Chapter 10
As time passed, Wheeler carried on with his daily life and found it a little easier to resign himself to his condition. Most of the time, he accepted his pregnancy, but there was a little part of him that still wondered if it was all a dream. As long as he wasn't showing, he felt almost normal.
"Come on, champ, we're taking you to dinner," Gi carefully leaned over the back of the sofa where Wheeler was sitting quietly and reading. She scratched the young man's shoulder tenderly.
"Huh . . . why?" he looked up into her smiling face with a puzzled expression.
"Because we think you deserve it, Yankee," Linka added, grabbing his hands and pulling the American to his feet.
"I take it that means you want me to clean myself up a little bit," the redhead replied with half a grin, indicating his baggy t-shirt and tracksuit bottoms.
"You do not have to," Ma-Ti shrugged from his seat near the door.
"Just wear something comfortable, my friend," Kwame motioned as he settled on the couch's armrest nearby.
"Ok, I'll go put my jeans on and get a better t-shirt." the Brooklynite countered, heading for the door and grinning quietly to himself.
It had been almost two weeks since the Planeteers went on their last eco-mission, and over the last couple of days Wheeler had been feeling fantastic, as the constant twisting nausea and endless fatigue had disappeared almost as quickly as they had appeared. His renewed energy levels had not gone un-noticed by the other Planeteers and it had taken all their efforts to keep up with him now that he suddenly felt human again. Of course Linka still forbid him from doing some activities like riding the zip wire, but, hey, he could live with that. Crossing to his hut the redhead pulled his favorite jeans and a clean t-shirt out of the closet, not even considering that they might not fit him after 12 weeks of being pregnant. He wondered why his friends were offering to take him out to dinner, they said he deserved it, but as far as he knew he hadn't done anything out of the ordinary to warrant such special treatment. Shrugging to himself, he stepped into the denim pants and pulled them up.
"Oh what!" the other Planeteers heard Wheeler's surprised shout and ran to his hut.
"Is everything ok, Wheeler?" Kwame inquired, pushing the door gently and stepping into the fire Planeteers room.
"Guess I filled out a little bit since the last time I wore these," the American commented, indicating that he couldn't actually do his jeans up.
The African couldn't help but laugh, causing the others to enter and see what was so funny. They started giggling while Wheeler stood with a mock expression of hurt on his face.
"Oh yeah, this is a riot, guys!" the redhead commented as he realized he was really not that bothered by the whole thing, and started to giggle himself, "It's so stupid."
"Have you got any bigger pants, Wheeler?" Ma-Ti asked, wiping the tears of laughter from his eyes; he knew he shouldn't snicker, but it had just looked so funny to see Wheeler standing there, unable to fasten his jeans.
"Maybe I'll wear my combats," Wheeler shrugged, removing them from a drawer and locking himself in the bathroom to change in private.
Upon taking off his jeans, Wheeler glanced at the full-length mirror and carefully lifted his top. He stared at his reflection and found that he didn't look any bigger; at least not from his present angle. He slowly turned sideways and looked again, now putting his hand on his belly and tracing its shape after noticing that a very slight bulge was forming, he felt his jaw physically dropping as something sparked within his brain. "Oh my God . . . I'm gonna be a daddy," he uttered silently, looking at the image before him.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the bathroom door.
"Are you Ok?" Linka shouted, her hale bringing the young man back to the present
"Yeah, just got distracted," Wheeler called back quickly pulling his combats on and just about managing to do them up then pulling his t-shirt down and emerging.
"They fit?" Linka enquired as she looked at him.
"Just barely," the redhead replied, clearing his throat.
"I think we're gonna have to get you some bigger clothes," Gi said, winking at Linka and silently mouthing, 'shopping trip' behind the pregnant mans back before looping her arm through his and leading him towards the geo-cruiser.
"So how come your taking me out to dinner?" Wheeler asked once they were in the air.
