Suburb Family Sneezes

[DesperationLover]

Character overviews:

 

Janet Schabb - 41 years old. One of the girls' moms. She has short, medium brown hair, and is the second tallest. She easily has the biggest nose, complementary to her having the biggest and loudest sneezes. She gets extremely desperate when in need of a sneeze, having the most exaggerated facial expressions. Her sneezes are long and cause the most damage by far, so she has to be vigilant of what’s around her nose.

 

Allison Schabb - 23 years old. The oldest of the three girls. She has light brown hair in French braids, and is the tallest. Her nose is like a button nose but scaled up significantly. Allison’s sneezes are extremely misty, and thus has been nicknamed ‘Allistorm’, as a joke about raining spray down on others. She has quiet hitches, mostly, but can have larger ones, leaning her head back a lot when doing so and then snapping down when sneezing.

 

Natalie Schabb - 21 years old. Natalie is the middle child,  with a pixie cut containing a light blue dyed streak. She’s the second shortest. Her nose is bulbous and wide. Her sneezes are about half as powerful as Janet's and super short, usually coming in small fits. She has short but deep hitches, and when she can’t hold back, the bursts of strong sneezes make her change direction when sneezing due to their power.

 

Lily Schabb - 20 years old. She’s the youngest, with long blonde hair. Lily is also the smallest, including a deceptively sized nose: it’s small, but her nostrils flare continuously when irritated and keep growing and sucking in more irritants. She has potential for wide ranges of sneezes, depending on how long she sucks more air in/how big her nostrils flare. Lily has short and sharp hitches.

 

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There were little to no clouds hindering a bath of sunshine to warm a Midwestern suburb during the morning hours. It was already heating speedily at 9 a.m., but the air was still pleasant. A breeze kept things at a nice temperature, though it also began to carry pollen from all around. It wasn't excessive, but it was enough to be a concern for a family on the corner of one of the streets of the neighborhood.

 

A white house with blue shutters stood on this corner. It was a quintessential suburban house, with a shaded porch, large yard, and many windows for the many rooms it held. Each of them showed no activity for most of the morning so far, that was until the figure of a tall girl, still in her pajamas, appeared suddenly in a second floor window. The window slammed upwards, as she poked her head out just in time for...

 

"Heh-HHHEEEEPPTTTSHHHHHH!!!" A gigantic sneeze blew out of her. It came with a voluminous spray that sparkled in the morning sun. After a scrunch of her nose, anticipating another one, but not having it come, she gave it a quick wipe and shut the window. "Phew, almost didn't make it." She turned back to her blanket, which had been thrown to the floor in her speedy awakening. "Damn, the window was shut but that definitely felt like a pollen sneeze. Hope nobody else forgot their medication like I did, we gotta keep these windows *sniff* shut." After getting her bed back in order, she went to the bathroom to clean up. In an attempt to trap or remove any pollen in her hair, it was straightened with a brush repeatedly soaked under the faucet. Then it was put up into her usual French braids before she washed her face and took a last look at herself. Her nose, one that resembled an oversized button nose, seemed to be slightly pink around the nostrils, but when wasn't it? 

 

Exiting the bathroom, it picked up on something new. Thankfully not an allergen though, "Mmm, pancakes!" Even though she was in a master's program in college, coming home every summer brought out a bit of the kid in her. While she wanted to race down the stairs and run to the kitchen, she restrained herself. Though, she still moved swiftly down and soon found her step-mom in the kitchen. She was standing in front of a griddle on the counter, brushing hair away from her face when she noticed Allison come up to the fridge. 

 

"Well, hello there young lady. Couldnt resist the smell of these pancakes huh?" She asked as she poured another drop of batter into the pan.

 

"Yea, I got out of the bathroom, and the scent just filled my nose. Can't wait for them!" Allison replied as she filled herself a glass of milk to tide herself over until they were ready. She noticed there was a package of bacon unopened in the fridge, "Hey, do you want me to fry up this bacon on the stove? I'd loooove to have some with those pancakes."

 

"That would be splendid Allison. I was going to make those next, but I'd be awfully appreciative if you got them cooked." She smiled to herself as her stepdaughter got a pan set on the stove next to Janet and the griddle. The help was much appreciated, as she had gotten a slow start to the day. "Did you sleep well? I know your old bed must not be as comfortable as the one in your apartment at college."

 

"Oh no, it always feels great to come back home to sleep, even if it could be a little longer, haha. I slept mostly decently; woke up to an incredibly tickly nose. Nearly didn't make it to the window before I sneezed!" Allison giggled to herself while she set the bacon in the pan, and they began to sizzle and sputter. 

 

Janet joined in on the giggling, not just from knowing how difficult it can be to wake up to an impending sneeze, (especially for this family) but also as it reminded her of previous failed attempts. "Oh dear, I remember the time you left your window cracked open last spring break, let all that pollen in? The mess on that window after you weren't able to lift it up in time, ha! So, I'm glad you made it this time, heard it loud and clear from down here."

 

Allison rolled her eyes at Janet before another voice teased at her about her sneeze.

 

"Yea I was sleeping pretty well until I heard you go off. Just glad you got the window open, cause that one was loud enough that I thought it was one of Janet's small ones for a sec. Might've hurt our ears if it had been inside." 

