The Bedlam Brothers In…Double Trouble

By Charles Young

The Bedlam Brothers are my neighbors and I think that I am their only friend. They are always at my back door because their mother wants them out of the house. The main problem with having Gary and Allen for friends is that they are always thinking of ways to get into trouble. I try to give them advice and steer them away from possible problems, but they just d what they want anyways. This book is my diary of what life with Double Trouble s like for me

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Feb 6, 2015
• ISBN: 9781503538078

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

Introducing the Bedlam Brothers

BAM! BAM! BAM! I know that sound and I know what it means…double-trouble is at my back door. By double trouble I mean Gary and Allen Benson, two boys who live in my neighborhood. You can probably guess how they got that name. But before I get into all of that, I want to start at the beginning. Hi, my name is Stanley and this is the story about my life since I moved out of the city and into this suburban neighborhood.

My mom and dad decided that our row home was getting too small especially with the approaching arrival of my baby sister. After looking at many locations on the edge of the city, they finally decided on our new house. But our house is actually very old. It was an old farmhouse used by the land developer as his office during construction of the new homes that surround us. Some people in our neighborhood think he should have torn it down or had it placed on the tour of historic homes. I like it.

My dad has not had a lot of time to fix it up since my baby sister arrived. He is too busy working two jobs just to makes ends meet. I have a big family and to make room for my new sister, I now sleep in our converted basement. I really don’t mind. I am usually a pretty good kid and try not to cause problems for my parents. I do my chores and help my mom with the little ones when she needs me. I work hard at school and try to stay out of trouble.

The only major problem I have is that the two kids that I hang out with in the neighborhood are troublemakers. These are the ones who are at my back door right now. They are brothers and partners in crime. Besides being called double trouble, some of the neighbors call them the Bedlam Brothers because that’s what they do around our neighborhood and beyond—they cause an uproar and leave a wake of destruction and mayhem behind them.

Why do I hang out with them you may wonder…well, they are the only kids my age who live within a mile of my new house. If I want to do anything besides sit around by myself or with my sisters, they are the only option. Usually when these two knuckleheads get an idea to do something destructive, I try to disappear and head for home. Walking in people’s flowerbeds or smashing their trashcans are not things that I want to be involved with.

Gary is the oldest of the brothers and will be in fifth grade next year. Allen is in my grade and unfortunately I found out already that he will be in my class at school again next year. My time in school with him at the end of last year was quite an experience. We both will be in third grade this year. I do not know how either of them got promoted. Both of the boys are not very good students and have little interest in school. It is not that they are not smart enough to be good students, it is that they would rather use their brains to think up plans to cause trouble for anyone around them.

Last year, I tried to help them pass their tests by inviting them over to my house for a study session. I quickly found out that they were not interested in studying. After a few minutes, the studying usually turned into a wrestling match or planning session for their next caper.

Mom and Dad were not pleased that I was hanging around with them because they were afraid these two hoodlums would influence me or get me into some serious trouble. But unfortunately, they are the only kids my age that live near me and we all are stuck with them, I guess. I do hope a new boy my age moves into the house next door that just went up for sale last week.

BAM! BAM! BAM! The knocking was a little louder this time. I guess I was taking too long. I could see through the window that it was Gary and Allen and they were hopping around like our porch was on fire or something. They must get up at the crack of dawn and rush through breakfast to get over here so early, but I can understand why their mom wants them out of the house.

I gobbled down the remaining bits of my eggs and bacon, chugged the rest of my orange juice, and answered the door. Gary and Allen came in and sat down in the kitchen while I cleared my breakfast things from the table. I knew something was up because they both looked anxious. Most of the time they acted like they had ants in their pants but