Sorry for all of these long-ass chapters. I did plan the story out though, and just incase you thinking I'm rushing, I'm not. There's gonna be more than ten chapters but less than twenty, I can assure you. I might change things around a bit, and I don't think I should give away the current number of chapters. Right, so here's Chapter Three. :gives you a muffin: Enjoy!
And, of course, thanks for reviewing! Rock on.
I do not own the Kids Next Door.
Chapter Three: A Lesson in Losing
When he woke up the room was made of doubles and nothing would stay still. He didn't know where he was or what happened to him, but it seemed he had been resting in some form of hospitality. Blinking helped straighten out his vision until it sat still and silent. His eyes scanned the room for recognition. Aha! So he was in the school's nurse's office. Of course a trouble maker like Wallabee Beatles had been here before.
The bed was tucked into the back corner of the office. Also was a desk where the nurse sits and completes paper work at the front of the room to the left. On the right wall that the bed was against was a door and behind it is where the nurse does her physical exams. Wally sat up using much effort, and gained the nurse's attention. She sighed with relief at the sight, although his stomach sounded equivalent to a thunder storm.
"Oh, you're alright!" she said from across the room. Wally turned his head to see a woman staring at him.
"What the crud happened to me?" Wally asked firmly. He rubbed his fingers against his forehead.
"It seems you fainted, dear," the nurse told him, standing up and walking over to him. This is a new nurse, named Mrs. Winton. Ever since that entire situation with the former nurse using eye crust as crumb cake topping, a new woman was hired.
"F-fainted!" Wally said, baffled. If he had fainted, his mother would have been phoned. Then she would find out about the bet, and probably punish him, saying that was the wrong choice he made. But if he actually fainted… if it was really true… It was hard to believe.
"Yes, you fainted," she assured him.
"I… Hey! How do I know you're telling the truth?" Numbuh Four growled. Maybe he really did pass out… But he still wasn't going to believe that.
"You're mother is waiting in the office. Ask her if you don't believe me," Nurse Winton insisted. She still smiled, not in a deceiving manner, but in a kind one.
Numbuh Four stood up, and stared at the ground for a moment. Only if he fainted would he really eat. Wally probably didn't faint, although there really wasn't another explanation for how he ended up in the nurse's office for no reason. When he mustered up enough gut, he decided to walk through the door and face his mother, who would go berserk on him.
Dragging his feet through the school hallways, aligned with lockers and lights installed on the ceiling, he wondered.
"Yeah right, I really fainted…heh… and to think I almost believed 'er," Wally chuckled. Actually, it was quite possible for Wallabee Beatles to have passed out during his Social Studies lesson. When he zoned out, once on the bus and again during lunch, they were signs. They were his omens, which he ignored. But it wasn't exactly his fault—he just didn't know. Nor would he accept to believe out of his stubborn, impudent attitude. Because if Numbuh Four really did faint, he thought, that would mean he isn't strong enough. To make it simple, if the nurse was telling the truth, his self-esteem would drop, because fainting would make him seem so feeble.
His hand gripped the doorknob of the office door, whilst stomach was no more tied than his tongue. Wally would have to face his mom, who was always enraged when she had to be pulled out of her errands or something to see him in school. Numbuh Four did get into trouble with the school faculties constantly due to his violence and rude behavior.
Pushing through the door, Mrs. Beatles turned her head to see him and clasped a hand over her mouth. Wally arched his eye brow in confusion as she embraced him in a bear hug.
"Oh, thank heavens you're okay…." Mrs. Beatles breathed. Wally just stood there, thunder stricken, with his arms flopping around at his sides while his mother jerked him this way and that.
"Wait one cruddy minute!" Wally sneered, after pushing his mother away and putting everything together.
If, all on this fateful Thursday, he skipped his meals just like the previous three days, suffered a blank mind twice, woke up in the nurse's head quarters without knowledge of how he ended up there, and now finds that his mother is extremely relieved, then what the hell happened, already!
"Could someone please tell me what is going on!" Numbuh Four spat.
"Wallabee, you passed out! I knew you weren't eating for a reason! How could you be so stupid and put your health at risk like that! You had me so worried when the school called me and told me my little marsupial fainted!" Mrs. Beatles replied frantically.
"You
know why I didn't eat?" Wally was stuck on that. His mother
probably wasn't exactly happy with the bet.
"Your little
friends told me about that bet," she calmed down, and picked her
purse up from the chair the she was formerly seated in.
