"They really think they have the right to do that?" Rachel said as she and the others walked on the street from Alex, Will, and Charlee's apartment. She and the other girls were dressed in either Mindy or Charlee's clothing, all looking (and smelling) better. The boys were also dressed, all in Alex's clothing.
When the girls had got back from Mindy's, the boys had decided to wait to tell them what Bradley and Will were planning on doing. Mindy then asked if they wanted to go to lunch, the eight agreeing. Once outside, the eight distanced themselves from Mindy, Will, and Bradley. The boys then told them what Will and Bradley said, and what they were planning on doing.
"They said that since Rose is Soopreme leader now, they could get in. And since she is, they technically have the right." Hoagie replied.
"Well I'm a Soopreme Leader!" Rachel exclaimed. "So that means, I have the right!" She was red in the face at this point.
"Rach, calm down." Patton said, putting his hands on her shoulders. She huffed and crossed her arms.
"What's the matter?" Fanny asked.
"They treat us like shit, that's what's the matter!" Rachel said, aggravated. "First off, they knock us out the second we get here. Then they demand we help them fix the world they ruined, and put us in the place they put prisoners! Then, they lie, multiple times, to us, and now, they want to hide Nigel's old treehouse from us, when we have a right to see. Well, by we, I mean sector V."
"It's fucking crazy." Wally said. "Everything they expect from us."
"What's their problem with us?" Abby said. "What the hell did we do to them?"
"Well, I know what I did to Mindy." Kuki said sadly. The others turned to her, not knowing the were insulting her own daughter.
"Kuki..." Rachel said. "It's not your fault. You didn't mean to..."
"No, no, it's fine." Kuki said, looking down at her feet. "She just has a reason to hate me. That's all."
"I don't think she hates you." Abby said, putting a hand on Kuki's arm. "Abby's noticed that she's not that bad around us. She doesn't seem to have a problem with us. It's just the older ones."
"Maybe..." Kuki mumbled.
"We need a plan." Nigel interrupted, trying to change the subject. "On how to distract Mindy, so we can go to our treehouse."
"We can't all go to the treehouse." Patton said. "That would be like an ambush. Only about 5 or 6 of us can go."
"So two of us needs to stay behind and distract Mindy." Nigel said.
"And I know the perfect two to stay behind." Rachel said. She then smiled at Kuki and Wally.
"Why does everyone smile when they want us to do something?" Wally moaned.
A few feet away from the eight, Mindy, Will, and Bradley walked equally as slow as them as Bradley talked on his cellphone.
"So, what time do we go?" Bradley said through his phone. He was talking to Chris, who was leaned back in his desk chair, trying to work on last minute homework.
(The author will continue to describe her characters better, as she did in the last chapter.)
Chris was like Bradley, attractive, but not as attractive as Will. He had light brown hair, which wasn't ever in a particular style. Usually just lightly combed. His grey eyes were the exact same as his sister's, wide and full of determination. He had pale skin, paler than Alex's. He was normally the calm, sarcastic friend, often using dark humor and wit to respond to people.
His fashion sense was the same as the other boys: the basics. He had on a pair of old jeans, a t shirt, and tennis shoes. He wasn't that tall, standing at 5'11, the shortest of his male friends.
"When are Charlee and Alex off?" He asked. He heard something through the phone, a sound he couldn't make out. Bradley didn't answer until a minute later, his voice tired sounding.
"Hey, I'll be back in a second. Talk to Mindy." Bradley responded. His cheeks slightly blushed at the thought of the fourteen year old.
Don't be gross! Chris thought to himself. She's only thirteen!
Almost fourteen. A voice in his head reminded him.
It's still so, so wrong!
Charlee's boyfriend is almost five years older than her.
And Will and Alex hates him.
You're not him...You'd never treat Mindy like he does Charlee.
"Um, Chris?"
"Oh, hey Mindy." The sound of her voice had alerted him from his internal argument over her.
"Hey," She said back.
