THAT'S MY KID in the TiN fOiL hAt

That's My Kid in the TiN fOiL hAt
Book One
of the
Institutionalized Trilogy


Chapter One:
Lost in a Sea of Mystery


Be strong and take heart. All you who hope in the Lord.
Psalm 3 1:24



act I

"Again, I fear I've driven my father to distraction!" Chortled Erin Christen Stufflebeam.

"OH GEEZ, DOO-DOO!" Laughed Poppy P in her unusual, squeaky voice. "What now?"

"Same old bull! He persists that I get my brain checked!"

Poppy P almost had a disaster with her phone. "I need to know what he said. Have you gone completely insane in his eyes again?"

"Nah-Dah! He defined it as "ape-sh*t!" The girls laughed at the same time!

"I need to talk to Erin as soon as you're done!" Pepper P this time was insistent!
Poppy P waved a hand to show her appreciation.

Since third grade, Erin had been best friends with the squeaky Pompadours twins.

Poppy P and Pepper P both had a peculiar, high-pitched squeaking voice caused by their Paleo-dwarfism, which sounded similar to chipmunks under the influence of helium.

The twins sang Christmas carols door to door, causing the entire town to erupt with laughter.

Their chubby freckled faces, thick round shades, and long Savonarola scarlet braided pigtails blended well with their unique twang as they grew older. Some trouble makers at school called them 'Little Poppy Short Stockings and Pulley.' That didn't sit well with the twins!

It did consequently, make Erin's day! "Oh my gosh! Honestly, who cares?" It was her usual comeback.

That was back in the day!

Both twins have good hearts and good manners. At Bentley Labs for Kids, they had matured into mature thirteen-year-old Junior Cadet Scientists.

When compared to her accomplice, Erin was the polar opposite. She was the tallest student in her class at a staggering six feet three, thanks to the odd genes she inherited from her father. They hardly topped four feet in height.

"Guess what, y'all!" Inquired Erin in her thick Danish accent.

"What?"

"You're both the most fabulous, girlfriends that I have ever had!"

"Oh, Doo-Doo! We'd be lost without cha!" Chuckled Poppy P.

"I want to talk to her when you're done!" Demanded Pepper P a second time.
With an unnatural grin and a snap of her middle finger, Poppy P responded. "This means stop!" She growled with a whisper.

In the dark, Erin found herself alone, baffled, and lost after the power was cut out. "OH... CRAP!" She screamed.

"What the heck!"

"I feel the power is going to go out!" Erin said in an irritated tone. "The lights are flickering!"

"I'm worried about you! Are you OK? Where's your Dad?"

"Dad isn't home yet. I should be fine."

Following a lengthy break, there was a loud shuffling on the bedroom ceiling.
Poppy P was even more perplexed since she could clearly discern the veiled sounds through her cell phone.

It was unclear to Erin if she had heard it or not. She waited with silence and patience at her side.

"Are you there?" asked Poppy P, in a caring, concerned tone. "ERIN!"

"Hush! Wait a minute!"

There was a sudden gasp, followed by numerous loud thuds and shuffling,
"No… fricking way!" Erin whispered to herself.

A little pause sent a shiver through the warm July night, like the thin fingers of some tempted mistress devouring her nightly prey.

"HOLY CRAP!"

"ERIN?"

{{{{{{{ KA-LAH-BOOMMM! }}}}}}

"What the hell was that?" Erin pleaded.

"ERIN? WHAT'S WRONG... YOU'RE SCARING ME!"

"WHAT! WHAT HAPPENING? WHAT'S WRONG!" Pepper P cried out in the distance.

There was another long pause. Then, without warning, it happened! A massive crash thundered above as a hail of soot-blackened fire bricks from the chimney exploded everywhere, scattering endlessly across the front lawn. With that, Erin let out a horrid scream; as her cell went dead.

"ERIN!... ERIN, YOU THERE?" Poppy P shrieked, with no response in return.

"DAMN!" She quickly yanked her favorite purple windbreaker off the wall hook and turned to Pepper P. "SOMETHING HAS HAPPENED TO DOO-DOO! LET'S GO!" They both darted from her room and flew downstairs, nearly knocking over their mother as they both shoved by.

"WHAT THE HELL, PIPSQUEAKS!" Mrs. Pompadours exclaimed. "Where in the hell are you two kids headed at this time of night?" The back door slammed with no response. "SPOILED, TURD-BIRDS!" The mid thirties aged lady bent down and retrieved the few rudely knocked papers from her hands. "Those two have serious psych issues!" she mumbled.

The girls stumbled through the dark until they had reached the old red barn. Poppy P smacked her right little toe on a boulder near the pathway's edge. "AHH! DANG... STUPID... JACK- ROCK!" she screamed as Pepper P let out a laugh.
Hurts, huh!"

Poppy P froze briefly, then slowly turned. "WHAT THE HELL DO YA THINK... DIP-SHIP!" she hollered!

Just then, the main doors of the entrance came to a close. "HEY... POPS!"

"WAIT! GO AROUND!" he growled in a deep, rustic voice.




Novel in process edit