Ho Ho Horrifying!
No one wants their holidays to turn into a nightmare. But inevitable something goes wrong, or in this case, something is violently demolished, and a fun family gathering quickly changes into a ferocious shouting match. All Eugene wanted was to mend the strained relationship between him and his sister, Annie, but fate had the exact opposite in store for him! So for some background, Eugene and Annie both had sons around the same age. Eugene’s son Danny just turned eleven, and Annie’s son Noah was thirteen and a half. For Danny’s birthday, Eugene bought him the latest gaming console, and he was delighted to see how much Danny enjoyed it. Noah didn’t often get to experience that same unbridled joy. You see, Aunt Annie was bad with money, and Eugene would often have to help her out with her bills. Naturally, Noah wouldn’t get very good Christmas presents. Eugene decided to splurge this year and bought the same gaming console for Noah that he bought for Danny. He wanted it to be a total surprise though, so Eugene did the box trick, where you wrap the present in a deceptively large box, so no one would know what it was. It was all ready to go underneath the tree, and Eugene’s family wouldn’t suspect a thing.
Yesterday, Annie and Noah came over for the holidays. Danny took Noah upstairs immediately to play video games with him, while Eugene and Annie caught up by the fire place. It only took thirty minutes for things to go completely off the rails. Danny rushed downstairs, tears streaming from his little face. Eugene stood up in a panic, wondering what got his son so distressed. Danny grabbed Eugene by the hand and took him to the front hall. At the foot of the stairs was Danny’s beloved gaming console, completely smashed to smithereens. Seriously, Eugene didn’t even know something could be so pulverized like that! Someone must have thrown it down the stairs! But who would do such a thing?!
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Casual Destruction
Well, there are only so many characters in this story, so by process of elimination, it was definitely Noah. Danny pointed up the stairs in between sobs. Noah casually walked down the stairs, a malicious gleam in his eye. Eugene asked his nephew Noah if he actually did this. With a wicked laugh, Noah exclaimed that the console was a “stupid baby toy”. Apparently, Noah had been watching a lot of online videos of people breaking these consoles online, so naturally he wanted to try it out for himself. Seriously?! You watch one online video and suddenly you want to go on a destructive rampage?! Eugene couldn’t beleive this little gremlin! Annie came in, curious about all the sobbing, and Eugene explained what was going on. Eugene demanded that Annie discipline her son for his awful behavior, and she should definitely pay for this destruction.
What did Aunt Annie say to all of that? Eugene recalled how, “She laughed and said no. She said I shouldn’t have let them play unsupervised, that it was my fault and I’m a bad parent. She said my son will get over it, and that it was not important.”
Not important? NOT IMPORTANT?! Danny had been playing video games nonstop since he got that console! He even taught Eugene how to play, and it had been a really special bonding moment for the two of them! It wasn’t Eugene’s fault that his nephew was a human troll, determined to wreak havoc wherever he traveled to! Eugene suddenly formed a bold idea in his mind, one that would probably burn some bridges, but would give his son swift justice.”
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Never Come Back!
Poor Danny was gasping for air in between sobs, trying to put back some of the console pieces together. But there was no hope for it. Eugene will never forget how seeing Danny at that moment completely tore his heart out. That cemented Eugene’s bold plan, and he knew exactly what he had to do. According to Eugene, “I walked over to the Christmas tree and grabbed the system that was meant for my nephew. I pulled off the gift wrap, gave it to my son, and told him to go upstairs and set it up.”
Take that, Noah! You destroy your cousin’s present? No more present for you! Annie thought Eugene had simply bought two consoles, so what was hte big deal anyway? Eugene, with a triumphant smile on his face, told Annie that this extra console was supposed to be Noah’s present. But since it was merely a “stupid baby toy”, Noah obviously wouldn’t miss it, so he gave it to Danny. Eugene had enough of his extended family, so he told Annie to take Noah and leave immediately. They had already overstayed their welcome!
Well this prompted Noah to begin crying that Danny stole his gaming system. Eugene kneeled down in front of Noah, telling him that was punishment for destroying Danny’s new console and ripping his heart out. He didn’t say that last part out loud, but Noah did need someone to talk some sense into him! Well Aunt Anne was livid, her face had turned white with rage. She shouted at Eugene that he and Danny would never see the two of them again! Eugene merely scoffed and said, “Okay.”
Eugene couldn’t be bothered. Besides, Annie would definitely be calling again, if only to ask for help with another bill. Eugene slammed the door once Annie and Noah walked outside. Good riddance, having extended family over for the holidays was overrated anyway! Eugene found a sniffling Danny, who was obviously shaken up by the entire encounter. They went back upstairs and played video games together, trying to replace these horrifying family memories with something more wholesome. But the familial headaches didn’t stop there!
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Desperate Times Call For A Desperate Solution
It turned out that Aunt Annie had told the rest of the family an insanely one-sided version of these events, and how everyone had turned againt poor Eugene. Random relatives were calling Eugene at all hours after that fateful day, calling him all sorts of profanities, claiming that he totally ruined poor Noah’s Christmas. But hold up, Eugene was not having it with these relatives! Noah was thirteen, he clearly knew what he was doing. He is way too old to be destroying another kid’s expensive gaming console for funsies. Also, there really isn’t any age where that would be appropriate in the first place! There was no way Anie would actually try to fix the situation, so Eugene desperately took matters into his own hands, and he shouldn’t have to be punished for that! The rest of the family wanted Eugene to buy a THIRD console for Noah, but Eugene had already splurged and didn’t have that kind of money! Over the next few days, throughout the constant angry phone calls, Eugene began to wonder if he really was in the right. Didn’t he steal his nephew’s present to give to his son, did that make him the monster? What else could he have done at that moment?!
Alright readers, you’ve made it through this holiday onslaught, what do you think Eugene should have done? Did Eugene do the only thing he could to salvage a horrifying holiday? Or was he too quick to react, and in the process, destroyed a child’s chance at a lovely Christmas? I mean that kid was acting like a little goblin, but was his punishment too harsh? We want to hear from you, what would you have done in Eugene’s place? And if you’re holiday shopping, maybe think about getting something soft and squishy for the children in your life, something that isn’t part of weird internet trends!
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