I sat there with Prowl for a while, glaring at nothing, still fuming about the indignity of my punishment. He stared at me for a few seconds, then shook his head and turned on the tv, flipping through the channels until he found the Discovery Channel. I never really understood why he liked that channel so much. There's no action!
"Lila!" I turned around, and my face broke into a huge smile.
"Daddy!" I ran and jumped into my dad's arms, and gave him a big hug.
He looked at me. "I've got a surprise for you." I felt my eyes light up with excitement, and I bounced up and down in his arms.
"What? What?" His vivid blue eyes twinkled at me. He looked around cautiously, then lowered his voice.
"You're going to try on the chain." he whispered. I gasped in delight.
"Shhh!! Your mom doesn't know about this."
"Oh. Right. Yay!" I whispered back. He set me down and took off the chain, handing it to me. "Go into that room and put it on."
I grabbed the chain and ran into the next room. I was about to put it on, but fear suddenly froze me to the spot. What if I didn't turn into a robot like my mom did? Suddenly I was terrified. But then I thought of my dad waiting outside, and I grit my teeth. Slowly, ever so slowly, I eased it onto my neck, and the smooth, cream-coloured glittering shell rested in the hollow of my throat like it was made to be there. It felt good. Then, soft ribbons of light came and flitted around me, seeming to caress my arms and my face, enveloping me in a gentle cocoon of warmth and tranquillity. Ripples of sparkles ran down my arms, and my skin seemed to shift and move, and it grew harder and lengthened out. My clothes disappeared in a flash, but hard chest plates were already underneath. I felt my hair disappear, only to be replaced with long pieces of metal that took on the appearance of pigtails. Tearing my eyes away from my hands and arms, I noticed that the ribbons of light were fading; I blinked and they were gone. Bracing myself, I turned around to look in the mirror behind me.
Why is she taking so long?? Bumblebee paced back and forth, his metal feet clanging on the floor.
"Hey little buddy. Where's the chain today?" Bulkhead asked. Bumblebee jerked a thumb towards the room into which Lila had disappeared. "Lila's trying it on."
"Oh." Bulkhead sat down against the wall and watched Bee pace back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. About 2 seconds had passed when a brilliant flash of light burst out from underneath the door of the room that Lila was in. Both autobots held their breath. 2 more agonizingly slow seconds later, the doorknob slowly twisted and the door opened, and Lila stepped out. Bulkhead and Bumblebee sucked in their breath at the sight of her.
Lila had a slim, small figure with a bright yellow paint job with an intricate, pretty design all over in red. It was all made up of thin red stripes that twisted, curled, and flourished themselves on her armor. Her optics were a bright, bright blue and she had two bright red metal pigtails on the top of her head. The chain hung around her neck, and the shell dangling from it was lying softly on her chest. She saw them staring at her, and she ducked her head. If she had still been human, she would have blushed.
"Well? How do I look?" Suddenly Bumblebee swept forward and gave her a huge hug, lifting her off her feet.
"You look wonderful!" Bulkhead came forward as well, patting her on the back. While they were talking excitedly, there was a large crash behind them. Bumblebee turned around, still holding Lila, and the grin was wiped off his face.
"Uh oh," Lila whispered. In front of them stood Sari, newly dyed black hair hanging down her back in a ponytail, mouth wide open, the plate of food for Lila and Bumblebee on the floor, shattered.
"Is that...?" She whispered, not bothering to finish the sentence. Bumblebee nodded slowly. The silence that followed was agonizing.
"OHMIGOSH!" Sari screamed suddenly. She strode forward and put her hands on Lila's shoulders, looking her up and down. "Darling, you look great! Oh, you're gorgeous!" she gushed. The bots just stared with wide eyes and mouths agape. Sari shot them a withering look, then turned her attention back to her daughter.
"Oh, this pattern is something new. It's so swirly and delicate looking. Cool!" She turned to Bumblebee and Bulkhead. "Do all young bots have a pattern like this?"
Bumblebee shook his head. "Not that I know of. Although you'd be better off asking Ratchet or Optimus."
"Yeah, you're right." Sari started tracing one of the many red lines on Lila's armor.
"Uh, mom? The food?"
"Oh my goodness! You're right!" Turning, Sari ran off in search of a broom, or better yet, a mop. Lila hopped down.
"I'm gonna go find everyone else!" She ran off down the hall.
"Don't destroy anything!" Bumblebee called after her. Shaking his head, he turned to Bulkhead.
"Would you close your mouth already?" he asked, annoyed.
"Right. Sorry."
I know this is short, but I'll update again soon. If you have any suggestions, I'll be happy to take them! Review please. :)
