Twisted Tuesday

By Kyrio

Click. Cartoon Network. Hasn't had anything interesting on for a while. Click. Some foreign channel. It's some sort of soap opera. I'd probably watch it, if I understood it. Click. Commercial. I really don't like the time between shows where the only thing on is commercials…Click. Another Commercial, as if to confirm his thoughts. Click. Click. Click. Theodore sat up from the armrest he was slumped over. The Food Network Channel! I wonder what's cooking today.

He looked at the clock. 3:54. "Good Eats" would be on. Alton Brown reminded Theodore of his brother a lot, though minus all the sarcasm. In fact Simon would often watch the show with him because of all the "science-y" stuff in it. This time, though, Simon was in the middle of some great project. It wasn't likely that he'd join him today. Not that Theo could blame him. It's not often that their oldest brother wasn't around to mess with them. When Alvin started going to soccer practice, Simon and Theodore found themselves with a few hours to themselves for once.

Theodore sighed and slumped back onto the armrest. As peaceful as it was, it was also incredibly dull. Click. He changed the channel again. Alton was talking about making a roast. Interesting as though it may be, Theodore never cared much for eating meat. Not that he criticized anyone who did. He just cared a lot for animals, so he didn't really like the thought of eating them. But he would make a few exceptions for special occasions such as the traditional turkey for Thanksgiving or ham at Christmas. Still, no matter what his tastes are, there's always one thing guaranteed. Food was always on Theodore's mind.

Speaking of food, Theodore decided he could use a small snack. He jumped off of the couch and headed for the kitchen. He recalled a certain batch of cookies he had made the night before. Dave told him not to eat too many or the batch wouldn't last. It's not so bad if I just have a couple…

The cookie jar made a clink as he opened it. The sweet aroma of the sugar filled his nose. He took out a cookie and put it in his mouth. He grabbed another cookie and turned to walk back to the living room…then a third before replacing the lid. Making his way back to the living room he realized he left the TV on MTV. I don't think I've ever heard music on this channel. I wonder if that counts as false advertising…Click. Theodore continued to cycle through the channels as he munched on his cookies, finding absolutely nothing of interest.

During Theodore's perilous journey to the kitchen and back, Simon was in the basement, once again tinkering with the forces of nature. Specifically, the torque and friction of a pencil sharpener as it carried away the obtrusive chunks of wood keeping the graphite from reaching the page. As soon as he was satisfied, he returned to his notes. Double checking his calculations and making sure everything fit to specifications. He crunched the numbers and re-measured the wires. The strange metal box on the table hummed as he flipped the switch. There were two equally strange looking helmets wired into the box and Simon jotted down notes as he read the dials on the sides.

"When the diodes are charged…The transistors will convert the current into radio waves…Mapping the cerebral broadcasting signals…Yes! Everything's perfect! My mind reading device will be revolutionary! I'll also finally find out where Alvin hid my other pair of socks. Now I just need to test it…" Simon wished Alvin was home already. He'd be the perfect guinea pig for this. But the only one home right now was Theodore.

Simon hesitated at the thought. He could easily justify any mishap to Alvin in the name of science; the twerp deserved a little karma now and then, anyway. But if anything should happen to Theodore, it somehow felt wrong. Besides that, he had convinced Dave to leave the two of them alone without a babysitter; since it was just him and Theodore, and only for a few hours. A baby sitter shouldn't be necessary. So keeping out of trouble would be best, or he may never be able to be alone again, "I'll just wait for Alvin…In the meantime; I could use a little snack."

Readjusting his glasses, Simon made his way back up the stairs. The strange box quietly hummed, forgotten, as he closed the door behind him. Simon took in a deep breath. The air had a certain sweetness compared to the musk in the room he had been in for the last few hours. The basement was a fine workshop, but had rather poor ventilation.

