Chapter 4

Even in the rush, the New York airport was not as busy as Ferb was expecting it to be. The customer's service desk had a short line, and soon Ferb had reached the front.

"Hi, can you look up a record for me?" Ferb requested as he approached the agent.

"Sure, what's the name?" she asked with a click on the computer.

"Should be under 'Fletcher.'"

"Let's see… yep, they reserved five tickets from New York to Danville."

Ferb slowly nodded, and opened his mouth again. "And… are they already redeemed? There might be one left for me."

She clicked through the screens on her computer again. When she had found the right page, she looked back up at Ferb. "Nope, sorry, looks like all five of them have been used already."

"Oh…" Ferb said, almost thinking about walking away. But, he instead looked back at the agent and tried to be optimistic. "Well, I still need to get home, somehow. Is there any way to add a sixth ticket on there?"

"Sure there is. Do you have the credit card that was used to pay?" she said as she prepared the computer.

"Hrm, well no, it was my parent's card," Ferb said in defeat. He then thought for a moment and suggested, "Can you look it up by number?"

"Umm, no, I can't look up your parent's credit card with your phone number," she replied with disbelieving puzzlement. "You know, credit cards don't work that way."

"Oh! No, you may have misunderstood me," Ferb clarified with a slight laugh. He curved his fingers, pretending to hold up a card. "I meant with the actual number on the card."

She could not help herself from staring at him for a few seconds in perplexion. "You memorized your parent's credit card number? Why?"

"Hey, I didn't do it on purpose," he defended. "I just have a good memory."

She looked back to the computer for a moment, but gave Ferb a look of sympathy. "I'm sorry. But I'm not allowed to charge a card without the card holder present."

Ferb just looked down at his feet away from the counter. "…I sort of lost my family on the subway, then they all went home and left me here alone."

"Really? That's horrible!" she exclaimed. "Why on earth would they do something like that?"

"I kind of have an idea… but I don't want to believe it myself."

The agent cautiously looked left and right, then leaned closer to Ferb. "Okay. I'm not supposed to do this, but if you have the number then I can add a ticket and get you booked on a later flight."

"You will?" Ferb said with relief. "Ahh, that would be really helpful."

After a paper had been printed out of the machine, she reached over the counter and handed it to Ferb.

"Here you are, it leaves in about four hours and gets into Danville at 7pm."

"I know, Stacy, but we can't all be wearing the same thing, we'll look silly," Candace said into her cell phone. She sat on the little reclining chair in the back room and discussed plans with her friend.

"Yeah, orange is in right now, but we'll all look like tangerines." Candace's phone beeped in her ear. "Oh hang on Stacy, I have another call."

She pressed the button and greeted the second person. "Oh hi, Jenny! Yes I wanted punch, but only three bowls. What? If they're on sale, maybe four. One sec. Moooooom!"

Candace had lifted the phone off of her ear and placed her hand over the mouthpiece as she called to the other room. "What's my budget?"

It was a moment before her mom finally replied haphazardly. "Hold on, Candace dear. We're trying to figure this out."

"Ugh, sorry Jenny. I'll have to call you back." Candace got up from the chair and hung up the phone, entirely forgetting about Stacy on the other line. Candace then turned the corner to see her parents both gathered around the computer.

"Figure what out?" she asked them directly.

The computer was open with their financial website. "Somehow we were charged for a sixth plane ticket. Your father's on the phone with the airline now."

"Just finished, actually," he said as he set the phone down. "They say that it was directly charged to the card, so it's not a mistake on their end."

"Well, I'm trying to plan my party, so I have a zillion other phone calls to make," Candace said as she left them to their sorting.

Ferb slept for most of the flight, and hardly noticed when the plane touched down. Having no bags himself, Ferb was able to walk past most of the other passengers as he headed down to ground level. There, he found the busy information desk, with several black phones set up alongside it.

"These are public?" Ferb asked the employee as he grabbed a phone in his hand. "I need to call a ride."

"Yep, just dial this authorization code and the number," he informed as he gestured to a printed label on the phone.

"Thanks," Ferb said as he began to type his home number in.

"Phone call!" Phineas hollered from his place on the couch. "Who is it?"

Ferb was already the closest to the phone. "I've got it," he said, picking it up to press the accept button. He held it to his ear, but did not speak.

A few seconds of silence rang out before the voice on the other end said, Hello?

He still did not answer.

Hellooooo? Did someone pick up?

Still silence.

Phineas, is that you? Can you tell Mom or Dad to come get me at the airport?

With no change in expression, he just pulled the receiver away and placed it back on the charger with a click.

"Soooo?" Phineas, having come over from the living room, said with curiosity. "Who was it?"

Ferb looked down at the phone. "Wrong number."

"But you didn't even talk to them."

"It sounded like a wrong number."

Phineas just kept looking at Ferb. "That was kind of mean, you know," Phineas accused. "To not even answer, then hang up on them."

