Okay, new chappie, hooray! I can't type up a decent note because I'm sitting in my newspaper class and the bell is going to ring in just a few minutes. So, I'll just let you guys get to reading.
Disclaimer: I do not own Codename: Kids Next Door or it's soopuh characters. They are the property of Mr. Warburton and Curious Pictures.
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Chapter 3
Late Saturday evening, the kids of Sector V left the tree house, en route to their homes. The group had already reached Abby's house, dropping the girl off with her family before continuing. The next nearest house was the Gilligan residence. Kuki skipped a few feet ahead of Hoagie and Wally.
"So, do you think the leftovers will really ruin the play?" Hoagie asked, kicking a rock in front of him.
"Of course it will. I don't know about you, but I just can't see us doing Romeo and Juliet in a pile of bleat-balls," Wally answered.
"I know, I mean, do you think the clean-up will take long enough to cancel the play?" Hoagie pried. "I mean, it's a lot of food, but if Grandma Stuffum had her way, it would all be ingested within a day anyhow."
"Come on, Hoagie, don't think about it so much," Wally assured his friend.
"I guess I'm just nervous is all," Hoagie said. "I know I wouldn't be trying out for Romeo or anything like that, but you know how nervous I get on stage…"
"Hey! That was second grade! You can't still be that shook up about it, can you?" Wally asked.
"I guess not…" Hoagie answered as they came to a stop at his front walk. "I just don't want whatever plan it is that the adults have to defeat us just because I clam up onstage."
"Don't worry. You won't even have to get onstage because it'll take 'em a month to clean up that auditorium!" Wally said. "See ya later, Hoagie!"
"Later, Wally. Bye, Kuki!" Hoagie called.
"Bye-bye, Hoagie!" Kuki responded, waving to him as he made his way up the front walk and through his front door. She and Wally both jumped when they heard a crash inside the house though.
"TOMMY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY DESK AT THE TOP- SCRATCH THAT- BOTTOM OF THE STAIRS?" they heard Hoagie yell.
"Well, since Mom won't let me build stuff in my room anymore after that last explosion, I have to move all my building materials to the basement," they heard Tommy explain feebly.
"MY DESK IS NOT BUILDING MATERIAL!" Hoagie hollered. "MO-OOM!"
Kuki and Wally laughed at the siblings and turned to continue walking. Wally's house was actually just one block from Abby's, but it even though it was only six, it was already dark outside, and he didn't want Kuki to walk home by herself. The others accepted it because Kuki wasn't very good at defending herself, even years later. He never told anyone the real reason he always volunteered to walk her home…
"Thanks for walking me home, Wally," she said as they turned the corner at the end of the block.
"No problem. Most teens'll probably be out on dates tonight, but you never know about the adults," Wally replied.
"So, what were you and Hoagie talking about that had him so quiet? Usually lights turn on in the houses as we pass," Kuki said.
"Oh, he's just worried about the play," Wally answered, waving it off.
"Why's he worried about the play? His B.-A.I.R.-R.E.L. completely ruined the auditorium," Kuki inquired.
"Yeah, but he's still worried because he's prone to stage fright; just doesn't wanna take any chances," Wally explained.
"Oh…" They walked in silence a few moments. "You don't get stage fright, do you?" Kuki asked.
"What?" Wally blurted.
"I asked if you get stage fright," Kuki repeated.
"Of course not. What makes you think that?" Wally asked.
"Well, you wouldn't read the monologue last night. Since you mentioned it, I thought you might have stage fright," Kuki said.
"No, I didn't read because, well I didn't want you guys to laugh…" Wally trailed off.
"Sounds like stage fright to me," Kuki stated.
"I wouldn't call it stage fright," Wally said. "I wouldn't be afraid so much of going up in front of people, but you guys are different. We're a team, so no matter what people say, it will always matter what you all think of me, whereas I'll probably never see that auditorium-full of people again, so it doesn't matter at all what they think… Does that make sense?"
"I guess so, but is your acting that bad that you think it will change what we think about you?" Kuki asked.
"I don't know if my acting is good or bad. I've never really tried it, and the little bit I have done I've never let anyone see…" Wally said.
"Hmm…" Kuki hummed. Then she grabbed him by the arm and jerked him to a stop. "Show me!" she demanded.
"Show-? Show you what?" Wally stammered.
"Show me how you act!" Kuki said. "Do Romeo's monologue!"
"You think I have the thing memorized?" Wally asked.
"I have a copy at my house! We can go there, read your monologue, and then my mom can drive you home," Kuki suggested.
"I don't think so…" Wally said.
"Why not?" Kuki asked.
