Chapter 6 – Meeting My Half Sister
Phineas' POV
That was…odd.
Normally Ferb's not the type to overreact to anything, yet there he was, flat on his back and knocked out cold.
We eventually got him awake, sat him back on the couch, and got him a glass of water. He assured us he was fine, but he wouldn't tell us why he fainted in the first place. I didn't think much of it.
Candace had come running in the room then, waving her cell phone in the air.
"MOM! MOM! MOM!!!" she cried, the way she always did when she got excited.
"What is it Candace, we're kinda busy here," Mom replied, putting a cold towel on Ferb's forehead.
"I was just talking to Vanessa, and she's coming over!"
Mom dropped the towel and gasped.
"Wh-what? She's coming NOW!?!" she stuttered.
"Yeah!" she replied, not realizing that Mom was freaking out. "Isn't that awesome!?"
Mom sat down next to Ferb. "No, Candace, it's not awesome. I mean, I never even met the girl before, and now I find out she's coming here?!" Her faced looked panicked. "One question. Is Heinz coming with her?"
She looked down at her cell phone. "Hmm…give me like 2 seconds…no, just her."
Mom sighed in relief. "Good, I don't think I'm ready to see him again just yet."
Wow, I guess this Heinz guy hurt Mom pretty bad. She's usually so calm, nothing like this.
"So, how long until she gets here?" Izzy asked suddenly.
Candace thought on that for a moment. "Well, she said she stays at her dad's house every other weekend, and it's his weekend, and his house can't be more than, like, 10 miles from here, so…I don't know, maybe 5 minutes?"
Mom looked around the room. "Well, the house looks alright. How about we take care of Ferb while we wait."
We all looked down at Ferb, who seemed to be getting back to normal. We gave him another glass of water, and then we all sat on the couch waiting for Vanessa to show up.
I used this time to think, like I do with most of my free time. I still couldn't figure out why Ferb would have fainted when he saw Vanessa and that Heinz guy in the picture. Maybe he'd seen him around town somewhere, like me, and overreacted a bit. That was the only explanation that made sense in my mind.
My thoughts were interrupted once again, this time by a doorbell. Mom seemed to try to compose herself, and then got up to answer the door; Candace followed her. Izzy, Ferb, and I remained in the living room.
Even though I couldn't see what was happening, I could hear bits of conversation from them. I wasn't paying close enough attention to get much out of it, though.
"…how's your vacation been?"
"…love your house…"
"...nice to meet you…"
Eventually after introductions between each other, I heard Mom say, "Come in, how about we all go to the living room?" The three of us on the couch perked up at this. I glanced over at Izzy and Ferb. As usual, Izzy didn't seem very anxious or worried about meeting her. Ferb on the other hand…well, he looked pretty bad. And boy, was that the understatement of the year. He was pale again, and I could have sworn he was shaking.
Mom, Candace, and Vanessa came in then. The three of us stood up. Mom pointed out each of us for Vanessa, starting with Izzy.
"This is Isabella, our neighbor from across the street," she said. Izzy smiled and said hi, and Vanessa smiled back.
"And this is Phineas, my son. And technically your half brother." I looked up at Vanessa. She looked exactly like she did in the picture, though somewhat taller in person. I felt a bit shy suddenly, and I felt myself smile timidly at her. Why I felt shy, I don't know. I'm usually the kid who's the first to introduce myself to someone new.
"And this," she said finally, gesturing to Ferb, "is my stepson Ferb."
Ferb didn't look up, just stared at his feet. Vanessa, however, was looking right at him.
"Say…don't I know you?" she asked suddenly. Ferb looked up, but still didn't say anything.
Vanessa suddenly got excited. "I do know you! We met like five summers ago! At that really big mall nearby."
I looked over at Ferb, waiting for him to say something. I know he's quiet, but he still answers when someone talks to him directly. Yet now, he didn't say anything. And I could swear he was getting paler by the second.
And just like that, he was on the floor, out cold, all over again.