Ch. 3 Late Nights and later mornings

After wishing his friends good night, Edd headed for his house, his box of failed inventions still in his psychokinetic hold. He wanted to tinker before heading off to bed. His parents should not be home today or tomorrow, so he did not have to worry about them. He would have free reign to tinker to his heart's content. As he entered his empty house, Edd let out a massive yawn. Edd slipped off his shoes and stretched. Sleep would be best, but the thrill of inventing called to him. It was well past his bedtime and his body and mind knew it. He usually went to bed early, but for this past week, he had been staying up later and later. Working, studying, or reading he had kept himself up late.

He sat on his couch, to ease his sore legs. The box sagged and lowered to the ground. He focused and the box went back to its original height but a second later, it lowered once again. He did not bother to right it. Eddy popped into his head randomly. He needed to coordinate with Ed so they can comfort their friend tomorrow. Edd added it to a list of tasks he would do tomorrow along with grocery shopping and... Edd shook himself. He was just dozing at least he caught himself.

Edd groaned as he stood. The box now rested on the floor. Edd tried to pick it up using his powers but he only managed to lift the box an inch or two off the ground. Picking it up the normal way, Edd did a small stretch to get himself moving. Suppressing a yawn, he walked toward his garage. I will not be too long, tinker for a few minutes, then head off to bed.

An hour and a half later, Edd took a sip of his iced water as he stared at a wall in his garage. He took another sip of his water. Having run out of his favorite tea and not liking the taste of coffee, he had decided to get a nice relaxing glass of ice water. He wanted a calming beverage rather than something to keep him up for the rest of the night. Or would this be considered early morning?

Edd closed his eyes for a moment, simply listening to the music playing on a small portable radio. The music although not the classical he preferred did offer comfort to his weary mind. So, there was some comfort to the frustrating time.

However, he nearly nodded off. He caught himself and shook his head and took a small walk around the garage He set his glass down on a distant table, away from his work as he paced.

He sighed which turned into a yawn as he turned his attention back to the table that had a variety of tools and failed gadgets on it. He made quite a few gadgets and gizmos over the years and they fell into a variety of different categories. Most ended up through some means or others destroyed either by being flawed or ruined by someone else. Most of those ended up in the junkyard thrown in with little care. Others such as the items sitting on the table were semi-failures. Defective devices that he still kept around to tinker with or study. Eddy liked to joke that he was obsessed with creating these gadgets and that was not too far from the truth.

Edd did focus much of his energy on trying to invent and create handy support tools. A part of it was simply a thrill of inventing and creation that Edd got while he worked.

It could be an exhausting process that brought an unbelievable high amount of stress with it, but then there were the rare times, he succeeded and created something that somewhat worked he got a sense of joy. \The more gadgets he invented the more he could compensate for the weak powers he had been given. In his free days, Edd liked to imagine that he would not only be a grand inventor but a pro-hero as well. The type of person who his parents would both be proud of, the type of hero that could save the day with his creative gadgets.

With a fond sigh, he looked over his inventions. They were organized in order of success rate from left to right. Far-left being a successful prototype of a smoke bomb that he mixed with Eddy's stink bombs that would not only create a smokescreen and release a terrible odor. The next group was a set of throwable items. A timebomb that would unleash foam or a sticky solution that would immobilize its target. There was also, a small ball that contained a bola inside. The idea was that someone could throw the ball and when it makes contact the bola would spring out and wrap around the target. He had failed to find a way to properly combine the two effectively. He had created a bola launcher, but his initial prototype was too bulky to drag around.

Finally, there was the pair of gloves for Eddy. They were reworked from a pair of gloves he had found in the junkyard. When he found them a few months ago, they were so badly damaged. Regardless of original use, he worked to make the gloves usable for an elemental charge. He slipped the gloves on his hands, testing their feel. They at least felt comfortable, although Edd could feel the warmth Eddy talked about. He flexed his fingers testing to see if anything would happen, but he got nothing. He sat back in his chair with a disgruntled sigh.

