My Life: Whale Watching and Failing
As expected, Izzy woke up completely unharmed, and for once, alone. The room next door however, wasn't having as much luck.
"John, explain to me how Hoffman sings in his sleep?" Amanda screeched. It was seven in the morning and Hoffman was still asleep and singing very loudly.
"Hot potato, hot potato…hot potato, hot potato…"
"Now normally I wouldn't have a problem with this…but The Wiggles is rather annoying." John stroked his chin. Then, he had an idea. John walked over to the wall and knocked on it really loudly. "Izzy, get over here!"
Within minutes, Izzy was in the room. "Alright, I see the problem."
"Cold spaghetti, cold spaghetti…" Hoffman continued to sing.
Izzy tilted her head and smiled. Then she began to sing a slow, lullaby version of a popular song. "Tsamina mina zangalewa, porque esto es Africa!" Soon enough, Hoffman joined in with a harmony part. [1]
"Tsamina mina, eh eh. Waka waka eh eh. Tsamina mina zangalewa, anawa aa. Tsamina mina eh eh. Waka waka, eh eh. Tsamina mina zangalewa, porque esto es Africa!"
It worked. Hoffman stopped singing and started snoring instead.
"How did you do that?" Amanda asked.
"By using the scientific process of singing a song that…" Izzy began, but then gave up. "Eh, I don't know. I just started singing and it worked."
John looked around. "Where's Zepp?"
"Getting ready. Why?" Izzy asked.
"Tell him to put on some warm layers and grab a breakfast muffin." John smiled and punched Izzy's arm. "We're goin' whale watching!"
After a quick breakfast, the gang hopped in the rental car and started driving to the harbor.
"Hoffman," Izzy asked while texting one of her friends. "Did you really think it was necessary to wear two pairs of pants and a pair of snow pants? It's not gonna be that cold…"
"Maybe it will be!" Hoffman protested, crossing his arms. Hoffman was wearing a red fleece sweatshirt over a long sleeved shirt and another t-shirt with two pairs of pants under a pair of bulky snow pants. He was also wearing five pairs of socks. He basically looked like a giant marshmallow.
"Well when you light on fire, I'll laugh at you." Izzy rolled her eyes.
"And when you turn into an icicle, I'll laugh even harder!" Hoffman retorted, gestured to what Izzy was wearing. She was wearing a comfortable pair of jeans, and a fleece track sweatshirt over a graphic t-shirt and she had also brought along an optional pair of gloves and a rain jacket.
"At least you're not Amanda…" Zepp pointed at Amanda, who was wearing a black t-shirt and red shorts with black Uggs.
"You guys know I never get cold…" Amanda, who was driving this time, laughed.
They arrived at the harbor and got their tickets. As soon as they got on the boat, Hoffman started to complain.
"I'm too cold!" Hoffman whined.
"You're kidding, right?" Izzy asked. "I'm wearing half of what you are and I'm getting a little warm."
Amanda tugged at the collar of her shirt. "I'm absolutely boiling!"
"Ah, what a family we have…" John shook his head and laughed.
The boat began to move within a couple minutes, and it took Amanda and Izzy a full ten minutes to get Hoffman to stop screaming like he was on a scary rollercoaster.
"Dude, Hoffman." Amanda patted his back. "Chillax."
"Do I need to sing Waka Waka again?" Izzy asked.
Hoffman took a couple of deep breaths. "I'll…be…fine…I hope."
"You might wanna save the screaming for tomorrow when I force you to go on every single rollercoaster in the park." Amanda grinned evilly.
"Yeah Hoff, you know how Mandy here loves her rollercoasters!" John added enthusiastically.
Hoffman calmed down. "Okay…I think I'm fine…" Then he gasped and covered his stomach. "Oh god…"
"Quick, Hoffman, run!" John grabbed his arms and ran to the nearest bathroom.
They returned a couple minutes later with an apple and a bag.
"I understand that the bag is a barf bag," Amanda looked at the items. "But what's the apple for?"
Hoffman shrugged. "I have no idea. They said apples are good for seasick people."
"Just go…I'll see you guys later when we start seeing whales." Amanda brushed Izzy, Hoffman, and Zepp off, following John who was heading downstairs.
"Great. I have to spend the next couple of minutes of my life with him." Zepp said to Izzy, pointing at Hoffman who was of course, singing something totally random.
