Chapter 2 Part 1: Clinging to Old Memories
Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher is sitting at the table drinking coffee and reading the paper.
When she hears him come down, she looks up. "Good morning dear. Ferb's out in the yard already. He told me not to wake you. Go on and have some breakfast and then you can go out and meet him. I have to go to the antique store today, and your father is out in the garage. If you need anything, talk to him or call me."
"Alright, mom." Phineas was trying to hold his inner turmoil inside and act like his usual self, but his mother, who knows him so well, notices.
"What's the matter, Phineas?"
"Oh, nothing mom."
"Dear, I know you too well to believe that."
"Uh . . . well . . . okay, it is something, but I'm not really sure what. . ."
"At least that's something I can believe. If you want to talk about it, I have time before I have to get dressed to leave."
Phineas only shakes his head, pours his cereal, and begins to eat, the only sound the crunching of his cereal between his teeth.
"Alright then, I'd better get ready. You boys have fun." She walks up the stairs, but under her breath she proclaimes, "It's so much easier now that Candace is in college, but there's still enough hormonal drama in this house to go 'round."
Phineas, caught up in himself still, doesn't hear a word. He finishes his meal, and puts the dishes in the sink. Then he walks out the back door to join his step-brother under the tree.
Taking in a deep breath, he tries to regain his confidence, knowing Isabella was due to show up very soon.
"Hey Ferb, good morning."
Ferb waves back. He can tell easily that Phineas is hiding something, but knowing his step-brother like he does, he doesn't question his judgment. Phineas would let him know when he was ready to talk about it.
"So what should we do today, Ferb? Oh you've got out project book, I see."
When he picks it up, several of the pages slip out of the binding. The book is old and worn.
"Gee, Ferb. Maybe we should think about getting a new book. This one's falling apart. If only we could reinforce the paper somehow, then we wouldn't have to get rid of it. I'm kind of attached to it. That's it! Ferb, I know what we're gonna to do today!"
Quick as a wink, the two of them are drawing and planning, and the materials had arrived by the time Isabella walked into the yard, followed by the Fireside Girls.
"Hey Phineas, wat'cha doin'?" Phineas cannot help but suck in his breath at her words, and he knows he's heard them practically every day he's known her.
Carefully breathing out, he still ends up stuttering when he says, "H-hey Isabella. Building a machine to reinforce the strength of non-synthetic materials."
"Cool. The Fireside girls got their Enhancing Material patches at last week's meeting. Need any help?"
"Coincidentally, yeah."
"Alright. Let's go, Fireside Girls Troop 46321!"
Just then, Buford and Baljeet arrive. "I have a canasta game in three hours, so this better not take too long."
"How many of those do you have, Buford?"
"Enough. But I still have time to give the nerds their daily poundin'. Isn't that right?" He said, glaring at Baljeet, who in turn wets his pants and goes in to change.
Isabella picks up a hammer and begins to head towards the partially-constructed machine, but stops, looks around, and asks, "Hey, where's Perry?"
This is where I'd like to mention a few things: My intentions for this story are clear, but there are several points that aren't exactly "concrete."
For example, the "invention of the day" is EXTREMELY LAME, and I am well aware of this factor. Any suggestions for better ideas will be considered, but it would be nice if it didn't drastically change the plotline.
Note: I have confirmed with my cousin that the Fireside Girls wouldn't have retired their sashes already, since they can technically be one until they're eighteen, seeing as the Fireside Girls are a take on Girl Scouts.
In addition, any typos, grammar misappropriations, misspelled words, or sentences that don't make sense should be brought to my attention so I may make the appropriate changes, just in case me or my beta-reader don't catch them. Thank you much, Sera Greene12