He messed with the inner workings of the gloves for most of the night and yet nothing had changed. He pointed his fingers in a random direction but nothing happened. He tried again in a different direction at metal appliances but nothing happened. He even tried shouting out commands like "fire" "shoot" and "activate." Still resulting in nothing. He would need to ask Eddy about the activation of his powers. That could be the key.

Still, with the gloves on, Edd pulled out his phone. Edd considered calling Eddy but reconsidered looking at the time. As he feared it was so late that it was early. Then he noticed something strange. For some reason, his phone was charging. He squinted at the screen with sleepy eyes. He had a message saying that charging was slow, but it was charging. Edd blinked, curiosity and excitement growing within him. He placed the phone on the table and walked away. And the charging icon and message went away. Edd looked at his gloved hands in wonder.

He blinked trying to puzzle out how exactly he had managed to get the gloves working. They most definitely did not have a charge before he messed with them. Did they? Did Eddy do something to them? Edd tried to think back to what exactly he had done to get to this point but besides working on the gloves wiring he could not think of the steps that he took tonight, everything he did upon reaching the garage was obscured by fog in his sleep-addled mind. He shook his head and groaned. 'That's why you need sleep,' he reminded himself. Edd's mind swam with questions, but his mind was too slow to catch up and organize them all.

When he yawned again, Edd covered his mouth with a gloved hand, getting a small shock. He yelped. Edd carefully slipped off the gloves and placed them back on the table. He looked them over but didn't see anything wrong with them. He felt his face for any injury but thankfully found none. Another discovery he noted as he grabbed his phone and took a seat. He checked the notes he kept on his phone. He scanned over tonight's notes hoping to remember what he had done. Promising himself that he would get some sleep after his reading. Unfortunately for Edd, his body had other ideas. Clutching his phone, Edd drifted off to sleep in his chair. He dreamed of deadlines, inventions, and most importantly his friends.

Edd woke up to his body feeling stiff and sore. He closed his eyes realizing that he'd fallen asleep in the garage. Without brushing his teeth, showering, or completing any of his nightly routines. Just great. He stretched trying to get the stiffness out of his body. As he stretched, he knocked a bulky blanket off himself. He blinked confused. Then he picked up the blanket still half asleep. Neatly organized in his father's script was a two-sentence message.

Eddward don't fall asleep like this again. Also, make sure to clean up your mess when your done playing. Dad.

Edd stood. Edd frowned at the wording of the second sentence but did agree, the garage did look a bit messy. Continuing to stretch, he cleaned his mess around his worktable with his powers. Once he was satisfied, Edd checked his phone. It was now 10:00 and he had four new messages. His phone also needed charging, but he saw no negative side effects from the gloves. With a final stretch, Edd left the garage, taking the blanket with him.

He moved into an abridged form of his morning routine. First, he took care of his phone, plugging it into its charger then he showered. A nice hot shower that did put some pep into the weary Ed boy. As he showered, Edd formed a mental to-do list for the day. Forming a list while ridding himself of dirt felt wonderful. He stayed a bit longer than finished. Shower complete, Edd dried himself off, put on fresh underclothes, and placed his dirty laundry in the hamper. Then he went through his morning routine at a bit of an abridged pace, ironing his new clothes for the day, washing his face, etc.

Finally cleaned and refreshed in new clothes, Edd grabbed his phone and headed for the kitchen for a late breakfast. He looked over his options and sighed. He chooses an unhealthy option, Chunky puffs. He was not in the mood to fix anything more complicated or time-consuming. When he had the sugary cereal in his bowl and milk poured, Edd set down at the counter and began to enjoy his meal. As he ate, he pulled out his phone to read, the messages he overlooked earlier. He had one from May, one from his mother, and two from his father. He clicked on May's message first, wanting to save his parents' text for later.

Receiving a text from the Kanker's was normal enough. They had reached a truce with the rest of the cul-da-sac, for the most part. Kevin and Lee always butted heads and Marie liked to prank Johnny and Jimmy, and Sarah and May also had conflict now and again. Despite those hiccups, a somewhat respected peace had formed in the cul-da-sac. So Edd had no qualms about checking May's text. May's texts were about anime or similar media that she wanted him to watch. Or it centered around wanting to train. Her text this morning centered around the second.

