Note: This story takes place on Earth! (Just for fun).
Jacks Ghost Girl---Thanks! I'm glad that you got the whole Banana Phone thing! (That song is so weird). Well, have a fun summer!
Lady Kayte---Ouch! Eek, I hate dentists…I hope that this cheers you up even more! Hehehe.
treasure planet-gurl---I put in your idea for this chapter! Thanks for your nice reviews! I think you'll like this chapter.
Jim quickly grabbed his suitcase and ran up the cottage steps two at a time, ignoring the fact that the small house looked incredibly worn down. Sarah had just managed to unlock the door when her son whipped past her.
"Well," beamed Sarah, "someone is eager to start this vacation!"
The teen stampeded past the tiny kitchen and living room. Jim sighed with relief when he spotted the bathroom. He quickly rushed in and slammed the door shut.
"Okay…my hair definitely needs work," the teenager muttered to himself as he glanced into the bathroom's tiny, scratched mirror. The caramel shone like a glittery halo around his head.
Jim grimaced at his appearance and decided that taking a bath was the only way to get his hair back to normal. He walked over to the bathtub, which was square-shaped and a hideous shade of pink.
"Here goes nothing," he muttered to himself. The teen twisted the knob and let the water flow.
Meanwhile, Sarah, Delbert, and Amelia had brought in the remaining luggage.
"Ohhh…..how creep---I mean, how charming those…birds are," Delbert commented as he walked into the cottage's living room. The cottage's owner had placed stuffed birds and owls on the fireplace mantel, on top of a bookshelf, and on an overstuffed armchair.
"Except for the stuffed birds, I find this cottage charming!" Sarah exclaimed enthusiastically. She joined Delbert, who was sitting on a moth-eaten beige sofa.
Amelia walked stridently into the room and gazed at the collection of birds. "One hates to be judgmental, but I do believe that the owner of this cottage is rather unhinged."
Delbert straightened out his glasses. "What's the matter with a bird collector, Amelia? You never criticized my rock collection."
The captain raised a slim eyebrow. "Then I suggest that you examine the owner's denture collection in the pantry."
Sarah looked appalled, but the doctor jammed his glasses up his nose.
"Mmm. How interesting!" Delbert mused. Amelia and Sarah exchanged glances.
Jim stared up at the bathroom's stained ceiling while listening to music on his iPod. Except for his head, the teen was fully immersed in bubbles. It had taken almost a whole bottle of shampoo to conquer the caramel, but he had done it. Jim closed his eyes in bliss.
A few minutes later, Delbert walked towards the bathroom door, towel in one hand and a bottle of herbal shampoo in the other. The door was open a crack, so Delbert walked in without a second's thought. After examining the vast collection of mildewed dentures in the pantry, the doctor felt that a bath was necessary. Sarah and his wife had decided to walk along the beach before dinner. Delbert assumed that Jim had joined the two.
"Oh. A vintage mirror!" gasped the doctor, laying his clean clothes, towel, and shampoo on the countertop.
Jim, who was still plugged into his iPod, saw and heard nothing---his eyes were still closed.
Delbert began to whistle as he slowly started to undress. All the while his back was to the teenager.
"I vill pump you up!" cried the doctor, who had his shirt off and was examining his rather scrawny biceps. He posed like Arnold Schwarzenegger in front of the mirror. Satisfied that he had successfully intimidated his reflection, Delbert peeled off his pants.
"Hmm…" muttered the doctor, glancing at his thin legs. Then, he looked up at the mirror again.
"Freeze!" he yelped, grabbing a hair dryer that Sarah had placed in the bathroom. He plugged it in and pretended to shoot down the imaginary enemy. The doctor stood there, posing like a karate fighter.
Jim grimaced. His music was sounding weird, like someone was yelling at the singer in the background. He slowly opened an eye, the florescent light slightly blinding him for a second.
Then, the teen took in the doctor, who was clad only in his underwear and posing like a fencer.
"What the---"
"EEEEKKK!" Delbert shrieked, twisting around. Jim took in the doctor and saw Delbert's underwear. It was pale blue with tiny Spongebob figures on it. A huge, grinning Patrick dominated the front of the underwear. The pink starfish was standing with his arms outstretched and a large thought bubble floated above its face. It read: "Welcome, Spongebob! Come on in!"
Only then did Jim scream at the top of his lungs. Delbert leaped back and dropped the hairdryer, which flew majestically in the air. As the machine collided with the bathwater, Jim felt a large shock charge the water. The shock then crawled up his back and escaped through his hair.
"My head!" yelped Jim, knowing that every strand of his hair was now jutting out at weird angles. He leaped out of the bathtub, his iPod dangling. The teen quickly grabbed a towel, wrapped it around himself, and sprinted out of the bathroom.
Delbert quickly unplugged the hairdryer and surveyed the room. "I wonder why Jim screamed like that?" he mused. Then, the doctor looked downwards. "Oh, um…right."
Jim ran into another room and slammed the door shut. Why does stupid stuff always happen to me? thought the teen. He wanted to punch the whole cottage down. Then, he perked up. The teenager was in the Doppler's room!
"Yes!" he whispered, running over to Amelia's suitcase. Jim slowly unzipped it.
"Jim! What are you…ahem…doing?" asked Delbert, who had walked in. He looked slightly puzzled.
"Oh, crap!" hissed the teen. Jim tightened the towel around his body and dashed past the doctor.
Jim ran out of the cottage, the screen door creaking shut behind him. The sky was beginning to get overcast. The gray clouds contrasted well with the cottage's peeling yellow paint. Skimpy pine trees dotted the property and occasionally dropped scaly pinecones.
The teen uttered curses every time his bare feet crunched down on the sharp objects. Jim leaned against a side of the cottage. He was about to walk on when he heard a rustling sound from within the house. Turning, Jim looked through the window and saw Delbert. Obviously, the doctor had wondered why the teenager had tried to open his wife's suitcase.
"Great. Just great," muttered Jim. The doctor would soon find the coconut bikini top. This can't get any worse, Jim told himself, this can't get wor----
"Oooo. Hairy, yet refined," Delbert was saying. Jim peered through the window and saw that the doctor had indeed found the top. Delbert hastily looked out his bedroom door. Then, he held the bikini top up to his chest.
Jim grinned. Although he would probably get grounded later, seeing Delbert try on the coconut top was funny.
"Delbert. You should have told me you fancied women's lingerie. I would have bought you some at Victoria's Secret," Amelia said, half amused and half alarmed. She had just come back from the beach with Sarah.
"Umm…oh, it's you. I, uh…"
The captain dismissed her husband's stammering with a wave of her hand. "I suppose that it is rather natural for men to----hold up. Those aren't mine."
Delbert, who had been blushing, dropped the bikini top. "They aren't!"
Amelia crossed her arms. "Delbert, those would easily fit a gorilla."
Jim exploded into giggles at Amelia's dry voice.
Instantly, the captain stiffened. "I was about to assume that you had placed that hideous object in my suitcase, but I now have reason to think otherwise."
The teen, towel and all, bolted from the cottage.
----Long chapter! Okay, I had help with this part of the story. treasure planet-gurl came up with the cool idea that Delbert would come into the bathroom while Jim was in it. LadyAmelia2008 invented the whole situation of the Dopplers and the bikini top---and Jim's reactions to the whole scenario. THANKS, GUYS! If anyone else has suggestions, feel free to post them along with your reviews! As long as they are appropriate, I will try to include them in this story. ----