 

Allison gave Natalie a playful shove as she opened the fridge for some water. "Hey it wasn't that bad, I don't normally sneeze that loud."

 

"Yea you do sometimes!" Now the last person awake entered the kitchen, "I heard it too, but I saw it even more." The petite blonde snuck around to the the table and sat down, looking at her phone but still conversing. "I was putting on a sweatshirt when I saw your window fly open, and a cloud of spray shot like 10 feet out the window! What got in your nose this morning? Don't let it get near Janet." She finished with a half playful, half serious tone.

 

"I don't know Lily, I had my air filter on in my room, and I didn't leave my window open. In fact, I almost didn't make it because I couldn't unlock it that fast." The tall girl making the bacon explained.

 

Now Natalie jumped back in, "I'm glad you did, just keep some tissues with you until you're sure you're not gonna sneeze more. I don't wanna get misted."

 

"Yea, Alli-storm. Don't rain down any sneezes on our first day back for summer!." Her youngest sister teased her further, smiling up from her phone. 

 

By this time, Janet had finished stacking a hefty pile of pancakes, all golden brown and steaming still. She carried the tray over to the island counter where Natalie and Lily were sitting and then went to grab plates and silverware for them. They each began to chow down on the fluffy disks while Janet cleaned up. "Oh yes, it's so wonderful to have you girls back home for the summer. Your mother and I have been so looking forward to it. She had to run in to work for a bit this morning, but she said she'll pick up something special for us when she stops to get all the supplies for this evening after she's off." Janet paused, suddenly remembering something and directing her attention to the blonde scarfing down bite after bite of the flapjacks. "Sooooo, Lily, is your friend still coming over tonight?"

 

The petite girl froze while eating, "Um... yea they're coming by around 6:30."

 

Allison was just finishing up with the bacon but whipped around at this news, "Ooooh, a new friend huh? Who are they? Tell us about them." 

 

Lily blushed heavily now, she could feel her cheeks reddening, "Uh, just someone I met in my program, Jay.  We didn't realize they only live around half an hour away from here, so I asked Janet and mom if we could invite them over for the cookout." 

 

Allison grinned at her sister before turning back to the sizzling bacon, "That's wonderful, I'm so glad you're making close friends there. How did you two meet?"

 

Lily was still a little embarrassed, but continued on. "They're really cool and helped me with some homework this last semester, so we've been going to the dining hall sometimes for dih... for diiih... hih-ih-hih... heh-hih-heh...." Lily began her rapid hitching and raced over to the roll of paper towels. The rest of the women worried she wouldn't make it in time, as her nostrils began to flare larger with each breath, but she grabbed a few just as she neared the end. "Hih-ih-ih-hihhh... heehhhhhh EEEETTTTSHHHEWWW!!!" The sneeze overcame Lily just after she brought the wad up to her face. She hadn’t hitched terribly long, meaning that the paper towels mostly withheld it. Only a few gusts of air leaked out that didn't do much.

 

Janet rubbed her own nose, "You good hun?" To which Lily nodded as she blew her nose. "Ok, good, good." She looked around, none of the windows were open, but she knew pollen was likely to blame. "Well thank goodness I had my meds early, haha. Seems like something is in the air." 

 

"I'll say." Allison remarked as she brought the now fully cooked batch of bacon over. "Something's got Lily and I sneezing already this morning. Hope it doesn't linger around until the evening, I’m really hoping to have a calm time with my friends tonight."

 

She sat down and distributed the bacon to Janet, who took only two pieces. Then it went to Lily, who took four whole pieces, and she was about to serve Natalie when she raised her hand in refusal, grabbed her phone, and left. Having dealt with her moody sister for enough years, Allison didn't care. She simply enjoyed the extra bacon the three remaining seated could share.

 

"Her loss, I'm digging in."

 

Janet looked up from her plate to see the middle child gone, "What? She didn't want any? Bacon's one of the few things she'll eat anytime we make it."

 

"Yea, the only person who likes bacon more than her is me, and not by much." Lily chimed in.

 

"Well, ya snooze ya los-"

 

"AAAACHHUUMPPHHHH!" Came from outside.

 

"Ohhhhh." The three at the countertop realized all at once.

 

"HHAAACCHHHEEPPHH!"

 

"How many you think it's gonna be?" Allison asked without looking up from her food.

 

"HEEHCHHHUUKKKK!"

 

Lily gave a look of consideration for a second before giving a guess, "Eh, one or two more." 

 

"AAAKKKKTTSHHUUPPPP! HHHEEEHHHTCHHH!"

 

The three waited for a few moments, no more came, only the sound of the front door opening and Natalie's footsteps as she came back in. "Sorry Janet, the first one hit the maple tree and blew off some leaves, the rest were fine though." Natalie rolled her eyes at Allison before reclaiming her portion of the bacon.

 

"Oh don't apologize over a few leaves Nat, sounds like a successful aversion to me." 

Natalie smiled at the comment, actually grateful to have someone who understands the burden of such forceful sneezing. Sure, Lily was possible of similarly sized ones, but they were rare, only happening if she had a ton of hitching beforehand.

 

"Thanks Janet, it's nice when I can somewhat manage where they go." 

