Luke was astounded by what had happened to him, as were Mark and his twin Max. All three were the same age, and they were all good friends; now, thanks to some magic clothing, they were conjoined triplets! The boys experimented with their shared arms and legs, starting slowly so that they would not trip or stumble or bump something while walking or reaching--too much.
After a while, the boys began to get used to existing in one three-headed body; that was before they heard the front door open. They recognized the voices of Luke's family--his dad Ethan, his mom Alisa, and his little sister Suzie--but there were three more. It took a while for Mark and Max to realize that it was their family--their dad Scott, their mom Sharon, and their fifteen-year-old brother Zack. Ethan and Scott had known each other since high school, and it was at a Halloween Bash in their junior year that they met the girls who were now their wives. The families had always remained close, and then the three boys remembered: their parents had arranged a family dinner tonight! How would they react if they saw their oldest sons now that they shared a body?!
"What do we do?" Max asked.
"Do you think they'll be a little freaked out?" Mark asked Luke.
"Well, our dads might be a bit amused," Luke answered. "Remember, at that Halloween Bash they were dressed as a conjoined, two-headed football player."
"Yeah," Max said as he remembered as well. "Maybe if we just keep our shared shoulders hidden and stumble a little bit as we walk, we could make them think that we're wearing a costume, too."
"Hey, Luke, what can use to cover--," Mark began.
He was cut off by footsteps out in the hall; the shoes sounded like their dads'. The three boys struggled to do something: Luke wanted to take off the clothes, Mark wanted to climb out the window, and Max wanted to reach for some scarves in the closet. Since all three teens were frantically hurrying to do these things simultaneously, and since they were sharing a body with only two arms and legs, they were unable to successfully do any of these things.
Then, the footsteps stopped outside Luke's bedroom door.
"Luke?" asked Ethan through the door. "Are Mark and Max in their with you?"
The boys froze. They were afraid to answer.
"Boys?" asked Scott.
"Yeah, we're in here, Dad!" Max blurted out.
He turned his head to the others and mouthed the words, "Sorry, I panicked."
"Dinner's going to be ready soon," Ethan said. "Do you boys wanna come downstairs?"
"Uh," Luke said, "we're actually busy with something, Dad!" Technically, this was the truth.
"Busy with what?" Ethan asked.
Luke couldn't answer. His mind raced as he frantically thought of something to say.
"Hello?" Scott asked.
"Say something!" Mark whispered.
"Like what?" Luke quietly answered.
Then, the doorknob began to turn, the door seconds away from swinging open. The boys watched as they anticipated the worst...