"Well we just thought you'd be coping so well with being pregnant that you deserved a treat," Gi answered steering the solar powered aircraft towards the big city.
"We thought you would appreciate the gesture more if you were not feeling sick, so we waited until your morning sickness had gone" Ma-Ti added smiling.
"I don't know what to say guys . . . thank you so much," the American choked, trying not to cry as his hormones filled him with emotion. Noticing the beginning of this episode, Linka carefully grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze.
Arriving at one of Wheeler's favorite restaurants, the group were quickly seated and left to peruse the menu. They decided to skip over the appetizers, made their choices for their dinners, and chatted happily to one another until the waiter returned and took their orders.
"This place is really nice," Gi said, glancing around at the elegant décor.
"It used to be a cinema," Wheeler commented as he took a sip of his freshly squeezed lemonade.
"Really? Is that why they have all the movie memorabilia around?" Linka asked, clearly showing she was genuinely interested in knowing more about this curious place.
"Well, it was abandoned for ages, then when they decided to make it into a restaurant they found some old, early 20th century posters and film star photos in the basement . . . and they were in perfect condition so they decided they could either use them and make this place have a theme or sell them. Since it was an old cinema they decided to make it themed and it has been popular ever since. I'm told they still have some old 19th century projectors somewhere, the type that shine candle light through the film rather than using an electric bulb," the redhead paused as the waiter returned with their food and wished them bon appetite.
"How do you know all this, Wheeler?" Ma-Ti asked, his eyes widening with an inquisitive reflection.
"I was always kind of fascinated by the place . . . even hid in it one time when I ran away from home. I guess it made me want to look into it. Of course when it was opened as a restaurant the finds in the basement became common knowledge because of what was in the papers." Wheeler replied thoughtfully before taking a bite of his meal.
Upon hearing this answer, the other Planeteers felt a long time theory of theirs was confirmed. Wheeler had always been very passionate about the photos and films he shot, and he was constantly critiquing professionally shot movies. Wheeler had often said that if he weren't such a great Planeteer that he would be a killer cameraman.
As soon as the Planeteers were about half way through with their meal, Ma-Ti noticed his expectant friend's leaning back and rubbing his stomach.
"Are you all right?" the Kyapo whispered.
"Yeah, my pants feel really tight though," the redhead replied quietly.
"Why do you not undo the button; you are wearing a long t-shirt. No one will be to noticing," Linka whispered on his other side, smiling. The American carefully undid the clasp and breathed out. "Better?" the Russian enquired kindly.
"Uh-huh," Wheeler nodded trying not to blush, but he couldn't help it; this was so humiliating!
"So how is everyone enjoying their dinner?" Gi changed the subject so as to avoid her friend's further embarrassment and winked in his direction.
"It is most delicious," Kwame replied as Wheeler mouthed a quiet thank you in the Thai's direction.
"Yes, it is really tasty," Ma-Ti added before scooping a bite into his mouth.
The group soon fell back to discussing their most recent eco-missions and enjoying their meals. Later after the eco warriors finished eating dessert the waiter brought the check over to the satisfied customers.
"OK, so what's the damage?" Wheeler grinned, pulling his wallet out of his wind breaker pocket to add his share.
"Nothing, we told you it was our treat," Linka replied firmly pushing his hand away.
"Oh ok . . . thanks guys." he replaced the wallet as they scrambled out of their booth and prepared to leave.
As the Planeteers headed back for Hope Island Wheeler leaned back in his seat and groaned contentedly, "Man, I'm so stuffed!" He hadn't even tried to do his trousers back up earlier, subtly holding them up as the five had left the restaurant.
"So what distracted you earlier?" Linka asked quietly, she had been puzzling his strange behavior all evening, wondering what might have been causing it.
"It was what I saw in the mirror," Wheeler replied without opening his eyes.
"Huh?" the Russian didn't understand, she had never seen Wheeler as particularly vain before.
