The Great Emancipation

Twins Adam and Alexis Conroy were ordinary teens as far as height, weight, and looks were concerned - although according to some people's tastes Alexis was beautiful and not ordinary looking. However, no one thought that either was ordinary when it came to many other factors.

Even as a fifteen year old sophomore, Alexis was the best athlete in her High School. She was All-Conference in two sports, and All-American in field hockey and very likely to get a field hockey scholarship to the Division I University of her choice. She was also a B+ student.

Adam, as a fifteen year old junior (having skipped one grade, and declined to ski two others), had ordinary athleticism and played only intramural sports to keep in shape, not being good or interested enough to play interscholastic ones. However, even if Adam's IQ wasn't in the "genius" range, everyone who he came in contact with considered him to be one. This concept was cemented when he won sixth place in the national Regeneron Science Talent Search which included a non-taxable cash award of $80,000.

Alexis and Adam had two other distinguishing characteristics; they were genuinely kind and humble people who got along well with virtually all of their classmates, teachers, and school administrators; and despite their diverse interests and skills were each other's best friends.

You would think that Alexis and Adam had a perfect life. They might have, except for two things; their parents.

Adam and Alexis' mother Julia Conroy is a highly sensual woman. Although once she matured many figured that fifteen year old Alexis someday may have a body as alluring as Julia's, unless she had some skilled plastic surgery done on her face, Alexis would never have the same level of facial beauty as Julia - who herself had employed the services of a top notch plastic surgeon. In some ways Julia was a decent mother, although her children's successes did not warm her heart like it would have most mothers. However, she did have a very significant drawback. She was a serial cheater, and not too subtle about it either.

Adam and Alexis' father Orin Conroy is in some ways a powerful man. He manages about sixty employees for a Fortune 1000 company, and was a college football player of some renown. However, when it comes to his wife Julia he is a cuckold wimp. While there has never been any indication that he is a cheater himself, his failure to "rein in" his wife was a matter of consternation to many - especially Adam and Alexis.

******************

There were many situations during their lives when Alexis and Adam were embarrassed by their parents' behavior. This went way beyond the normal problems that teens have with their parents, which normally is just part of growing up. There were many instances when one or both of the teens were humiliated by what they heard other adults say about their parents - especially their mother's carousing. Sometimes conversations were interrupted when they were noticed. Other times it was impossible not to overhear what was being said both in public (including stores and the mall) and semi-private (even teachers gossiping in their rooms after hours).

The twins tried talking to their mother and father, while still being polite and subtle. It resulted only in them being dismissed-out-of-hand, chided, or yelled at. A first cataclysmic event, that occurred when Alexis was a 14 year old freshman, started to change their attitude.

Alexis' soccer practice had been canceled because of inclement weather conditions, and she got a ride home with a team member who was a 17 year old junior and lived nearby. She heard strange sounds coming from the upstairs of her house, and when she walked toward the open door of the master bedroom she saw naked Julia on her hands and knees on the bed with Alexis' AAU basketball coach Warren Thompson doing what Alexis had seen neighborhood male dogs do to female dogs in heat. She screamed.

Both Julia and Warren swore at her. She quickly got out of there and despite the weather conditions hid outside until it was time for Adam to get home from the after-school volunteer work that he did. Alexis was close enough to the house to hear the exchange between Julia and Warren as Warren left, both promising each other to talk to Alexis and threaten her to keep silent.

A distraught Alexis immediately related the entire scenario to Adam. After some initial tears on his part he came up with a definitive plan. "Listen, Sis, tonight we will not allow Mom to talk to you alone. I'll insist that anything she has to say to you be in my presence. If she doesn't like it, that's too bad. Then the day after tomorrow, Saturday, you'll call your coach and demand that he meet you in back of the concession stand at the school's football stadium; this is what we'll do then..."

Alexis' tears turned into a smile.

That night, Julia was frustrated when Alexis refused to talk to her privately about anything. "Anything you have to say to me you can say in Adam's presence, otherwise I don't want to hear it," was her steadfast reply to Julia's entreaties, with Adam standing next to her and frowning. After about the fifth unsuccessful attempt an irritated Julia snapped at both of them "You don't know what you saw, Alexis, and if you two brats don't keep your mouths shut there will be hell to pay for both of you," before she stormed off.