 

Allison was on her last piece of bacon. She sat there wiggling it back and forth and decided to tease back at her sister about their differing sneezes. "Yea I'm sure it's nice only having a sneeze that could blow around stuff. Like, if you sneeze into your closet, you’ll have to pick up your clothes. If I can't hold back when I'm trying to pick out something from my closet, I have to do a boatload of laundry." 

 

Her younger sister leaned back and gave an exasperated look, "Oh I'm sure it's such a hassle to be able to have some control over where they go. Can't imagine not being able to steady your body between gale force sneezes when you have a fit."

 

Allison was just about to retort, bringing a finger up to begin emphasizing a point, when she was interrupted by her youngest sister now. “At least all of you know exactly what to prepare for when you sneeze. It's a gamble everytime my breath starts to hitch! I could inhale three times and have an almost normal sized sneeze, or I could be hitching in bursts for half a minute, nostrils flaring more and more, just making it worse, before I have a sneeze that could almost rival Janet's!" Of course, none of the siblings could truly rival Janet's explosive sneezes, but the comparison had a decent effect. By this point she was kneeling up on her seat while they all began to have a playful tirade about their allergies and reactions thereof. 

 

As Janet began picking up the used silverware and plates, Allison was defending the wetness of the messes she made, Natalie defended the erratic nature of her own, and Lily over-exaggerated the frequency at which she had truly gigantic sneezes. It was half in jest, half true debate, and all three were getting invested. 

 

"Gehhh...."

 

But one noise was enough to snag their attention, even though anyone else likely would've missed it over the debate.

 

"H-h-huh..." 

 

They all turned to Janet, who was moving at a snail's pace with the dishes, headed for the sink. Her nose was twitching and her eyes were drooping; all of the girls dashed into action at this sight.

 

"Oh shoot, Lily, come take the dishes from her!" Allison leaped from her chair at the same time she told her sister this, running up to Janet's side. Her right finger came straight up to her nose, applying excessive pressure to her septum. Once Lily had relieved Janet of the dishes, Allison supported her arm as she tried to resist the urge to sneeze.

 

"Th-theh..." She tightened her fist as she struggled against the sudden tickle, "Th-thank you girls. I, I-ehhhehh… This came out of nuh…n-nowhere. There must pah… hih…” 

 

“Don’t worry about talking Janet!” Natalie was now also over next to her. With the two of them having somewhat similar sneezes, they were able to help each other out when they were together. “No, Allison, don’t pinch her nose. Keep the pressure on her septum.”

 

In these instances, Allison didn't quarrel with her sister. She knew nobody there wanted a sneeze from Janet, at least not indoors. So she continued back at her original plan, having a firm finger under the giant, quivering nose before her.

 

“Alright, I’m gonna try massaging the bridge of your nose, ok? When you feel in control enough, give a good exhale out of just your nose.” Natalie brough her hands up above Allison’s, and began rubbing slowly but firmly.

 

“Ah-ah-alright Nat… hehhh…. igghhh…” Janet’s hitching continued at pace for a few seconds. Her eyes welled up from the allergen as well, and Natalie worried that it was a sign Janet wasn't going to make it. She rubbed more vigorously, and Janet gave two powerful exhales out her nose. After the second one her eyes began to relax. They unscrunched a bit, and her brow released tension. "Cah-can I get a tissue Lih-hily? I think one good bluh… blow will sate my nose."

 

The girl reached over to the counter (there was an abundance of tissues in a home like this) and grabbed one of the tissue boxes, brought it over, and placed one in Janet's extended hand. She kept another one ready in case. Slowly, between a couple small hitches, Janet raised the tissue to her nose. Now the moment of truth came. Would she clear out of the irritant? Or would she agitate it around, causing more tickling and a potentially devastating sneeze? 

 

One blow, so far so good. Allison, Natalie, and Lily stood by, anxious of what may come. Their hands were obviously off her nose at this point. All they could do was hope. She took another tissue and another successful blow came. She needed a third one, as the pollen had made for a very bothered and runny nose. "Ah.. hahhhh…" She was about to blow it when a sudden gasp escaped her. All three girls ran out of the way, anticipating a dreadful incoming gale. "Oh. Phew…" It never came. Instead the final blow commenced and afterward her face looked as though she had never been bothered in the first place. 

 

"Oh my goodness." Janet sighed as she took one last tissue to dab her eyes dry again, "Haha, that was almost bad, wasn't it girls?"

 

They all sighed too, heavy ones at the relief of not having to get new appliances, dishware, or sometimes furniture from the potential destruction Janet's sneezes exuded.

 

"Wow! Yea I'm glad you didn't sneeze. We better be careful today." Lily suggested.

 

Natalie thought for a moment, "Janet, did you and mom get rid of our old heavy duty air filter? I know it wasn't working perfectly, but the small ones we have might need some assistance. And if we're all already sneezing before breakfast is done we definitely need to make sure we keep this house allergen free."

 

Janet put a hand to the side of her head. It took a while to recollect the filters fate, but it finally came to her. Though as quickly as her face lit up upon remembering it, it soon after went to a frustrated look. "Ah! Well…. I do know where it is, but you're not gonna like it."

 

"I don't think we have a choice. We seemed to be having a lucky streak without using one, but, and I mean this in the nicest way possible, we don't want an close call like that again from your nose." Allison added, trying to be nice.

