| |
The baby of the family, Bradley has a New Age mother, an ineffectual father,
a big brother who’s the world’s foremost wanna-be, and an older sister who’s
determined to re-tune the universe. It’s no wonder Bradley spends so much time
with the cat. Brilliant, precocious and world-weary far beyond his tender years,
Bradley has developed the sort of gloomy fatalism that is normally reserved
for Beta sales reps and driving school instructors. As you’d expect with someone
who’s seven-going-on-forty — and a semi- genius to boot — he doesn’t exactly
mesh seamlessly with the “normal” kids ... or even with the abnonnal ones. Generally
speaking he tends to go his own way, and often spends lunch-hours in the boiler
room, playing gloomy games of chess with the Custodian (a failed driving school
instructor who makes Eeyore look like an optimist). Bitter experience has also
taught Bradley to lie low when his sister concocts yet another of her Master
Plans to improve someone’s life. Unfortunately, it’s virtually impossible to
lie low enough to escape Mimi’s eagle eye, and thus Bradley is repeatedly press-ganged
into service as Mimi’s “executive assistant.” On such occasions, Bradley experiences
that familiar sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach, and bleakly predicts
(for about the gadzillionth time): “This isn’t going to work.” He’s almost always
right. But deep down he’s devoted to his sister, and (along with Russell) is
an irreplaceable ally. | | | |