The American opened his eyes and sat up a bit, looking at the blonde sitting beside him. "When I was changing, I caught sight of my reflection, I've got a bulge," he said simply, not knowing how else to put it.
"You mean the pregnancy is beginning to show?" Gi enquired from the front seat.
"I guess . . . when I saw it, I just kinda got lost in thought. That's when it really registered with me. . . . I'm gonna be a dad . . . Then you knocked on the door and brought me back to reality." Wheeler shrugged and looked down into his lap for a minute, before settling back and gazing out the window at the bright constellations.
Unable to think of anything else to say, the other Planeteers fell silent, considering this new piece of information. There was no turning back; Wheeler was truly going to be a father!
The next morning Wheeler awoke and shrugged on his dressing gown before wandering sleepily towards the common room. It was still fairly early so the others were just starting breakfast as he entered and helped himself to a glass of orange juice in the kitchen. He was suddenly aware of the silence that had descended and noticed his friends' looking at him or more specifically his waistline.
"And what are you lot staring at?" he enquired in a mock tone of voice with a grin. "As if I didn't know." Linka, Gi, Kwame, and Ma-Ti all quickly looked away with guilty expressions on their faces.
"Sorry, Wheeler, we just cannot stop thinking about what you said last night," Kwame offered apologetically as the others nodded in agreement, after all so far Wheeler was the only one that had noticed anything as his clothes still hid any changes.
Smiling, Wheeler finished his glass of juice and deliberately grabbed the back of his PJ shirt, pulling it tightly before turning sideways. The act showed off the definite curve of his pregnant belly, causing his friends to gasp in surprise.
"Bozhe Moy!" Linka exclaimed, unsure of what she was seeing. She had been there when Dr Derek had announced the test results; but somehow, it had still seemed unbelievable, until now.
"And before anyone says it, no I'm not just getting fat" the redhead grinned cheekily, releasing the material and pulling his dressing gown back around his body and loosely knotting the belt.
The other Planeteers sat in quiet disbelief, a mixture of amazement and horror struggling within their brains.
"Hello . . . earth to the Planeteers . . . " Wheeler carefully waved his hand in front of their faces as he sat down next to Linka with a bowl of cereal. He was clearly waiting for the questions to start; after all they all seem curious.
"What does it feel like?" Ma-Ti finally managed to regain the use of his voice.
"At the moment nothing much, little buddy, my stomach feels slightly warmer to the touch. But that's about it. Baby's still pretty small though, about 3.5 inches according to the book," he smiled around at his teammates' shocked faces.
"Do you know how much it weighs?" Gi asked, trying to imagine the size in her mind.
"About 14 grams, probably about the same as your watch, or 10ml of honey," he answered thoughtfully, remembering the description in 'What to expect when your expecting' and apparently satisfying his friends curiosity for the time being.
Wheeler spent the rest of that morning helping Kwame in his green house and talking with the African as though nothing had happened, although he noticed his big black buddy was much quieter than usual he decided not to say anything, his friends were probably feeling as shocked as he was after all. Later, after a quick lunch of cheese on toast, he headed off down the beach to see what Gi was up to, seeing him; the Asian girl waved happily and beckoned him over to where she was standing.
"Hey, how's it going?" she smiled as he approached her.
"Great, whatcha got there?" he queried as he peered into the bucket in her hand.
"Oh that . . . I found some empty shells when I was diving. I thought I'd keep them as ornaments," she smiled, holding up a large shell for the redhead to see. "Any idea what species this is?" she asked, testing the young man.
"er nautilus isn't it?" he quietly replied, turning the brown stripped shell over in his hand and examining it carefully.
"Uh huh, how about this one?" She passed him another shell, which reflected iridescent rainbows from its inside.
"Easy . . . abalone," he grinned before handing it back to his quizmaster.
"Well done," she praised her student with a smile again and looked out to sea.
"Don't suppose you know where Linka is?" Wheeler curiously asked as Gi returned her attention to his strong face.