Numbuh Four didn't know what to say. Should he gloat over how far he's gotten, or should he be sorry and plead for forgiveness, or should he ask where his friends are? There were many other suggestions that came to his mind, but his mother interrupted him from saying any of them.
"Let's go," Mrs. Beatles said, flashing a smile at the secretary, who, over time she'd become companions with.
"Go where?" Wally asked as they walked through the next pair of doors that took them outside.
"To get some food in that stomach. And you're gonna be grounded if you don't eat this time," she replied. Wally's jaw hung open.
"You're gonna ground me!" he asked, feeling that was unfair. But a mother must do what a mother must do. "I didn't do anything!" Wally fumed.
"If you don't eat, I'm going to punish you Wallabee, and that's that," Mrs. Beatles confirmed sternly.
"But mum! I'll lose and then I'll have to do something really stupid like eat vegetables or some crud that Hoagie thinks of! I'd do anything if I don't have to lose! Please don't make me, I'll do anything, I swear!" Numbuh Four begged, clutching his mother's arm and staring up at her with extreme honesty in his eyes.
"If Hoagie makes you do anything, just come to me and I'll straighten things out," Mrs. Beatles said.
Wally folded his arms in an annoyed, headstrong fashion. As if he would really retreat to his mother like a baby would! Someone with his attitude couldn't be so easy to break. Wally was going to stay true to his word! He was going to be a winner, just like he always was! He was going to shove it in everyone's face, everyone who thought that he'd give up only because he seemingly fainted. There was no way, no how his mother could persuade him into eating.
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Numbuh Four stared down at the burger sitting in front of him. His hands were under him again, as he turned his head away from the food as if it were toxic. Mrs. Beatles literally had to drag him into the fast food restaurant, receiving many stares from other customers.
"I can't believe you! Your stomach is rumbling, you fainted, and you still won't eat a crumb! You're being such a mule!" Mrs. Beatles snapped. She simply didn't understand her son's reasons.
"I'm not losing that bet, no matter what!" Wally shot, still looking away. His mother's facial expression rested into a smile. Finally, she caught on.
"Wally," she began kindly, "it isn't a bad thing to lose. But it is a bad thing to lose sorely, which is what you're doing,"
Numbuh Four looked up at his mother, still using a stern expression. Was she right? Is it true that he was being so persistent because he is a sore loser? Had he been one all along?
"Everyone's gonna shove it in my face," he pouted, not feeling very proud about sharing his feelings like a girl would.
"Then you say, 'I did lose. But I lost fair and square, just how I should'," Mrs. Beatles replied. Wally thought for a second, and stared down at his burger. His mom was right! She was really, really right! If he knew that all along, it could have saved him from a lot of embarrassing situations. But, he didn't show that thought, even in body language.
But wait… what about Hoagie's consequence? What would Wally do if he had to eat vegetables forever, or swim despite he really didn't know how? What if he had to resign from the Kids Next Door, or be nice to The Kid for a day? What if he had to spend a day at the Rainbow Monkey theme park? What if he had to kiss a girl! No. No way. That wasn't going to happen, because Wally wasn't going to eat and he wasn't going to have any of those consequences.
"So?"
"Nope. Punish me for as long as you want, but I can't,"
"Why not?"
"Because I'll have to do something really crazy. I might even die!"
Mrs. Beatles chuckled. "Is Hoagie your best friend?"
"Umm…yeah, one of 'em," Wally's eye brow slanted again.
"Then I don't think he would make you die. Why would anyone want to kill their best friend?" She said, while Wally's mouth opened a bit. Again, she was right.
Numbuh Four never thought about that. He was too absorbed in how sure he was of winning to think outside the box a little bit. Hoagie probably wouldn't make him do anything that crazy. Hell, he probably wouldn't make him do anything at all! And even if Hoagie did, that didn't mean Wally had to obey him. No one tells Wallabee Beatles what to do, anyway!
Wally smiled at his mom, and she smiled back. He picked up the burger, but hesitated in one more thought. Shrugging it away, he opened his mouth, and took a bite. Chewing slowly gave him second thoughts. There was still time! He didn't have to swallow yet! He didn't have to face a month of taunts and jokes and people titling him as a loser!
Although he just learned not to be bothered by failing at something, still he didn't want to face that. It wasn't enjoyable to have a weakness that could be exploited.
"You don't want anyone to tease you, do you?" Mrs. Beatles asked, as if reading his mind. He found it awkward that she knew how he felt. Wally's mouth was full of food which he hadn't yet swallowed. Only when he did would he have officially dropped out. He shook his head side to side.
