Halliwell's Episology (Year 5): Official

Finally I am 5! If you know how to count your fingers, you know what that means. I�fm officially a big girl now! Not to mention that my sisters are a lot more older! Prue�fs 10 and Piper�fs 8. And if you think I�fm happy with that¡�f I�fll scream! So when you think you wanna say my age out loud, think twice and make sure I�fm not around to hear it!
"PHOEBE!!!"
I had to show my face again.
"WHAT?!"
It was Prue, it has to be her. Only God knows why she couldn�ft come to me and she has to yell that loud. When it was big brother Andy, I have to stretch my ears just to hear her talk. Grams said Prue likes Andy¡�f I just don�ft understand. Why big bro Andy likes a loud voice Prue?
Shaking away that thought¡�f I have to. I�fm way too young to get involve. But hey, there�fs the little cute boy in class. Shaun¡�f he likes to hold my hand. I wonder.
I made my way up the stairs, there�fs where Prue was shouting from. Ok, I saw you doing that. You�fre opening your mouth in shock! Yeah! That�fs Prue! My oldest sister! Imagine her lungs�f power! Screaming from high above¡�f geez! The neighbors must be wondering what kind of devil I could be¡�f
Ok, where was I? Right¡�f Shaun. Piper said that if a boy likes to hold your hand, that means he probably likes you. Hmmmm¡�f wait¡�f Prue said Shaun likes me because I always carry the biggest lunchbox to school. Shaun does share some of my food but¡�f. �ePOP�f
"Phoebe! What took you so long?!" Prue yelled again, bursting my thoughts bubble.
"I had to walk up the stairs." I grumbled.
Just then, Piper came out from the room we shared and looked at me. I thought she was coming to my help again but I wasn�ft so sure then. She had her hands at her hips, a sure sign of me about to be scolded.
"U-oh." I let out too fast, and loud.
"So you know you�fre in trouble." Prue asked, or rather, that�fs her usual way of talking to me, ever since I scored the highest record of teacher complaining from the school.
Actually I didn�ft think I did something terrible. All I�fve done was to play in the rain and wrestled with some of the boys on the mud. I drew faces of monsters and tell tales of horror to some girls and made them cry. The teachers didn�ft like it but Grams said I have great potential¡�f I don�ft know what that word mean but I think Grams likes my drawing. Prue and Piper found them horrifying though¡�f
And what else did I do? Well, sometimes I slept in class and it wasn�ft my fault! The teacher tells bore stories! Not to forget I love to climb that tree in the playground. I have to practice climbing, Prue�fs always winning me on that and I hate it! Well, Jimmy followed and he fell but its not my fault, he�fs lousy!
Ok, what else¡�f �ePOP�f
"Phoebe!"
"What?!!" I yelled back irritatingly.
"Where did you go after school?" Piper asked this time.
I was surprised at such a question and I swear I didn�ft feign it. "After school? I took the bus home Piper."
"Really?" Prue asked with suspicion reflected in her eyes.
At times, when I confronted my sisters, I have to play detective too. At my age, I realized that good observance could save my butt too.
"If I don�ft take the bus, who is going to fetch me home?!" I wasn�ft happy with Prue�fs way of probing.
"If you didn�ft make it to some store, where did you get this pen from?"
Saying that, Prue held out the pen in her hand that was behind her all the time. I looked closer, to me, it was just another ordinary pen, no big deal.
"It isn�ft mine."
"I know that!" Prue rebuked. "And how did the pen get into your bag?!"
"How would I know?" I answered flatly.
"Pheebs," Piper interrupted and I was for once, glad for her nice gentle voice.
You know, during such a reprimanding session, it is good to hear voices from the extreme.
"That is an expensive pen we found in your bag. And you know you don�ft own any pen except those pencils that Prue and I gave you. So how did you¡�f"
"I said I don�ft know." I winced, showing my displeasure.
"If you steal it,"
"I didn�ft steal it!"
"The pen has no legs, if it wasn�ft for your hands, tell me something else!" Prue retorted.
Ok, she was really angry then. I could see it. It was all written over her face¡�f actually, colored all over. Red! But I was angrier, because she didn�ft believe me!
"How do I know?! I didn�ft steal it and I didn�ft!" I screamed at the top of my voice.
You know why I did the screaming? Well for one, I didn�ft want Prue to think that I�fm afraid of her. I am, I just didn�ft want to show it. For second, Piper could get pretty upset when we were yelling at each other. Then she would start screaming too and Prue would keep quiet finally and I followed suit. Simply? It took me ages to figure that out!
"Wait till Grams hear about it! You�fre so in trouble Phoebe!" Prue shouted.
"Go ahead! Tell! I didn�ft to do and I didn�ft! You�fre so bad Prue! And I hate you for that!!" Saying that, I ran down the stairs heading outside for the porch. I was fuming, but not enough to channel out those tears.
Seconds later, the front door opened but I was too stubborn to look up. Besides, I knew who it would be.
"Pheebs." She called out and sat beside me. I looked to the other side.