 

"Oh I understand dear, you don't have to sugar coat it. I've been dealing with this darn thing for 41 years. Heck, your mom's been dealing with hers for five more than that. Speaking of her, that's the problem. Last Christmas, after you all went to bed, we stayed up late drinking a little too much cider and wine with your uncle and my cousins. At some point sneezing came up as a point of conversation, and subsequently the filter." She twiddled her fingers before getting to the next part. "We asked your uncle to move it since it wasn't working properly. I don't know why we decided that, we had too much to drink I guess... I suppose it was taking up space in the living room, but it still worked well enough."

 

Natalie looked like she knew the answer to her next question, but she went ahead. "So… where did he put it?"

 

Janet paused, finally revealing the unfortunate location. "...the attic…"

 

"Oh…. "

 

All four of them shook their heads at the situation.

 

 

 

Part 2 to come (hopefully) soon!

[demon_destroyer7479]

Love this idea! Super amazing story and hope to see it continued! I wonder if Janet's sneeze will come back. Also think it would be fun to see Janet, Natalie and Lilly (with all her hitching) all sneezing simultaneously. Could make for some dangerous outcomes! Also wonder what would happen if Lilly surprised them and her sneezes ended up surpassing Janets if she hitched long enough!

[maddragon]

Great! and an interesting start

[Snowfrost]

I loved it can't wait for the second part 

[JohnnyOxn]

I really like it so far. I’m curious to see where you go from here!

[Mr. Black Cherry Berry Tea]

This is delightful! I love the smaller (but still enormous) sneezes leading up to Janet’s near-catastrophe. It just builds and builds the anticipation and tension. I hope you continue with this one; it was delightful.

[Hovercuke]

Oooh I knew from the character descriptions that I was going to like this and I totally did! What a fantastic concept, and I’m pumped to see their mom in the picture too!

[Dingle]

i love where this is going but i would love to see lilly truly blow janet out of the water

[Dingle]

is there going to be a sequel for this?

[DesperationLover]

PART 2!

(finally)

 

 

"There's no way any of us are getting that thing down without a few sneezes… realistically, would cause a nasty fit." Natalie realized.

 

Allison volunteered immediately, understanding the danger of their itchy noses continuing, "Well, I might make a mess of the other stuff we have up there, but I could get it."

 

"Oh honey, that thing weighs a ton, do you think you could get it down safely?" Janet fretted.

 

"I mean what other choice do we have? We might be ok the rest of the day, but if we aren't we might keep sn-snee…. heee…" The tall girl brought a finger up to her nose, but her nose didn't care. She bolted for the sliding door to the patio, it was the closest way outside.

 

"Here, Ally! I've got the tissues." Even though Lily only had one at the ready, it was probably the smarter option. Allison just made a split second decision, and sadly it was the wrong one. She was there, her fingers weakly reaching for the handle, when they dropped in defeat.

"Iiiiihhhhhh…. HAHHH!….. HEEGGGGPPPSIIIIIHHHHHHHHH!" She tensed and leaned forward as a wonderfully large sneeze burst out of her. She, as always, couldn't contain the spray that accompanied it. Her sisters and step mom looked at the sliding glass door as she covered the entirety of it with her spray. It was already a mess when they saw her lean back with her head tilted up. 

 

Janet gave an understanding smile at the poor girl before her next spray, and grabbed paper towels and disinfectant while she let the second one out.

 

"Gahhh, hahhh… shihhhh… hitttt…. EEEPPPPSHHHKKKKKKK!" The left door had received the majority of the first blow, now the right suffered the same fate. Each was coated in a dripping mist due to Allison's poor decision to try and go outside rather than cover her sneeze. Lily, upset she didn’t take her tissue, teased her about it.

 

"Way to go Allistorm, now we have to clean the patio door."

 

"Sih… sorry guys."

 

Janet gave her a pat on the back and a few tissues for her nose, "It's alright hun, happens to all of us." She got right to work with Allison wiping down the wet mess, not batting an eye. "Hmm, well thankfully it wasn't to me, or Natalie I suppose. Then we would've had broken glass to deal with, if not an unhinged door! Haha." She said as she turned to the middle daughter.

 

"Yea Janet's right, we really have to get that air purifier from the attic. Allison, really think you can get it down without hurting yourself?"

 

Her older sister looked at the patio door and Janet cleaning it, and gained a new resolve. "Yea, I can get it. Gonna need a bunch of tissues though!" She was partially joking, but Lily, still the steward of tissues, gave her a few as she started towards the staircase. Her sisters followed behind, but understandably Janet stayed downstairs. They all ascended the staircase, at the top of it was the hatch door to the attic. Allison took one look at it, considered the last time she’d been up there, then went to the bathroom. She took out the extra strength nasal spray from the cabinet and got a good dose in each nostril. “Will this keep me from sneezing up there forever? Probably not. Will it stave off the sneezing for a bit so I can find the filter and make a plan for getting it down? ...hopefully…” Allison thought to herself. 

 

There was no reason putting it off, and every reason to prevent any more allergy attacks today. So, Allison reached up to the handle and unlocked the hatch door to the dusty hell above them. It was tightly sealed for the family's protection, but that meant when it was opened everything that had settled on the other side was unleashed.

