Dance Like a Penguin

This is a Story that I did for a Contest. :)

Sophie tapped her pencil on her notebook, her lips compressed in annoyance. The volume from the TV downstairs was cranked to its highest frequency, the speakers blasting the sound through the floor of her bedroom and pounding in her ears as she tried to focus on her honor’s homework. Finally, with a huff of exasperation, she tossed her notebook and pencil on her bed and tromped downstairs; wincing as the sound from the TV became almost unbearable.

“Will you turn that down?!” She shouted at the boy that was lounging on the couch, the remote cradled in his lap. Chips and crumbs were scattered everywhere, and he slurped noisily from a can of soda. If their parents had been home, this would not have been happening, but, unfortunately, they had had a meeting and had left the two at home to take care of themselves.  

. “Trey!!!!!” Sophie bellowed at the top of her lungs when the couch potato didn’t respond. “Turn it down!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

The head of her twin brother perked up from its resting place on the couch pillows. “Did you say something sis?” He shouted back innocently, cupping his hand to his ear.

Sophie glowered at him. She rolled her eyes and grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil and hastily scribbled down in all caps “TURN IT DOWN!!!!!!”

She showed Trey the paper. He turned the sound down a few notches, but not nearly enough to dim the blaring sound.

“Turn it down more!!” Sophie shouted at him.

Trey grinned wickedly at her “You have to do the penguin dance first.”

Sophie reddened. The penguin dance had been something she had come up with when she was four. Recently their parents had discovered some old home videos sitting in the attic and had played through every one. The video with her penguin dance had come up just last week, and Trey hadn’t let her forget it since. It involved a lot of ‘tail wiggling’, hopping around on one foot while going around in a circle, and wobbling around like a penguin with her arms snapped stiffly at her sides.

“No.” She refused bluntly.

Trey shrugged “Okay then.” He turned the volume back up on his movie.

“Trey, would you just turn it down?!!!!! I’m trying to get my homework done; which is what you should be doing right now too!”

Trey turned to her with a pained expression on his face “Oh my gosh! I completely forgot about my homework… Not! Since when have I ever cared about homework?”

“Well, you should.” Sophie retorted. “Look, I really need to get this essay done, and with the sound system blaring into the heavens I can’t concentrate!”

“If you do the penguin dance I’ll turn the volume down.” Trey reiterated.

Sophie shook her head emphatically “No way hosea! There’s no way that I’m going to do it for just turning the sound down. It’s way too embarrassing. I’d rather study at Great Grandma’s then do the dance.” The twins' Great Grandma’s house always smelt like burnt cabbage, and she was constantly rambling on and on about her childhood.  They loved their grandma, but you could only listen to stories about washing clothes in a bathtub so many times, especially when you’re trying to get an essay done.  

Trey shrugged “Go study at Grandma’s house then.”

Sophie compressed her lips in a thin line. Her brother was such a pest! “You know I can’t! Grandma lives a couple hours away, and besides, mom and dad said that we couldn’t leave the house.”

Trey rolled his eyes heavenward and mouthed “Oh please.” He sighed long-sufferingly “Okay, how ‘bout this? If you do the penguin dance, I’ll turn down the volume until you finish your essay, and then give you the remote when you’re done. How’s that?”

Sophie bit her lip in contemplation. She had been hoping to catch the latest episode of Psyche by getting her essay finished on time, and if Trey willingly gave her the all-powerful remote, then it would make things infinitely better.

Trey dangled the remote in front of Sophie’s face. “Come on… you just have to dance like a penguin, and then this magical contraption is all yours.”

Sophie glared at her infuriating brother. “Okay, fine! You win!” She spat.   

She took a big breath, imagined the tune “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” in her head, and began her dance. She was amazed that she could still remember it after 9 years, but she did it. Her face was bright red with mortification as her brother cracked up hysterically as he watched her, but at the same time she was silently grateful that he had broken his phone the week earlier. Otherwise, she would’ve been plastered all over the internet in a matter of minutes. With one final ‘tail wag’, she completed her dance and loathingly glared at her brother.

“Okay, I did it. Now turn down the TV.”

Trey, still cracking up with mirthful tears blurring his vision, turned the volume down obligingly. Sophie dashed up the stairs as fast as she could in order to avoid more cruel teasing from her twin. She finished her essay within a half-hour, with plenty of time to spare before her show. She flounced down the stairs and flopped down on the couch.

Trey was almost drooling, a zombie-like expression on his face as he watched a commercial for a new nasal spray. He was the living proof of what too much TV did to you.

Sophie tapped him on the soldier “Okay, hand it over. My essay’s done.”

Trey blinked stupidly for a minute. Sophie watched him, one of her eyebrows arched in expectation as she held her palm out to receive the remote. Understanding finally dawned on his face. He glanced down at the remote in his hand and then reluctantly thrust it towards her.

“I’m giving you the remote.” He said slowly as Sophie’s fingers eagerly curled around the remote. Once it was out of his palm, he snatched it back “And now I get it back!” He crowed.

Sophie’s face reddened. She had been tricked! Trey was thumbing through channels happily, and Sophie watched as the channel that she wanted flickered on and off the screen in a heart-beat. She scowled at Trey, whose attention was still locked onto the TV, and tackled him. They scrambled around as they each tried to get a hold of the remote. The remote fell on the ground and the twins struggled to be the first one to reach it. Sophie felt sweet success as her hand hovered over the top of the remote, but before she could grab it, Trey wrenched her arm back and whisked the remote away.

“Hah!” He panted, his face red from exertion “You can’t beat me!”

Sophie folded her arms and stared pointedly at the wall next to the TV.

“Aww… wittle Sophie is pouting wike a wittle baby.” Trey said in a high-pitched baby voice. He threw himself back on the sofa and resumed flipping through the channels.

Sophie glowered at the wall as she tried to think of a way to get back at her brother. The blank wall wasn’t providing much inspiration though. It was just a wall painted cream, with an electrical outlet down close to the bottom with the plug to the TV in it.

Sophie immediately perked up. That was it! With a sly grin, she meandered over to the wall. Trey was too enthralled to notice anything, and with one quick swipe, Sophie unplugged the TV chord from the wall and then from the TV itself.

“Hey!” Trey protested as the TV screen went dark. “What…?” He turned and saw Sophie standing next to the stairs, the chord dangling from her hands.

She grinned at him “Now I have what I want.” Trey roared in outrage and charged after her. Laughing infuriatingly, Sophie dashed up that stairs and locked herself in her bedroom. Trey pounded in the door angrily.

“Come on! Give the chord back!” He wailed.

"What's that? You'll have to speak up. I can't hear you over the sound of my victory!"

"Sophie! That is the lamest come-back I've ever heard! Give me the chord!" Trey roared.

Giggling, Sophie said “You’ll have to do the penguin dance first!”

Trey stopped pounding and stood panting in front of the door. “Never!” He retorted.

Laughing out loud Sophie declare “Then you don’t get the chord!”

As Trey paced furiously in front of the door, Sophie couldn’t stop laughing gleefully behind it. Oh how the tables turn!

Author's Note

This is a rough draft, as well as a spur-of-the-moment piece. Feel free to criticize! :D

Reviews

[Wren]

Wonderful:) very funny and a typical fight between siblings! It is not worth criticizing, it is so good:)