An Excerpt from a Writing Project

From The Magic Video Game 4: The Upbringing of a New Comedian

Levi woke up to the sound of a moving truck. It was only 8:39 in the morning, and that was a GREAT way of waking him up. He had no idea that someone might have bought that house already. He saw a "For Sale" sign in front of the house a while ago, but he had no idea it was sold. Curious, Levi say up on his futon and tried to peer out the window. He couldn't get much of a view from where he was, so he moved to his office desk and tried to get a better view from there. Seriously, who in the Sam Hill would be more than willing to move into a house at 8:30 in the morning? Someone would need a lot of strong coffee, a hatred for sleep, motivation, or all of the above. Levi didn't actually wake up in a bad mood. However, he was torn between staying awake or going back to sleep.

His arms were resting on the office desk. And his head was resting on his arms. Levi really couldn't decide what to do right now. He wanted to go back to sleep to get more hours in. But he also thought that it'd be a good idea to stay up now. Even though it was pretty early, he probably would need to try getting up earlier anyway. He has an apprenticeship with his dad's company, and he works on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 10-3. Today, he did not have to work. But he did have to decide whether he wanted to get ready for the day or no. And he had to make a decision quickly.

Levi wanted to stay up because he knew for a fact that he couldn't go back to sleep. With this in mind, he decided to get ready for the day. Downstairs, Olivia and Evelyn Maeve were sitting at the dining room table with their parents. Mrs. LeVole was drinking oolong tea, and Mr. Cranston was reading the funnies. Olivia was not in the mood for coffee, so she wanted some grape juice. And Evelyn Maeve wanted the same thing. Olivia was also quite curious about the movers. Little did they know that someone was actually going to move near them. Olivia wanted to see what was going on. And then Levi came downstairs.

It was a very nice day to say the least. And Olivia knew how she wanted to spend it. She and Levi decided to sit outside on the front porch and see what might be going on. There were at least two smaller moving trucks moving north on Elmhurst Avenue. Olivia was pretty curious about this. Levi just wanted to relax. They just sat outside and took in the nice breeze that brushed up against them. The two kids didn't say much for a little while. They just wanted to watch what might be going on around them. And it was a nice day to do so.

"I guess we have new neighbors," Olivia remarked to her little brother as they were both staring past the front porch.
"You don't say," Levi replied in a somewhat sarcastic tone.
"The truck indicates that."
"I wonder who moved into that house."
"It'd be interesting to find out," Olivia said.
"Yes, it would be," Levi answered.
"Should we make cookies for them?"
"No."
"How about brownies?"
"Still no."

Levi was not in the mood to cook. He wanted to eat a whole pizza. Olivia was in the mood for cooking. She did not want to eat a whole pizza. While she got some pots and pans out to make brownies, Levi reluctantly helped her. He has never really enjoyed cooking. However, he has been considered, by many, a master at cooking. But talent and passion aren't always interchangeable. One's gotta love something to put his or her heart into it. And that's a fact.

"Levi, what kind of brownies should we make?" Olivia asked her little brother.
"Brownies," Levi replied.
"Seriously. Cherry brownies, marshmallow brownies, caramel brownies...."
"Brownies."
"I'm going with caramel brownies," Olivia remarked.
"Brownies," Levi said.
"Caramel brownies are good."
"Brownies."
"They're for the new neighbors."
"NOOOOOOO!!!!"

Disappointed, Levi went with Olivia's plan. She was pretty serious about this idea, even at the age of 24. Evelyn Maeve would definitely help with the caramel brownies. But she was in a deep and humorous conversation with their dad. Levi wasn't quite in the mood to do anything else besides eating a whole pizza and playing video games that dated as early as the 1980's. However, he was only in for the cooking part, as long as he had his own share of the brownie batter. And as long as there was rock music playing in the background through some decent speakers. That would definitely motivate him. Otherwise, he was in no mood to meet new neighbors. Olivia, of course, was the complete opposite.

"You're such a Donny Downer on this, Levi," Olivia said.
"You know that I'm really shy," Levi replied.
"Really? Still?"
"You don't know that?"
"I don't see that," Olivia stated.
"I seriously hope I don't run and hide when we all start talking," Levi remarked.
"I'll make sure you don't."
"How?"
"You will get to hold the brownies I make."
"I'll eat them. You know me."

What the heck. Why not make brownies and hope to the Good Man that they would actually be for home? Olivia went on ahead and made the brownies. Levi helped clean the bowl by eating most of the leftover brownie batter. And he also added the caramel drizzle to the batter. But the rest was all on Olivia. In no time at all, the brownies were freshly done. She convinced Levi to walk over to the neighbor's house and greet them. Even though the neighbors didn't move into a house right by the Cranston's house, it wasn't going to be too much of a walk. In about five minutes, Olivia and Levi were at the new neighbors' house.

"Hello," Olivia said as she and Levi were finally at their new neighbor's house.
"Oh hi," the new neighbor replied back.
"I'm Olivia, and this is my little brother, Levi. Say hi, Levi."
"Hi, Levi."
"Hello," Levi said quietly.
"You're really shy, aren't you?" the new neighbor remarked.
"A little."
"Well, I'm not a bulldog. I don't bite."
"Do you have a bulldog?"
"No. We have a cocker spaniel."

