A/N A big shout out to KimTheKat, Elita One, The Pumpkin Guardian, Flower K. Owl, Celestial-Prime-15, Deception is Decepticon, TheBigMystery, angelswings217, Heaven's Archer, and 2GrayBoys for reviewing! Hugs and cookies for ALL of you!
RESPONSE TIME, WEE:
TheBigMystery: Yeah, they really would've given Soundwave a run for his money! And you'll be pleased to know that they'll be showing up again within the next few chapters :) I love writing those two!
Heaven's Archer: I need to put on sunglasses your teacher's glowing pride is so intense. I'm glad it isn't corny! That's what I'm trying to avoid!
2GrayBoys: Well, now you get to read another chapter! Are there really two of you?
Disclaimer: I also don't own Google or Google Maps.
Chapter 4
Summer.
Summer is supposed to be fun.
Summer is supposed to be relaxing.
Summer is not when you're supposed to be wondering if the alien robots you're friends with are even alive anymore. Definitely not during summer.
Yet, this was the situation I found myself in. Lucky me.
It had become apparent to my mother very quickly that something was stressing me out. "What's wrong?" she asked not-so-subtlely during dinner.
I grimaced in response. If I replied with 'Nothin'', she probably would drop the subject. But that would only last until the next day. The idea of having to tell her what the situation was, though, wasn't very appealing. I always found it awkward to talk to my mom when 'feelings' were involved.
I looked over at her expectant form. It didn't look like I had much of a choice. "There's stuff going on with the Autobots, and they won't tell me what it is," I answered with a slight shrug. If I made it seem like not such a big deal, than my mom wouldn't pry or worry.
Even my dad had noticed that something was off with in the firs few seconds of talking to me on the phone.
"You ok?" he had asked.
Forcing myself not to sigh in annoyance, I answered him the same way as I had to my mom. My dad was aware of the Autobots' existence since he was my dad. I wasn't about to keep this big of a secret from him. And I knew that he would think it was the coolest thing to ever happen in his life.
Since my parents had found it relatively easy to spot that something was bothering me, I was afraid my friends would easily see it too. And what was I supposed to tell them? But luck was on my side for once, and they either didn't notice or didn't want to bring it up. The good thing about my friends is that they usually never asked if something was wrong; they just wait for me to bring it up, and vice versa. It was a handy little system that worked in times like these. Although, if they did notice, I felt bad leaving them for summer on a bad note.
But I couldn't go back in time and change it, so I would just have to live with it.
A few days after summer had started, I got a voicemail from Sam. Oops. Guess I missed that call.
To my disappointment, Sam had called to say that he wouldn't be able to come over for at least another week. Yippee.
As I sat in the office one day and surfed the net, something hit me. I had absolutely no idea how to get to the Autobots' base. Sure, I knew its relative spot, but I didn't exactly pay attention to all of the details. So, having come upon this great epiphany, I decided it best to print out directions from online.
Man, the Internet was a life saver.
Once I found the military base I needed on Google Maps, I brought up the directions from my house to it. After quickly looking over them, I started to print them out, knowing I would never be able to remember them.
As the printer rumbled to life, I began to look at the map that showed the base. I realized that these were satellite pictures. It dawned on me that they could easily pick up the Autobots if they spent to much time outside.
Of course, the government was probably aware of this being a possible problem and leafed through the photos before they were released publically. At least, that's what I hoped they did. They weren't that stupid… right? I shuddered at the thought, and quickly put it out of my mind.
A series of beeping alerted me that the directions were done being printed. The paper was still warm as I pulled it out of the printer tray. I looked over the directions, doing my best to map out the route in my head.
Then, I realized something else. I didn't need the directions.
Bumblebee could lock into the other Autobots' location and just follow it with his internal GPS. "Dammit," I muttered, slamming the paper down on the table. Guess I killed a tree for nothing.
A little upset that my brain wasn't functioning completely, I shoved myself away from the table and got up. Out of habit, I closed the door behind me, even though there really was no need to do so.
I made my way to the living room, intent on sitting down and watching some TV. When I got there, I saw my mom putting on her sneakers, while my dog was running around and wagging her tail. "Going on a walk?" At the word 'walk' my dog let out a loud bark.
My mom nodded, "Please don't use the 'w' word."
"What 'w' word? Walk?" I enticed, hoping for a reaction. Lassie didn't disappoint; another bark sounded. My mom frowned at me in response. I put my hands up defensively, "I'm done, I swear." She resumed to tie her shoes while I sat down on the other side of the couch.
My mom got up a few moments later to grab the leash. "Want to come?"
I smiled, "Nope."
A sigh followed my response. "We'll be back soon," my mom said as she clipped the leash onto Lassie's collar. She shook herself in response.
"I know," was my reply.
"I'm locking the door."
"I know."
In a few short moments, the front door closed and a loud click followed. Lassie's barking could be heard, as well as my mom's struggles to calm her down. Glad I'm not out there.
