Another shout out to everyone who got the answer right last chapter! BTRlover1122, LBozzie, AngelGoneDevil69 (more points again!), incinera, raenbc, Rodrigo, and amichele-you guys are correct! Donald can be heard singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in the elevator, and I think that scene was one of the funniest in that really well written episode.
Special thanks to Lady Cougar-Trombone and 88keys, too, for leaving me your thoughts! I appreciate it ;)
And on a somehow relative note, no; the 'artistic license' bit was purely coincidental. I'm not generally a funny person, so that pun was just by accident. ;)
I hope you guys enjoy this next chapter! Just a head's up to those who may not like it: there's a little drama ahead. You've been warned... *grins*
Episode Tag to: Trucked Out
Chronicle 012
Chapter: Filial
Password: ***********
Date: 06.22.13
Time: 06:03 AM
It's six o'clock on a Saturday morning, and I have no idea why I can't go back to sleep. Everybody's still knocked out, even Eddy, so I figured I might as well entertain myself with something. I was thinking of finishing the final level on the game I was playing last night, but the PSP is buried somewhere in my bed where two people are asleep.
…Make it one and a fourth.
Then I thought about sneaking into the lab to test out a few of the prototypes Big D has down there, but Bree and Chase are still snoring in their capsules. I would have done something to show how upset I am that they went to the party without me anyways, but it's too early for that.
So chronicling it is.
Last night was very interesting. I can't really decide if it was awkward, nice, sad, funny, or all of the above.
It started at bed time. Because of Mom running for the PTA and Adam's truck bulldozing the wall in the gym, Caroline uninvited me from her party. She told me that her parents felt uncomfortable with me being in their house, what with the 'special circumstances' that I have, which I only took as meaning that they were worried about the safety of the other kids that were going to be there because of the destructive half of my family.
If I didn't know any better, I would have bought that reason. But I do know. I was bumped down to the bottom of the chain again because Mom just about street talked everyone to death during her campaign.
So the party that I was exclusively invited to became the party that Bree and Chase were exclusively invited to.
Whoop de do.
I had no choice but to drown my sorrows with a glass of milk, some cookies, and a pretty intense game of Stealth Ops. It did manage to take my mind off of being dismayed. Also incredibly bored, and maybe the house being mostly empty had something to do with it. Besides me and Mom, everyone was gone. Bree and Chase were at Caroline's house, Adam was with them to drop them off, and Big D was still at work—something about his employees messing up a centrifuge.
By ten thirty, my eyes were hurting and I was ready to go to bed. So I brushed my teeth, changed into my Cars jammies—you know, the good stuff—, and then sat on the bed to play another round.
Just when I finished, I heard a knock on the door and saw Mom standing outside, in her pajamas, grinning as she hid something behind her back. "Hey, sweetie. What are you up to? You're going to bed?" she asked me.
I told her I was.
"Oh, good," she said.
I narrowed my eyes when she sat down on the chair next to my bed and slipped whatever she was holding to where I couldn't see it. "Is there anything I have to help you with…?" I asked.
"No," she said. She grinned a little less when she said, "Actually, I wanted to say I'm sorry. I know you've been looking forward to going to the Davis' house, and I think I overdid some things during the campaign that caused you to get kicked out."
She looked really apologetic about it, but I couldn't really say it's okay that I got the boot, because it wasn't. So I just said that it was more of a family effort, what happened, and at least I don't have to worry about breaking my curfew.
"You know, Leo, I really just wanted to spend as much time as I could with all four of you," Mom said, sounding a little sad. "You will all leave for college soon. That's the only step that stands between you guys and your future families."
I understood what she meant. I would have been more sympathetic if not for the fear that I have that the waterworks will go live at that moment. "You're not going to cry again, are you, Mom?" I asked.
Mom laughed. "No," she said. "I'm not that much of a sap. It's just…I was cleaning my room earlier, and I found something that reminded me of you when you were little."
She pulled out the huge, green story book I used to drag around when I was younger. "You've kept this?" I asked when she handed it to me, a little shocked that she still had it.
"Of course. That was your favorite, wasn't it?" she asked.
I leafed through the pages. You can see signs of aging and being shelved throughout the years. There were specks of food spills, some tears on the cover from when I would pull on it, and even my first drawing at the back. It's supposed to be Dad, Mom, and me, but unfortunately my Michael Angelo skills only afforded three armless balloons.
"Can I read it to you again?" Mom asked.
See? Hidden agenda.
"Why?"
She shrugged. "Just for old time's sake. Before I put this back in the box? Eddy's shut down, and there's no one in the house besides us. No one will make fun of you."
"Mom. I'm fourteen. I'm almost fifteen. Me and story time do not go well together anymore." I closed the book and gave it back to her before she could start reading.
She made a face when she took it back. She shook her head, smiling a little bit. "Fine," she said. "When I read it to you a few weeks after you turned seven, I didn't know that would be the last time."
Then it was my turn to make a face. "Are you trying to guilt me into letting you read?" I asked.
"Depends. Is it working?"
I shook my head.
She grinned, finally giving up.
It was a little awkward afterwards because I thought she would just sit there with me until I fell asleep, which she used to do a lot until I was ten. At the same time, it was kind of nice. I mean, Mom tends to go overboard most of the time, but sometimes she just stands in the distance to let me know she's there for me, and that's okay.
