"OMG!" Nudge squealed, bouncing up and down. "Can I get one of, like, a heart with wings?"
"Isn't that a little redundant Nudge?" I replied bluntly. "How about just a heart?"
Nudge frowned and thought for a moment, but then her face lit up. "Okay!"
"I want a heart too!" Angel piped.
"Fine by me. And Gazzy," I said, turning to face him. "How about something a little less… uh… hazardous then dynamite. Maybe a—".
"A bazooka with wings!" Iggy cut in. Gazzy gave a whoop and they slapped high fives.
This was not going as well as I expected. I pressed my fingers to my temple and kept on walking. That's right. Walking. Like normal people. Then again, I don't think we could ever be normal, even if we didn't have wings or superhuman abilities.
We were on our way to the tattoo shop. I had bought for the entire flock certificates for one tattoo each. I mean, if we all had predetermined expiration dates, why not, right? But then Jeb had folded his arms right then and there, and he told us no. Like he was our dad. Pfft. Riiiiiiight. Not anymore.
I turned to Fang, who had been quiet this whole time. "What about you, Fang?" I asked casually. He flashed me one of those grins that made my heart flutter. Jeez, what's wrong with me? My heart? Fluttering?
"I was thinking of getting an anchor. Like Popeye," he said. "Or the word: Maxalicious."
Iggy made a farting noise with his mouth and the flock burst out laughing. I blushed and tried to stifle a smile.
"I don't think that 'Maxalicious' is in the dictionary," I said.
"Maybe not." Fang shrugged.
"What did you want to get, Max?" Angel asked.
I thought for a moment and then grinned. "I was thinking of getting Jeb's face tattooed on my forehead." That was enough to get all of us guffawing uncontrollably. Big mistake. Because when I looked up, I saw Jeb standing right in front of us on the sidewalk, arms crossed over his chest.
"I knew this is where I would find you," he said. "And like I told you all earlier, you are not getting tattoos."
"And who's gonna stop us?" I asked him menacingly.
"Jeb has a tattoo!" Angel blurted out.
I looked into her innocent blue eyes and then back at Jeb's face. He clearly was trying to suppress his shock.
"Um," he cleared his throat. "No I don't."
"Who are you fooling, Jeb?" I asked snidely.
He looked around. "I'm not fooling any—."
Jeb glanced down at his shoulder where Gazzy had unexpectedly peeled back the sleeve of his shirt. Gazzy's eyes widened as he saw the tattoo on Jeb's shoulder.
"It's a— it's a ninja turtle!" he shouted.
And just like that, the flock was rolling around on the sidewalk, laughing our heads off.