh, I thought. That meant that I was in big trouble. Kicking Clara in Japan had been one thing, but shrieking on a plane in public was another thing. I heard a knock on the polished marble door.

When I didn’t answer, Ye Yes said in an icy calm voice that I knew oh so very well. “Isabella, open this door now!”  I didn’t know what to do. I knew that this voice meant that if I didn’t obey… I didn’t even want to think about it. As slowly as I could, I reached my hand over to the golden brass knob and opened the door. “Good”, Ye Ye said. He stepped inside.

“What do you want,” I asked angrily, trying my best to keep my fear locked away. “I need you to go apologize to the flight attendant.” YeYe looked at me in the eye with his piercing cocoa-colored eyes. I glared at him. I was not going to apologize to YeYe and especially not that flight attendant. Why should I? Why should I do what he told me to do? Why should I even listen to him anyways? Why should I even listen to anyone, especially that stupid flight attendant, and especially that horrifying Mingmei who only cared about herself!

“Now, Isabella, I’m counting to three,” YeYe said calmly and smoothly. “One-” -My glare hardened- “-Two-” -I opened my mouth- “-Thr-” “I don’t listen to you anymore!” I screeched, rattling the whole plane. People gasped from outside the bathroom, and the blinding white square-shaped lantern swung back and forth, the speed egging me on. “Now, Isabella, calm down,” YeYe said, his eyes blazing, his face reddening, looking like a thin, scraggly, humiliated apple. Very humiliated indeed.

YeYe’s eyes started watering. I started intensely glaring at him. “Leave,” I said, my voice booming and echoing throughout the plane. I heard a gasp. Probably that dumb flight attendant. “Apologize.” I could hear the fume in YeYe’s voice, the thundering rage descending upon me. But I would feel his wrath no longer. Instead, he would feel mine.

“Everyone!” I called, pushing past YeYe, and stepping out of the bathroom. The people around me shuffled closer. “I’ve got something to tell you. My grandad is the worst person ever!” A small chuckle and a few frowns arose from the crowd. YeYe put his hand over my mouth. “Ah, ah,” I fake screamed, purposely making my voice sound muffled to further humiliate YeYe, and make him seem like the villain here. (Of course, I’m not saying I’m the real villain, I’m just saying people have to understand that YeYe is the real villain.)

Suddenly, Clara walked down the aisle toward me. I stared at her. “C-can w-w-we talk in the bathroom?” she asked, in a quivering voice. I felt that she was a little hurt. I didn’t know if I should or shouldn't answer at all even, but Clara's voice made me have to agree, “Fine! What do you want?” I asked grudgingly, the bitterness in my voice startling her. 

Clara jumped. From knowing her from birth, I knew that Clara was a very energetic person, but she was also very sensitive and hated it when people were mad at her. She was the meekest person on earth when someone was angry, even if they weren’t angry at her. I guess she wasn't the only one who had changed, I thought. Clara was also a girl who served others, with angry people anyways. 

Clara paused. “I’ll tell you when we’re alone.” Then speaking loudly, at least for her, she continued, “Now, please, don’t try to get anything else out of me until we get to the bathroom.” I frowned, and just for the sake of my temper, I said, “I will not go into the bathroom, where YeYe is.” Even though YeYe was just behind me (standing in the bathroom doorway) and hearing every word of our conversation, I pretended he wasn’t there; I pretended he was at the bathroom past my family, the bathroom past the resting center in the middle of the plane, and past all the back passengers. I pretended he was at the very back bathroom, the unsanitary bathroom, the emergency bathroom. 

When I looked back at Clara, she had tears in her eyes. Clara’s reaction made me have weird feelings in my stomach. I was really annoyed and why did Clara have to be such a cry baby? But then, she hadn’t used to cry much, had she? Well, at least in my hearing, anyways. I scowled. 

“Well, just a sec.” Clara said. She walked over to where we had been sitting earlier. She tapped meany Mingmei on the shoulder and whispered something to her. Then meany Mingmei walked towards her parents and sat down, tears springing down her face. Clara came back and said, “Okay. Can we do it where we were sitting earlier?” 

I paused. Should I say yes? I mean, Mingmei wasn’t there anymore but she had been there and what if other people heard us? I mean, Clara would tell you otherwise, but I was a little embarrassed, so I could pretend to be really reluctant to stop at least during the airplane ride and then continue when we got home. 

           "Fine, if you really want to." I said, in a voice that I hoped sounded as if I was bored. She nodded,  with a little uncertainty. We walked to our original spots, me glaring at everyone around me and Clara staring at the floor. 

“Isabella, please, please, can you at least be natural for the rest of the plane ride? Please?” Clara said when we sat down. Her body shook with emotion (Clara is a very emotional person) and she looked pale. “Please,” this time, Clara whispered the words. 

“Fine, I don’t care if you like Mingmei more than me. You can be friends with a million Mingmeis' for all I care, I’ll just quit being your friend and find some other person who doesn’t ditch her friend for a stupid little cry baby,” I said. The truth was, I did care. A lot. 

           

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