That's actually good.
"Have I ever told you the story of how you got your name?" she asked.
I tried to remember what Grandma told me when I asked her about it a long time ago. "Wasn't it the name of the male nurse who gave you the extra cup of pudding in the hospital where I was born?" I asked.
Mom giggled. "Well, sort of," she said. "His name was Francis, and that's how you got your middle name."
"Oh. Where did my name come from, then?"
"Do you have any guesses?" she asked.
I thought about it. "Is it short for Leonardo?"
Mom smiled. "When I was pregnant with you, your father and I had a long list of names that we wanted to name you. There was about thirty, I think."
"Man. Really?"
"Yeah! You were our first kid, so we were excited. We were scared and worried, too, but mostly excited."
"Did you try to see beforehand if I was going to be a boy or a girl?"
Mom frowned as she tried to remember. "No. Not really," she said. "We wanted it to be a surprise."
"So fifteen names in each list."
"No. Twenty-five girl names, five boy names."
"Let me guess. You were set on naming me Leah, and when you saw I was a boy you changed it to Leo."
Mom shook her head. "No. Look. Let me finish," she said. "We had a bunch of girl names because I liked many of the names I heard or saw. There was Alexis, Jessica, Hannah." She shot me a knowing smile. "There was even Briana, which would have been…"
"Bree, for short," I finished. "Wow. Really?"
"Well, your dad was hoping for a boy, and a part of me wanted a little boy, too. But it was kind of hard to pick a good name. So, we put our heads together to make a short but meaningful list. We came up with five: Kyle, which was your father's best friend's name; Liam…"
"Short for William."
"No. Your dad just liked the name as is. Liam. He said it makes you sound like a prince of a castle, which you are."
I smiled at that.
"Then there was Oliver, your grandfather's name; Matthew; and Evan," she said. "We were down to four when you came. We were thinking of choosing two, one for your first name and one for your middle name, but like you already know, I heard Francis' name, and I was sold."
"So Leo is…?"
Mom grinned. "A combination of your father's top three choices—Liam, Evan, Oliver."
"Oh…" I said. It made a lot of sense, and it was nice to know.
I think it was at this time when I noticed some movement outside the hallway, but it was getting so late that I thought it was just a figment of my imagination.
"We liked the name, too, because it stands for something," Mom continued. "Leo translates to lion, and lions are known for strength and courage. Your dad and I, especially your dad, really thought it fits you."
Honestly, I started to feel disappointed in myself after that. After all that has happened with her and Dad and me, it didn't make any sense whatsoever that I wasn't a little more supportive of her in whatever she wanted to do. Yeah, I was embarrassed, but I could have been a little less of a jerk and a little less selfish.
She was just looking after us.
"Aw," we heard someone say out in the hallway.
We looked up. Mom smiled and shook her head. "Adam," she called. "How long have you been standing there?"
Adam stepped out just enough for us to see him scratching his head, looking guilty and a little scared. "Long enough to know that Leo was named after the pudding guy," he said. He came inside the room. "I'm sorry, Tasha. I didn't mean to listen in. I was just going to give you back the keys to the Firefly like you asked, but I couldn't resist."
Mom looked at me to answer. "It's alright," I told him. I remember catching a glimpse of the story book before I said to her, "Okay. You can read it to me one more time."
I turned to Adam to tell him no teasing or telling Bree or Chase about it, but he's already jumped into the bed and claimed a spot. "Ooh! Story time!" he was saying.
Mom grinned and excitedly sat with us, which didn't leave me a lot of personal space. Yes, it was slightly uncomfortable, but I was sandwiched between two people who were very much upbeat about a bed time story than they should that I had no choice but to just live with it.
Once Mom started reading, Adam and I just listened. To be honest, I don't remember it to be quite that long. Then again, Adam asked about ten questions at every page; that probably had something to do with it. When she finished, Adam wanted her to read it again, so she did. That time, though, she turned off the lights and turned on the lamp.
Any effort I had to keep awake was shot after that.
I thought I was dreaming last night about Big D asking Mom why we were all in the room. They talked about a few more things that I didn't really understand because Big D started talking in German and Mom would answer him in Portuguese. Then the scene switched to Chase climbing a beanstalk that grew from the lab, and then he started running in circles while the Giant, which was the mascot of the Chicken Shack, ran after him.
I woke up this morning to find out that at least a part of it actually happened. Mom is still asleep beside me, and Big D is softly snoring on the chair beside the bed. They were holding hands. Getting up, I saw that Adam's knees to his feet were still on the bed, but the rest of him is on the floor. The guy probably wanted to go back downstairs to his capsule, but he was either too tired or too sleepy to fully make it out.
Like I said. Interesting Friday. There were milk, cookies, and story time.
But I guess I really wouldn't have had it any other way.
Signed,
Leo Francis Dooley
End of Chapter Filial
Re-Enter Password: ***********
Date: 06.22.13
Time: 07:41 AM
In Trucked Out, what was the nickname Tasha adopted for herself during her PTA campaign? Answers are optional!
I also wanted to ask your opinions on something. Based on your observations of how they talk about him in the show, what do you think's happened to Leo's dad, and where do you think he is? I have a theory, and you guys have probably noticed inklings of it throughout the story. I'll probably develop it into a fic soon, but I would really like to hear what your personal thoughts are about this subject!
See you guys in two weeks!