Training today? If so when? Edd checked the time 11:30. He wanted to help Eddy first but knowing Eddy he was probably asleep and would be until 2:00. He looked back at May's text deciding to not give a set in stone answer to his friend.

Good morning, May. I hope you had a pleasant night's rest and ate a healthy breakfast. Unfortunately, I might be a bit too busy to commit to our training today. Maybe this afternoon after I've completed my chores. I will keep you posted if we do anything though.

He held himself back from explaining further. He simply proofread his text making sure no spelling or grammatical errors slipped by then sent the text. He continued to eat his bowl while he checked his parents' messages. His parents embracing the new technology of the time had upgraded from sticky notes to text messages and emails to convey the tasks they wanted him to complete. This new method effectively saved money on sticky notes while also giving the illusion of back-and-forth communication. Although they would still use sticky notes now and again.

He checked his mother's text first. It was her standard message sending her love, well wishes, and small reminders for him. As he finished his bowl, he checked his father's messages. The first was a list of tasks his father wanted him to complete, mostly just household chores and a few things he wanted in town. Edd scanned over the mountain of organized texts quickly, making a mental list of all that his father needed him to do. At the very end came the simple three-sentence-long explanation about where his father would be and why.

Eddward attending an out-of-state meeting with the company. I was here last night to grab a few things saw your mess. Please behave until I return, your mother is still in Japan, so you'll be alone for the weekend maybe longer.

Edd sighed. He rather expected his father to not be here but still felt some disappointment at his father's absence. Edd then read the second text which was two sentences long but still nearly made Edd choke on his cereal.

Eddward got into a car crash, in hospital. I need you to keep an eye on some keycards and the laptop I accidentally left there.

Edd blinked but the text did not change. His father had been in a car accident, and Edd discovered this through text! Edd typed out a text asking for further information and waited. He finished his cereal and checked his father's text again trying to get a time frame of events. The first text was 1:00 AM while the other was 7:45. Edd frowned still waiting for his father to text him. Eventually, Edd just sighed and got up from his place on the counter. His mind was still worried about the text and his father, but he still had chores to do. So he set his bowl in the sink and rinsed it out and went about completing his chores around the house.

Two hours later, Edd pulled out the last of the clothes from the dryer. He wiped nonexistent sweat from his brow and smiled. Completing his chores never failed to relax him, and the rush of cleaning never failed to lift his spirits. He still had no new message from either of his parents. However, his chores took a bit of that stress away. As he took care of the clothes he focused on the other things he needed outside the home. Talking with Eddy of course and the list of chores from his father. Then Edd thought about the gloves. He needed to test them some more to see what exactly he did last night. Next Edd thought about what to do next.

It was almost 2:00 which could mean anything for his friends' situations. Eddy could still be asleep, and Ed would probably be helping Sarah with her training. Edd thought it over for a minute then texted his friends a simple message.

Going to the junkyard.

If they were available they would come, if not then he could mess with the gloves. Edd went to the garage and grabbed the box with his inventions and made sure to grab the gloves in his psychic hold. With a bit more focus, Edd held both objects with his power. With his inventions with him, Edd headed for the front door.

He paused at the front door remembering his father's second text. He set his inventions down and went looking for his father's lanyards and laptop. He found them after a search of his parents' room, they were rather oddly hidden under the bed. The keycards were red and marked with the company logo and the laptop case was stylized as a briefcase.

Shrugging at that strangeness, headed back for the front door, lanyards around his neck and laptop case in hand. He checked himself before leaving. He had everything he needed wallet, cellphone, and keys. Nodding to himself, he left. After locking the door, he was off. Edd realized what an odd sight he made. Box and gloves floating behind him, lanyards of keycards around his neck, and carrying a briefcase. Edd chuckled at the image as he walked. Seeing the sun, Edd's mood only brightened. He prayed for his father while he walked but still felt some pep fill him. He hoped his mood would survive the day.

Author's Note

Well, it's been a while. I went back and edited the earlier chapters, catching my over wordiness and other issues. Anyways I hope to post the next chapter next month sometime. The next chapter will have May. Anyways have a good life and I will see you next time.