Given the ease with which Alexis got Warren to agree to meet with her he must have talked to Julia and worked out a plan with her. However, Warren and Julia badly underestimated Adam.

As part of his volunteer activities, Adam tutored members of the football team in math and science. The biggest, meanest, dude on the team was Dante Waters, a 20 year old senior defensive tackle who was six feet four inches tall, weighed 285 pounds, could bench press 425 pounds, ran a 4.71 40 yard dash, and had a vertical jump of 33 inches; in other words he was someone you didn't fuck with if you had the choice. Since Adam had tutored him on and off for two years, and since he attributed Adam's tutoring to his ability to pass algebra and physics so that he could remain eligible for a college football scholarship, despite his gruff - even anti-social - attitude toward others, Dante would do anything for Adam.

With dusk falling, and no one else around on Saturday, once Alexis, Adam, and Dante saw Warren go behind the concession stand at the High School football stadium Alexis went to meet him, with the audio recorder that Adam had set up for her in her jeans pocket and ready to record. Adam and Dante stayed close by, but out of Warren's sight.

As Alexis approached, before she could even speak, in a tone trying to be pleasant and upbeat Warren said "Alexis, I'm so glad that you wanted to meet so that I could explain to you that things weren't what you thought Thursday afternoon."

"You mean, Coach Thompson, when you were humping my Mom, Julia?" Alexis replied in as non-confrontational voice as she could.

"No, see that's where you got it all wrong. I'm a certified masseuse and she was having back problems so I was just giving her a massage," he said - he really did.

"And she needed to be naked when you were doing that?" Alexis asked.

"Uh...I...uh...I think that you got that wrong too, Alexis. She had a flesh colored bikini on; it was all innocent." Even Thompson obviously didn't think anyone would believe that since he started sweating.

"So in other words, you don't think that a freshman in High School knows the difference between a massage and a doggy fuck?" Alexis snapped, not feigning politeness anymore.

"I'm telling you for the last time that isn't what you saw," Thompson yelled. "You better think about the consequences it you tell anyone what you think you saw. You'll never play AAU basketball again, that's for sure, and for what - because no one will believe you over me. Your mother and I will convince them that you're a delusional vindictive little brat," he snarled.

Alexis smiled. "Or, they might believe this," she chuckled as she pulled the recorder from her pocket and held it up.

"Give me that you little bitch or I'll knock your lights out," Thompson snarled as he approached Alexis - but not fast enough. By the time that he got to Alexis, Dante had gotten to him, and knocked him flat on his ass. As Thompson lay there startled Adam came up to him after being sure that Alexis had turned off the recorder.

"Listen, asshole," Adam spit, with Dante standing next to him and looming over the prone Thompson, "this is what you're going to do. You're going to never see our mother again; you're going to resign from AAU coaching; and you're going to apologize to my sister right now. If you don't do all of those things a copy of this tape gets played to your wife, the AAU council, and anyone else that we feel like playing it to."

With that Adam took the tape out of Alexis' recorder and pretended to hand it to Dante, although in actuality he gave Dante a blank tape and slipped the original into his shirt. "Dante, here, will take good care of it for us, won't you Dante?" Adam smiled.

"You bet I will, good buddy; and anyone who tries to take it from me will end up in the hospital, guaranteed," he snickered.

Thompson may have been a cheat and liar, but he wasn't stupid enough to challenge a guy built like a tree trunk who had him by one hundred pounds. Therefore, with little additional prompting he said "I'm sorry Alexis. I really do apologize. Also, I'll do what you say, Adam, although it make take a few weeks to make a graceful exit from AAU activities."

"As long as it's done before tryouts and as long as the next coach doesn't have anything against Alexis because you can't keep your dick where it belongs," Adam replied.

As the three left the still prone Thompson Dante couldn't resist spitting on him and mumbling "asshole."

Dante drove Alexis and Adam to the local ice cream store, and Adam bought treats for the three of them; they had a good laugh despite what a tramp Julia was. The fear in Warren Thompson's eyes was very rewarding.

Julia obviously talked to Warren because she treated Adam and Alexis like shit the next week, but slut that she was they figured that she'd get over her mad as soon as she started hooking up with someone else, and would not likely bring a fucker to their house anymore, so in the long run things were a little better.

***************

After the situation with Warren Thompson, and despite attempts by Alexis and Adam to talk with their parents, individually and together, things only got worse. Except when at school or with a few close friends, both of the twins were constantly mortified by their slut mother and wimp father. They decided to do something about it shortly after Adam won the $80,000 prize in the Regeneron Science Talent Search.

Adam had particularly good relationships with his chemistry and physics teachers, Madeline Acres and Justin Homer, respectively, not surprising since they were his mentors for his Regeneron project and they accompanied him to the awards ceremony when his parents "couldn't make it." Mrs. Acres' husband Tom is a general practice attorney, and he agreed to meet with Adam and Alexis pro bono.

"Mr. Acres, Alexis and I are interested in the possibility of becoming emancipated from our parents. We'd like you to go over the possibilities and procedures with us," Adam politely opened up the conversation.

"Since Madeline gave me some insight on what you might want to talk about with me, I've studied up on the subject, although I must tell you that I have actually only done one child emancipation before, and that was a good fifteen years ago," Tom Acres replied with a smile.

"You know more than we do," Alexis laughed. "We just need the basics so that we can start preparations if we can't shock our parents out of their present situations."

"OK," Tom smiled, "here are the basics." After giving all of the situations where emancipation can occur without a court order - such as getting married, in response to which Alexis chuckled "The only person either of us would consider marrying at this time is the other, and I doubt that the State would let twins marry," - he went over the most significant factors and circumstances for a court ordered emancipation. In doing so he cited various provisions of the relevant Statutes and discussed legal precedents.

After an hour of give-and take Adam summarized the conversation: "So, Mr. Acres, it seems that given our particular situation the three most important factors are: 1) are we, or can we become, financially independent; 2) are our parents in some way abusive, neglectful, or otherwise harmful to us; and 3) do we have moral objections to our parents' living situation?"

"Couldn't have crystallized it better myself," Tom chuckled. "Number three is a slam dunk in your favor, number two would very likely come out in your favor especially if you get additional information that they can't contest, and the fact that you just won $80,000 and will give half to Alexis means that you probably could support yourself until you both are in college with, it seems, scholarships."

"Also, Adam is talking with his physics professor, Dr. Homer, about setting up a Go-fund-me page to help our emancipation," Alexis smiled.

"That will set precedent, that's for sure," Tom laughed.

While the twins shook Tom Acres' hand as they left Adam said "Mr. Acres, I want to do the work for this myself, and just consult with you if I have any issues. Is that OK?"

"Sounds good to me; but I am willing to handle the whole thing pro bono. I understand your need to do it yourself, however. I will email to you the initial form for submission to the Court once you gather any other materials you can - and, again, you need to wait until you're sixteen to insure that you don't get bounced," Tom replied. "Remember, though, that you could get in trouble if you record - video or audio - conversations with your parents without their permission, although if you do it when you are minors I can't imagine a court doing more than giving you a slap on the wrist."

Adam and Alexis nodded their heads and thanked Tom again.

*************

With Dr. Homer making the purchases for them, Adam and Alexis got a couple of micro cameras and recorders and tested them for hours to make sure that they were expert in their use. They then proceeded to confront their parents.

During the seminal confrontation with their father, they got him to admit that he knew about his wife's infidelities but argued "She's really a good person and loves me and both of you. There is just something about her personality that makes her weak."

"Dad, there's nothing about Mom that is weak," Adam replied, "except for her thigh muscles apparently not being strong enough to clamp her knees together when they should be."

Orin slapped Adam's face. "Don't talk like that; your mother deserves your respect; she's not a common slut."

"No she sure isn't a common slut," Alexis snapped, "she's an exceptional slut."

Orin raised his hand to slap Alexis too but Adam interceded. "Any slapping should have been to your slut wife long ago," Adam said as both he and Alexis exited the room to Orin's angry tirade informing them that they both would be grounded.

"All on video and audio?" Alexis whispered as they snuck into Adam's room.

"We'll see," he smiled, as he quickly hooked up his computer to their portable electronics.

"Perfect," Alexis smiled after viewing their results.

The confrontation with Julia was similar, even though she never actually admitted her adultery in so many words, and also resulted in Adam being slapped.

Dr. Homer had all of the preparations made for a Go-fund-me page, and had already made preliminary arrangements for the twins to share a two bedroom apartment less than a mile from the school once they were emancipated and had the ability to sign contracts on their own.

Adam had already prepared all of the preliminary court papers but Alexis and Adam were still deciding whether to pull the plug and file them when they were pushed over the edge.

Shortly before their sixteenth birthdays Adam came into Alexis' room with the printed out bank statement for his account where his $80,000 prize had been deposited. "Look at this, Sis; $15,000 was withdrawn from my account by Mom or Dad."

"What?" Alexis shrieked, pulling the document out of Adam's hand. With wide eyes she said "What do we do?"

"We nail their coffin shut," Adam replied. "Hook me up with one of the cameras; I'm going to confront Mom right now."

Within minutes Adam was in the kitchen as Julia was preparing dinner. Handing her the bank statement he asked "How did $15,000 get removed from my account, Mom?"

Pushing the document away and looking a bit perturbed she replied "You know we had a lot of expenses associated with your project. Materials, transportation, time away from work..."

"But the school provided the majority of the supplies, and you didn't even attend the awards presentation, Mrs. Acres and Dr. Homer came with me," Adam deferentially replied.

"Look, we had expenses; we're not made of money. We provided you with support your entire life and we're entitled to more than the $15,000 I withdrew. End of discussion."

Adam smiled to himself as he shuffled away, pretending to be defeated.

He and Alexis immediately worked to amend their court papers. "Now all we have to do is wait until we turn sixteen," Alexis giggled.

***************

The twins' sixteenth birthday was on a Friday. Their parents promised a celebration on Saturday. By Friday afternoon the emancipation papers had been filed and Tom Acres had arranged for a process server - a deputy sheriff - for 10 a. m. Saturday. Not taking any chances, Adam and Alexis had already moved all of their valuables - including computers, books, and most of their clothes - to the Acres' residence where they were welcome to stay until the emancipation decision was handed down.

After breakfast Saturday morning Julia and Orin said "Well, you sweet sixteeners, we have some presents for you."

"We have a surprise for you first, "Alexis smiled. "Can we wait for your presents until it arrives at ten this morning?"

"Uh, sure..." Orin responded. "But you're the ones supposed to get surprises, not us."

Alexis and Adam were as chatty and friendly with their parents as they could be until they heard a knock at the door at 10:01 a. m. "I'll get it," Alexis gushed, running to the front door. She came back less than a minute later with a large gentleman with an envelope in his hands. "Mom, Dad, this is deputy sheriff Smithson. He has something for you."

As Julia and Orin sat dumbfounded deputy Smithson asked "Are you Julia and Orin Conroy?"

Orin said "yes," Julia nodded her head and then asked "what's this about."

"I hereby serve you with court papers filed by your children seeking emancipation. As you will see from the papers you have fifteen days to respond. I suggest that you get an attorney," Smithson replied. As Orin was saying "What?" and Julia "What the fuck?" Smithson continued. "I have been instructed by the Court to accompany your children to the Acres' residence. I suggest that you have your attorney contact your son Adam within the fifteen days."

As Julia, angrily, and Orin, dejectedly, kept asking Adam and Alexis what was going on, at one time or another they each said "read the papers Mom and Dad and have your attorney get in touch just like Deputy Smithson said."

Alexis and Adam were relieved as they rode in the deputy's personal vehicle to the Acres residence where they were warmly received by Madeline. They didn't answer their cell phones when the Caller I D indicated their parents, and together went with Madeline to get their driver's licenses at the local DMV.