"I-… I'm just not comfortable acting in front of you, or any of my friends, yet, especially when I have no idea how terrible I might be," Wally answered slowly. Kuki looked disappointed and pouted. How he hated to say "no" to her. "Sorry, Kuki."
"It's okay…" He turned to her and gave her a small smile. She grinned too but gasped. "Wally, look! It's a shooting star!" He turned around and looked up. Sure enough, there was a meteor streaking across the sky.
"Oh, yeah. I remember now. Mr. Thurber told us there was going to be a meteor shower tonight," Wally said.
"Make a wish, Wally!" Kuki said excitedly, holding his arm and jumping up and down.
"All right, all right. Um…" he closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them up he glanced at her. "So… right. What now?"
"Now you wait for your wish to come true! But you can't ever tell anyone what you wished for or the wishing star won't make it come true," Kuki said sagely.
"Now I know why your parents named you Kuki…" he smirked, starting to walk again.
"Huh-? Hey!" Kuki exclaimed, batting at him with one of her oversized sleeves. He laughed and ran away, Kuki giving chase behind him until they reached her house. Kuki unlocked her front door and they walked inside. "Mama, I'm home!" Kuki called. Wally looked around the living room uncertainly. Hearing laughter in the adjacent family room, he craned his neck to glance through the doorway. Sitting on the couch watching the Rainbow-Yipper Extravaganza were Kuki's little sister, Mushi, and her "husband," "King" Sandy. Wally rolled his eyes, but returned his attention to the living room as Kuki's mom, Genkei Sanban, walked into the room.
"Welcome home, Kuki. Hello, Wally," Genkei greeted them.
"Hi, Mrs. Sanban," Wally replied.
"Mom, can you give Wally a ride home?" Kuki asked. "It's the least we can do after he walked me home," she cajoled.
"Only if you clean your room while I'm out," Genkei answered. Kuki nodded her head. "Khani, make sure you get the rolls out of the oven when the timer goes off!" she called as she picked her keys up off the table next to the front door. "Come on, Wally."
"Thanks, Mrs. Sanban," Wally thanked her as he started out the door.
"Bye, Wally," Kuki called to him.
"See ya, Kuki," he answered before Genkei closed the door. Kuki then climbed the stairs to her bedroom and flopped down on her bed, looking down out the window to the car pulling out of the driveway. Wally looked up from below, grinned, and waved up to her. Kuki waved back as the car started down the road. She sighed and glanced up. A meteor shot across the sky above her. Kuki shut her eyes tight.
'I wish Wally would be more open for me one day.'
"Are you feeling any better?" Nigel asked. He was sitting on the edge of the bed in his girlfriend's room. Lizzie Divine was sitting next to him, fully dressed for the first time in days. She wore a yellow t-shirt with a turquoise star on the chest and a blue skirt. Her ginger hair was pulled into two braids on the side of her head, and round black glasses were perched on her nose.
"Much better now, Nigey, especially after you brought me my favorite caramel chews yesterday," she said, wrapping her arms around him. Nigel smiled to himself, reassured that the microscopic KND flu-fighter technology inside the caramels had worked. Lizzie quickly turned away and started sneezing. Nigel reached to the box of Kleenex on her bedside table and handed her a tissue. "Thank you, Nigey." She blew into the tissue.
"Nigel!" there was a call from downstairs from Lizzie's mother. "Your mom is on the phone! She wants to know if you're staying for dinner!"
"Only if I'm invited, ma'am. I don't want to impose," Nigel squeaked.
"You know you're always welcome here, Nigel!" Mrs. Divine replied. She laughed to herself. "Charlotte, your little boy sounds so cute. He's turning into a little man."
Lizzie snickered as Nigel looked back to her painfully. "Oh, don't worry, Nigey. Your voice will finish changing soon enough, and then you'll sound more manly than any of your friends," she assured him.
"Thanks, dear," he smiled weakly. "So, you'll be back in school on Monday then?"
"Yup, I'll be better by then," Lizzie replied. "Thanks again for bringing me my homework while I was out."
"Oh, it was no trouble. Class is boring without you," Nigel said.
"Don't lie. You got along fine with your other friends without me there," Lizzie said. "But that's okay, because I'm all right with you spending time with your friends now."
"Not like when we were ten and you wanted me completely to yourself," Nigel smirked.
"Who says I don't still want you all to myself?" Lizzie replied. "I've just learned to cope and meet you halfway."
"Which I appreciate very much," Nigel grinned.
"So… what else did I miss besides this homework?" Lizzie asked.
Nigel's thoughts immediately diverted to the play and he hesitated a moment, debating whether or not to tell her about it. 'Well, what's done is done, and that play won't be going anyway…' he thought to himself. "Well, Miss O'Dell was trying to get us to do a stupid play," he answered nonchalantly.