"Come on Phoebe, Prue didn�ft mean all that."
"She meant it! Everything she said, she meant word for word!"
"She was afraid to know that you might be into stealing in school."
"I said I didn�ft!" I turned to glare hard at Piper.
"Ok then, maybe someone bad enough put that pen into your bag and caused this misunderstanding?" Piper suggested.
I took a good look at my middle 8 year old sister¡�f
You know the difference between my sisters?
Prue. Am I punished to have her as my sister? What a dreadful thought. As if the wacky teachers weren�ft enough in school, at home I have to face and hear her sound the music! Well, let�fs be fair. Prue is nice half the time. She likes to bring me to the playground near our manor. She sits with me on the swing and she�fs pretty cool at hide and seek! I love it when she gives way to me for things that I badly wanted. But why couldn�ft she be softer when it comes to the yelling part? The monster half of Prue has to rule my school life, my behavior and my speech! Yucks! I really do hate that!
Piper. She�fs definitely God sent¡�f I think. She seldom picks on me and most of the time, she would come to my rescue when Prue set her target on me. Sometimes she might seem to be on her side but eventually, she is the one to come consoling me, like now she is. Piper gives me a lot too but I admit that when she gets angry, I got scared! Because she cries! And when she does that, you have no idea how terrible it makes you feel¡�f �ePOP�f
"I�fll ask Grams to go to school with you tomorrow. See if they can find the culprit who put the pen inside your bad k?" Piper suggested.
She has been doing the talking but I wasn�ft really listening. I was conversing to you in mind wasn�ft I? Why do you have such a short memory??
The next day¡�f
I came back home from school, a broad smile pasted on my face and I walked proudly into the manor, chest as high as possible. When I saw Prue sitting in the living room doing her work, I walked up to her stamping my feet loudly announcing my presence.
"I didn�ft take the pen! It was Willy who took it from his dad�fs! He was afraid of being scolded so he put it in my bag and I didn�ft know! I didn�ft steal it!! You�fre so bad Prue!!"
With that, I walked away and up to my room, satisfied that I gave her a piece of my mind.
I thought I win the fight but I was wrong. Prue never apologized to me; she never really did that no matter how wrong she could be. And being the youngest one and the one with the shortest memory since it was quickly filled with new things and stuffs, of course I forgot everything the moment Grams and Aunty Gail brought us to the fair that evening.
All I could remember that night was the fun I had with Prue and Piper, the rides and the sharing of great candies and ice-cream.
Many years later¡�f
Prue�fs car must have screeched to a stop outside the station. She and Piper would have jumped out instantly and ran quickly into the building. They should have found the person they were looking for, since I was only sitting on a chair with our friend Inspector Darryl Morris beside me. I knew they were behind me because the moment he saw them, he signaled to them to come forward as a constable blocked their way for clarity. I had turned to look at them¡�f at Prue actually.
I had to get prepared you see. It shouldn�ft be my day, out window-shopping when I had a class going on. There would be more than an explanation to do now and someone do help me tackle with my oldest sister. �ePOP�f
I managed out a smile on seeing them. "Hey sisters."
"Phoebe! Are you all right?" Piper asked in worried brows.
"What is this thing about you stealing in a shopping mall?!" Prue asked, though she didn�ft show it, the rest of us could sense her building fury.
I rolled my eyes in dismay. "No I didn�ft do it Prue. I was framed!"
"Right! Who would want to do that anyway? Enemies I haven�ft heard before?" The oldest asked sarcastically.
"This is not a good place to tell you." I winced helplessly and I looked down.
A bad mistake I tell you. You know, when you didn�ft do something, make sure you keep your head high up. Especially in front of family and in my case SISTERS! God knows why I never learn from past experiencesthat the moment I looked down, my sister aka judge signed my death sentence¡�f guilty without a trial. �ePOP�f
"Guilty as always." Prue hissed.
I tried to stiffen my laugh since I guessed it right. And Piper rolled her eyes as the storm erupted earlier than expected by her I guessed. At one side, Darryl watched rather nervously, for he knew what I told him back then was of an abnormal issue and he was afraid that the I might be provoked by my oldest sister into blaring everything in the ears of many other servicemen in sight. I have already assured and promised him that I won�ft¡�f I guessed he was and is one nervous revolver man.
"Look," He began. "We should talk in another room." Saying that, he grabbed my arm and pulled me up, in case I got another chance to say another word.
Prue was about to reprimand more when Piper did likewise. Gruntingly, she followed behind.
As soon as Darryl closed the door, Prue scolded again.
"Phoebe! You�fre so officially old in age now! Do you have to go that low?! Stealing! How embarrassing!!"
I slapped a hand to my head and closed my eyes. Why do I have to go through a childhood nightmare again?
"Prue¡�f" I reasoned gently and softly. "I repeat. I didn�ft steal anything from the mall. Let me spell it for you, I didn�ft!" The last word was meant to be heard in hissing tone.
