The Mishappening

“No, that’s okay,” Marinette said with a nervous smile. “I want to watch it, I promise.”

Alya gave her friend a scrutinizing gaze before shrugging her shoulders. “Okay, but if at any time you want me to turn it off, for any reason, just let me know.” She got up, put in the DVD, and turn off the light, setting the atmosphere for them before reclaiming her seat.

“All right,” Marinette said, nodding her head. Despite their agreement, Marinette had no intention of telling Alya to turn off her movie. Worst case scenario, Marinette was planning on looking away from the screen or closing her eyes, but she wouldn’t make her friend turn off the movie for her.

The opening theme of the movie suddenly thundered from the television, and Alya already seemed fully immersed in the movie. Marinette’s eyes drifted to the screen, where a moving van had just pulled up to a two-story house out in the suburbs. Rather than being isolated from the rest of the street, though, the house sat right in the center, albeit on a fairly larger lot of land than the others. As it shifted screen shifted to the family members for their on-screen introductions, Marinette tried to give the movie her full attention, at least for now. It’s for Alya, she thought to herself. In one of the upper-story windows of the house, the curtains seemed to move ominously as the family started grabbing stuff to bring inside, almost as if the house or something in it was watching and judging them, trying to decide who would be its first target. The answer came immediately. “I hate this place! Why’d we have to move here?” the teenage daughter pouted. Whatever was in the window seemed to take offense to that, the casement windows upstairs blew open at the same time a wicked breeze blew. Come on, Marinette thought, how did they not notice that? At that same time, unbeknownst to either of the teens on the couch, the twins’ bedroom door cracked open just enough for the duo to sneak out and close it, scrambling to their hiding place to spy on the girls and watch their movie.