"The pathetic Americans kneel on the ground, they beg for mercy!" Hoffman skipped around with a muffin in his hand, singing very loudly and off-key. [2]
"When will he stop singing that stupid North Korean nursery rhyme?" Izzy shouted, covering her ears.
"When did we ever decide to show him that damned documentary in the first place?" Zepp shouted back.
Izzy laughed. "I remember that narrator lady…she looked a lot like Lynn!"
"Even though Hoffman is annoying us, we've still got each other." Zepp smiled, trying not to piss her off.
Izzy gave him a weird look, and then gradually smiled back. "Yeah. We do."
When John and Amanda returned, they found Izzy and Hoffman singing. This was normal. But what wasn't normal was that Zepp was singing too.
"I don't know why but today seems like it's gonna be a great day! There's something in the air that makes it feel like things are gonna go my way!" [3]
"There has been way too much singing on this trip." John shook his head.
Amanda tilted her head. "I don't know why, but I'm tempted to join them."
John gave her a look. "Please don't."
About an hour later, the boat stopped and everyone raced to the sides to try to see who would be the first to see a whale. It turned out to be Hoffman.
"There's a muffin bobbing in the ocean!" Hoffman gasped, looking through his binoculars.
"Give me that!" Amanda snatched them from him. "That's not a muffin…it's a whale!" Gasps and whispers erupted among the crowd of tourists who all snapped out their cameras and binoculars.
The whales did some pretty neat stuff. They flipped over, showed us their fins, and at one point, two jumped out of the water at the same time and did a huge dive.
On the way back, Izzy got a text from Amanda.
'U hve 2 come 2 the front of the boat where we saw the whales at high speed! F'in hysterical '
Izzy, Hoffman, and Zepp headed to the front of the boat where they found the wind blowing really hard and fast in their faces, and Izzy, being the smallest of the group, was nearly blown back.
"Fun, huh?" John shouted. Normal voice volume could hardly be heard here.
Izzy gripped onto Zepp's arm tight to keep from being blown away. "Yeah, easy for you to say."
Hoffman, who was eating a muffin, accidentally dropped it in the water. "Oh blueberry!" He shouted, digging into his satchel for another.
"Blueberry?" John asked.
"My version of 'Oh crap'." Hoffman explained.
Izzy, who was still helplessly clinging to Zepp, looked up at him. "How much longer am I gonna be here for?"
Zepp smiled. "As long as I need to keep you here." He winked at her, which made her quickly run over to Hoffman and cling onto his arm instead.
When the boat pulled into port, Hoffman was the first one off and was kissing the ground. "That…was…terrible!"
John and Amanda walked off the boat holding hands. "Certainly interesting…" He remarked.
"Next time, we're throwing Hoffman overboard." Amanda smiled.
Izzy and Zepp raced each other off the boat and to the car. "I totally won!" Izzy shouted.
"That's because you tripped me…" Zepp muttered.
The next stop on the trip was to Quincy Market. It had a lot of great vendors with food, drinks, and random stuff. Hoffman found a little place selling pranks and bought a fake bug.
"Hi! I'm a buggy!" Hoffman said in a squeaky voice, putting the bug on Amanda's shoulder.
Amanda flicked it away. "Get that away!" As Hoffman bent over to pick up the bug, somebody tripped because of him.
"Who just tripped over me?" Hoffman asked, standing up.
"I did." A woman's voice said. He saw her standing up and gasped. She had hair that was dyed brown that really brought out her green eyes. She wore a black shirt that said 'Boston' on it and faded skinny jeans with red Converse.
"H-h-hi…" Hoffman stammered. "I'm Mark Hoffman."
"Hi Mark Hoffman! I'm Amy." She glanced down at the ground and frowned. "Aw, you made me drop my muffin!" She picked up and examined what looked to be a smushed chocolate chip muffin. [4]
Hoffman reached into his bag and pulled out his own chocolate chip muffin. "Here, I carry them everywhere."
Amy took the muffin from him. "Really? I should probably start. Have you seen any places that might sell them around here?"
"Well," Hoffman began. "I think I saw a bakery over by the-"
Amanda grabbed Hoffman by the ear. "Come on Hoff. We need to get ready for the dance tonight, remember?"
Hoffman whimpered like a dog. "Yes ma'am."
"The dance?" Amy asked. "I'm going to that too!"
"That's wonderful, now let's go!" Amanda snapped, dragging Hoffman along with the rest of the family.