Simon could hear Theodore in the living room, flipping through the channels. Not taking a second glance toward the living room, he made his way into the doorway that led to the kitchen. He looked around for something quick to pop in his mouth and found the cookie jar on the counter at the far end of the kitchen. With the little clink it makes, he opened the jar and found there were only two cookies left. Simon grimaced. Dave told Theodore to go easy on the cookies. Being ever the conscientious brother, he decided to point this out to him, in case he forgot. If only Theodore were more responsible. It'd certainly be easier to work if I didn't have to keep reminding him of everything.

"Theodore!" Simon said, going out the swinging door into the music room.

Click. Nickelodeon…Great. Spongebob…again. Seriously, don't they ever air any other cartoons? Click. Back at Cartoon Network. Three. Thought Theodore. He'd cycled through all the available channels three times in the last five minutes. He didn't usually wish for a lot of electronics or toys, but today he wished Dave had gone with the digital cable package. Or at least a satellite dish. With over 800 channels, there must be something on TV. At the same time, he felt really bad that he wasn't doing anything but watching TV. It was Summer Vacation! He should be outside or something. Doing…stuff. Anything but sitting around sounded much more fun than this. But he didn't get up. He knew there was nothing to do. Alvin's not around to bribe him into trouble. Simon's too busy to hang out with him. Dave was still with Alvin at soccer practice. Outside, all his usual friends were off at camp or on vacation with their families. Being alone stinks. I wish Simon could be less of a workaholic. Maybe then he'd have some time to play.

As if on cue, he heard a concerned call, "Theodore!"

Uh oh…Is Simon in trouble? Stuffing his last cookie in his pocket, Theodore stumbled out of the couch and ran into the basement just as Simon walked out of the music room. Simon crossed the front hall into the living room but couldn't find Theodore. The TV was stopped at some Spanish soap opera. Not interested enough to actually translate it, he clicked off the TV.

Dave also said to not leave the television on when you leave the room...Turning around he thought about where Theo would have gone. He probably heard me call him and headed for the basement. He should be fine as long as he doesn't turn anything on…Simon suddenly felt a pit fall in his stomach. I never turned off the device! Simon screamed in his head as he ran toward the basement. If the transistors are charged for too long and circuit is suddenly broken, then the diodes will discharge violently. I have no idea what effects that will have! Simon charged through the door.

"Theodore! Don't touch-!!" But he was too late…

Theodore blinked. All he could remember was the strange box humming on the desk. He had been curious and flipped the little switch on the side to see what it did. He remembered Simon coming in and telling him not to touch something then a sudden flash of light and a slight painful prickling. He looked around. It was dark. Something must have shorted out the circuitry, Thought Theodore…wait a minute…how do I know that? His eyes adjusted a little to the low light. There was enough light coming in through the open door to see, but everything looked blurry. He could barely make out his hands in front of his face. He saw what he decided was Simon laying at the foot of the stairs. He must have run in and tripped while trying to warn against setting off that strange electrical discharge that the switch would have caused…Where are these words coming from? This is a very peculiar sensation…Shaking his head in hopes to clear it he shakily made his way toward his older brother…

"Simon? Are you alright?" Theodore bent over to examine the blue blob more closely. His breath is steady; he's only been knocked dizzy. He'll be alright. Relieved, but still unsure of how he knew that, Theodore sighed and pondered on what could have happened.

"Nnng…" Simon felt funny. His head hurt, and his ankle was kind of sore. He recalled needing to tell Theodore something. But…he couldn't remember what it was. He looked around. Theodore was standing over him, "T-Theodore?"

"Simon! You're alright. Can you stand up?" The blurriness wouldn't go away. It was starting to distress him, but he remained calm. 7I'm frightened…but I'm not panicking. This is…new.

"Yeah, I think so. My ankle kinda hurts though." Simon felt confused and scared. The combination of emotions slowly tugged at his heart until he felt overwhelmed, "I…Theodore, I don't know what's going on!" Simon's confusion increased as he felt tears well up in his eyes. I never used to cry before! What's happening?

Theodore realized Simon was the one getting out of control and despite the paradox that Simon actually panicking proposed, he felt he needed to do something. Not really knowing what he was doing, He hugged his older brother and tried to calm him down. "It's okay, Simon. I'm here. We can figure out what's going on. Just relax, okay?"