"So, why did Bradley hand me over to you?" He asked her.
"He's talking to our time-travelers." She said. "Ms. Fulbright walked by and he freaked." She said in a whisper.
"Sounds like Bradley." He said. "What time do you want us down there?"
"In about 15 minutes, you guys need to get down there before the lunch rush." She said.
"On it." Chris replied, getting up off the bed. He then remembered something that might make Mindy happy.
"By the way, Happy one week-early birthday." He said.
"Aww, thanks." She gushed into the phone. "How'd you know my birthday was exactly a week away?"
"I'm looking at a calendar." He lied, feeling his cheeks go a bit red. "Besides, you're usually the one reminding me that it's a week away."
"Yeah," She said. "I'm just a bit distracted this year."
"Why? Because you're teenage mother is here with her friends. Oh, and add in the fact you had to reveal to her that she and her friend, who was in the room, have a baby together. Bradley told me. I don't know why you're so embarrassed, I'd be having a bit of fun!" He said.
"Sorta." She said sadly.
"Oh, shit sorry." He said quickly. "I didn't mean to..."
"It's not that." She said. "Can I tell you later? Too many people are around."
"Sure." He said. "You can tell me anything. Sorry, that was the corniest statement of my life."
"Thanks, Chris." She said. "You're a really great friend."
"Oh god, now you're being corny." He said. She giggled. "We have got to stop hanging out with Bradley, it's making us stupid."
"See you." She giggled.
"Bye, Mindy." He said, hanging up. He then walked to his twin sister's room, knowing to knock.
"What's up?" Rose asked as she opened the door.
Rose looked like the female version of her brother. She had short, light brown hair pulled up into a loose ponytail, wide grey eyes, and pale skin. She was skinnier, with smaller breasts and hips, but taller than average, about 5'7.
She had a better fashion sense than the boys, though she was wearing the basics now. A grey sweatshirt, a pair of jeans with holes in them, and a pair of converse.
She also had her ring, which she rarely took off. She often could be found twisting it on her finger when she was nervous or scared. It was a simple fake-golden ring with a small ruby gem in the center. It was a gift from her mother when she was born.
"Bradley has a plan, c'mon we need to meet them at the diner." Chris said briefly. Rose nodded and ran to get her phone.
The two then took off out of their house, quickly saying goodbye to their mother, who was reading a book from her tablet on the couch.
"Bye kids!" The woman said absent mindedly. The woman had dark hair and green eyes, almost the opposite of her children. Perhaps they took after their father.
Rose and Chris continued jogging down the street, eventually reaching the small diner, where Charlee and Alex worked.
They opened the door and spotted their friends and time travelers in two booths, the time travelers in one beside their friend's.
"Rose, Chris!" Bradley said, ushering them over. The twins took a seat in the large booth, each on the other side of the other.
"So, what's the plan?" Rose asked, sitting beside Bradley.
"You know how the board has banned going inside of the sector V treehouse." Bradley said. "Well, since you're soopreme leader now, Rosie, your vote surpasses theirs. So we can finally have a look around, see if we can find anything to help us."
"When do we go?" Rose asked, looking at the time travelers. "And, how are we going to keep them away?"
"Mindy's got that covered." Will said. "She'll distract them. And we leave when Mindy's done explaining to Alex and Charlee, who will say they're going on a half-hour lunch break, giving them plenty of time to help us."
"You guys already thought this out, huh?" Chris asked.
"Yup." Bradley said.
After a few minutes of waiting, Charlee and Alex finally came out of the kitchen with Mindy, each setting their aprons and notebooks on a hanger, and running over to their friends.
"Let's go." Rose said, leaving with them. The Eight time travelers noticed their departure, and almost got up, before Mindy hurried over to them.
"They're just going on a vape break." Mindy explained. "It's not a good idea to follow them, it usually stinks. Besides, I can't go out there. Why don't we stay in here?"
"Yeah!" Kuki said energetically. "Can we get some drinks here?"