Later that night, at a small ballroom, everyone was dressed up nicely, not totally formal, but not casual.
John was wearing a black dress shirt and khaki's. Amanda was wearing a green peasant blouse and tan dress pants. Hoffman wore a white checkered dress shirt, black dress pants, and a tie with muffins on it that he clearly didn't know how to tie. Izzy wore a pink strapless dress with skinny jeans, and Zepp had on a white and blue striped polo shirt and tan dress pants.
Zepp looked down at his shirt. "Does this look too formal? Or maybe too casual?"
Izzy smirked. "I'm the one wearing jeans here, I might be too casual…I guess."
Amanda put her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes. "I don't know about you, but I'm gonna go dance." She rushed to the dance floor where Pyromania by Cascada was just finishing up.
"Alright guys, I'm your DJ for the night, and we're going to slow this down a little bit, so grab your special someone and let's dance." The DJ started playing 'Miserable at Best' by Mayday Parade.
Katie don't cry, I know you're trying your hardest and the hardest part is letting go.
Of all the nights we shared, Ocala is calling and you know it's haunting.
Izzy looked around. Amanda and John had their arms wrapped around each other and Amanda's head was on John's chest as they swayed. Hoffman was awkwardly edging closer and closer to Amy who was sitting down and wearing a yellow blouse and a black skirt and holding a muffin.
Zepp was sitting in the corner of the room and holding a glass of water. Izzy approached him and gave him a look. "You want to dance with me, don't you?"
Zepp gave her a strange look. "Erm, why do you ask?"
"Do you want to or not?" Izzy asked, holding out her hand.
Zepp bit his lip and stood up, taking Izzy's right hand in his left hand and putting his other hand on her waist as she put her hand on his shoulder.
But compared to your eyes, nothing shines quite as bright.
And when we look to the sky, it's not mine, but I want it so.
"Your eyes are very bright Izzy…" Zepp smiled softly.
"You better watch it Hindle, I'm gonna rip that smile off your pretty face." Izzy snapped.
"So you admit I'm pretty?"
"Shut up."
They continued to sway to the music, Izzy awkwardly trying not to make eye contact the entire time, and as soon as the song ended, she gave him a hug, started crying, and ran for the exit.
Hoffman, who was holding hands with Amy, walked over and patted Zepp on the back with his free hand. "You finally got some, mm?"
"Yeah, but judging by the way that she just ran out of the room crying, I don't think it went over too well." Zepp watched her run away.
Amanda and John, who were still slow dancing despite the up tempo song playing, realized that Izzy had run out of the room and chased after her.
"What did you say to her?" Amy asked.
Zepp looked at the floor. "Nothing. That's probably why she's upset."
Izzy came back with Amanda and John about 30 minutes later, and her eyes were red and puffy. It was because of this that the family decided to leave early.
"I'll see you soon, right Amy?" Hoffman asked.
Amy smiled and hugged him. "Of course."
When they got to their rooms, Amanda gave Izzy a big hug. "Zepp will take care of you, but I need you to stop crying, alright?" This made Izzy cry even harder. "Oh gosh…uh, John, say something and make her feel better!"
"Izzy, I can only help if you tell me what's wrong." John kneeled in front of her.
"Everything's wrong!" Izzy wailed. Hoffman looked over at Zepp and gave him a dirty look.
"Zepp…just talk to her and figure out what's wrong. I need to get some sleep for the big Six Flags day tomorrow." John stood up, patted Zepp on the back, and headed into his room with Amanda and Hoffman.
Zepp looked at Izzy. "Iz, whatever I did, I'm really sorry."
Izzy looked down at the ground and walked into the room with Zepp behind her. As soon as they got in, Izzy collapsed on the bed and started crying more.
"Uh, maybe some TV will help…" Zepp grabbed the remote and turned the small TV on.
Izzy lifted her head up as soon as the TV turned on. "Is that Wipeout?"
"Oh my God, yeah! I love this show!" Zepp sat down next to Izzy, who was getting up to sit cross-legged.
"Same here!"
As they watched the show together, all of the awkwardness between them seemed to fade as they laughed. Soon enough, they both fell asleep together.
[1] WAKA WAKA! XD
[2] For Ryan, of course x3
[3] Saturday Night Live! Lawls.
[4] SawManiac211, ENJOY!
A/N: IT IS ABOUT TIME I FINISHED THIS FREAKING CHAPTER! XD