 

*Crack!*

 

*Wooooosh!*

 

A small shower of dust rained down on them. “Gaaahhh…” Natalie, being cautious, dashed back down the stairs and went outside again. With her sneezes she couldn't be too careful. Allison was right under it all and got the worst of it. The urge to sneeze was approaching quicker than she thought it would. "Heh… oh. Yea d-def gonna sneeze. Lih… Lily could you give me a couple of theh.. those…" Thankfully, she knew exactly what Allison needed and proceeded to give her a thick stack of tissues. She knew what was enough to catch all the wetness that was about to be expelled as her sister bent down, legs braced and…

 

"Giiihhhhhh-GGIIIIIIIIPPPPPSSSTTTHHHHHH!!!!"

She stood back up, waited to see if there were any more on the way, then pitched the soaked tissues in the bathroom garbage when she realized the coast was clear. "Whewwww. Glad that was the only one. I'd already soaked those tissues. I've just been extra messy today." 

 

"I'll say *sniff* You've been the sneeziest one today. I bet when you go up there, you’ll be even sneezier than mom, haha.” Lily said while rubbing her nose.

 

“Oh I know it, but I guess I gotta deal with some sneezes now to keep us from all sneezing up a storm later. Speaking of, you didn’t seem terribly affected by all that dust? Since Natalie went outside and there’s no way Janet’s coming even close to here right now, would you be comfortable coming up with me and being my helper if need be?”

 

“Sure! I’d be happy to, well, mostly I just wanna see how much the attic is gonna make you sneeze!" Lily laughed, before adding on, "Just don't aim it at me!”

 

Allison rolled her eyes and gave Lily a playful shove, “Oh I dunnnnooooo, might be pretty hard for me to control myself with all that dust up here.” Allison joked as she finally climbed up the ladder, already feeling another tingling sensation in her nose. Before she popped her head up, she pinched her nose. "I know this isn't gonna protect me for long, but it'll give me a little extra time before I start sneezing my head off."

 

Once she got fully up into the space, it looked different than she remembered. Nobody in the family went up here often at all. It was only when necessary, and even then, they often asked friends or relatives to help them out. Any one of them would be sure to have a sneezing fit if they went up there.

 

So Allison and Lily were the best choice. "Now Lily, your sneezes have been pretty tame today, but you gotta let me know if you feel a bigger one starting to build up. Ok?" She asked this as Lily climbed up top, pinching her own nose too. "Don't worry ill be fih… FIIIIHHH…." Lilly paused and held an exaggerated expression for a second, with her eyes closed. Then she opened one eye at Allison and giggled, "Hehehe. Just kidding, I'm fine. I promise I won't sneeze too hard right now."

 

"You little brat." Allison joked, "Let's just find that thing as quick as we can."

 

There were boxes and old furniture piled up high in every direction. They both tried to be careful, but even with their noses pinched, tiny tickles were starting to take root. They had to move slowly and carefully to traverse their large attic. Allison was ducking under a leaning lamp when there was a loud *CRASH!* from the other side. "Lily? You good?"

 

After a bit of coughing and sniffling, her sister returned, "Yeah, knocked over a box and a bunch of dust came up in my face. Ugh, my nose itches now…" 

 

"If you're gonna sneeze, just warn me first, got it?"

 

"Don't think so, b-but ill warn ihhh… if I think I will."

 

Allison knew that it was only a matter of time until she sneezed now. When any of their breaths started hitching, it rarely wasn't an alert of an incoming sneeze. She felt her own nose twitching and realized she would be starting soon. The tissues would help, sure, but only a tiny bit. So, for now she rummaged through beat up cardboard boxes as efficiently as she could using only one arm. She did find old memories in the form of past toys, family photos, and even a sentimental broken wine glass Janet had kept in a tupperware container from her first date with the girls' mom.

 

It sent her lost in thought, glad to see how happy Janet had made their mom. She was happy for them all to have a day together today, good food later and good family and friends. That is as long as there were no interruptions…

 

"Ah-Allison… gonnahhh!"

 

...such as any of them sneezing their heads off.

 

"Geh-HEEEEPPPPTTTTSHHHHHH! GIIIIIITTTSSSHHHHOOOOO!"

 

*CRRRRASH!* 

 

This time an assortment of boxes fell from two of Lily's moderate sneezes. It surprised Allison while she was lost in thought. She turned, letting go of her nose. "Woah, you good Lil?" After a shuffling of boxes and one more much smaller sneeze, Lily emerged after falling onto the floor boards. "Wow, be careful Allistorm, I barely had any hitching leading up to those sneezes and they were a little more powerful than the others I've had today."

 

"Yea… I…" Allison was beginning to inhale the tickly dust now that her hand got removed from her nose. It wouldn't do much good to try and rub or pinch her nose again, and just as she was about to do so, she decided to take a different route. "I… hah… ahhh… definitely have to sn-sneee-sneeze now. Buhuuhhht, I think I'd rather try and let it come and get… hiiiihhtt a good couple out and see if that will sate my nih-niihhhiih…nose…." Allison brought the hand back down and let her nostrils flare as they took in the dust shifting around from the boxes' fall. Her head tilted backwards as she began to hitch louder. Although Lily already knew to take cover, lest she get doused with Allison's spray, her older sister still gave a warning in the form of her hand waving Lily to move to the side. "Bbeeehhhh…. Ahhh that tiiiiihhhckles…. Oh iihhhh-gonna be a huge sp-spr-spray!"