"Ooh! What play?" Lizzie asked.
"Romeo and Juliet of all things-."
"Ooh! Nigey! We should try out! You can be Romeo and I'll be Juliet!" Lizzie cut in excitedly.
"Hold on a second, Lizzie," Nigel put his hands up to stop her. "I said she was planning for us to do a play, but me and the other Kids Next Door took care of it already."
"What do you mean by that, Nigel?" Lizzie asked dourly.
"Well, we sabotaged it-."
"Why would you do that!" Lizzie exclaimed.
"What-? Lizzie, we had to. That play was a plot by the adults," Nigel argued.
"Oh, everything is a plot by the adults to you guys," Lizzie sighed. "Don't you think doing a play would be fun, Nigey?"
"I don't know, I never really even got to think about it," Nigel shrugged. "Fanny made the orders as soon as she found out. Her theory- and it's a sound theory- is that Romeo and Juliet contains so much 'adult material,' i.e. the kissing and the death, that it will actually turn us into adults! Especially if Miss O'Dell is in on the whole plot and controls the show."
"Oh… no fair…" Lizzie pouted.
"I know, but Fanny outranks me, so I have to follow her orders. Plus we don't want to take any chances. If this play could turn us into adults, there's no way we can go through with it," Nigel answered, putting one arm around her shoulder. "Tell you what, if you really want to, once this thing is out of the way we can read the play ourselves. Together."
"Really?" Lizzie brightened.
"Really."
"Oh, Nigey!" Lizzie threw her arms around Nigel's neck and embraced him.
"Lizzie! Nigel! Dinner's ready!" Mrs. Divine called from downstairs.
"Let's go, dear," Nigel said, standing up and taking her hand. The two left the room and started down the hallway to the stairs. Lizzie glanced out the window by the staircase and squealed.
"Ooh! Nigey, look at all the shooting stars!" she gushed.
"There nice," Nigel commented.
"Nice? They're beautiful!" Lizzie said. "Oh! Make a wish, Nigey!"
Nigel thought for a moment before closing his eyes.
'I wish this whole play thing will turn out for the best.'
Abby was smiling as she walked into her house, waving and calling goodbye to her friends as the continued on to Hoagie's house. Setting her backpack on the staircase, she started toward the kitchen. Her eyes narrowed, however, when she realized the house was fairly dark. "Hmm… Momma? Daddy?" she called out.
"They're out for the night, Abby." Cree Lincoln's voice came through the dark. Abby backed up to the stairs again and reached into her bag, pulling out a S.P.L.A.N.K.E.R.
"Leaving Abby with her dear, older sister?" Abby replied, making her way through the house, following the sound of her sister's voice.
"I don't like it any more than you do, Abby. You're the only kid I don't get paid to watch." Cree giggled, odd for someone who was supposedly unhappy with the current arrangement. Ever since she turned thirteen and betrayed the Kids Next Door, Cree had been a thorn in Abby and the other kids' sides. Cree, when one could see her, wore a pink, cropped t-shirt and baggy blue jeans, a gold chain around her neck. Her black hair was rather short and often covered one eye.
Abby reached the living room, where only the faint flickering of the television illuminated the room. Groping the wall for the light switch, Abby responded, "Which sucks because eight bucks an hour seems like the only incentive for you not to try to destroy me."
"If that's the way you want to view it," Cree snickered. Her voice was obviously coming from the couch.
"Bingo!" Abby cried out, flipping the light switch and leaping toward the sofa.
"Oh! Hey!" Cree exclaimed, looking up at her sister.
Abby's eyes widened, and she immediately reached her hand up to her face and shielded her eyes. "Oh, no! What did I just walk in on?" she moaned. Cree was sitting on the stomach of a boy, with her face mere inches from his. And this wasn't just any boy, either. It was her boyfriend, Chad Dickson. Chad was also a former operative, about a year or two younger than Cree. His exit from the Kids Next Door was similar to Cree's: upon reaching thirteen, he chose to betray the organization and join the adults. Chad had blonde hair and was well built from his membership with the football team. He wore a white t-shirt, blue jeans, and the red and black letterman's jacket that was then draped over the back of an armchair.
"Just what are you two doing?" Abby asked disgustedly, lowering her weapon.
"None of your business," Cree answered, getting off of Chad, allowing him to sit up before sitting on his lap and putting her arms around his neck.
"Mm-hmm. And if it required the dark, I bet it's none of Momma or Daddy's business either," Abby said.
"I don't think you saw any business take place once that light came on," Chad cut in, putting one hand around Cree's waist.
"Oh, I saw you two all up in each other's business," Abby shot.
