Generation 2 Chapter 1: Amanda Vista

In the midst of my routine after school reading, Puzzle hesitantly interrupted one afternoon, “You know, you should really watch what you say to Bee and Aiden. They’re people, too. I mean, how would you like it if they talked to you that way?”

Ignoring his commentary, I continued on, eager to turn the pages more and more quickly as the climax intensified. “Amanda,” he stated, well aware I had chosen to brush of his advice.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I sighed, slamming the book shut. 

“Every day at school, you, Brian and Brianna all gang up on the two of them. It’s not fair. Amanda, you know they have disabilities.”
“How would you know that? I don’t take you to school with me.”

“I have my ways,” he admitted.

“Sure you do…” I replied, rolling my eyes in an attempt to avoid his glare.  

“Stop changing the subject!” he flared. “You need to stop it! Think about how they feel when you guys call them those names! Don’t you think they already go through enough every day?”

“Like I said, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Besides, I’m perfectly nice when I talk to them here at home. They understand that it’s what I have to do to be cool at school.”

“That’s what this all about?! Being cool?! Amanda, please tell me this is some type of sick joke! You can’t be serious!”

“I wouldn’t expect you to care, Puzzle,” I fumed. “After all, you’re nothing but a pile of rags. You probably don’t even know what popularity means.”

Puzzle’s face visibly softened. “Wh-What did you just say?”

“Oh, sorry. I forgot you have rags for ears, too!” I remarked, bolting out of the room as my anger got the best of me.

“So that would mean that 62 plus 4 is…”

“68?” Aiden guessed.

“Nope, try again. Come on, I know you can do it!” Bee coached as Aiden scribbled furiously on a pad of paper.

“66,” he stated proudly.

“Very good!” 

“Hi guys,” I greeted, internally attempting to prove to myself that I was actually capable of being kind to them.

“Mandy!” Aiden squealed. Meanwhile, Bee’s eyes were like daggers, slicing through me with little effort. Coldly, she turned back to helping Aiden and jotted something down in his notebook. It took a few moments for him to decipher what she had wrote, but soon he, too, was staring menacingly at me.  

“What?” I asked irritably. The two turned back to working on their homework as I held back the urge to punch the wall.

“Ugh! You guys are such morons! No wonder you have no friends!” I spat.

“Bee,” I heard Aiden whisper, “What’s a moron?”
“Nothing, Buddy. Just keep working.” 

As the weeks progressed, I began to feel more and more like an outcast in my own home. But it was fine, because when I was at school, I was the one who was in power. For now, though, I’ve been writing. About everything. About all the mean names I call Bee and Aiden, and why I can’t stop. About how they have practically disowned me. About how Mom and Dad have done nothing.

About how I’m going to make Bee and Aiden’s lives miserable. 

Generation 2 Prologue: Amanda Vista

 

“Wow. They’re so stupid they need each other’s help just to play on a playground!” Brian scoffed, bursting out in a fit of laughter. Brianna, his twin sister, smiled out of politeness at her brother’s rude humor while casting a sorrowful look in my direction. 

Life with Brian and Brianna as my best friends was basically a relationship constructed of lies. For all they knew, I was part of a completely normal family as an only child, much too busy on the weekends to even consider having my friends come over. But I was really just a little girl who was afraid of people knowing who she really was, that her two siblings had mental disabilities and that her mother had killed off her little brother.  

 

“Right, Mandy? Isn’t that pathetic?” Brian insisted, a cold gleam in his eyes.

“Uh, yeah. Totally,” I murmured. 
Not fooled by my answer, Brian barked, “Sometimes I don’t even know why I hang around with you guys. You’re such losers!” Bri and I watched as he stormed off in his usual fit of rage, talking to himself like a mad scientist all the while.

 

“You know he was just kidding,” Bri soothed, covering up for her brother’s behavior.

“I know,” I agreed.
“He’s just… I don’t know, socially awkward, I guess. He doesn’t really think before he says stuff,” she looked off in the distance to where my siblings were playing.
“It’s just that sometimes I feel like-” The repetitive beeping of a nearby car cut me off, leaving me unable to express how I feel.
“That’s my dad, I have to go. See you tomorrow?” Bri was already sprinting off to her car before I even had the chance to respond.   

 

Immediately after their car left the school, I trudged over to where Bee and Aiden were thoroughly enjoying themselves. “Hey guys,” I greeted.