It wasn't complete drudgery for Levi. Back in the hay day, Levi was terrified of new surroundings. That was quite obvious after the move from Crown Point to Valparaiso in fourth grade. And the nurse was the one who introduced Levi to Jack Andrews. Before then, Levi was always nervous about going to school since he knew no one. Now, Levi has gotten much better at that. However, he is still pretty shy. He likes to meet new people, but he sometimes needs a boost to initiate a conversation. Right now, Levi still wanted to eat a whole pizza. No one could blame him for that.
And good to know that the new neighbors own a dog. And possibly a cat. But Olivia and Levi forgot to ask. No one saw either the cocker spaniel or a cat, if they owned one. But the two kids were most likely not going to stay for long. As if the Cranston's actually had plans for today. Oh wait. They were all going over to Elizabeth Baranovsky's house later today. And they might have a pizza or two. But probably not. And Louise Baranovsky and her family were also going to Elizabeth's. They have always served as the balancer in these occasions.

In THIS occasion, however, Olivia served as the balancer. She wanted to make more than small talk with the new neighbors. Levi wanted to eat a whole pizza. And he wanted to play with a cat. Olivia figured that, before they DID have some obligations, why not have some time to converse? The new neighbors actually moved closer to the Leyman's, but they were a pretty close walk still. Levi was still thinking about eating a whole pizza. Olivia was not thinking about eating a whole pizza. But the new neighbors were probably going to have at least two whole pizza. Why not invite Olivia and Levi to lunch, where pizza might be served? Or fried chicken, which would be a close second?

"So, what is your name?" Olivia asked the new neighbor.
"Our last name is Potti. My name is Mike, and my wife's name is Abbey," said Mr. Potti.
"Do you have any kids?"
"Mike and Andrew. They're twins, and they are both 15."
"They are close to our sister's age. She's 14," Olivia replied.
"Oh wow. So they will probably get to meet each other in the near future," said Mr. Potti.
"Most likely. Are you kids going to be in high school?"
"They will be starting out as freshmen."
"Where did you move from?"
"North side of Valpo. We kinda wanted to be in town."

In a matter of minutes, the Potti's needed to do more packing and unpacking. And they probably were going to order at least two whole pizzas for lunch. Olivia and Levi walked back to their house, a couple blocks south of where the Potti's live. Once they were back home, Evelyn Maeve wanted to go on a walk around the block. Levi wanted to eat a whole pizza, but he probably wouldn't get one until they got to Elizabeth's house. So, with this in mind, he just wanted to play video games right now. Olivia and Evelyn Maeve decided to go on a walk around the block. They decided to walk toward the Leyman's house. And the Potti's house, for THAT matter.

"We met some new neighbors today," Olivia said to Evelyn Maeve as they were walking toward the city square.
"Oh really? Will you show me their house?" Evelyn Maeve asked.
"Absolutely."
"Did you actually get to meet their family?"
"Levi and I just met their dad," Olivia replied.
"What is their last name?" Evelyn Maeve felt compelled to ask.
"Potti. I think it's Italian."
"Do they have kids?"
"A set of twins around your age."
"Boys, girls, or both?"
"Both boys. Their names are Mike and Andrew. And that’s where the Potti's live." 

Olivia and Evelyn Maeve saw the house where the Potti's live. The house, like the other houses on the street, looked older. The two girls continued to walk further north on Elmhurst Avenue. They walked toward the Leyman's house, on Elmhurst near Ridgeland.  Olivia and Evelyn Maeve walked further north until they reached Bond Avenue. Then, they turned right at Bond. Olivia has remembered having to go in this directions at least ten times in her life in Valpo, just to get video games that Adam Dahnwright had taken from Levi. And Adam's sidekick, Randy Lindt, or the Fat Pigeon, also lives around here. However, he doesn't live on Bond. He lives on Madison, close to Bond.

Olivia didn't care too much about seeing Adam's house. But she and Evelyn Maeve had really hoped to see the garden on Campbell and Harrison, still a ways north. They didn't have anything going on until this afternoon when they were going to visit Louise and her family, who live on Lafayette Street. And Olivia and Evelyn Maeve had at least another seven minutes before they'd even get to the gardens. But at least they were going there. There was quite a breeze to offset this somewhat humid weather. And it might be supposed to rain later on today. If so, then Victoria, Olivia, Levi, and Evelyn Maeve would probably play with the nephews. If not, then Levi would most likely play one-on-one basketball with Brian, Louise's husband. And Victoria, Olivia, and Evelyn Maeve would probably play with the nephews.
​
"I know Levi really wanted to shoot hoops with Brian," Olivia remarked.
"Yeah. I might watch them play," Evelyn Maeve replied.
"It's quite amusing AND entertaining."
"How so?"
"Well, they're both really good at basketball, and it's just fun to watch them compete against each other," Olivia said.
"That's true. They're both really good," Evelyn Maeve stated.
"I might take the nephews out to the park to watch them."
"That would be fun."
"Would Victoria be interested?"
"I would assume no."