"O-okay." Simon sniffed. Somehow Theodore's touch and voice managed to take away the fear. But, he was still very confused. He rubbed his eyes on his sleeve. He blinked, he could see everything rather clearly. Clearer than he ever had before, actually. "My glasses…" Simon began.

"What? Oh! Um…" Theodore bent over. He still couldn't get the haze from his eyes. But he soon found the glasses and picked them up. He offered them to Simon but he just shook his head.

"It's not that…I…I don't think I need them anymore!" Simon suddenly felt incredibly happy. Those glasses often got in his way whenever he was working on school work or a big project idea. Constantly sliding down no matter what he tried to do with them. It was a very annoying necessity. To have it suddenly unnecessary was like some sort of miracle. He felt himself grinning, and he didn't care how silly it looked.

"Really? Hm…" Theodore turned the glasses around and held them in front of him. Through the lenses everything seemed clearer. Certainly not as clear as before he wandered into the basement, but it was a lot better than wandering blindly. He put on the glasses. A little aware that his face as a slightly rounder than Simon's, so the glasses fit rather snugly.

Simon giggled. A very odd sound coming from him, "You look silly, Theodore!" Simon took a step and recoiled, "Ow! My ankle…" Simon sat on the stairs and picked up his foot.

Theodore looked at it and poked around a little, "I think you just sprained it when you fell down the stairs…Keep off of it and you should be fine, okay?" Theodore felt very strange. It was almost as if he had suddenly become the older brother…

Looking around the basement, he wandered over to the table. Quickly scanning Simon's notes, Theodore was amazed to find he could understand them.

"Woah…" Theodore muttered.

Simon who was keeping busy by staring at the crisp details in his hands as he waved them about in the air, turned to Theodore, "Woah, what?" Suddenly curious, Simon limped over to where Theodore was scouring notes.

"Simon…I think I figured out what happened to us."

"Really!? What was it? What happened? How did you find out? Can we fix it?!"

"Simon, calm down. Read this." Theodore handed Simon a stack of notes. Simon took it and read them over. Or tried to…every word only made him more and more confused. Especially since he remembered writing them down only a few hours ago.

"I…can't." Simon said, a little worried. He still knew what the words meant, but he no longer understood what they were supposed to tell him.

"Exactly. What you were working on was some sort of telepathic device, designed to collect brain waves and transmit them through these helmets." Simon only blinked. Theodore sighed in frustration and tried to paraphrase, "It's a device that can read people's minds."

"Oh! Yeah I knew that! I remember that…But what does that mean?" It killed Simon to think that he didn't know what Theodore was saying. Everything that was happening to him just didn't click. His emotions were wildly out of control, at least by his usual standards. His attention span seemed rather off, too. His understanding of everything around him was clouded. And he also had a nagging pang in his stomach. Theodore was still talking, though, so he should at least act like he was listening…

"…causing the diodes to fire off, reading and remapping our brain waves onto one another. A sort of mental exchange!" Theodore was talking himself through it as much as he was telling Simon. His mind was racing. It was surreal. He felt like he knew everything, but also that he knew nothing at all. It occurred to him it was annoying to have questions. He wanted to find answers to them. Suddenly, nothing in the world seemed more important to him than finding out why everything did what it did. He looked at Simon and the distressed look on his face then corrected himself. Nothing save for my brothers.

"Come on, Simon. I'll explain more in the living room. You should get off that ankle." Theodore tried as best as he could to lead Simon up the stairs.

"So…you're me?" Simon said trying to piece together what's going on.

"In a way, yeah. It seems that when you left the machine on, it over charged the transistors. When I curiously flipped the switch, I broke the circuit and discharged the diodes. The telepathic nature of the electromagnetic pulse switched many of our mental qualities. Our memories appear to be in tact, but various skills like comprehension, a little vocabulary, and involuntary mannerisms seem to have been transferred between us." Theodore said idly as he examined Simon's ankle more thoroughly. Theodore irritably pushed the glasses back up his nose. They kept falling down, "Not to mention a few handicaps."

