Chapter Two-Espa's Anxiety

The week was dragging on for the five Roba brothers,but it seemed to drag on even more so for the eldest Espa. He hadn't slept well at all since that night at Denny's. Nightmares robbed him of the sleep he would've gotten. Horrible dreams of him betting his brothers in a duel, and losing them. More than once, he'd gotten up in the middle of the night, to patrol his brothers' rooms, to make sure they were still there. The more he thought about it, the more Espa was certain that his brothers would not be able to accompany him to Thunderbourough.

Two days now remained before the date on the piece of paper. Espa had yet to tell his brothers he'd decided they'd be safer at home. He would've done just that, except something happened that morning that made him change his mind.

He'd been cleaning up the kitchen after sending his three brothers to school, and putting Little E down for his morning nap, when the phone rang. This shocked Espa. No one called the Robas. He picked it up on the fourth ring.

"Hello?"

"Don't even think about leavin' your brothers,Roba."

"Who is this?" Espa's voice was shaking a little.

"Don't matter. If you fail to bring them, you will not be permitted to duel."

Espa gasped. Something is definitely not right here, he thought to himself. "Alright. I'll bring them. They're not going to get hurt, are they?"

"We'll see." The person hung up,leaving Espa unnerved.

"This is bad…very bad." He sat down in a chair, and rubbed his temples. There had been a bad vibe from that caller. He wondered if the rest of the duelists invited had received similar calls.

Espa stood up after a minute, and started to make the usual after school snacks. Then he looked in their pantry, sadly. There really wasn't much left for them to eat for dinner. "I need to go find some small work again." He muttered to himself. He could normally convince Weevil Underwood's mom to let him help in her garden for a couple of days. It gave him enough to buy staple meal items for him and his brothers. Sadly, it also meant dealing with Weevil, and his constant taunting about the Robas being cheaters. Well, its for his brothers, so he'd endure it.

"Just hired someone this morning, Espa. I'm really sorry." Mrs. Underwood said sympathetically.

"Thanks anyway,Mrs. Underwood." Espa replied dully, as he pushed Little E's stroller down the street.

"We touble?" The two and a half-year-old asked, as he sucked on a lemon ice pop.

"Not at all!" Espa tried to sound reassuring. "Your big brother has a back up plan, of course!" Just what that plan was, Espa wasn't sure now. Long ago, he'd given up dueling for money. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to have another go at it though. It was his last resort, and, they needed the money. "Yes, Big Brother has a back up plan!" He turned the stroller up their drive way.

"It's about time you got home,Roba." Joey Wheeler and Rex Raptor stood the Robas' front porch, looking a little annoyed. Each of them was holding an envelope similar to the one Espa himself had received a week ago.

"What do you two want?" Espa asked, as he freed his baby brother from the stroller, and unlocked the door to the house.

"Did you get one?" Rex looked at Espa.

"One what?" Espa questioned. He turned to go inside, holding the door open for Joey and Rex.

Joey walked into the Robas' small house, in awe. "You and your brothers live in this small house? How can you all fit?"

"We make do." Espa spoke sharply, wary of the two duelists in his living room.

"Easy, Roba. We're not here to tease." Joey said, taken aback by Espa's attitude. "We're a little leery of this Duelist Day thing."

Rex nodded. "Yeah. You did get invited, didn't you?"

"Of course I did!" Espa replied, as he proceeded to change Baby Espa's soiled clothing. "Did you two get a phone call this morning?" He asked now, relieved to have others to talk to about this.

"Yeah. So did Underwood." Joey stated. "We're supposed to bring our siblings. Serenity's out of town though. I wonder if I could bring Lacey."

"Wheeler, you're thick! There's something not right about this." Espa exclaimed. "E, hold still!" He cried, as his brother kicked him in the jaw by accident.

"I'm bringing Colette." Rex added.

"No! Don't you two see? They want our most prized possessions in exchange for our duels or something."

Rex and Joey looked at Espa as if he was mad.