"Don't be such a softy, now." she mocked. Wally didn't quite expect that and became offended.
Then he did it. He swallowed. He lost. That one bite of a cheeseburger was falling down his esophagus, and he couldn't help it. He couldn't do anything about it now, expect force it back up. Numbuh Four jumped, startled, at the precious, precious taste of food once again. His eyes widened in astonishment at what he'd done. Of course he wasn't going to adjust to his new life lesson, so he tried to shove his finger down his throat and make himself throw-up. Mrs. Beatles grabbed her son's arm and pulled it out of his mouth.
"Well, you already swallowed one bite. Might as well finish it!" she grinned.
"Hey, you did that on purpose!" Wally sneered, feeling slightly unintelligent at being tricked.
"Not entirely. Go on, eat it," she insisted, glad that she finally succeeded as a mother. Wally looked down at the floor, and figured since he already took one bite, and that his stomach was howling for more, he might as well finish a meal at last, so chomped into the burger once again. His mother watched as he wolfed it down in amusement. After the burger, he moved onto his large helping of french fries, and shoveled them into his mouth by handfuls. Washing it down with a soft drink, his stomach thanked him. Still, he wasn't content.
"Any more?"
"Afraid not, we outtah get going," Mrs. Beatles chortled. Wally looked at the ground, bothered. Next, on the drive home, he realized the bet wasn't pointless, after all. He actually gained something from it. And when his mother said for him to not be such a baby, well, she was on the money with that, too. Numbuh Four really was letting what others think get to him.
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After eating something, Wally was in a grand mood. Feeling very generous, and up-beat. It seemed as though nothing could bring him down, on fateful Thursday. Also, the second he saw Numbuh Two, he planned to tell him the news.
Once walking among the tree house floors, he entered the TV room. Numbuh Two was rolling around on the ground as if he were some type of rabid mammal, which was unusual for him. The other three of his friends were seated on the couch, occupied by the television. Wally approached them, while looking at Hoagie in a strange way.
"Err…are y' okay, mate?" Wally asked, from standing beside the couch. Everyone turned their heads up at him.
"Wallabee Beatles, are you nuts!" Numbuh Three shouted, hopping down from the couch to yell at him. As if to shield himself from her rage, Wally put his hands up.
"Um… no…."
Then she yelled at him for a few minutes, but he didn't know why. Numbuh Four stood there, cowering under that girl's rage while the others watched with blank expressions. Yes, they were concerned too, but maybe they should leave the scolding to Numbuh Three. It was fun to watch someone actually push Wally around, anyway.
You know, it's funny, really, how sometimes Kuki can just be the sweetest girl in the world, and sometimes she could be on the verge of ripping someone's head from their shoulders. In this case, her victim was Numbuh Four, who had been sinking lower and lower to the ground as his friend shouted loud enough for the entire universe to hear.
At one point, Wally began to chuckle as she exploded. Then his chuckles turned into giggles, and soon he was on the sofa laughing hysterically. There was nothing funny about Kuki being upset, but he was just laughing. Cracking up for no apparent reason, until tears were actually streaming down his face.
"Numbuh Four, why are you laughing?" Numbuh Three demanded. Wally couldn't catch his breath to reply, and the room stay in silence, as Numbuh Four's belly punctured up and down. Frustrated, Kuki left the room throwing her arms in the air and saying something about Wally losing it.
A few minutes later he caught his breath and sat up. Biting his lip helped him from snickering any more.
"It gets worse when you're married, man," Abby chortled.
"Shut up! I ain't marrying her!" Wally sneered. But Numbuh Two and Numbuh Five just laughed at him. Nigel turned his attention to the television. The three continued watching some animated show while Numbuh Three was in her room. Something about food came on during a commercial break.
Then Numbuh Four was reminded of losing. He slapped his forehead and looked aside, mumbling something under his breath. Despite the words of his mother, Wally still didn't want to be teased.
"I lose the bet" he groaned, his voice too quiet for the others to hear.
"What?" Numbuh Two called, putting a hand to his ear as if amplifying his hearing.
"I LOST THE BET!" he repeated fiercely. Numbuh Two gasped, dumbfounded at Numbuh Four's words. Not only because he gave in, but also because he was admitting it. Nigel and Abby exchanged glances and then looked at Numbuh Four again.
"A-are… you serious?" Numbuh Two asked simply flabbergasted.
"Yes, I am," Numbuh Four muttered through gritted teeth while clenching his hands. The teasing was soon to come.
