I found Rico! He was hiding in the dynamite factory! *holds up a cage with Rico in it. Rico's mouth is duck-taped shut* Here you go, thankchaosforspellcheck!

The title of this chapter belongs to "Austin and Ally."


Chapter 9: Girlfriends and Girl Friends

We had finally arrived at Marlene's house. The sun was out, so I guessed that Marlene would be awake. At least, I hoped she would be.

Skipper rang the doorbell, and we waited. Soon enough, the door opened, and a girl about my age was standing sleepily in front of us. I tensed up. It was Rookie.

Technically, her name was Tori. She earned the nickname "Rookie" from mastering every video game she's ever played the first time she played it. She had short, brown hair that was messy from bed-head and blue-gray eyes.

She yawned, looked at me, Skipper, and Sonya and smiled, rubbing her eyes. "Uh, good morning," she greeted. "Isn't it a little early for a visit?"

"We need to speak with your sister," Sonya told her. "It's kind of important."

Rookie blinked. "Okay, come in." We walked into the living room, and Rookie closed the door. She yawned. "Since I'm up, I'll guess I'll start on breakfast. You guys eat?"

Skipper looked at her blankly. "Nope. Next question."

Rookie rolled her eyes and called, "Marlene! You have visitors!" She sniffed the air and grimaced. "And they have yet to shower!" She walked into the kitchen.

"Hey, guys." We turned our heads. Marlene had entered the room, looking exhausted. "Whatcha doing here?" she yawned.

I spoke. "You see, Marlene, Skippa and I have been-" I swallowed the lump in my throat "-having trouble with our...fatha..."

She nodded in understanding. "Skipper told me about that." She looked at my brother. "How's your cheek?"

Skipper shrugged. "At ease, baby. I don't notice the scar unless I look in a mirror or someone points it out."

She smiled slightly. "Well, at least it doesn't hurt."

"As Private was saying," my brother continued, "we've been having some 'family issues.' Long story short, it's become too much for the poor kid." I rolled my eyes. Skipper never wanted to admit to having weaknesses. Apparently, abuse counted as a weakness. "We request that you let us crash here, for a while."

"Wait a minute," Marlene said, looking astonished. "You mean you and Private ran away from home?" He nodded. "You realize that's illegal."

"You're boyfriend's skipped school, before," Rookie said, poking her head out of the kitchen. "What's stopping him from running away?"

"Rookie," Skipper groaned, "go be sarcastic somewhere else."

She shrugged. "Okay, but if you want pancakes, you're gonna have to be nicer." With that, she returned to her cooking.

"Time out," Sonya interjected. "You guys ain't the only runaways in the building." We looked at her. "I'm leavin' home, too, and I'm here for the same reason you guys are. My parents keep telling me to 'loosen up' and to not take life so seriously. Not to mention that my lil' bro's annoying as hell."

"Listen, you three," Marlene interrupted. "I'm not agreeing with the idea of you guys doing this. But I'll let you stay here for a few days. My parents are on a business trip in Wisconsin, so their room's available. Plus, we've got a guest room. But you guys can't stay any longer than a few days."

"Thanks, darling," Skipper said, right before he kissed Marlene's cheek.

"Marlene," Rookie said, reappearing, "when you let your boyfriend stay here, he'll want to sleep in your room with you. When he sleeps in your room with you, he'll take off all his clothes. When he takes off all his clothes, you'll take off all your clothes. When you take off all your clothes-"

"ROOKIE!" Skipper and Marlene shouted, blushing.

Sonya rolled her eyes, and I struggled to hold back my laughter. Rookie looked at me then looked at her feet, blushing. "I've got a million of 'em," she said, quickly retreating back into the kitchen.

Sonya grabbed the TV remote and sat down on the couch. "Might as well see what's on." She turned on the TV.

The news came on, and a man with gray hair and a dark gray business suit appeared on it, holding a microphone. "This is Chuck Charles," he said into the camera, "live at the scene of a devastating car wreck. Not long ago, this red Chevy behind me crashed into a Pepsi truck. Ironically, this was the same driver who drove this very same truck into a car, killing a woman and injuring her two sons a few months ago. Even more ironically, our sources tell us that the man who was killed in the wreck was the woman's husband. Seriously, folks, can this story get anymore ironic? This has been Chuck Charles and, like the ninja," he went into a ninja-stance, "I vanish as suddenly as I appear." He clapped his hands and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

A man in a blue suit walked into the scene and picked up the microphone Chuck had dropped. He looked up at the sky. "These microphones cost money, Chuck!" he shouted, angrily.

The reply came from seemingly nowhere. "I am the ninja! Hi-ya-ha!"

Sonya turned off the TV, and everyone was silent. I felt hot tears forming in my eyes. Dad was...gone...


Oh no... Poor Skipper and Private. :( Rookie belongs to Privaterookie24. The ninja scene is from the PoM episode "Private and the Winky Factory."

As always, Please review!