"Yeah, let me call a waiter. Hey, Janice!" Mindy called over to a forty year old waitress. "Can we order?"
"What'd ya want?" Janice snarled. She was rather ride and impatient.
"Nine cokes please!" Mindy yelled back. Janice snarled again and went to get their drinks.
"That's bitchy Janice." Mindy said. "She's the bitchiest waitress ever. I seriously once asked for only a plate of fries and coke, and she barely gave me six fries and about half a glass. She's a nightmare. Charlee says she's also a nightmare to work with. She said that Janice..." Before she could continue, Rachel interrupted her.
"Excuse me, but I have to use the restroom." Rachel said.
"Oh, do you need help finding one. I can show you, here I'll..." Mindy was once again cut off by Abby.
"Y'know what, Abby thinks she's been here before. Abby'll show you where the restrooms are." Abby said. The girls then ran off, leaving Mindy in th dust.
"Well, okay then." Mindy said. "How about I tell you a bit about the future?"
"Sorry, Mindy, but I've gotta go too." Hoagie announced, sliding from the booth.
"So do I," Patton said, standing up. "Too much root beer."
"I've been here, I'll show you the restrooms." Nigel offered. The three boys then left.
"That's a bit weird." Mindy said.
"Oh, ya know boys and their peeling habits." Fanny said.
"Yeah. Why don't you tell us about the future?" Kuki suggested.
"Well, what do you want to know?" Mindy asked.
"Well, what's your favorite band?" Kuki asked, causing Mindy to grin.
"Well, there's this boy band, called Deez Boiz," Mindy said excitedly.
"Great..." Wally said under his breath.
"Here we are." Bradley said to himself and his friends. They were standing under the large oak tree that was once the KND (and eventually TND) Sector V treehouse. The treehouse had been place from it's place in the ground, being uprooted, obviously being cut down many years ago. It had also been burnt, obviously to insure that no one could use it again. Old twigs and ruble were all around the treehouse, making it look like something from a horror movie. The Uno's house was still right beside, only it looked vacant and sad as well. It was a sad sight for the TND officers, who had been unable to prevent the loss of so many treehouses like it.
It was an even sadder sight for the past TND officers, three of which had grown up in it. The five of them were not far behind the others, but not to where they could be noticed. Fanny had offered to stay behind with Kuki and Wally, to insure that Mindy would not suspect something and go after them.
"It's such a sad place." Charlee said, crossing and rubbing her arms. She was in her olive green military jacket, which was similar to Will's jacket.
"It won't be much better inside." Will said, stepping forward. "I'll go in first, then I'll help you guys in."
"Thanks, Will." Rose said.
Will then leapt into an open window of the treehouse, only falling a few feet before hitting the ground of a wall. He looked around the room, noticing lot of burnt Rainbow Monkey decorations and dolls, and the burnt pink wallpaper. This was Kuki's old room.
"You okay, Will?" Charlee called from the ground.
"Yeah, I'm in Numbuh 3's room!" He yelled up. "Who's coming next?"
"I'll go." Bradley said, sliding down in the window, also falling before reaching Will.
"Wow, it's sad." He said, looking around the girly room.
Chris and Alex then fell on the floor, wincing from not expecting a floor, and got up, observing the room. Alex then noticed something out of the corner of his eye, and old photo frame that had not been thoroughly burnt. It did have some black smudge on it and a crack, but it wasn't badly damaged.
Alex picked up the frame and wiped the smudge off, revealing three ultrasound pictures of a well-along baby. The photos had not been at all damaged, still clearly showing the baby's face, full body, and genitalia, which appeared to be a boy. Alex looked at the dates on the pictures, two from March 2, 2015, the other from December 5, 2014. The patient was Kuki Sanban on all photos.
As Rose and Charlee came down, he set aside the frame, leaving it where it had been for more than a decade.
"Wow." Rose said looking around the room.
"It's like Rainbow Monkey apocalypse in here." Chris said.