"Abby, just go up to your room and leave us alone. We would be out if I didn't have to watch you anyway," Cree ordered.
"Pssh. Abby's hungry. Don't know what you're talkin' about, goin' to her room," Abby responded.
"Then get yourself some food, and leave us be," Cree commanded, leaning back down on Chad.
Abby rolled her eyes and started toward the kitchen. "The way you two were makin' out, maybe you should play Romeo and Juliet in this stupid play…" she mumbled as she reached the door.
"What was that?" Cree asked, turning back from Chad.
"What play?" Chad put in.
"Oh, my loopy English teacher wanted us to do Romeo and Juliet," Abby answered dismissively.
"Do? As in act and perform it?" Cree inquired… with a slight bit of panic in her voice? The teenage girl climbed off of Chad and crawled across the couch toward Abby.
Abby turned around slowly to stare down her sister and her boyfriend. "Yes, that is what she wanted us to do," she answered slowly. Cree and Chad glanced between each other nervously. "Why do you ask?"
"Oh! Oh, no reason!" Chad waved his hands in front of him defensively. "So, you're going to be doing Romeo and Juliet?"
Abby scrutinized them for a moment before answering. "Well, we were, but me and the other kids filled the auditorium with leftovers, so now the play should be off."
"You did? Oh, thank God!" Cree breathed. When she caught the look of surprise on Abby's face she corrected herself, "I mean, why would you do that? Is that where you were all day-?"
"Okay, enough is enough! What are you not telling me?" Abby cut her off loudly.
"Nothing, little sister. Just go get some food and-."
"Girl, you about to get splanked if you don't start tellin' me the truth!" Abby threatened.
"Oh, like we're afraid of that piece of junk. I practically invented the thing!" Chad retorted.
"Hmm… hehehe… well, maybe you guys can withstand the S.P.L.A.N.K.E.R…. but I wonder if Chad's jacket can take the ketchup blaster!" Abby shouted as she pulled out a small ketchup gun and grabbed Chad's jacket from the back of the armchair.
"Not the jacket!" Chad exclaimed, leaping over Cree and grabbing for the jacket, Abby quickly pulling away and holding the pistol to the jacket.
"Now talk!" she ordered.
"Don't do it, Chad!" Cree commanded.
"But, Cree, my jacket!" Chad moaned. "She'll kill it if we don't tell her about our plans and the play."
"Chad!" Cree shouted.
"What plans?" Abby demanded.
"The ones that'll be ruined if the play goes on!" Chad wailed.
"Shut up, you idiot!" Cree smacked him as Abby's eyes widened.
"Tell me more!" she inquired further.
"Oh, no you don't!" Cree cut in. "Bed. Now, little sister!"
"Not until I get answers!" Abby shot back, holding the gun ever closer to the jacket.
"Please don't let her hurt the jacket…!" Chad begged.
"I said bed!" Cree ordered. Before Abby could protest again, Cree shouted, "Armor on!" The infamous Battle Ready Armor activated, covering Cree's body with a red shell and black plating. As soon as the armor had covered her, Cree shot a small hook from her wrist at Abby. The latter gasped as her red had was torn from her head back to her sister. "Now give back the jacket, go to bed, and the hat might survive. Abby weighed her options carefully for a moment. "Well!"
"All right, all right!" Abby responded quickly, tossing the jacket back to Chad. Cree then returned the hat.
"Now go to your room," Cree instructed.
"But what about my dinner?"
"I said go!" A good deal of weapons appeared on Cree's arms and legs, all aimed at Abby.
"Okay! Sheesh, can't even get a little food in my belly…" Abby grumbled as she headed toward the staircase. Normally, she wouldn't let Cree tell her off like that, but she wanted to tell Nigel what she'd just heard as soon as possible, preferably without getting pummeled by two teenagers first. 'Man, this stanks. Apparently that play would have ruined all kinds of adult plans. We need to do it, but how can we when we just trashed the auditorium this morning?' Upon reaching the top of the staircase, Abby turned and walked to the end of the hallway where her bedroom was. At the end of the hallway was a window looking out over the backyard. Through it, Abby could see the meteor shower above. She sighed softly.
'I wish when we get to the school on Monday, the auditorium will be magically free of all leftovers…'
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Omg! The play wasn't a horrible adult plot! That means the show must go on!
Okay, so looked at the new KND website at Curious Pictures and it is AWESOME! Everyone should go check it out. I saw a picture of Gallagher Elementary's auditorium. I definitely hope Hendrie Middle School's is smaller, otherwise my story might not be plausible because I'm not sure we could fill it with leftovers! Okay, well I might put up a better author's notes later, but I have to go now. R&R, peeps!