"Some where down there . . . "the Asian pointed down the beach, "she said she was going to find a quiet place to practice her speech for the conference we have in Chicago in a few weeks. Are you going to go see her?" she asked, watching his gaze and following the direction she was pointing.
"I thought I would; maybe I should leave her alone to concentrate on it if she's busy," Wheeler shrugged with the shake of the head.
"No, I think she'd appreciate the company. Do me a favor; give her this for me would you?" the Thai dropped a tiny shell onto his palm. "Tell her it's for good luck," she whispered them set off in the opposite direction towards her hut.
Smiling, Wheeler set off looking for the Russian and admiring the gentle lapping waves as the sun shone down and sparkled off the tiny sea foam peaks. He could hear Linka rehearsing her speech in the distance before he saw her and came to a stop. He observed her quietly, leaning against a rock just out of her line of sight. As she finished her speech he pushed himself back up and started clapping, making her jump.
"Sounded good, Babe," he complemented with a smile as he came toward her.
"You think?" she asked, "I was terrified, and my only audience was a hermit crab and a seagull," she said, letting out a nervous breath.
"You'll be fine. Here." Wheeler gave Linka the tiny seashell. "It's from Gi, for luck," he smiled, settling down on a nearby boulder.
The blonde smiled back, "so is that the only reason you came down here . . . to give me a good luck charm?" She walked over and sat down next to him.
"No, I came to stop you from freaking out over your speech," the redhead carefully stretched out his hand and rubbed between the young woman's shoulders.
"How do you do it, Yankee? Your head should be completely messed up at the moment with the pregnancy, and yet you seem fine. You are even supporting me when I have to doing something that I am terrified about." She leaned against him watching the birds fly lazily through the sky.
Wheeler chuckled, "I guess my way of coping is to just get on with it. Now, let's give your confidence a boost." The wind Planeteer sat up, looking into his azure eyes.
"How do you mean?" she asked, feeling a bit confused.
"Let's try some public speaking techniques to make you feel more confident about getting up in front of those people when you get to Chicago. You have to think of you audience as just regular people. Picture them sitting there in their underwear or in their Pj's and fuzzy slippers." He grinned and explained a few techniques for speaking in public without being scared while Linka listened and felt her confidence grow. By the time the sun was setting she felt ready for anything and walked hand in hand with Wheeler back to the common hut for dinner.
After dinner, the Planeteers all settled down in the common room to watch TV, Wheeler sprawling on the sofa and the others arranging themselves on various chairs and cushions. After a while, Linka scrambled up from her large pillow and stretched, heading for the kitchen.
"Anyone want a drink?" she asked, planning to make something hot and preparing a kettle for boiling.
"Yes please, Linka." Kwame was the first to reply, getting up to help the Russian prepare the drinks.
Ma-Ti, Gi, and Wheeler also said they would like some hot drinks, and Linka returned a few minutes later with the five mugs on a tray. This time she settled on the end of the sofa, Wheeler moving to give her a little more room. After a while she leaned back comfortably against him and started to snuggle up, but then she stopped, she hadn't done this since before Wheeler had found out he was pregnant and she wasn't sure how he would react. She looked up at him, but he just shrugged, not feeling particularly bothered; in fact, enjoying her cuddling up as before. Seeing he was apparently fine with it, she settled back down but paused, her hand wavering when it fell close to his belly. She remembered that Wheeler had been a bit sensitive about anything touching his stomach not that long ago. She glanced up again, and he nodded.
"It's ok, I don't mind, Linka," he whispered, reassuring her that he wouldn't bop her with a pillow this time.
"Wow, your tummy is really warm, Wheeler," she observed, touching it gently as she settled against him properly.
"I know, it's like having a thermal blanket around my middle," he smiled at her as she cuddled closer and enjoyed his new softness. His pregnant pooche made him a sort of cuddly pillow person thanks to his rather unusual condition.