Drumming my fingers on my leg, I tried to think of something to do. I could go on my computer… but, it was all the way back in my room. My eyes went to the remote that was next to me. TV it was.
Ding dong.
I looked up in surprise. Now who the hell could that be? We hadn't ordered anything online, no one was coming over, and my mom had a key. So that only left one thing.
Sales person.
I leaned back as far I could, attempting to see out the window. Although, the window that showed the front door was blocked from where I was. Maybe they'll just leave a flyer?
The thought was soon put aside as the doorbell was rung again.
With a sigh, I got up from the couch and went to the front door. Instead of opening it, though, I looked through the peephole. Hey, it could be some creeper. I needed to make sure I could take 'em in case they tried anything on me. It could also pay to know where the knives were. Y'know, just in case.
I closed my right eye, and put my left one up to the little hole in the door. On the other side I could see a man in a tan business suit. He seemed a bit on the short side, but that could be because I was used to my 6'2'' dad and 6'4'' grandpa. He had on a pair of sunglasses in an interesting shade of purple. I wonder where he got those… I want some.
Shaking my head a bit, I continued to look the man up and down. He was actually pretty good looking… but that smile made him look like a creep. I made no move to open the door, hoping he'd just go away if no one answered. But, he knocked on the door, his smile not having faltered a bit. Damn, persistent salesman…
Keeping in mind where the knives in my kitchen were located, I slowly opened the door. I forced my best smile, "Sorry for the wait."
"Not a problem, Miss," he replied smoothly. "May I ask to talk to either one of your parents?"
I crossed my arms and leaned on the doorway, "They're busy."
The man laughed a bit, "Well, I guess you can just pass on my message."
"Um, I'm kinda busy-"
"Oh, I can guarantee I'll make you an offer you can't refuse!" he interrupted cheerfully. And thus began his long-winded speech about who knows what.
I could barely follow half of the words coming out his mouth. Some because I had never even heard of it before, but mostly because he talked almost as fast as Blurr. At least Blurr repeated what he said by habit, so I could usually catch what he was saying. But this guy just went on and on, speeding through the one sided conversation like no tomorrow.
"And that's not all we offer! If you're a loyal customer for at least-"
"Um, excuse me?" I cut in finally. My head felt like it was spinning. What exactly is he selling again?
The man smiled broadly, "Yes?"
"What you're selling sounds great and all, but, um, I'm not eighteen, so I can't buy it, and my parents can't come to the door right now…" I replied, trying to give him the hint to leave.
He laughed. A little too loudly for my liking. Creeeeperrrr. "Well Miss, it just so happens that I have a few business cards on my person." In one fluid motion, he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small card before offering it to me. I plucked it out of his hand.
"Thanks, Mr…" I scanned the card quickly, "Robinson."
"Anytime. Pleasure doing business." He gave a sort of half bow, before turning on his heel and walking away. Being immature, I stuck my tongue out at the back of his head. I closed the door quickly and made sure to lock it tight.
I looked at the card in my hand again and shook my head. Salespeople.
Holding the card away from me as if it were tainted, I headed to the office. No one wanted the card, so it's final destination was the paper shredder. I silently thanked my mom for getting one.
As I approached the office door, though, I heard a scratching noise. Scrunching my brow in confusion, I ever so slightly quickened my pace. Once outside the door, I heard a mrrrow come from the other side… followed by more impatient scratching. Guess I accidently locked my cat, Cosmo, in there when I closed it earlier.
Upon opening the door, I gasped when Cosmo all but bolted out, barely managing to keep his balance on the tile flooring. As I watched him go down the hall, I noticed that his tail was fluffed up.
I turned my head back to office. My eyes widened and my jaw dropped at the sight.
Most of the papers that had been on my mother's desk were now strewn across it and the floor. My guess was that Cosmo had slipped on the table, or something, and knocked the piles of paper around, thus giving him a heart attack and making him freak out. Damn cat.
Well, I was going to shred those unneeded directions I had printed out earlier, but seeing the state the office was in, I just stuck with the business card. I went to the corner of the room where the shredder was located, avoiding as many papers as possible. The card was placed into the slot on the machine and I clicked the start button.
Satisfied with my work, I turned to leave. Before I actually started for the door, though, I looked around the office again. It was pretty messy… but I just shrugged. Not my room, not my problem. Besides, it wasn't like it was perfectly neat before. The state it was in now was just messier. There was a chance that my mom wouldn't even really notice a difference.
I left the office for the second time that day, but decided to leave the door open this time. That way, if there were any more cats in there, the room wouldn't get even more trashed.
ARGH! Sorry this took me so long to write! I rewrote it a few times. I'm still not completely happy with it, but I'm satisfied with the results. My mind is farther into the story already.
I'm also trying to figure out where to go with the plot! I know what I want to happen, I just need to figure out some of the in-between stuff. I had a plan, but my brain decided to throw in new characters (like the one featured in this chapter…) and new situations and I'm trying to sift through them all.
I'm almost done with the next chapter, so it should be up in a few days! With Spring Break coming up, I should be able to write more!
-Panic Switch
