"So…let me get this straight. You got your ear stuck in the lizard's mouth because of your cello exploding and your brother's pants getting caught on fire?" Kim asked in disbelief, eyeing Eddie incredulously.
"No, no, no! I got my ear stuck in the lizard's mouth, and then my cello exploded. The fire thing happened an hour later," Eddie said, as if this clarified everything. Milton looked at him weirdly.
"Dude. You've got one incredibly weird family. One that just happens to have bad things happen to it every single day! Do you even know how improbable that is?" he asked. Eddie opened his mouth, but Milton cut him off with, "Very improbable! The chances are 98 to 2!"
"But there is still that 2 percent," Eddie said, grinning triumphantly. Milton groaned.
"Have you guys seen Jack?" Rudy said, walking into the dojo. "He's fifteen minutes late for the lesson…again! It's the third time this week!"
"I don't know, Rudy," Kim said. "He's been acting weird all week. I tried asking him if anything was up, but…" She shook her head. "He didn't say anything. Which is weird, because he tells me everything."
"Well…we'll just have to start without him. Jerry, you're with me. Milton, you're with Kim. And Eddie…you have to practice with the boards," Rudy ordered.
"Aw man! Hang on! I have a note from my parents somewhere here…" Eddie started rooting through his parents. Rudy shook his head.
"Sorry, Oompa Loopma. Boards, now."
"Oompa…what? Oh, whatever," Eddie mumbled, reluctantly dragging his feet toward them.
About midway through the lesson, they stopped for a break. Kim was at her locker, chugging down water from her bottle, when she heard Jerry say, "Uh oh. I think I see why Jack's late. And why he was acting so weird this week."
She was about to ask why, when she turned and saw Jack enter the dojo. He was smiling, and had a girl beside him. Kim stiffened.
"Holy Christmas nuts! She is hot!" Eddie said, and though Kim didn't have the perspective of a boy's, she knew that the girl, who had long chestnut-brown hair, a nice figure, and an easy smile on her face, was definitely one to be classified as a "knockout."
"Hey, guys!" Jack said, then slung his arm around the girl's shoulders.
"I want you to meet Meghan…my girlfriend."