Three days later, Wheeler was due for his second appointment with Dr. Kristine Beltz, and the five Planeteers landed in the hospital car park with time to spare.
"Hey, you know if any of you guys wanna come in with me, its ok," the redhead commented with a grin, for he'd been in fine spirits all morning.
"Ok, if you are sure," Linka said as she undid her seatbelt; she wanted to be there for the next ultrasound and see for herself how the baby was coming along.
Gi, Kwame, and Ma-Ti also wanted to get a look at the first baby ever to be carried inside a man's body, and they followed Wheeler in to the reception area.
"Hello, Wheeler," the nurse smiled, looking up at the young man who just strolled up to her desk. "Wow, has it been three weeks already?" She glanced at the appointments book.
"Sure has, is it ok if my friends come with me?" he motioned to the other Planeteers.
"Certainly, I'll just let Kristine know." The nurse quickly rang through to the Doctor's office and asked the five Planeteers to wait for a few minutes.
Kristine came out in a short time, a happy smile curving her lips and making her pink cheeks puff up a little rounder.
"Hello, Wheeler, how's it going today?" she beamed ready for a good dose of her favorite patient after a morning of total boredom.
"It's going great; how about you?" the male mother smiled back as he got up from the waiting room bench where he had been sitting.
"Much better for seeing you; I've been stuck doing paperwork all day. Of course if I hadn't put it off earlier in the week, I wouldn't have to do it now; but there you go. Ah these must be your friends, the Planeteers. Hi guys we did meet briefly about 4 weeks ago, I'm Kristine. Are you coming to watch all the action?" the obstetrician bubbled a quick greeting, relaxing everyone and inviting them into her office, which quickly became rather cramped. The girls settled into the whicker chairs while the boys stood along the wall.
"So Wheeler, what's changed . . . anything?" the young brunette asked, patting the examining table as an indication of where she wanted him to sit.
"Yeah, no more nausea or fatigue, and I've got a bulge," the American obliged, jumping up onto the table and letting the doctor check his heart rate and blood pressure.
"That's great! Well now if you'd just like to lie down, we'll do the interesting bit then I just need to check and make sure your asthma isn't getting worse." The doctor seemed as excited as Wheeler was.
"Hey, are you on a sugar high, doc?" Wheeler quipped, lying flat on the table while Kristine prepared the ultrasound scanner.
"What tipped you off?" she giggled crossing over and pushing his t-shirt up. "I didn't get a chance to have lunch so I just munched a chocolate bar, it seems to have gone straight to my head," she winked, squeezing a line of gel just below Wheeler's navel. "Right lets see what's going on in there." Looking at the screen, the doctor moved the scanner as she had done in the previous appointments, and she quickly found the little one was continuing to grow inside her male patient's belly. "Check it out, Wheeler, there's your baby. It's a bit bigger than last time isn't it?" she pointed to the tiny blob which looked about as big as a baseball.
"Yeah, just a bit. What do you think guys?" Wheeler glanced at his friends as they stared in awe at the screen.
"It's . . . it's . . . its amazing!" Gi managed to stutter as the Doctor took the necessary measurements and printed out a picture.
"There you go, you can add that to your collection," she smiled, handing Wheeler the printout.
"Cheers doc," the redhead replied passing the printout to his friends so they could see.
"Now for something special I think you would like," Kristine announced, pressing a few more buttons on the ultrasound machine and repositioning the scanner. Wwumf wwumf. A strange noise filled the room. "That is your babies heartbeat Wheeler, sounds nice and strong to me." She glanced at the young mans face; he looked totally stunned. Smiling, she put the scanner away and let him sit back up. She gently wiped the excess gel away with a bit of tissue as he wriggled into a sitting position. Pulling his t-shirt back down the young man was about to get off the table.
"Uh uh, Wheeler, I still need to check your asthma, stay where you are," the doctor scolded good naturedly, bringing over a familiar gadget. "When you're ready, Wheeler, take a nice deep breath and blow," she instructed as she held the device in front of him.
