Chapter Two: The Package

Edith awoke to the smell of pancakes wafting into the bedroom. She reached up to adjust her hat, only to realize that it wasn't there. Surprised, she twisted over, and then around, only for to land face-first into it.

Hey, how did-?

"Wow!" she heard Agnes say. Sitting up, Edith saw her younger sister standing at the foot of the bed.

"Your hair is really pretty," Agnes continued. " I don't really notice because you keep wearing that hat."

Edith quickly jammed her sherpa hat back over her head.

"Margo's already downstairs," said Agnes. "Don't worry, we'll save some pancakes for you." She turned and hurried out of the room.

Edith swung her legs over the side of the bed and slid her feet into her slippers. She headed for the door, only the pause beside a mirror Margo had set up. Sliding her hat upward, she exposed her fringe.

"Huh."

Edith smiled.

"You coming?"

Dropping her smile, Edith turned to see Agnes standing in the doorway.

"Yeah, I'm coming," Edith said. As Agnes skipped away, she lowered her hat again- this time, not quite all the way.

Edith had a thing oddly shaped food. An offshoot of her quirky sense of humor, perhaps. She might not have been easy to impress, but she was certainly easy to amuse. So, it pleased her that her pancake was shaped like an irregular blob. In fact, it pleased her so greatly that she laughed out loud upon seeing it.

"Got to shake things up every once in a while," Gru said.

"Its like an ink-blot!" Agnes chimed in. "From a pen so drippy I could paint with the ink!"

"Well, if that's what you like," Gru said, "next round is all ink-blots!"

"I've had four already," Margo said. "That's-" She stopped as her stomach growled, which prompted Edith to grin at her.

"Not enough?" Edith prompted.

"One more, then," Margo said.

At that moment, there was a ring at the door.

"Yes?" Gru called, but there was no answer. After a few moments, he called out, "Dave? Jerry?"

There was still no answer.

"That's what I get for letting them drink last night," Gru muttered. Edith watched as he flipped another pancake.

"I'll take a look," Margo said, sliding out of her seat and heading for the front hall. Curious as ever, Agnes followed her. Edith continued eating her pancake.

After a few minutes, Margo returned with a small package in her hands. "There was nobody there," she said. "Just this."

"Wa-wait a minute!" Gru exclaimed, dropping the spatula and grabbing the package. He pulled a small device from his belt and scanned it. "Okay, it's not a bomb," he said, exhaling loudly.

"So, what is it?" Edith asked. She had finished her pancake, and her curiosity was finally aroused. "Who's it from?"

"I don't know, and it doesn't say," Gru replied. He set the package down on the counter. "Let's worry about it after breakfast, alright?"

"Okaaay," Agnes said with a sigh as she sat back down. No sooner had Gru tossed more pancakes onto the girls' plates than Agnes' frown turned into a grin.

"Mine's a rabbit!" she said.

Edith peered over at her sister's plate. "A mutated blob rabbit," she said.

"More than I can eat," Margo said, gesturing to the multiple pancakes on her plate.

"Oh, right, sorry," Gru said. "I forgot."

"It's just more for me," Edith said, reaching over the table for Margo's plate. She paused in mid-reach as she caught sight of Agnes' longing expression.

"For us," Edith corrected herself.

With a smile, Margo divided most of the pancakes on her plate between Agnes and Edith, leaving one for herself.

The largest one Edith noticed. Not that she minded. Pancakes added up in the long run. She'd have no trouble catching up.

"So, what do you think is in the package?" Agnes asked Edith as the two of them were selecting clothes to wear for the day.

"I don't know- poison, maybe?" Edith replied as she grabbed a deep pink tee-shirt and skirt, and purple leggings.

"Eugh!" Agnes said. "I hope not." She thought for a moment, before adding: "Unless it's bug poison. We could use some more of that."

"Termites in the treehouse," Edith replied as she moved behind a tall wooden screen with her chosen attire. "Wait, didn't Lucky knock down the treehouse last week?"

"Yeah," said Agnes. "I mean for when we make a new one."

Edith shrugged out of her pajamas. "Fair point," she said as she shimmed into her chosen day clothes. Completing the outfit with a pair of sandals and -of course- her hat, Edith came out from behind the screen to see Agnes struggling into a pair of pants.

"Need any help?" Edith asked.

"I can do it," Agnes said. She tugged for several moments. Edith watched her younger sister struggle with a deadpan expression. Finally, she blew out a sigh and came over to help Agnes pull up the pants.

The result was that they tore.

"Oops," said Edith as Agnes gave her a mournful look.

"I think you're too big for them now" Margo said as she entered the bedroom, fully dressed. "Try another pair."

While Agnes hurried off to grab another pair of pants, Edith turned to Margo. "What do you think?" she said, striking a pose.

"Everything matches except the hat," said Margo. Edith pouted and folded her arms.

"I like the hat," she said.

Edith wanted to say more, but she knew she didn't have to. Margo could be blunt sometimes -more so of late than before- but she wasn't trying to insult the hat itself.

Margo smiled. "I do, too," she said. "Just not with that outfit."

Edith smirked. "Tough."

At that moment, Agnes returned wearing a bright yellow pair of pants with pink hearts on it that did not match her shirt. Margo and Edith stared.

"What?" Agnes said. "I think it's cute!"

"Let's tell Lucy that Agnes needs new pants," said Edith.

Finally dressed, the girls returned to the kitchen, where Gru and Lucy were standing near the counter. Gru had opened the package, and he had a letter in one hand. In the other was a small vial. As they entered, their parents turned towards them.

"Its from your Uncle Dru," Gru said. "He thinks he's found a way to unfreeze Dr. Nefario."