Simon shook his head, "Okay…and I'm…you?" Things started making a little more sense. What he remembered of Theodore's personality, he was now acting out. And what he remembered of himself was mirrored by Theodore's current actions. So they've been switched. Now that Simon finally knew what was happening, he felt much more relaxed. Enough to sit back and realize that…maybe, it wasn't so bad being Theodore…

"Like I said, just sort of. We haven't actually switched bodies. Just personalities. If I'm right, then here." Theodore reached into his pocket and pulled out his last cookie, "This should make you feel a lot better."

"Oh! A cookie. I was feeling kinda hungry. Thanks, Teddy." Simon said with a smile. The cookie distracted him completely. To him, it was no longer just a cookie, it was almost as if it was all the happiness in the world compacted into a disc. He loved everything about it. The feel of it in his hands, the smell invading his nose and most especially, the sweet flavors when he bit into it. Simon remembered eating cookies before, but the experience was never this engaging. It was practically intoxicating. Theodore feels like this all the time? No wonder he likes to eat so much!

"Slow down, Simon. You might choke. I'll go get a glass of milk. Try and keep your ankle on the foot rest." Theodore headed toward the kitchen, his thoughts still racing. His world had suddenly gone from very simple to maliciously complex. Everywhere he turned he saw things he didn't know how worked. Every corner had a question and every question lacked an answer. It was nearly maddening how little he knew! Who ever said ignorance was bliss was a moron.

For the first time in his life, Theodore walked into the kitchen without any intentions to eat anything. A part of him was saddened by it. The Kitchen was once a source of great happiness for him, but he no longer got that feeling from the room. But another part of him cheered because he finally didn't feel compelled by a craving. He could look at all the food in the darkened refrigerator and contentedly ignore it. Pouring out a glass of milk, Theodore watched as the opaque liquid splashed into the glass. Clashing against the walls of the glass turned the fluids around in a centripetal motion. A vortex formed in the glass as it filled. It was altogether fascinating. He put down the milk carton and looked at the glass. What he had observed, he understood. He was overwhelmed by that familiar sense of happiness that the room once gave him, but it was also different. In understanding, he found accomplishment along with his happiness. A very big moron…

When Theodore came back, the cookie was already gone and forgotten as Simon fidgeted with the TV remote. Theodore set the class on the table next to the couch, "Theodore, the TV won't turn on." Simon sounded sad and frustrated. He eagerly sipped out of the glass.

"That's because the power's gone out, Simon." Theodore replied calmly. He was slightly worried about Simon. Seeing him like this was incredibly strange. They were both only ten years old, but Simon was always the mature one. Then again how odd must it be for Simon to see little naive Theodore speaking the way he was, "Stay here, Simon. I'm going to find the fuse box and try a few breakers. After that maybe you have enough notes to tell us how to get us back to normal." Theodore left the room, going in the general direction of the garage.

Normal? Simon thought. He thought about what normal meant. He remembered how he was always feeling the pressure to be "the smart one". Someone was always coming to him with their problems. And those stupid glasses! I don't wanna go back to normal… He was enjoying himself far too much! Everything was simple. Cut and dry. It didn't matter how anything worked, just that it did. He felt genuinely happy! The weight of the world was gone from his shoulders. For once he didn't feel bombarded with thoughts and information, and he wanted that to last…just a little longer.

Simon stood on his sore ankle. It hurt, but it was feeling much better. He could walk somewhat steadily on it. Looking out the doorway, he made sure Theodore was out of sight before he sneaked off. He needed a place to hide out for a while, he also felt a little hungry. And something was telling him someplace near by could help with both.

Theodore trekked through the house, still trying to cope with his newfound clarity of thought. He had to resist several urges to stop and look around and take in every bit that he could observe. It was both fascinating and frightening. He was acting completely on impulse, and he was well aware of that, but he was afraid if he stopped to think for too long he might have a breakdown. He already had a plan, though it wasn't really much of one. All he needed to do was switch the power back on. If he did that then perhaps he could tell if the machine suffered any damage from the overload. If he was lucky, it would be fine. If he wasn't…he shook his head. He could only hope he was lucky. Understanding Simon's notes was one thing. Actually being able to use them was another.