"So tell me how did those expensive clothes got into your bag?!" She asked, getting fiercer each time.
I don�ft blame her. At 25, it really was embarrassing to be caught stealing and in public! But I swear that I didn�ft put those stuffs into my bag. If she could just stop, take a deep long breath and hear me out. Didn�ft she realize that she looked older than her present 30? Better not use that on her, I will be counting down to my doomsday next. �ePOP�f
"Phoebe, if you�fre short on money, you should have told me." Piper said. I could see that she was disappointed in me too and that was the last straw.
"Hey! Will you two stop yapping and scolding and hear me out?! There was a demon in the mall that I caught stealing things and putting them into innocent people�fs bag! All I did was to chase him but the security caught me before I catch mine! And you know what?! I wasn�ft the only one caught with things that doesn�ft belong to me in my bag, a total of 10 other people were caught before me too! Don�ft you think it was too absurd in just one day? And don�ft use the �ecoincidence�f word!"
Finally I said it and wow! I do feel good seeing my sisters had their mouth opened and digesting my words. But I was wrong¡�f
The next thing I knew, their hands were all over my face, trying to shut me up.
"Are you insane Phoebe?!" That was Piper scolding me now.
"You�fre going to blow our covers faster than the wind!" Prue chipped.
I watched in a confusion state at Darryl who had by then stationed himself by the door, scanning outside for any uncommon eavesdropping and peeping, and two older sisters who were glaring hard at me.
"Are you crazy Phoebe?" Darryl�fs turn to scold.
I rolled my eyes in surrender. If they had listened to me in the first place. Why do I get to blame for things I didn�ft do and things I did to clarify matters? Only to further complicate it? I really don�ft know. Piper said I have the nose for conjuring a simple matter into something huge. Prue said my running butt is the modernized radar for trouble sensing. Leo said to listen to me before I run into a demon unknowingly. Darryl said my premonition gave him more headaches than the ones his wife gave him. What did I do? Nothing much, all I did was to read the entire �eBook of shadows�f, memorized some of the spells and made up some of mine. I was good you know, too damned good and only at that¡�f �ePOP�f
"Phoebe, are you sure you scry rightly?" Piper jolted me to my senses.
It was dark, 4 hours after they bailed me out from the station. They believed me but I wasn�ft spared from Prue�fs machine guns on the way back. I was �eshot�f mercilessly.
We spent the time searching in the BoS of our demon. We found him and realized that he was vanquishable with a spell. We did the scrying and after a quick dinner by Piper�fs ever-skillful hands, we were on our way to catch a �estealing demon�f.
"Yeah, I�fm better in that than any of you, don�ft forget that. It�fs the inheritance of our powers that is a great mistake."
"Oh ho, I think Grams distributed it in favor of the bad guys." Prue replied.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"They will never get a chance to say a second word if you have the stronger power."
"Isn�ft that good?"
"Yeah, I pity only the demons." Prue singsong.
I decided to dismiss it. She was always like that and I�fm used to it anyway. I�fll kinda miss it if my big sister didn�ft say those things. Won�ft it be kind of hypocrite of her? I know, I sound like a cheapskate wanting to be scolded right?
"There he is!" Piper yelled.
The procedure was the same. We gave chase, he put up a fight and that was a real bad mistake. Prue shook him a little and with her powers, she�fs invincible! Then Piper froze it on the spot and we chanted the spell. As always, the demon exploded in sparks of fire and our work was done in a flash.
As we were heading back to the car, Prue said something that could possibly changed the rest of my life then¡�f Err, that was an overstatement. It did change my opinion of her, but it didn�ft last for long.
You see, this was what happened. Where was I? Oh, right. We were heading for the car¡�f
"Phoebe¡�f"
I looked at her and slipped my arm into hers. I don�ft know why but after each vanquishment, I always feel light-mood. I guessed having to survive another battle with my sisters should call for a celebration.
"I�fm sorry for accusing you of stealing before hearing you out." She said.
And I was stunned that I stopped walking, only to stare at her with mouth slightly opened.
Piper laughed. "Phoebe, the flies are accepting the invitation."
Prue chuckled too and I had to smile heartily.
"Oh wow! Who would expect the mighty Prue to admit her mistake."
"Don�ft Phoebe." My oldest sister warned, though she was in a joking mood. "Don�ft tease my good intention."
"I wouldn�ft dare!" I shouted with joy. "But I�fm glad you said that, it makes me feel closer, happy at being understood and¡�f safer."
Piper frowned as she walked beside me locking her arm onto mine. "Why safer?"
"At least I know I wasn�ft living with a dangerous Prue all these time." I said. This time feigning innocence.
And I got what I was asking for, a spanking on the head by the oldest one.
And the air around us was filled with laughter, our laughing.
"Oh right. I nearly forgot." Prue said. "What is this about you skipping your classes and going shopping Pheebs?"
She looked dearingly at me and I was lost for words. My big sister is ever so good, waiting for the last moment to drop me a bomb when I thought she had already forgotten it¡�f

End of this story