"We need to find Numbuh 1 or Numbuh 2's rooms." Rose said. "If anything is in here, it would be there."
"Right." Bradley said. "How do you want to split up?"
"Why do you assume I want to split up?" Rose said to him, slight smirk on her lips.
"Just 'cause that's what you always want to do." He said, grinning at her.
"Okay, stop the flirting." Will said. "Let's split up. Chris can go with me, Rose can go with her boyfriend, and the young ones can go together."
"He's not my boyfriend." Rose growled at Will. "And where would Alex and Charlee go?"
"They could go to the control room?" Bradley suggested.
"Okay, we'll go to Numbuh 1's room. See ya." Chris said as he and Will left. Rose and Bradley followed after them, leaving Alex and Charlee alone.
Just as they were about to leave to find the control room, Charlee noticed the picture frame in the corner of the room. A sunbeam had cast upon it, highlighting it in the dull room. She went over to pick it up, and slightly gasped when she saw the pictures. She examined the ultrasounds, noting that this was the older brother that Mindy had never known.
"I saw it when I fell." Alex said, stepping behind Charlee. "I have no idea why it's in such good condition.
"She framed her ultrasounds." Charlee said to him. "I don't think that Kuki wanted to give this one away. I think she wanted to keep him." She slightly smiled at Alex, before taking the ultrasounds out of their frames, and putting them in her pocket.
"What are you going to do with those?" He asked her as she left the room and went to find the control room.
"Give them to Mindy." She said. "She'll never know her brother. She might as well have his ultrasound."
"Really?" He questioned. "So if we find Fanny's ultrasound pictures, are you going to give them to Oliver and Gianna? What about Abby's? Give them to Jasmine?"
"Mindy's my friend." She said as she began to walk through the rubble. "And I know it hurts her that she doesn't know her brother. I don't think Jasmine or Oliver would understand."
"Why not?" He asked, walking with her.
"Honestly, I don't think they know they have older siblings." She said. Alex only nodded as they continued to walk.
Quickly after Alex and Charlee left the room, Nigel, Rachel, Hoagie, Abby, and Patton fell into the room, having listened to their entire conversation. They looked around the burnt room of their friend, saddened by it.
"Good thing Kuki isn't here." Abby said sadly. "She would have been devastated."
"I don't want to think about the rest of the treehouse." Hoagie said, brushing off a piece of rubble to reveal an orange rainbow monkey with blond hair.
"Neither do I, but I don't think we have a choice." Nigel said, moving through the room.
The other four nodded, following him out of the room, going in the direction of Alex and Charlee.
"WHAT?!" Abby and Hoagie yelled at Wally. He shuffled his feet on the floor, just as the front door opened.
"Abby?" An Irish woman's voice asked as she came into the kitchen.
Fanny Fulbright had also changed in the last twenty years. Her hair was still red, but greying a bit, and was pulled back into a ponytail. She had a few wrinkles from work stress, and was a bit more curvy, from carrying so many children throughout the years. Her eyes were still a forest green, just as they had been since she was a baby. She was wearing scrubs from her job as a nurse at Gallagher Hospital.
"Hey, Fanny." Abby said simply as she entered the room. Fanny immediately noticed Wally standing by the counter and blushed.
"Wally..." She said nervously. "When did you come home?"
"You knew he was here, and didn't tell us, didn't you?" Abby asked, folding her arms.
"I'm sorry, Abby." Fanny said. "I thought he would be here for another month, then leave. I didn't think we'd even run into him."
"How'd you know he was here?" Hoagie asked.
"He's a CNA teacher, I work at the hospital, it didn't take long." She said.
"Did you tell him where Kuki worked?" Abby asked.
"I'm smarter than that Abby." Fanny said.
"Well someone did, because Kuki and him recoiled last night." Abby stated, causing Fanny to gasp.
"You know, I'm right here..." Wally said. Fanny immediately turned to him and glared.