"So I can eat now?" Hoagie asked, with eagerness overcoming his disbelief.
"Go ahead," Wally looked like he was ready to explode. Hoagie jumped to his feet and scrambled to the kitchen. Before he left the room, he halted.
"You're tricking me aren't you?"
"NO! JUST GO AND EAT!" Wally bellowed, angry of course. He didn't want to accept that he lost, although it was his fault and no one else's. Hoagie continued to the kitchen, ready to devour anything he could get his hands on.
"Numbuh Four, there has to be a reason you gave in," Nigel said once Hoagie left.
Wally sat in silence, trying to ignore Numbuh One and focus on the TV.
"So spill it, man," Abby added, leaning forward past the other side of Nigel to see Numbuh Four. But he only continued to watch TV, as if it were interesting. One of them made a hand gesture that Wally saw from the corner of his eye.
"Why do you guys need to know?" Wally asked grimly. Of course, if he really confessed to them how his mother actually persuaded him into eating, Wally wouldn't hear the end of it. Would you really like drowning in a year's worth of being made fun of to your dislike, but only suffering through it for, say, a month?
"I just want to know, because it's actually hard to believe," said Numbuh One. Numbuh Five nodded in agreement.
"I-I…" Numbuh Four paused to think. Fragments of a lie formed in his mind to make… an excuse! "The…. uhh...nurse… said I'd have to go to...err… s-summer school! Yeah! And summer school is a bunch of crud, so, I didn't want to… go…!" Numbuh Four declared, nodding rapidly to assist his poorly worded fib. Nigel narrowed his eyes at him no longer than Abby, until they returned their attention to the television.
Wally hopped off the couch, completely forgetting about Kuki. Instead, he couldn't help himself but think whether he was going to be given a consequence or not. He planned that if it wasn't too bad he'd do it, but if it was utterly unbearable he would find some way out if it.
Pushing through the door, he found Numbuh Two pushing a sandwich far too tall to swallow in one bite into his mouth. Wally took a seat next to him and folded his arms on the table. Most of the sandwich fell apart as it dropped from Hoagie's mouth into the plate set below him. Wally watched him stretch his jaw so he can chew, half in disgust and half astounded. Then he swallowed it, and choked on the big helping rolling down his throat. Numbuh Four chuckled, and smacked him in the back until he gave a satisfied look.
"Man, I can't believe you dropped out!" Hoagie said, re-stacking the contents of his sandwich. Wally groaned, laying his chin on his arm again. "Who got you to do it anyway?"
"The nurse…" he decided to use that as a cover up amongst those who knew of that stupid bet.
"Aww... Numbuh Four had to be a good boy and listen to the nursey wursey" Hoagie cooed mockingly.
"Shut up…" Numbuh Four grunted. This is exactly why Numbuh Four tries so hard to win all the time. You see, he didn't quite liked to be picked on, because, well, who does?
"C'mon Numbuh Four, I know that's not the real reason anyway. I heard you lie to Numbuh One in there," Hoagie said, taking another, smaller, bite of his super sandwich, without looking at Wally.
Numbuh Four's head shot up.
"It is to!"
"Is not"
"Is to!"
"Is not"
"Is to!"
"Is not"
"Is to"
"Is not"
"Is to"
"Is to"
"Is not!"
"Ha ha, I gotchya!" Hoagie chanted. Wally growled, seeming a little madder than he would usually be. That would explain why he sunk his fist into a few stories of Hoagie's super sandwich, and smashed it into Hoagie's face.
Feeling a little more gleeful as Hoagie shouted after him, with a coat of lettuce, lunch meat, and mayonnaise coating his face, Wally traveled across the tree house to his room. Once there, he snatched his back pack and climbed into his boxing ring. He worked through his stressful amount of make-up homework, that he was definitely not fretting over how long it would take to finish. Mrs. Thompson would probably allow him a few weeks or so to complete it all.
Then, as he was scribbling something on his Reading assignment, Numbuh Four remembered that it slipped his mind to ask Hoagie about his consequence! Oh well, he'd just ask him tomorrow. So he shrugged that away and proceeding, moving his hand across the paper in the motion of a typewriter, but far, far, far more slower. He had not a care in the world for the rest of the night. Wally did not dwell over the fact that Numbuh Three was yelling at him, that he had angered Hoagie with that last little move he pulled before leaving the kitchen, nor did he think of how him fainting would be on top of the school gossip for the next week.
Oh, but the Aussie didn't cleverly ponder any deeper, leaving him clueless of what's yet to come….