"It's true…I guarantee you." Espa insisted in a low voice.

"Maybe it's because it's an amusement park, but I just don't see any harm in bringing the kiddies." Joey said stubbornly. "Besides, I really don't have a choice. It's the only way I get money."

"Me either. Colette's parents booked me months ago." Rex put in.

Espa sighed. "No one will watch my brothers." He could see now the pattern whoever had invited them had set. Each of them had children in their care. "Weevil will be bringing his sister Kendra?"

"Yep. We talked to Underpants already." Joey said, with a look of disgust. "The person that called him said when he signed for the letter, he'd agreed to bring his sister, and himself. If he tried to back out, there would be consequences."

"So we're all trapped then." Espa concluded with a shudder. "What have I done!"

"Hey, how bad can it be?" Joey asked. "I mean, they'll probably have us bet on our siblings or charges. If we lose, then we lose them."

"THAT IS NOT A GOOD THING!" Rex and Espa exclaimed in unison. This succeeded in startling Baby Espa into tears.

"Look, why don't we just see what happens?" Espa asked, rushing to comfort his baby brother. "If it looks too dangerous for them, we'll just leave."

"Sounds like a plan, Roba." Joey gave a thumbs up approval. "Anyway, I gotta go pick up Lacey from school." He headed for the front door. "I'll smell ya later,Raptor."

Rex got up to follow Joey. "Yeah…later, Roba. " He closed the door behind him, leaving Espa to deal with the screaming baby.

"Whoohoo! Big Brother's going to duel again!" Jon clapped Espa on the back. "Want me to find our equipment?"

"No. I'm dueling legit this time." Espa replied sternly. "No more cheating for the Robas."

"Cool! Good route, Brother." Chris nodded his approval. "So, who are you dueling tonight?"

"A boy called Cedric. He's not too bright to begin with. I've got a pretty good chance to win us some money for groceries. Come on."

It was a silent parade of Robas that walked into the Dueling Center that night. "You four get settled somewhere. I'm going to check in." Espa told his four brothers. Jon had Baby Espa on his back, per usual.

"Espa Roba, at seven o' clock?" The attendant looked bored.

"Yeah." He was given a number.

"We'll call your number when we have ring ready."

Espa didn't have a long wait. When he and his brothers walked into the ring, he gasped. Cedric had the likeness of a giant. "Hello."

"Hi." Cedric extended a hand to Espa. "I'm Cedric."

"Espa Roba." Espa was really surprised at the manners Cedric had. He began to shuffle his deck. "Want to cut them?"

"Sure. Cut mine?" Cedric took Espa deck,and cut it in threes.

Espa did the same for Cedric. "Let's do this…I have to get to the grocers for my brothers."

Cedric nodded. "I know the feeling,Roba. I have three little sisters that I take care of."

His response stunned Espa. So, it seemed they both needed to win. Well, I'm sure we'll both duel our best. "You can start, Cedric." He spoke kindly, not his usual snobbish duel talk.

Cedric nodded, and began their duel. "So, did you hear about the Amusement Park Day?"

Espa stopped in the middle of laying an Earth shaker card. "Yes. Were you invited too?"

"Yeah. My sisters and me are leaving tomorrow to go."

"Same here." Espa finished his turn, and looked at Cedric. He felt inclined to warn the boy of the things he suspected he didn't know. "Be careful with your sisters. Keep them close to you at all times."

"What's Espa so worried about?" Jonathan looked at Christien. "He sounds like he's afraid something's going to happen to us at that park."

Christien shrugged. "He's always been a little overprotective of us. Can we blame him? With all the bullies and all?"

"True, but I wonder what's caused him to look so rigid every time the amusement park is mentioned. There's something he's not telling us, I bet you." Jon shifted Little Espa into his lap. "Do you think we should ask him?"

"Maybe we should. I don't like it when he worries so much." Christien stated, watching the duel.

"Alright. After the duel, I'll talk to him. " Jon reassured Christien.

"Good. I don't like this at all." His brother shuddered.