“Hi, Amanda,” Aiden answered, too preoccupied to carry on a conversation.
“Hi Sis,” Bee chirped. “What were you guys laughing about over there?”
Her question caught me completely off guard; I had absolutely no idea how to respond. Mom and Dad always told me to tell the truth but… “We were laughing at you and Aiden,” I whispered, “And how you’re so stupid that you need each other’s help to play on the playground.”

Bee’s expression instantly hardened, and what she stated next was so monotonous it sent chills down my spine, “It’s good to know that my own sister is just like everyone else in this messed up world.”

And the Winner Is...

Congratulations to...

 

AMANDA!

 

 

That's right, Amanda won the heir vote with a total of 17 votes! Aiden was right behind her with 16, and then there was Bee with only 7!

Generation 2 Heir Vote!

All right, so it's time to vote for who you feel should carry on the Vista's legacy!

Bee~

Amanda~

Aiden~

Please leave votes here!

Generation 1 Chapter 14: Amani Vista

“Losing a child is like a broken down car. To go in reverse brings painful memories. To go forward is too scary without your child. So we sit in neutral with our hands clutched to the emergency brake, hoping someday to find a way to run again.” –Denise Bellion 



 

Nothing can ever prepare you for losing a child…

Nothing.
But once it happens, you realize how cruel the world actually is. How unfair. How heartless.
I figured the C-section would be where the complications ended, just a minor setback in welcoming the next Vista into our family.
But I was wrong… So very, very wrong.

 

After the procedure, things appeared to be going relatively smoothly given the predicament. Our bouncing baby boy was being cleansed, and Concord and I were discussing a name for our new bundle of joy.

We settled on Pratt. Pratt Vista.
Within the first few hours of my recovery, however, an anxious nurse came up to my bedside, her face contorted into a mixture of emotions. All I remember was her explaining that Pratt had passed away due to low oxygen supply as a result of heavy chemical build up in his lungs. The rest remains a blur.
I was discharged from the hospital a few days later, and Concord and I proceeded to go to routine support groups. They’re helpless things, if you ask me.
Wearing black to express my sorrow is a much more prominent method.  

 

Painting became my venting outlet, allowing me to express my emotions in a way like no other. No one could judge your interpretation of your feelings, so I felt comfortable standing at the easel for hours a day, using abstract art to exhibit how Pratt changed my life.

 

Some mornings I awake to the sound of Concord choking in between sobs, doing his best to keep his misery a secret. I don’t think he understands that he doesn’t always have to be so strong for me… I’m my own person; I can make my own decisions.

But yet again, we see where that got me.   

 

Albany’s been worried sick about me, insisting that I’m too distant and that I should invest in some professional help.

She just doesn’t understand. No one does. 
I’ll be heading back to work in a few weeks anyways, something I’ve been longing to do ever since I delivered Bee. That’s something that’s bound to help me take my mind off things. 

 

“Mom, whatever happened to Pratt?” Amanda asked curiously, interrupting her bedtime story one evening.

“What do you mean by that, Sweetie?” I asked tentatively, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
“Well, we met him at the hospital, but he never came home with us.”
I didn’t know how to answer her. “I’ll tell you when you’re a bit older, Sweetheart.”
“But Mom, I want to know now.”
“Goodnight, Amanda,” I stated calmly, flicking off the lights.   

 

That same night, while enjoying the peace and quiet of a sleeping house, Concord asked in a voice barely above a whisper, “Are we ever going to talk about it?”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” I snapped back.
“Amani, we lost a child for Heaven’s sake!”

 

“You mean I killed our child,” I corrected.

“Oh Amani…” Concord gasped, “I-I had no idea that’s how you felt.”
I glanced away, tears cascading down my cheeks.

 

The days soon started to blend together, and before I knew it, I barely knew what month it was. Bee’s grades were slipping drastically in school, due to Concord having to care for all three kids while I painted all day. Finding time to help Bee with her algebra was no longer one of Concord’s main priorities, preparing dinner and making sure Aiden had a clean diaper appeared to be more essential.

We think Amanda’s been feeling quite neglected recently, as she’s followed Bee’s example and turned Puzzle “real”. Not to mention that Bee’s addiction to Tubby has been worsening, spending hours each evening watching TV and apparently talking to him.

 

I was snapped back into reality when I woke up one morning and took a long look at Aiden. He was no longer the adorable little toddler I remembered him to be. Instead, in his place was a handsome young man, bubbling with enthusiasm and vulnerability.