In the garage, Theodore found the fuse box. Even on his toes he couldn't quite reach it. As he searched for a way to increase his height, he was stopped long enough to notice he had a headache. He wasn't surprised. Who knows what sorts of things were happening inside his head? As counterintuitive as it was, the dull pain somewhat relieved him. Now that he was aware of it, it slowed his thoughts a little bit, allowing him some measure of focus. Retrieving a bucket to stand on, he finally managed to open the fuse box. The fuses seemed alright. Theodore suddenly gained a little hope. If the outage didn't damage any of the other electronics, then the device might be okay, too. After flipping a few of the breakers, the lights flickered back on. Step one Theodore thought with a sigh. His head hurt a little more now. The feeling was no longer welcome. Still, with the power back on, he could be sure Simon was comfortable and that the device was working…hopefully.

Simon wandered through the dark house, following the strange compulsion leading him. Where ever he was going, he could smell something good. Something sweet. Lots of sugar. The thought alone was enough to make him smile. He found himself upstairs looking at a pull down door on the ceiling. The attic? Simon thought. It wasn't often that anyone ever used the attic. Dave had bought the house after the four of them landed their first record deal; so far no one's really had much use for the attic. As far as Simon remembered that is. In fact, he wasn't even sure anyone remembered they even had an attic. Pulling on the drawstring, the ladder came down and Simon went up. Deciding this was as good a place as any to enjoy not being "the smart one" for once, Simon pulled up the ladder and shut the door. Simon looked around. It was dark. Really dark. There were no windows to let in the afternoon sunlight. Simon eventually found a string hanging from the ceiling. Pulling on it resulted in a few clicks, but nothing happened.

Oh, right…no power. The sweet scents he followed up here were stronger than ever.Groping around he found something large and soft enough to sit on and feel comfortable. He couldn't see, but that was alright. The aroma of the room and the relaxing feel of his new chair was enough. No worries. No nagging need to know everything. No glasses. This truly was bliss.

Just when he thought things couldn't get any better, the light flickered on. He could see old boxes and a few assorted things from when they moved in, but for the most part it was rather empty. He found he was sitting in a sort of bean bag surrounded by various stuffed animals that Simon recognized as Theodore's, many of which he hadn't seen for years. Simon recalled various times over the years where he and Alvin would get in some fight over some silly thing and they would get so mad that they wouldn't talk to each other all day. Every time that happened, Theodore tended to disappear. Simon always figured Theodore avoided them to let the steam cool, but he was never sure where he went. This seemed to be a likely place. Simon's thoughts were soon interrupted by his stomach growling. And where there's a Theodore, there's sure to be…Simon followed his nose to a nearby box. A stash!

Theodore made his way through the kitchen again, this time with even less wonder than before. He was heading straight through this time. From the open doorway into the front hall, he could hear the TV was on. Deciding Simon was occupying himself, he turned to take a look at the device first. In the basement he made his way down the steps and toward the table. The black box and two helmets were still where they left them. He motioned toward the switch. He felt his headache worsen now, the stress was getting to him. If this works…we're home free. Sweat started beading on his forehead as he got closer to it. If it doesn't… Theodore's finger was nearly at the switch. The make or break moment was coming fast.

No… Theodore pulled his hand away. I just can't do this alone…. Theodore sighed, hoping to let out whatever was crawling in his stomach. Reaching around the table, Theodore unplugged the device. He piled the helmets on top of the box and, with a little trouble, lifted the heavy metal pile and headed toward the living room. With the helmets stacked on top of the machine, he could barely see, so it took some navigating to get to the living room.

"Well, here we go, Simon. Let's see if this thing works." Theodore said as he entered the room. He set down the device next to the wall and found an outlet to plug it in to, "The sooner we turn this on, the sooner we…" Theodore trailed off as he turned around. The TV was playing in Spanish. The remote lay on the ground, disregarded. And Simon was no where to be found.

