The Colman's - [MITM Fanfic]

One - Broken Plates

SET IN AUGUST 22ND, 2004

Dishes clattered in the sink as the brown suds of soap splashed around; post dinner dishes were always the worst.

"I totally don't get why mom is making us do this." Malcolm whined.
"Yeah! It's not like the Henderson's mailbox was some big expensive thing like the chandelier. So what if a bomb goes off in it?, grow up!"
Reese handed Malcolm one of their plates to dry, but his hands were slippier than expected. The place crashed onto the floor, shattering into three big pieces.

"Way to go, jackass!" Reese shouted.
"Hey, you're the one who didn't give me enough time to dry my hands!"
With those words, Reese pushed into Malcolm, and Malcolm pushed into Reese, causing them to thud on the dirty floor. Swings and punches were thrown as they struggled, but it was quickly ended by Lois.

"You two!" She yelled, sighing, "I can't believe you two. Not even for a second can I trust you two to do anything together! And- oh, jeez, look at the mess you two made..."
Without skipping a beat, the boys immediately started pointing fingers.

"-Broke the plate...!"
"-Total moron...!"
"ENOUGH! You two, go to... oh, jeez, Malcolm!"
He didn't get why his mom was calling him out, until he noticed the bit of blood on the floor.
"Look at that cut on your arm!"

Oh. Yeah, that was there, wasn't it? Malcolm looked down, it wasn't that bad but it was bleeding a lot. Right under his elbow and on his forearm rested about an inch long cut, a few centimeters deep.

"Oh, yeah." It oddly enough didn't sting that much, but he supposed it's because he's felt worse, and that area is mostly scar tissue anyways.
Lois sighed. "You know the drill, Malcolm. Clean it up, there's Band-Aids in the bathroom drawer. Reese will take care of the mess out here."
"But MOM-,"
"No buts! Malcolm's already got his punishment for breaking the plate, this one is yours." She sighed. "It was such a pretty plate, too..."
Malcolm gave Reese a smug look before heading to the bathroom to get himself cleaned up, while Lois watched Reese pick up the pan and broom.

"You let him get away with everything, just because he's you're favorite son." Scowled Reese, mopping the floor with paper napkins.
"That's right, next time you get injured you'll be my favorite son. Until then, pick this up." She sighed and looked up.
Through the window, she spotted a U-HAUL right across the road where the Henderson's used to live. Her eyes immediately lit up as she turned into her nosy mode. She watched them carry out little boxes of random junk until Reese finished cleaning, and he looked up himself.

"WOAH, new neighbors!" Reese exclaimed, hopping up and eyeing the neighbors with a mischiveous glance, before being brought with a thud in the chest.
"NO. Whatever you're thinking, NO. These new neighbors will be our FRIENDS, not another couple scared to make eye contact with us, do you UNDERSTAND? No bombs, no snakes, no anything of the sort! NOTHING!"
Reese gave a casual roll of the eyes before continuing to eye down the neighbors right along side Lois.

"Honey! Honey! The new neighbors are moving in! I saw from my window!" Hal shouted with joy, jogging down the hallways with a toothbrush in one hand and mouth dribbling with toothpaste.
"I know! I know! God, look at them... A leather couch, and... oh, god, is that a Tiffany lamp?" Lois gawked, amazed at the next door neighbor's wealth.

Suddenly, Dewey and Malcolm walked out of the rooms to acknowledge the commotion, joining them in the window.
"What's going o- new neighbors?" Asked Dewey; he never really cared about new neighbors as he wasn't really the one to mess or socialize with them. Malcolm, on the other hand, watched with a curiosity. Perhaps a cute girl around his age was next door?

The family watched with curiosity, an exciting vibe settling in. Even Dewey got in on the action.

"Look at that woman, must be the wife... Oh, come on, that has to be at least a $50 haircut!", muttered Lois.
"That man... he's huge! Seven feet, at least!", gawked Hal.
"Is that kid taking in an Xbox 360?", watched Reese.
"Woah... check out all the tech this guy has. That computer is worth at least 2,000 bucks!", pointed Malcolm.
"The little girl has a lot of dog stuff... Do they have a dog?", gasped Dewey.
Sure enough, they did. After a few trips in and out, two dogs- a Newfoundland and a Golden Terrier- hopped out of the vehicle, sniffing and wagging.

After about a half hour of stalking the neighbors, the husband finally spoke up.
"Times up gang, let's head to bed!"
The poorer family groaned, before jumping down and immediately gossiping.
"Look," started Lois, "we want to make a nice impression on these people, understand? That means NO explosives," she pointed as Reese, "-NO pranks," she pointed at Malcolm, "-and especially NO TANTRUMS!" She pointed at Dewey.
"And you, make sure you look nice when meeting them tommorow, and DON'T use any of your stupid greetings from that book you got."
"Oh come on hon," Hal smiled, "you know the book is funny, how about- ...nevermind. No book." Hal's faced grimaced after noticing Lois's stern stare.

"Good! Now, head to bed. We'll meet them in the morning."

NOTES: Apologies for the slow start! Comments and criticism (as long as it's kind ofc) are more than loved, and if you enjoyed, please vote so I know!
Also, it may take a while to update, I have a few things I'm juggling irl, like mental illness, work, my girlfriend, family, and the sort, so I don't always have time to write.
I'm not at all a professional writer or anything, I just like making bad episodes 15 years after the show ended.