Bacter Family Saga

Gabriella knew something was wrong with her mom. She had known this every since she was a toddler. She didn’t even know if her mom loved her. She was quiet a lot and didn’t spend a lot of time with her. Gabriella knew her nanny much better than she knew her own mother and she had never once seen her father. Nanny Calista told her that her daddy was with God, although, Gabriella didn’t understand what that meant. Why did God need her dad when she did? It was clear to her too that her mom needed her dad as well. She didn’t understand why God was hogging him.

Then one day, Gabriella got bad news. Nanny Calista was being sent away. When Nanny Calista told her Gabriella started to cry, “Why? Why do you have to go away?”
“You are in school now Gabby, you don’t need me anymore.”
“I do! I do need you! Mama doesn’t pay any attention to me! I need you!”
It broke Nanny Calista’s heart to walk away from that house that day. She knew Gabriella was right, Francisella didn’t pay any attention to her daughter. She didn’t know what would happen to that little girl and she found herself brushing a tear from her eye.

Gabriella was desolate without Nanny Calista. She didn’t see her mom anymore. She would come home from school and the house would feel empty. She had no idea what her mom was doing. She’d come home from school and pull open the fridge. It never looked like her mom made any food so she was left to the juice and cookies and chips that she could make for herself. It wasn’t the kind of food a growing girl needs.

(more…)

The anger and hate that Francisella harbored for her family grew deeper and deeper with each passing day and with each attempt they made to contact her. She wanted them to leave her alone. Couldn’t they see that she had no desire to speak to them? Why weren’t they getting the message? She didn’t understand.

Bacillus had tried to call and talk to her but Francisella told him what she really thought of him. She hated him and wasn’t afraid to make that known. The day after her phone call from Bacillus she was very irritated to see that her sister had shown up on her front door step. How had she found out where she lived? She hadn’t told anyone her new address and hadn’t planned on telling anyone. Francisella quickly ran upstairs and told the nanny to keep Gabriella upstairs. She didn’t want Yersinia finding out about her niece.

(more…)

Francisella was in shock. She asked the doctor several times to repeat herself and he affirmed over and over that she was in deed pregnant. Orlando had said that was great news but what did he know? Francisella did not want to have a baby. Having babies was for people like Mallory and Yersinia not for people like herself. There was no way she wanted to have a baby. Orlando seemed to want the baby though and since he was the father she did have to accept his wishes. When he suggested she call her parents and let them know she was expecting she blew up in his face for even daring to think that she would want to talk to her parents. She made up her mind that would be their punishment for making Yersinia the heir. Orlando didn’t understand any of this but he gave up and kept his mouth shut.

Orlando had told Francisella that he was going to have to travel for business and while Francisella was disappointed that Orlando would be gone for a few days she was also slightly relieved. She was starting to show and was afraid Orlando would be turned off by her body. In fact she noticed that her belly had popped out quite far and it seemed definite that this baby was joining them whether she wanted it to or not.

(more…)

Francisella had alienated herself from her family. Growing up it seemed that she had always been daddy’s girl; well she was tired of being daddy’s girl. She and Orlando didn’t move onto the vast land mass her father had purchased for the family. Instead they had bought a house across town. While she had attended Bacillus’s wedding she didn’t even send a card to Yersinia when she got married or had any interest in seeing her nephew, Cell. In fact, she didn’t really have any interest in seeing any member of her family.

She was angry with her family. She was angry with her parents for choosing Yersinia as their heir. She had always been the good one. She never caused problems, why did they choose Yersinia? Bacillus would even have been more deserving. In addition to being mad at Yersinia for being chosen to be heir she was angry at Yersinia because of whatever that secret was. That secret made her mad at Bacillus because he knew what it was and wouldn’t tell her. Francisella was pretty much mad at her entire family.

The only person she wasn’t angry with was Orlando. He has always been there for her, ever since she was a little girl. She loved Orlando but wasn’t sure she wanted to marry him. She didn’t want to be with anyone else but she didn’t want to get married. This upset her parents (giving Francisella another reason to be angry with them) and they were especially upset that she and Orlando were living together and weren’t even engaged. But Francisella had long since stopped caring; she loved Orlando and he loved her and that was all that really mattered.

It made no difference to Francisella whatsoever that she and Orlando weren’t married; that never stopped them from making woohoo whenever they so desired. She even thought it was better for her and Orlando than it ever could have been for her sister or brother.

(more…)

Orlando and Francisella saw their last year at Sim State University fly by. They were so busy with senior projects and wrapping up things for graduation that the end was upon them before they knew it. Orlando graduated first.

(more…)

Yersinia could hardly believe it was her senior year of college. When she stopped and looked back over the last four years it was apparent to her how much had happened. She certainly wasn’t the confident and slightly arrogant eighteen year-old that left the Bacter Estate for Sim State University. She had expected to fall in love at college but she certainly never expected Gordon would turn out the way he did. But she was moving past that. At least trying to anyway but she still had nightmares and while she knew Gordon was in prison and would be there for a long time she still felt her heart skip a beat every time the phone or doorbell rang.