"I have done this before you know," the American answered, smiling before sucking in a breath and blowing through the disposable mouthpiece and sending the metal indicator down the tube.
"Ok. . . "Kristine noted the reading, "again. . . "She held it back up and repeated the test."Once more . . . "she instructed, making another note in Wheeler's chart.
Wheeler obliged and watched as the doctor recorded the final score.
"So am I still breathing?" he asked, cocking his head in a playful fashion.
"It would seem so; your asthmas fine, so far, but as I said you will need to keep an eye on it." She returned to her desk, scribbling a few more notes down in Wheeler's file.
"Can I move now?" the redhead asked in a teasing manner, as she looked back up from her paperwork.
"Of course," the doctor smiled, "you'll be pleased to know that both you and the baby are in perfect health, so all that remains to do is book your next appointment." the young woman, slightly disappointed that the meeting had been so short, reached for her appointment chart and looked through the pages. "How about the 26th June?" she asked, looking his way.
"Sounds fine to me," the patient replied, digging into his pocket and retrieving the paper card from last time. "Recycling . . . "he commented, scrubbing out the old date and writing the new one in the space.
"Good, well I expect you'll look a bit different next time I see you," the doctor smiled as Wheeler stood up and looked to his friends who were gathered in the corner. "Nice to meet you all properly. Feel free to come again." Kristine waved merrily as the five Planeteers began to troop out the door. Just as he started to follow the doctor caught Wheeler's arm. "Did you find a birth partner yet, Wheeler?" she asked quietly.
"Not yet," he blushed, knowing he should have sorted that information out in the 3 weeks since his last appointment.
"Well it's ok for now, but I'd like to get you into an antenatal class as soon as possible. So can we have it done by next time?" she asked, her eyes sparking with excited energy.
"Sure, I'll email you with the details later, if you want . . . Your email is on your card?" the redhead said, pulling away from her grip.
"It's at the bottom, I'd like it if you did that, and you can email me with other stuff as well if you'd like . . . just be sure it's clean." The doctor blurted out before she could stop herself, but then quickly recovered with a smile and a wave as Wheeler turned to catch up with his friends.
Later that day, as the Planeteers got on with tasks around the Island, Wheeler drew Linka to one side and nervously posed his query.
"Can I ask you something, Babe?" he whispered in her ear.
"Of course, Yankee," she looked up at his face, noticing that he seemed preoccupied about something.
"W-will you b-be . . ." he faltered, clearing his throat. Why was this so difficult? "Will you be my b-birth partner?" he finished, letting out a nervous breath and smiling carefully. As a man, he never thought he would have to ask anyone this rather awkward question, and he found himself wondering what the blonde would say.
"Of course I will silly. Is that what you were getting nervous about?" she giggled, giving him a reassuring cuddle. "I would love to be your birth partner; it would be an honor."
As if a great weight had floated off of his shoulders, Wheeler smiled, a great look of relief spreading across his face.
"And what are you two up to?" Gi asked, suddenly appearing nearby and seeing her two friends cuddling.
"Wheeler just asked me to be his birth partner. The poor guy was all nervous that I would say no" the Russian grinned at her Asian friend as Wheeler felt himself blush.
"Awww, why did you think she'd say no Wheeler?" Gi asked seeing his cheeks flushing bright red.
"I dunno; it's just not the kind of thing you ask every day – especially if you're a guy," he shrugged, in hopes their wouldn't be any more questions. Instead he felt Linka tighten her grip around him for an instant and then let go, so they could both go back to their work.
The day seemed to fly by in an instant, for the Planeteers found it growing dark before they realized the proper time. They all settled down for a meal and then decided to relax the rest of the night away.
"What are you going to wear when we go to Chicago, Wheeler?" Linka asked sleepily as she leaned against the fire Planeteer that evening, after a good day's work. The combination of sunshine and physical chores took a lot out of all of them, they all felt pretty tired and had flopped onto various chairs in the common room.
