074 Rules

"Listen you rats. This is not your momma's and appa's room. This is my room and there are some rules to follow here." The moment our parents left, Anuchi's true colour came out. She held her head high and hands behind her back while ordering the kids.

I stood behind her and nodded vigorously. In this room, if Anuchi is the queen, then I am her commander.

"Rules?" Piya asked.

"Yes. First of all, when you return from school, you have to change and put your uniform in the laundry basket. If you don't follow this, I will kick you. You have to put all your dirty clothes in the laundry basket. Otherwise, I will kick you."

"Keep your school bag near your table. Finish your homework before dinner and prepare your bags according to the timetable before sleeping. Otherwise, I will kick you."

"Fold your blanket in the morning. Also, wash your feet before going to bed. If you fail to do it, I will kick you."

Anuchi started reciting her rules one by one. All the rules ended with a kick.

I was feeling happy.

For the past year, I was the only one suffering under her tyranny. Now that I had more people to share the pain with, I was feeling a lot better. I finally understood why people said that sharing reduces pain.

"Also, if you put even a bit of paper on the floor, I will kick you. All the waste should go in the waste bin."

Anuchi finished the rules.

Actually, those were the rules our parents put for Anuchi. Except for the kicking part. They never threatened her with punishments. She was a good girl who didn't have to be threatened with punishments.

"Woowuwu..." Doodu said something.

"Yes. Pichu, you are not allowed to steal Doodu's snacks." Anuchi ordered Pichu.

He nodded. But I was sure that he was still going to do the same.

Doodu has the habit of hiding his snacks to eat later.

Mom doesn't like it.

It regularly gets stolen by the squirrels and Pichu. Mom scolded Doodu many times. But there is no change in his behaviour.

Ohh... That's another happy news.

I am no longer the only one who gets spanked by mom. Doodu slowly grew up to be a naughty boy. He was also gets scolded and sometimes spanked by mom. The only issue is that Doodu is too expressive. He would become sad within seconds and mom was weak to his sad face.

"Now, both of you, press my leg." Anuchi sat on the bed and ordered.

Our little tyrant started showing her true colour.

Pichu and Piya looked at each other. Then they started massaging her leg.

I know how Anuchi got this idea. We all massage Jeemma's foot. It is the easiest way to make her happy. Somehow Anuchi had the idea that it is the right of the elders to get their feet massaged by the younger ones.

Anuchi continued ordering the kids around. I walked out of the room.

"Appa..." I went to Dad.

"I told you." Mom said.

"What?" I wondered what she said.

"Well... I told him that you would be the first to come looking for Dad."

"Why?" I didn't understand. Do they really have that high expectation of me?

"Come here dear. How was your first day?" Appa dragged me to him before Mom replied.

"It was good," I answered while trying to find a comfortable spot in his lap. He waited patiently. The elders knew my habits. I finally sat while leaning against his chest. That's my usual way when I am with Dad.

"Did you make new friends?"

"Not yet. But I will make more friends tomorrow."

"Did you eat the lemon rice?" I asked. Mom always packs lemon rice for him when he is travelling.

"Yes. It was tasty."

"What did you bring for me?" I asked the important question.

"You little rascal... Is that why you came looking for me?" He pretended to be disappointed.

"Hee hee hee..." I laughed stupidly.

Mom passed a packet to Dad. I snatched it from him and opened it.

"Hmm?" I was confused. There were some butterflies, a necklace and a set of bangles.

"It's not mine." I returned the bag to Dad.

"It's yours. The butterflies are for you. The necklace and bangles are for your friends."

"But I have more than two friends. If I give gifts to only two of them, others might become sad."

"If you have so many girlfriends, whom are you going to marry?" Dad decided to tease me.

"All of them," I replied without any hesitation.

Mom chuckled.

"Listen to me son, learn from my experience. Even one is more than enough." Dad decided to tell a bad joke.

Mom's face darkened. Poor Dad, he continued playing with me without even realizing that he had offended Mom. In the past few years, he became a lot better at handling us kids. But his habit of saying things that offend Mom hasn't changed a bit. But it's not my problem to worry about.

"What is this butterfly?" I checked out the butterflies in the bag. Those were beautiful colourful plastic butterflies of different sizes.

"Check the other side."

I checked the other side. There was something like wax behind it.

"Can I stick it on the walls?" I asked excitedly.

"Yes, dear. Did you like it?"

"Yes. Thank you." I was happy. Those plastic butterflies could be stuck on the wall. I liked toys like these.

But mom's turned darker. I getting those butterflies means that she will have to clean the marks left on the walls by the glue.

"Appa..." Anuchi came running and launched herself at Dad.

"Ouuu... girl I told you many times not to do this. You are growing up. You are stronger now." Dad caught her.

"No no no no...." The kids came running. I didn't know what they were disagreeing with.

I didn't like it.

I was sitting peacefully in Dad's lap. Then the three rats came to disturb our peace. I decided to kick them away.

"If you kick them, I will spank you," Mom warned me even before I made my move.

"Eeekk..." I was startled. I don't know how she does it. But I am 66% sure that she can read my thoughts.

The little ones also climbed on the lap. Doodu rested his head on Dad's shoulder.

"Amma..." Pichu signalled Mom with his hand asking her to join us on the lap.

"Not now. I have work to do."

"She is shy. She will sit in appa's lap when we are not looking." Anuchi explained to Pichu.

I struggled not to laugh.

Dad brought crayons for the kids. Mom's face darkened further. He also got a new bow and arrow for Anuchi. As for Doodu, Dad got new shoes that made a sound when he walked.

We kids loved the toys he got for us. I don't know how he became so good at bringing gifts for us. But I was pretty sure that mom hated all those toys.

Dad's going to be in real trouble soon. But that's not my problem to worry about.

I decided to ignore the dark fate of Dad while competing for space in the lap.

_________________________________

Thanks for the support.

Sorry again for disappearing.

I have been trying my best to return to my old frequency. I even have themes for the next 6 chapters ready. But I barely find time to write it. When I finally get time to write, I would be dead tired.

In other updates,

I am still working as a teacher. I travel to multiple cities in my state to teach. It is fun. I truly enjoy exploring the food of each city.

We are still looking for arranged marriage proposals. I have talked to many girls. Recently, I started sending the link to the book from Amazon to those girls. That way, even if the marriage didn't happen, I could get more readers for the book.

Thanks again.