 

"Yea, I can tell." Lily said, mainly to herself, from behind an old bookshelf, "Allistorm is about to come through with a monsoon this time!"

 

The hitching girl overheard this part and wasn't insulted, "Oh you beh… you better beleeee….believe it, I giiihhhhh… Ihhhhiiittts! BBBIIIIIIIIIIIHHHHHGGGTTTTIIIIISSSHHHHH!!!" The first sneeze cannoned out of her like a pressurized vessel had been punctured! And it looked like it too. Similar to Lily, these attic sneezes were bigger than their previous ones this morning. From the corner she stood in, the mist she produced traveled all the way to the opposite corner coating various things in its path.

 

The old furniture and boxes glinted in the sun rays that shone through the two windows on opposite sides of the attic. Unfortunately, these rays were hitting Allison in the eyes. More dust and photic stimulation meant Allison wasn't done just yet. Lily had peaked up to check if the coast was clear. When she saw her sister's still fluttering eyes and bobbing head, she knew to duck down again and wait it out.

 

Allison's hitching was silent now, the itch was so strong that she didn't even have the breath to gasp out. Finally, after stabilizing herself against a wall, she let out a drizzly triple. "GahHHHHEEEEPPPPCCHHHHHH!!! HHAAAGGGGGKKKEEEEESK!!! Biiihhhihhh… IIIIIIIIPPPPPPSSSTTTTSSSHHHHHH!!!!" If one giant sneeze was enough to carry over a bunch of the attic, three more was enough to cover almost everything. Well, everything in the path of her blast. There were small areas where there were "sneeze shadows", portions of boxes and the floor that were dry due to having something between them and Allison's voluminous spray. 

 

*sniiiiiifff* After a sniffle and a nose blow from a couple remaining tissues, Allison gave the thumbs up that she was ok now. "Lily, I'm *sniff* I'm done for sure, you can come out!" 

 

Lily popped her head out again, "Thank goodness. Wow, Ally, I haven't seen you make this kinda mess for a while!" Lily had been lucky to be in one of the sneeze shadows, and was only just seeing the extent she'd wetted with her sneezing. Another thing she noticed soon after was… *sniff* "Hey, my nose doesn't tickle from the dust? I think all of your spray coated most of it!"

 

Allison looked around, gave a cautious sniff herself, and agreed, "Dang, yea it looks like. Hah, sometimes our allergies can come in handy I guess. Oh! Lily, look!" She pointed off to her right, at an object glistening like a beacon due to the light hitting her spray. Lily turned to her left and behind herself to see it. “The air purifier!” The sisters raced over to it while they finished rubbing the sniffles out of their noses. 

There it was! A giant thing, on the verge of industrial in size and appearance. Though it's needed in this home. "Gosh, it's been since last fall I've seen it, I forgot how much space it takes up." Lily recognized. Allison looked over it too, though her surprise at it concerned how heavy it was. "Yeah. And if you remember, this thing weighs a ton. I'm gonna need your help to lift it and get it down from here." 

 

"No problem! I've been going to the university gym this spring!"

 

 

"Hah, you're working out now? Well, then show those muscles off and help get this thing out." Allison teased as they moved into position around it. It took some working out where the best place was to handle it, especially to figure out where its center of gravity lay, but they hoisted it up with minor struggling.

 

"See? Just because I'm small doesn't mean I'm not strong. I mean, you know my nose is the smallest out of all of us, and I can let out some pretty big sneezes, especially with pine pollen. Remember that camping trip?"

 

"Hahaha, I remember us having to cram into two tents instead of three because you blew the third one away! But you're right, you are strong, despite being smaller… and I'll admit, your nose is pretty powerful. I can understand that it can be difficult." Allison conceded, giving her youngest sister a genuine smile.

 

Lily returned it as they moved slowly towards the attic hatch, "Thanks, yea it can be difficult to judge, but I like my nose. Can't imagine always knowing you're gonna have an enormously messy sneeze no matter what you do. Happy to be the keeper of the tissues for you though." Allison grinned back even more at her sister. 

 

"Oh gosh, what are we doing, sibling bonding?" Allison said as she returned the conversation to a light-hearted path.

 

"We were just debating our sneezes earlier, hehe, at least we're not Natalie!"

 

"Yea! Imagine sneezing every which way, like achoo! achoo! achoo!" Allison faked sneezing in all different directions before snapping back to looking at where she was placing her feet.

 

Lily was giggling at her exaggerated portrayal of their sister, "Hehehe, the only thing missing is the boxes up here being torn apart!"

 

"Totally, if she was here-"

 

"If I was up there what? I'd be blowing the boxes apart? At least I wouldn't be covered in spray or unsure if I should hide or not from a tiny blonde's next sneeze."

The two girls in the attic had reached the hatch to downstairs, and they were greeted by their other sister standing there with a smirk, joining in on their back and forth.

 

"Ahhh, back from destroying our birch tree further Natalie?" Her older sister joked. 

 

"Not sure if you have ears, but I didn't sneeze at all. Unlike some people who make a mess of patio doors, I can hold them in when I need to."