One afternoon the doorbell rang and Yersinia felt that familiar nervous feeling in her stomach. It escalated even more when Sella yelled out that there was someone there to see her. Yersinia thought she was going to be sick right there on the spot. Sella didn’t know about what happened with Gordon so she wouldn’t know not to tell her if it was Gordon. Yersinia was starting to panic. She was very relieved when she got the door and realized that her visitor was just Professor Xavier Jones. She hadn’t seen Xavier since Gordon’s attack although she did speak to him occasionally on the phone.

“Yersi, I’ve been worried about you.”
“Why Xavier? I’ve been fine.”
“I’m not so sure that you are fine, Yersi. You rarely return my phone calls and you changed majors and never mentioned anything to me about it. What was I supposed to think?”
“I don’t know, maybe that psychology just wasn’t my thing.”
“But Yersi, you were the top of your class, why would I come to that conclusion? Please, tell me what is going on.”
“It’s complicated. I’ve just had a bit of a change is all.”
“Tell me. I love you Yersi.”

(more…)

Francisella was very sad now that Orlando had moved off to the fraternity. She was left with only Sophie, and while she liked Sophie it just wasn’t the same. She was really feeling like she was missing out on something by not being at the house. But Francisella was really pretty stubborn and she was not going to change her plans just because Orlando had gone and joined the fraternity before she had planned to. So she stuck with it.

She still knew that something was up and not entirely right with Yersinia but she had long since given up the pursuit. She had talked to her father and he was also unable to get anything out of Yersinia or Bacillus. Sella thought that once she moved into the house, maybe then Yersi would tell her what she was hiding. Bacillus had graduated and moved back to the old neighborhood. Things were changing around Sella rather quickly and she didn’t quite know how to handle it all.

Sella worked quite hard and was able to get all of her assignments done on time. Phone calls kept coming from Orlando telling her how great life at the frat was. Sella finally caved in and called them up so that she could pledge.

(more…)

Francisella knew something was wrong. She had called to talk to Bacillus and Yersinia about Orlando. Orlando really wanted to join a fraternity and Beta Eta Pi seemed like the likely choice for him. Sella was planning on joining it as well but not for another few semesters. She liked quiet life with Sophie. But as soon as she heard Bacillus answer the phone she knew there was something wrong. There was something in his tone of voice that suggested trouble. “Bacillus, it’s Sella. What’s wrong?”
“N-n-nothing.”
“You’re lying. Tell me what’s going on.”
“Nothing is going on Sella. What do you want?”
There was something about his tone that made her feel uneasy. She decided to ask for her sister. She had always been closer to Yersinia anyway. “Well, can I talk to Yersi then?”
“No,” Bacillus responded shortly.
“What? Why not? I want to talk to Yersi.”
“Yersi is, uh, indisposed and won’t be able to come to the phone for a while.”
“Bacillus Anthracis Bacter, tell me what is going on!” Sella was really starting to feel quite worried; this wasn’t like her brother to just blow her off and ignore her.
“Francisella, it doesn’t concern you okay? What did you want when you called? I’m sure it wasn’t to badger me.”
Sella realized she had no choice but to give in. Bacillus wasn’t going to tell her what had happened and she wasn’t going to be able to talk to Yersinia so it was really no use. “I was calling about Orlando. He is thinking about rushing a frat and I thought Beta would be a good one.”
“Okay, tell him we’ll be by later tonight. But I gotta go now Sella. Talk to you later.”
Bacillus hung up the phone before Sella could reply. She just stood there staring at the phone in disbelief. She shrugged her shoulders thinking maybe she would get a chance to talk to them when they came over to pledge Orlando that night.

Orlando had class until 8:00 that night so the members of Beta Eta Pi did not come over until after that. Sella had been pacing nervously all afternoon trying to decide how she was going to confront her siblings about this secret they seemed to be hiding from her. She still wasn’t sure what she was going to say when they showed up at the door. At first things were very chaotic and hectic. The three of them were dressed in togas and seemed to just want to run around the room with their hands in the air screaming. This was a totally different side of her brother and sister. At last Orlando engaged in conversation with Mallory and Sella decided this would be her chance.

(more…)

Like her brother and sister before her Francisella set off for Sim State University. She felt nervous like Bacillus did. Sella lacked the confidence of Yersinia. She and Orlando decided to move into the house Yersinia had recently moved out of and to join her friend Sophie Miguel living there. Sella was shy enough that she didn’t really want to have to live in a dorm and try and meet tons of new people. She just wasn’t her sister in that regard. Sella just didn’t quite have the confidence of her older brother and sister.

(more…)