Still holding the same neutral look, Ferb just walked back into the living room. "Let's get back to work," he said as he sat down on the couch in front of the coffee table that had several mechanisms lined up on it.

Coming to sit beside him, Phineas looked at the metal pieces but did not touch them. He held up a makeshift remote that he had been keeping beside the couch, and addressed Ferb sweetly.

"So I was thinking we could take our old remote-control airplanes and re-wire them with confetti-"

"No. We're working on this," Ferb interrupted without a glance from the wrench he was holding.

"Come on, Ferb. It's Candace's birthday, we always do something special for her," Phineas pestered, giving puppy dog eyes.

But Ferb did not even bother to toss a glance. He replied purposely, "We started this, so we're going to finish it. Nothing else."

Ferb pulled the phone off his ear and looked at it in confusion. The person beside him noticed, and commented, "Having trouble?"

Placing the receiver down with a beep, Ferb attempted to explain it. "I guess no one's home and the message machine is broken."

After he had pulled out his wallet, Ferb glanced inside and saw only a few twenties left. "I suppose I have enough for a taxi. Though I thought this late at night at least somebody would be home."

While he was dialing the phone again, Ferb re-addressed the person beside him. "I'm not liking this one bit."

The taxi drive was only a little more than ten minutes, and soon Ferb had paid the driver and stepped up to his house. Reaching to his pocket, Ferb scolded himself when he realized that he had left his house keys in his travel bag, which was now inside the house.

Instead, he walked up the steps and rapped hard on the door.

"You hear that?" Phineas asked Ferb while looking at the door. "Sounds like someone knocking."

"It was a branch against the window," replied Ferb.

The knock came again.

"Sure it wasn't the door?"

But Ferb set the device on the table, crossing his arms in front of himself. "Phineas, I JUST saw that branch hit the window. Stop imagining things, it's not the door."

When no one came to answer, Ferb gave up on the front door, and moved towards the living room window. There, he pressed his head on the glass and tapped lightly on it. "Hey, Phineas, I-"

But Ferb stopped. He could see Phineas sitting in the couch with his back facing the window. However, Ferb had to stick his nose further into the windowpane when he saw himself, sitting across from Phineas. This imposter had his eyes narrowed and was staring right out the window, directly at Ferb.

He bent over and started to gather up the metal pieces from the coffee table. "Phineas, grab the things. We'll continue this upstairs."

"Huh? Um, okay," Phineas answered, with slight surprise at the sudden change. "I guess it is kind of cold down here."

"Wait! Phineas!" Ferb called out through the pane, but Phineas had already followed up the stairs.

Ferb turned and hopped over the bushes to get back on the pathway. There, he ran around to the backyard and spotted the tree that grew near his and Phineas' bedroom window.

Grabbing the bark firmly with both hands, Ferb hoisted himself up to the first branch, then pulled nimbly up to the next one. He pushed on his knee for balance, and leaned up to the glass.

Again, Ferb saw that the two inside were sitting so that Phineas' back was to the window. All the various metal objects still lined the work area. The other Ferb seemed to be cautiously keeping watch, and had spotted Ferb outside within mere seconds.

"Phineas. Go downstairs and get me something to eat."

"Fine," Phineas said as he stood up, but not necessarily with agreement. "Can you say please?"

Ferb moved his eyes sweepingly to the doorway in a shooing motion. "I'm hungry. Just do it."

Phineas was mumbling something as he trudged out the bedroom.

Ferb then slowly stood up, and took his time in walking over to the window, where he reached up and unlocked the latches. He placed his hands on the glass and slid it open.

"Please, let me come in and talk to him," said Ferb from his place hanging out of the tree. He tried to lean further into the room, only to be pushed back by a firm hand on his shoulder.

"I thought I lost you in New York," the other growled.

But Ferb just ignored him and kept his focus on the bedroom. "I haven't seen him in a few days. He might be worried about me," he begged, attempting once more to climb in.

Clutching onto Ferb's fingers, the second pried them off of the side of the window, half-knocking him off the branch.

"Why would he be worried about you?" he said as he stared him down. Then he gripped onto Ferb's collar and yanked him into the window, causing his feet to almost dangle off the edge of the tree. Dragging Ferb up to him, he whispered into his ear, "You're not even missing."

Releasing Ferb, the imposter took both palms and shoved him out of the window by the chest, and he tumbled backwards with a cracking of wood.

Not a second had passed before the window was slammed shut and latched, the doer turning around while brushing off his hands in satisfaction.

Phineas came flying into the room, braking himself by grabbing into the door frame. "What was that?"

Ferb made no notion of responding to Phineas, and was staring crossly at Phineas' empty hands. "You didn't get me anything."

"Well, no," Phineas explained. "I went down there and was looking in the fridge, then I heard some weird sound up here so I ran up to see what it was."

Ferb didn't let up his displeased frown.

"Sheesh, if you're gonna be like that about it, you can just go down and get it yourself," Phineas said as he slumped down onto his bed with a glare.