 

"Ok, ok, I concede that. Just stay there and cover us while we try and get this thing down."

 

The air purifier was so bulky that it barely fit through the opening. Alison went first, backwards down the ladder as Lily eased it to her to start lowering down. Natalie put a hand on her older sister's back to stabilize her, and Lily held onto the handle up top to alleviate some of the weight. After a careful minute of cautious steps down the ladder, the three sisters were all together, the hatch was closed, and the purifier was out and finally ready for use!

 

The three of them each helped in getting it down the stairs. Once on the main floor, they could use the wheels to push it over to the living room. There, in the middle of one wall, was the area of floor which looked less used than the rest of it. This was the purifier's original spot, and once again it claimed its helpful space. They were admiring their work, wiping down its exterior,  and getting it plugged in when Janet poked her head around the corner.

 

"I gotta say, you guys did that pretty efficiently, sounded like only a few boxes got tumbled over up there?"

 

"Just a few cherished possessions broken Janet." Allison joked.

 

"Hey I only sneezed a couple times." Lily protested, "And besides. The real damage was Allison's major spraying. I've not seen her go that hard for like a year at least!'

 

Janet came over and gave the eldest girl a rub on her back, "You're having quite the messy day aren't ya? Sure you're not getting sick or anything? Cause I definitely have to know if you are."

 

Allison turned towards her and reassured her that she was ok, "Definitely not getting sick, I know my sneezes. Dust just does that to me, and there was tons of it up there."

 

"Alright, alright dear. Then let's just get this going again. My nose has had a fraction of a tickle in it since I nearly sneezed earlier. I think we'd all do well to get this bad boy running." With that Janet reached down to the machine. The green light was shining, signaling it was ready to be put into whatever mode they chose. Janet choose the highest setting to get things cleared up as fast as possible, as they had a good deal of work to do for the evening. 

 

*beep*  *boop*

 

A couple presses and the machine started to whir up to speed. That's when they realized their mistake.

 

*WOOOOOSH!*

 

Allison's sneeze had trapped all the dust on the outside of the machine, and they'd just wiped down its surface, but in their hurry to get it up and running, they had overlooked the dust that was trapped inside… and Janet was standing right in front of it when she turned it on. 

 

As it came to life, it cycled air through it and all the dust sealed inside had been ejected over the four of them, mainly onto Janet. Her face was blasted with it all. Her eyes winced as they got hit. Her cheeks felt the stuff brush past as it blew, and her poor, sensitive nose got coated with it all, with her nostrils catching a good brunt of it. Even though the other girls were each dealing with their own new tickles, they saw her face. 

If that little tickle that had stuck around was a pile of embers, this blast was a dousing of gasoline to the fire. Her face contorted to an almost cartoonish expression. Her brow furrowed inward as far as it could, her eyes closed but showing pure desperation, and of course her nostrils began flaring excessively.

 

"AHHHH!  Hahhh… guh… girlssss?…" That's all Janet could manage, talking more would definitely lead to the sneeze coming out. Thankfully, the other girls knew what she was asking. They fought off their own tickly beginnings of sneezes because they needed to make sure Janet got outside before she went off. Her protruding nose was trembling and twitching, not quickly, but with great amplitude. 

 

"Aih-Allison, keep pushing her along.” *sniff* Natalie took charge again, as she knew how bad this could be if they didn't get outside. She had to control her own flaring nose while she did everything to keep Janet's ok as well. "I'll keeee…. keep her nose as cuh-cih-controlled as I… hiiihhh… HHHIIIIHHHHH!… hih?" While they all came down the hallway, Natalie was getting close to letting go, when she felt a small finger press firmly against her septum. 

 

"Did-don't worry Nat, I gotcha." Lily, the little helper of the day coming through yet again. 

 

Allison, unfortunately, had not gotten all of the sneezes out she thought she had up in the attic. To be fair, even if she had, this amount of dust shot in her face would've done her in anyway. "Siuh…sorryyyyaaAAAATTTTTSSHHHHHHH!" She whipped around to let it out to the side. It covered a bunch of the wall and a family photo that hung on it. Allison recovered quickly, and continued to push everybody along.

 

She had to push Janet especially hard now. The closer she got to losing control, the less she was able to work her limbs well. In addition to that, she had to push more because her sisters were unable to stop their own tickles too. Lily was doing a splendid job trying to keep Natalie’s nose from tingling and twitching, but she didn’t think to soothe her own nose. The whole time they’d been trudging towards the front door, her nose had been flaring. “Hiiiibbb….” Finally she realized how dire her inhaling had gotten. Her fingers weren’t enough to do anything at this point, her normally tiny nostrils were as wide as nickels at this point., and she too became powerless to help Natalie, Janet, or Allison as she geared up for a big one. “Ahh…. hiiih-ih-heh….. Gehehhh- bihh-ihhh-ihh….” 

 

“D-d-dear, watch out for… AHHhhhh….. The vayyyyse….” Janet, even though she on a desperately short fuse, was aware enough to be the parent and realize Lily was in the path of a new, and expensive, vase that her mother had bought recently. Lily was struggling though, she frequency of her hitches was keeping her from turning her head much. Natalie was an expert at being calm just until she really had to sneeze though. “Huh-hold it for just a second longer Lily. I’ll oohhhh…. Open the front door fih-for you…” She let go of Janet for a second to run up ahead (it was really a brisk walk at the point these girls were all at) and got her hand on the doorknob. Now, she was definitely calm until she needed to sneeze, but at this point, she couldn’t control one unfortunate sniff that sent a bit of dust trapped on the outside of her nostril to be carried into her nose. And that was it.