"I dunno my suit?" the redhead mumbled back, not really paying attention.
"Is that going to fit you?" Linka sat up, gently tickling the young mans belly.
"Oh gee, I didn't think of that," Wheeler replied, feeling more alert all of a sudden.
"Maybe you had better go check and see if you can squeeze into it," the Russian commented, moving to let him get up and head for his hut.
"Where's Wheeler going?" Gi asked, opening her eyes and watching him leave.
"He is going to see if his suit still fits him," Linka answered, yawning and settling back on the edge of the sofa.
"Do you really think it'll fit now that he's getting a pooche?" the Asian asked with a cheeky smile playing across her lips
"No way, his suit is even smaller than his jeans; and they did not fit him last week. Guess we will have to take him shopping tomorrow." the Russian winked, causing her friend to laugh, Wheeler hated clothes shopping almost as much as he hated the doctors.
"What are you two giggling about?" Kwame asked as he and Ma-Ti also stirred from their naps.
"Where is Wheeler?" Ma-Ti added, looking around and seeing no sign of his American friend.
"He went to see if he could still fit into his suit for the conference in Chicago," Gi filled the guys in on the reason for the redhead's absence.
"Should we go and see if he needs a hand?" Kwame said, an evil grin suddenly playing across his lips.
Wondering if maybe it was a bit mean, the four remaining Planeteers got up and wandered to the end hut to see how their friend was doing with his suit.
In his room Wheeler grabbed his one decent suit and shirt from the wardrobe and looked at them thoughtfully, even to him they looked small. Deciding to try the shirt first he pulled it on and started doing up the buttons, feeling the resistance in the material as he reached his waist. He knew almost instantly that he was fooling himself if he thought he could get away with this outfit. Deciding to persist and see how bad it actually was he pulled the white tuxedo pants on; there was no way he was going to get the clasp done up. That much was obvious, so he just did the zipper up as much as he could. With a curious look on his face, he pulled the jacket on. Like the shirt, it was snug around his waist and he decided to leave it undone as he entered the bathroom to admire the finished and rather odd look.
The Planeteers suddenly heard Wheeler laughing loudly and entered the young man's room to find out what was making him so happy.
"Wheeler?" Ma-Ti called, seeing that the redhead wasn't in the room.
"Hey, guys!" Wheeler managed to holler through the door.
"What are you laughing at?" Kwame enquired, curious to see what was so funny.
"I just tried on my suit; you might say it's a little tight here and there. Guess I could always set a new trend," Wheeler replied, coming out of the bathroom and showing the others what he thought was so funny. The remaining eco-heroes had to laugh because Wheeler looked absolutely ridiculous. The girls approached him in step making it instantly obvious that they were about to do a critical evaluation of his outfit.
"Hmmmm the shirt is a little snug don't you think, Linka?" Gi postulated, indicating the buttons which looked about ready to burst off.
"Da, Gi, and the trousers are obviously too tight as indicated by the ignorance of the clasp," the Russian replied as both girls tried not to laugh.
"Oh this will never do. Look at this, Linka," Gi finished by pulling the jacket closed and buttoning it, showing all around just how snug it actually was.
"Ok, girls," Wheeler spoke up, deciding he'd had enough of being poked and prodded for one day. "so what am I supposed to do about it?" he added, plunking down on a chair and causing the jacket clasp and three of the shirt buttons to fly off, resulting in everybody breaking into loud and hard laughter.
"I think we need to take you clothes shopping tomorrow, Wheeler," Gi managed between giggles.
"Up bright and early so we can get into town before it gets too crowded." Linka added, watching as Wheeler slipped the busted jacket and shirt off and returned to the bathroom to change back into his normal clothes.
"Alright, if I have to," he muttered quietly, clearly dreading the prospect of going clothes shopping.