"Who the hell told you where Kuki worked?" She demanded with her teeth gritted.
"I don't know, some nurse dude that asked me if I knew her. I didn't catch his name." He said.
"Dre..." Fanny said angrily. "He has this stupid crush on her. He must have over heard us talking."
"Whatever." Wally said. "But listen, I have no intent on hurting Kuki. Last night was a meaningless one night stand, and we both agreed it was just sex." Hoagie, Fanny, and Abby still did not look to happy with him, so he mentally decided it was time to go.
"I better go, I have lesson plans to work on. See you, Fanny." He said, quickly running to the door. The door slammed shut, and Fanny and Abby looked a little relieved.
"Abby hasn't seen that boy in almost fifteen years," Abby said to herself. "And then he just pops out of the blue, asking if he has a daughter."
"Mindy didn't walk in on them, did she?" Fanny asked with a look of horror on her face.
"No, he said he met her when he was leaving the apartment." Hoagie said. "Still can't believe he, of all people in this town, went to Harvard."
"Nobody can." Fanny said. "Can't believe we've all grown so distant."
"What do you mean?" Abby asked, still eating ice cream.
"Half of us are out of the state." Hoagie answered for Fanny. "Last I heard, Rachel was in Canada, I have no idea where Nigel is, maybe back in England, and Patton..." He looked to Fanny for an answer, and she only shrugged.
"I haven't seen him since he left." She stated sadly. "But I think Paddy mentioned that he was somewhere in Eastern Europe."
"Feels like yesterday." Abby said. There was an awkward silence for awhile, before Hoagie finally decided to speak up.
"So did you need something, Fan?" He asked her. Fanny perked up and nodded.
"Oh, right. I was going on a date tonight, and my mom works, Paddy and his wife are busy, Shaunie's got school..." She trailed off, hoping they'd catch her message.
"We can watch Gia and Oliver." Abby said. "Assuming Oliver and Jasmine will be home tonight." She said with a smile.
"Our little KND officers." Fanny said wistfully.
Meanwhile, on the other side of town...
Adult Kuki was sitting at a table in an apartment, sipping on a cup of tea. Kuki's hair was placed in a simple bun on top of her head, her face untouched by make up and her eyes tired. She had on an old sweatshirt and pair of jeans, just casual clothing.
"I still can't believe you slept with him." A voice from behind her said.
The adult Mushi Sanban looked almost exactly like her older sister, except that she still had a certain, glow about her. She didn't look as tired, or sad, as Kuki, like she was still having the time of her life. She obviously did not have kids.
"I know." Kuki said. "I feel like such a slut."
"You're not a slut." Sushi insisted, sitting across from Kuki. "My neighbor is a slut. So, during pillow talk, did a certain 13 year old subject come up?" She teased.
"I told him I had a daughter." Kuki said, drinking from her mug.
"Well, did you tell him it could be, you know, his?" She asked. Kuki rolled her eyes.
"It's a very small chance." Kuki said. "But no, I didn't. Besides, we agreed it's just sex. He'll be out of town, and Mindy will never meet him. End of story."
"Oh come on, you know you want to know if he's Mindy's father." Mushi teased.
"I don't care." Kuki said. "Even if he is the biological father, I don't want a dirtbag like him in my daughter's life."
"I won't deny he's an idiot." Mushi said. "But what if he is?"
"Then he'll run again. Just like last time." Kuki said sadly. Mushi put a hand on her sister's arm, knowing how hurt she was by that idiot. That idiot who, just might, be the long lost father of her niece.
A/N: Hello, hello, I'm back! Sorry it took so long, but as always, life got ahead of me.
So school starts up again for me on Thursday (ugh), so I'm probably not going to be able to write as much, and updates might get slower. But I am a senior this year, I'm taking the easiest classes in the school, and I have a few free periods.
Also, thank you Kagome Higurashi T for your review on my story! Glad you like it!
Please Review! Constructive Criticism is welcomed!
Bye- Nat