Just Another Day

Violets POV (point of view)

Screaming surfaced from the other room. High pitched screaming. Chortles of laughter mixed in with the noise. I knew I had to go. But which room was it? I ran down the narrow, but long, hallway, checking each door. The screams and deep booming laughter only seemed to get louder. I stopped at the final doorway on the hallway an opened it. The screams we at their loudest and I knew that this was the room where the noises were coming from... I quickly ran into the room and quietly shut the door. And I was shocked at what I saw... My brother and my sister were tickling each other. My little sister was gasping for air from being tickled too much while my brother stood there chuckling at her expression and actions once he had stopped tickling her. I should've known it was nothing to worry about! All of the sudden I heard my fathers voice at the bottom of the stairs. "Men! Be lined up by 05 minutes!," he announced. Liam and Payson got up and straightened themselves out from their place on the bed. They hadn't noticed me yet, but I decided to just leave the room without them. I had to hurry and make sure the others were downstairs or else Dad would be mad at all of us. I entered the hallway to see the twins, Charlotte and Arianna, already making their way down the stairs. I went down the hallway opening each door quickly yelling out "Get ready and line up!" through the doorway each time. As soon as I said that, I would hear people scurrying around to get ready. After I was sure that everyone was ready and gone to line up. I trotted down the staircase and to the front room with my long skirt waving around. I quickly did a head count of everyone before feeling satisfied and walked over to take my spot at the front of the line. "Just in time," I thought as my father walked through the room. "Stand straight, stand tall men! Good formation. All right! Lets get down to business!," dad boomed at us. We all nodded our heads and said "Sir, yes sir," in unison. "Right you are men! Today's agenda: 08:00-14:00=school 14:00-16:00=sports practice for Liam, Jessa, Bennett, Charlotte, Arianna, and Clover. 16:00-18:00=free time 18:00-19:00=dinner 19:00-21:00=free time 21:00=bedtime for most men 22:00 lights out," dad spoke. "Violet, I have a date tonight at 19:00, so you are in charge." He said addressing me. "Yes sir!" I boomed "Jessa! You are to make dinner for all men except me." Dad said as he looked at Jessa, who was standing next to me. "Yes sir!" She responded. "All right men! Good formation! Now get ready! Bus arrives in 01 hour!" He cried, addressing all of us. Yep, that's dad for you, he's an army general at fort Spokane. "Oh boy," I thought. Handling one kid was enough but, 11... I'm doomed. Welcome to my world. Living in a household with 12 kids... Oh, and I'm the oldest. My mum died 4 years ago while giving birth to our youngest, Payson. I'm sure you're wondering who the others are... Well... In age order from oldest to youngest there's: me (Violet), Jessa, Liam, Shiloh, Charlotte, Arianna, Bennett, Clover, Parker, Carson, Harvey, Dallas, Amber, and Payson. It's a big family and can get pretty crazy sometimes, but I love each and every one of them. I heard the front door open and close with a forceful slam. That must have been dad leaving for work. Now, to repeat what I do every morning at this time, "Men! Eyes on me!," as soon as I say that, the chaos of the house stops and everyone turns to look at me with wide and wondering eyes. I love this moment of silence and peace... If only it lasted forever. "Okay men, showers are available now youngest go first, oldest go last! Older kids! Listen up! Help your buddy get ready and when everyone's done, we will eat breakfast and head to the bus stop! Alrighty then! Move move move!" I announced. Evernote scurried off with their buddies and got ready. We use the buddy system, which is where an older kid is paired with a younger kid and they help each other complete tasks and go places together. It's a great system for such a big group and it really helps the younger ones stay on top of all of their work. While the kids go to school, I stay home with Payson and Amber and take my college classes online at night, like a normal 19 year old. I held Payson on my hip and took her upstairs to take a shower. After I had gotten Payson all ready, which was quite the challenge, seeing as I had to force the sleepy and cranky four year old into socks, which she really doesn't like to wear, I made sure that everyone else was getting ready like they were supposed to. Much to my delight, everything was on track today and everyone was helping in their own ways. Payson toddled along with me, holding my hand as we walked. There are Seven rooms in our house. One belongs to my dad, and two people share each of the others. The bedroom sharing chart looks like this: