DAY 28: WEDNESDAY MORNING

Will this morning NEVER end?!

Dad just called an emergency Creeper Family Meeting. I'm guessing Chloe followed me home and told Mom and Dad everything.

So I can't crawl under the covers. I can't even stay in my room.

Everyone came out to the living room—even Cammy.

Then they all stared at me for a while, like they didn't even know who I was anymore.

That's exactly how I felt. Who was this Gerald Creeper Jr. who blew up over pork chops? Who beat up skeletons instead of using his brains and just ignoring them?

Dad was the first one to talk—no surprise there. He cleared his throat, which is never a good sign. Then he asked if I had anything I wanted to say for myself.

I shook my head. I'd pretty much said it all back there in the cafeteria. But I started to cry. I blame Chloe and Sam for that. There's been WAY too much crying around me lately.

That's when Dad said that what I did was okay. Just like that.

OKAY? How could he say that?

"But I'm a pacifist!" I reminded him.

Mom jumped in and said that being a pacifist doesn't mean you choose peace ALL the time. Just most of the time.

Then Dad said that no one is ever just one thing all the time. He brought up zombie pigmen as an example.

He said they're mostly really peaceful, but if any mob attacks a zombie pigman, they ALL show up for the fight.

Dad said that I went all "zombie pigman" on those skeletons because I was protecting Chloe. And he said that was a good thing.

I guess when Chloe told my parents the story, she didn't know there was a pork chop involved, too. And I wasn't going to tell her. I was just glad I wasn't getting grounded—at least it was looking that way.

Cate was sitting next to Dad, and I suddenly realized she wasn't wearing Rosy the Wig anymore. She actually looked pretty good—like her natural green self.

So after Dad's pep talk, I went a little "zombie pigman" for Cate, too. I said to Dad, "If no one is ever just one thing, does that mean ALL humans aren't ALL bad ALL the time?"

Wow. Cate's eyes just about bugged out of her head.

Dad cleared his throat and said that it was POSSIBLE I was right about that. Then he got up and said the family meeting was pretty much over. He snuck off before I even knew what happened. But then Cate gave me the biggest smile.

I don't want her going and getting her hopes up. I mean, Steve looked pretty tight with that redheaded girl in the village. But at least Cate seems happier now. And maybe Dad's coming around on the human thing, too.

So that was a pretty good family meeting. Cammy didn't even explode—she just played with her creeper baby dolls.

But if she HAD exploded, I might have understood for once. It actually feels pretty good to let those feelings out sometimes.

Just to be clear, I said SOMETIMES. I'm still a pacifist.

And I'm still dreading going back to Mob Middle School. But I'm trying not to think about that right now. A creeper's got to sleep.