 

“AH! Gehhhh-giiihhh…. n-nooOOOO!…..AAAAAKKTTSHHHHEEEWWWW!!!!!” 

She opened the door, just not how she intended to. Her first giant sneeze made a crack in the frame. 

“YYYAAACCHOOOOOO!!!!! KEEEEPPPPTCHHHH!!!!” 

The second one flung her head to the side, where not much damage was done to the wall she now faced, the third landed back on the door, which cracked it further.

“EEEKKKCCHHHWWWIIIEEE!!!!”

Her fourth and final sneeze took all her strength not to blast anywhere else but the door, and finally, it was blown open!

 

“Muh-mih-move Nih-nah-Natalie!” Lily yelled as she broke past her sister. All the hitching had reached its limit and finally she was about to blow. She stood with a wide stance, arms held to the sides and behind her, fists clenched in anticipation. 

“Hih- h-hih—ihhh—-IIIIIIIPPPPPPCCCCSSHHUUUUWWWWEEEE!!!!!!” Lily finally showed off how big her sneezes could get as a whirlwind exploded from her. Grass got ripped up, leaves and flower petals blew everywhere from the plants in the front yard, and yard decorations were sent flying to the street. It was almost a pretty sight to see all the foliage flying in the air. If the had any time to enjoy it, they would, but they had to worry about Janet now. She stumbled out the door, trying to gear up for the colossal sneeze she knew was on its way. Eyes shut tight, she didn’t see the car pulling in to the driveway, and the driver wasn’t paying attention either.

 

“I’b guhhhhHHHH Wuh-Watch out!!!!!” For the first time in a while, Janet was going to sneeze. She was thankful she was outside, but boy, was it going to be a doozy. It wasn’t often she was able to sneeze, and for good reason, because…

 

“ah… aHHH…. aaAAHHHHH…… AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!”  There was the slightest of pauses, then…

 

“KKKKEEEEEEEEEETTTTTTCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!”

 

The sound alone was deafening. The girls, even though they stood behind her, felt the immense pressure she let out. Gale force winds were expelled from her nose and mouth. Janet somehow remained standing as her sneeze blew past the car pulling in. It was enough to stop it, then push it away. The car skidded in a diagonal line, dragged off the driveway, and slid most of the way onto the lawn. It rotated out of the way just as it came to the tree Natalie had sneezed at earlier. A blessing for the driver and car, but oh, not for that poor tree. Shrubs had already been ripped out of the ground, but now an impressive feat was observed as Janety’s sneeze raged on and blew at the tree. It creaked and its limbs bowed. Leaves began to rip off the branches, but not soon enough to take away enough surface area to keep itself from being uprooted. During the last seconds of Janet’s amazing outburst, the tree couldn’t stay stable, and its roots began to break. The tree tipped over and was eventually felled by Janet’s superhuman sneeze. 

 

When all was said and done, the destruction didn’t seem as severe as they might’ve imagined. Janet was left light headed, but stayed on her feet, barely, while she messily rubbed her nose after expelling that monster sneeze. The girls behind her were soothing their own noses, with Allison leaned against the porch and Natalie and Lily sitting on the ground. It was a lovely portrait of sneezy recovery, and the blonde in the car was taking it in as she got out.

 

“Aaaattccchhh! My goodness! I leave for a couple hours and you tear down our- Heeppttshhooo!... lovely birch?” She grabbed her purse and strode over to Janet with some tissues, while trying to contain her own frequent sneezes. “Just what in the world did I miss in the couple hours I’ve been guh…. Acchhooo!... gone?” Now she was giving out tissues to the three girls and looking back at Janet.

 

Lily was the first to speak up, “Sorry mom! We got the old air filter out of the attic.”

 

“Because we’d been starting to sneeze a bunch this morning, and Janet nearly let one out in the kitchen.”  Allison added.

 

“They did clean the outside of it…” Natalie explained between sniffles.

 

“But. my love, we didn't get the dust out from inside it. When we turned it on, we all got a cloud of dust in our faces and, well…” Janet gestured back at the damage the lawn had taken. “Oh, and sorry if I gave you a scare in the car, I hadn’t even realized you pulled up, I was so engrossed in my sneeze!”

 

“That’s ok dear, I’ve known… Heeptshhh!... I know full well you can’t help it sometimes. Well, glad I wasn’t here or eh-Ehhhcchttchhh!!! I’d be rapidly sneezing for an hour straight! Now, let's get inside and clean up. We have to make sure we don’t have any more of that going on at the get-together this evening, or while we’re preparing! Now, girls, come help me get the groceries inside, we have a lot of work to d-duh.. Dihd…. DYAAACHHHEEWWW!”

 

[demon_destroyer7479]

This was an amazing continuation! Loved everything from the attic sneezes to all the girls beings set off! Whole thing was perfect!

[NoV]

Not sure how I managed to miss the first part as well. Both parts are excellent, and dusty attics are such good locations for sneezefics