"Oh, no…" Theodore looked at the clock. 4:46. Alvin and Dave would be home any minute! He certainly didn't want to have to explain what happened to Dave. Where did Simon go? Why did he leave? At a complete loss at what to do next, Theodore sat in the couch and thought. Impulse couldn't help him now.

As thoughts spun through Theodore's head, he slowly felt his headache disappear. All afternoon he was trying his hardest to block out the unfamiliar speed his mind was working at. Now that he was actually paying attention to it, it became easier and easier to figure things out.

"Simon is thinking like me, right now. And I'm thinking like Simon. So how would I feel if I suddenly started feeling like me again?" Theodore paced himself through his though process. It really helped to say things out loud. Theodore felt the time tick away as he tried to deduce where Simon could have gone, "I'd feel relieved. Everything would be simple again, and I wouldn't be boggling myself with all this thinking anymore! If I was me, I'd never want to be Simon again! This entire time I've been desperately trying to get us back to normal, Simon must not have wanted to! He must have sneaked off somewhere to hide…" Theodore let out a yell of triumph as he came to the realization, "Simon's in my private place in the attic! Among the things we swapped, involuntary mannerisms was one. I practically know that place from instinct alone with how much those two fight with one another!"

With another glance at the clock, 4:58, Theodore decided he didn't have time to lose. He sprinted toward the attic as fast as he could. Just before hitting the stairs, he got an idea. In the kitchen he found only two remaining cookies. He took one and made his way back up the stairs. Theodore tugged on the draw string and practically leapt up the ladder. "Simon!" Theodore yelled. It sounded much more angry than he intended because he was so winded from running all this way. But Simon knew instantly he had been found, and that he was doing something wrong. Once again, he couldn't help but be overcome with emotion. Guilt, though, was far different from joy or fear.

"Um…hi, Theodore…"

"Please don't do it, Teddy! I don't want to feel like that anymore!" Simon pleaded. The cookie Theodore thought to bring was enough to get Simon down stairs into the living room, but he still resisted going back to normal.

"Don't Teddy me. How do you expect to explain this to Dave? 'Oh hey, Dad! How's it going? By the way, me and Theodore have swapped brains'?"

"…No…" Simon said quietly, hanging his head. Theodore was upset, but he took a breath to calm down. He sat next to his older brother and leaned up against him.

"Listen. I know what you're feeling. After all, they're my feelings." Theodore said with a smile. Simon couldn't help but smirk, too. Finally getting a breakthrough, Theodore continued. "I also know what you'll be getting back into. Because I'm there now. It's no picnic. And we both know how much I love picnics." Simon laughed at that, the tension in the air was slowly fading away. "At first it was a scary blur of thoughts and information. The sheer mass of it felt like it would crush me if I gave it the room to do so. I was scared out of my mind…well, your mind."

Simon smiled at the joke, but he was also thinking about what he was putting Theodore through. He felt the guilt well up inside of him, but the fear of returning to his old life was still in the way.

"But you know what? I'll bet, in the hour we've been swapped; all the joy and wonder you've felt in the simple world I live in pales in comparison to every ounce of happiness you feel when you solve a problem, or finally understand something you've been wondering about. Think about all the joy you've found in simply understanding how something works, and how much that meant to you. I got a taste of that when I finally started using this big brain of yours instead of pushing against it. It's what led me to you! I've never been able to figure out things like that on my own before. It was amazing. I would gladly live a decade with the weight of your mind to feel that way again for a second. But this is not who we are. We need to find our own happiness, not live off of others'. Do you know what I'm talking about?"

Simon did. Whenever he learned something new, or found a solution to a problem, he felt an intense pride in himself and what he had accomplished. In all the work he'd been doing the passed few days and the confusion after the switch, he had forgotten just how important that was to him. His fears gone, all that remained was his guilt. For the second time, Simon started to cry. He grabbed Theodore in his arms and hugged him tightly. "I'm so sorry, Theodore."

