Flowers in the Attic Pt. 3 "Your Mother eats Raisin Bran in Hell"

Welcome back and here we begin chapter three and if anyone's been wondering why I hate the twins, you'll find out now...

Our chapter begins with our main characters waking up in the cramped and dark room in their Grandparents' giant mansion. A room on the barely used second floor that is - supposedly - the only room in a giant mansion that has it's own bathroom

 - Sorry, I'm still hung up on that. It's just too stupid for me to suspend my disbelief

Most of the first few pages is Cathy waking up and looking around the room, which as I've already said is dark, cramped with excess furniture and the blinds and shutters are closed.

Oh yeah - and there's gruesome paintings of Hell and damnation all over the walls.

Welcome home, kids

Chris the Art Nerd guesses that the paintings are Goya's work and Cathy kind of ignores him because he's a know-it-all. The twins wake up and immediately want to know how they got there, where they are, and start complaining that they don't like it. (There's going to be a lot of that. Gird your loins)

Now maybe I'm not being fair. It's not "the twins" that are annoying. It's only one of them.
Cathy spends a good deal of time talking about them in this chapter and explains that Carrie is always the one to voice her complaints and talk a lot. A. Lot.

She describes that as constantly chattering like a sweet little bird in the mornings, chirping happily. Two pages later she says she sounds like a moose.

Before Carrie can continue her complaining, the Grandmother comes in with a tray of food that she says will have to last them all day, seeing as she can't keep coming up and down the stairs all day, which I guess is fair, she is an old lady, after all and she doesn't want the servants to notice.

She explains that when they are in the bedroom they must be completely silent, so that no one will know they're there, but after the servants are done cleaning in that wing in the mornings, they may go up to the attic where there is room to run around and make noise.

Before she leaves, she gives them a list of all the things they can't do while they're staying in her home and says that even if they try to hide their wickedness, God will see every sin they commit and punish them for it.

Thanks, Grandma. Love you too.

Once she's out of the room they start to divvy up the food for the day and Chris acts like a complete and utter fuckboy when Cory (other twin) pees in a vase because Cathy and Carrie are in the bathroom.

" 'That should teach you to ignore a man in need. We men are not like you sit-down females. Any little thing will do in an emergency.' "

Go choke on your fedora.

Before they can actually eat, Carrie decides to speak up again, and there's a chance that she is not a fan of the breakfast menu:

" 'We-ee don't like bacon and eggs! Cold CEREAL is what we-ee like! We-ee don't want no hot, lumpy bumpy food that's greasy. Cold CEREAL IS WHAT WE LIKE!' she shrieked. 'Cold CEREAL WITH RAISINS!' "

I'm convinced this is what Raisin Bran ads look like in the deepest level of Inferno

Chris gets the two (actually one) of them to shape up and eat their food and after breakfast they look at The Grandmother's list, which basically sums up as:

- Always be fully dressed
- Never take the Lord's name in vain and say grace before meals
- Never open the drapes and look out the windows
- Never speak unless spoken to
- You're evil and the Devil's issue and there's no possible way for me or your Grandfather to love you so you're going to stay up here until he's dead and no one is to know you exist
- Don't waste food
 - Keep the room clean

" '...you are never to be idle. You will devote five hours each day to studying, and use the remainder of your time to develop your abilities in some meaningful way. If you have skills, abilities or talents, you will seek to improve upon them, and if you have no abilities, or talents, or skills, you will read the Bible; and if you cannot read, then you will sit and stare at the Bible, and try to absorb through the purity of your thoughts the meaning of the Lord and his ways."

The hell did I just read?

- Brush your teeth
- Make the beds

"... if I ever catch boys and girls using the bathroom at the same time, I will quite relentlessly, and without mercy, peel the skin from your backs.'"

So, y'know, usual thing.

They get through the list and Cathy starts freaking out that their mother will never win over the Grandfather and they could be trapped in that room forever.

Oh honey...you have no idea.

Chris assures her that, obviously The Grandmother is out of her mind and there's no way they'd actually have to take all of that seriously. He then makes the list into a paper airplane.

The chapter ends with Cathy still despairing over everything, but hoping that Chris is right and the grandfather might eventually have some affection to give his grandchildren.

Tune in next time where we see just how wrong she is~~~