Be Very Afraid : “The Wrong Kid”

It was a hot Sunday afternoon and I was sitting on my front porch reading Creepy Man. Nanny and I were waiting for mother to come home with the new baby. In my comic book, Creepy Man had just encountered Xlonemr.

He was the evil guy with the birthmark across his face. He was jumping across the sky when suddenly my mom pulled into the driveway. I jumped up to see the new baby. I screamed in horror. The baby had a birthmark across her face just like Xlonemr.

“Mom, this cannot be our baby!”

Mom replied, “Don’t be so jealous. You’ll get used to her. She is a cute little thing.”

All night, I dreaded what would happen to me the next morning.

The next morning, I was watching TV before going to school. Matilda, the new baby, came crawling up to me with scissors in her hand.

“Mom, she is going to kill me!”

I just realized that she was only 2 days old and crawling. It scared the heck out of me.

That night after dinner, I heard a shout from Mom’s room. I ran quickly to see what had happened. There, in the center of the room was Matilda, with paint all over her, Mom’s white carpet and Mom’s beautiful white bedspread.

“How could you let Matilda, at such a young age, use these paints?” exclaimed Mom.

Why the heck was she blaming it all on me?

“Mom, I knew nothing about this,” I answered angrily. “I don’t know where she got the paints from.”

“I am sorry, but you are grounded,” my mom said, and she sent me off to my room. That was the most terrible day in my life!

About one month later, Mom got a phone call from the doctor.

“Hello, Mrs. Taylor, I am afraid I have bad news for you. I am afraid that you have the wrong child,” said Dr. Moreaux.

“How could I possibly have mistaken Matilda for my own daughter? I love her with all my heart. I don’t think I could like any other baby except her,” stated mother.

That afternoon, we went to the hospital to pick up Matilda II. When we got there, my mouth dropped open in surprise. Matilda’s real parents had birthmarks across their faces, as well. Mother traded babies with Mrs. Caster. Mom and Mrs. Caster were both sobbing at the sight of their original babies leaving them.

We went back to the car and drove home. Mom sobbed all the way home.

That night, when Mom went to put Ashley, my younger sister, into bed, I snuck into Matilda II’s room. I went up to her crib and looked over the edge. I reached down and tickled her and she laughed. I did it again, but she didn’t laugh as much. I did it a third time, and she sat up and ripped my arm off.