"It's okay Simon. I'm just glad you're alright." Just then, Simon and Theodore heard a car engine pull up near the house. Theodore knew Dave and Alvin were home. "We still don't know if the machine works or not! What if it doesn't? What will we do? How will we rebuild it? What if I can't-"

Simon finally just grabbed the box and flipped the switch. To Theodore's infinite relief, the machine started to hum. Simon smiled. He put his finger on the off switch and said, "Theodore, you think too much."

"Yes, Alvin, I know. I was there." Dave said getting out of the car. Not to mention the fourteen other times you told me.

"But, Dave! It was so awesome! You should have seen how I handled that ball! And did you see that pass? I was on fire today!" Alvin said. Carrying his soccer ball into the garage.

"Alvin, I was there the whole time! I was watching you. I saw everything! Come on. Let's get in-" Dave stopped midstep as a bright flash of light shone through all the windows and the house was suddenly dark. "-side?!"

"Woah! What did they do? Aw man! I missed it!" Alvin said excitedly. Dave frantically unlocked and opened the door. Alvin rushed in and found Simon and Theodore in the living room with a strange box. It was smoking. Simon was sitting next to it and Theodore was sitting next to him. Theodore was wearing Simon's glasses for some reason. They magnified his eyes a little, making him look rather silly.

"What's going on in here?" Dave said in a panic. He really did panic too often. Especially when it came to his boys.

"Oh nothing, Dave. We were just conducting a scientific experiment. Unfortunately, I think the electromagnetic discharge may have shorted out the power."

Alvin gawked, and Dave did much the same thing. Simon looked at Theodore, who only smiled.

"Also, Theodore, I think I'd like to have my glasses back, please." Simon said.

"Oh! Right!" Theodore giggled as he handed them over.

Alvin was still gawking, "You mean you shorted out the whole house and I wasn't here to see it!?"

"We did it twice!" Theodore said, "But pushing the breakers in the garage fixed it up fine the first time!"

Dave sighed, "Fine, I'm going to get the power back on. Alvin go change out of your uniform. As for you two, I'm going to need an explanation for this."

"Of course, Dave." Simon and Theodore said in unison. They then started laughing.

"So you were making a what reading device?" Dave said in disbelief.

"Mind-reading, Dave. It was an experiment to see if I could convert the radio waves the mind gives off into audio. It didn't really work the way I wanted it to, though." Simon explained.

"So it was a failure, then?" Dave asked, finding it slightly amusing that Simon would get such ideas.

"I'd say it was a spectacular failure, Dave!" Simon said with a grin and a wink at Theodore. Theodore giggled with a newfound understanding of Simon's sense of humor, "I'm sorry I shorted out the power, Dave. I'm not going to continue the experiment. There are some things that just shouldn't be messed with."

"I'm glad you realized this on your own, Simon. Not that I'm surprised." Dave said, patting Simon on the head, "Alright, fine. You'll get off with a warning this time. But no more crazy experiments when I'm not here."

"Yes, Dave." Simon and Theodore said.

Simon turned to Theodore, "Hey, Teddy, now that Dave's home, you wanna go outside and do something? We can play with that Frisbee you got last year."

"Would I ever!" Theodore said, "Race you outside! Maybe you could even tell me how it works…" Theodore bolted off and Simon close behind him.

"Be careful, you two!" Dave called after them. He sighed. They were still young. But they still seem to grow too fast. Dave looked at the TV. It was playing the credits to a Spanish soap opera. It must have really been dull around here if that's what Theodore was watching. Just then Theodore ran back in the room. Alvin walked in behind him after coming down from the stairs. Theodore picked up the remote from the floor and turned off the TV.

"Sorry, Dave. I'll remember turn it off when I leave next time." Theodore said before he ran out the door again, almost tackling Alvin on the way out. Dave just smiled and lay back in his chair. Alvin knew something was off. And he was going to find out what.

"Woah! Woah. Theodore! You gotta tell me what really happened! I know there's something you're not telling! If he knew it would short out the power already, why did he do it again? Why were you wearing Simon's glasses? Come on, you're killing me here!" Alvin said, stopping Theodore at the front door.

Theodore just giggled and said, "Believe me, Alvin. You don't want to know."

THE END