Author's note – Thanks for the kind reviews! I'm glad you enjoyed the prologue. You'll have to read to find out who the pairings are but I'm sure one will soon be fairly obvious. Let me know what you think of Chapter One :)
At a more decent sunny hour of the morning, Wallabee Beetles, Numbuh Four of the Kids Next Door, was grinning in the kitchen. "Duh nuh nuh nuh! Gonna have some cake! Duh nuh nuh nuh! Gonna get some toys! Birthdays rule!" Numbuh Four bobbed his head up and down in a head-banging motion, his thick blond hair spilling into his eyes.
"Numbuh Five doesn't know what you're so happy about."
Wally's head jerked up and he saw Numbuh Five stalk into the kitchen.
"Don't you know the clock is just ticking?" Numbuh Five passed through the room without another word.
"Geez, what's her problem," Wally wondered aloud. It was kind of late for her to be in a snit about turning twelve. Her birthday was like, three weeks ago and she'd seemed fine then. Why would she be in a bad mood on his birthday? Numbuh Four shrugged and continued his heavy metal chant. "Duh nuh nuh nuh! Prob'ly get some cash! Duh nuh nuh nuh…"
By noon, all of the operatives of sector V were assembled in the treehouse's spacious common room. Numbuh Four smiled at his friends in their silly orange conical hats. The entire level had been decorated in orange streamers and balloons. There was a glistening frosted cake surrounded by Numbuh Four's favorite foods; cheeseburgers, cheese fries and nachos and there were cans of Dolt cola stacked in front of the television. Numbuh One was standing in front of the vast screen of the communications console. Uh oh, he was clearing his throat. Numbuh Four's smile slipped as Numbuh One beckoned him to stand beside him. Crud. A speech.
"…and as your leader, it is my pleasure to be the first to wish you a happy twelfth birthday. The Kids Next Door don't usually celebrate twelves but I think that because it is your last year, we should make it the best ever!"
"Here here!" said Numbuh Two. "Can we get to the cake now?"
"Well…" said Numbuh One, looking from Hoagie's face to Wally's, "Okay."
The team gathered around as Numbuh Four took a deep breath and blew out his candles, extinguishing them all in one mighty huff. He beamed as his teammates applauded.
"What'd you wish for, Numbuh Four?" Numbuh Two elbowed him in the side. "A roll of quarters?"
"Aw, shut up," Wally said, darting a quick glance at Numbuh Three.
"Yay! Let's open your presents!" Numbuh Three bounded over to the pile of gifts stacked next to the couch. She picked up a large box. "Open mine first!"
Wally approached the smiling girl. There was a brief moment out of time when his fingers brushed hers as he took the present from her hands. He quickly snatched away the frilly bow and tore into the rainbow-colored wrapping paper. He crumpled it, tossed it aside and opened the box. "Wow, this is…" Numbuh Three's gift to Wally was a Mega Ultra Fighters Jump Pack and Secret Code guide.
"Do you like it?" Number Three was bouncing beside him. "I thought maybe you might be able to beat me one day if you had this."
Wally dropped the box and wrapped his friend in a hug. "Wow, Kuki…thanks."
Numbuh Three giggled and returned the embrace. God, thought Numbuh Four. Her hair smells so good. The sound of laughter brought him back to himself. He heard Numbuh Two's muffled snickering and dropped his arms as if Numbuh Three were molten and he'd burned his fingers. Aw crud, he thought. Did she notice?
"Why don't you open this present next?" Numbuh One held out a lumpy package wrapped in dark cellophane. "I figured these might come in handy."
Wally took the gift and ripped away the wrapping to reveal a pair of red leather boxing gloves. "Awesome!" he exclaimed. "All right! Whose gift is next?"
"How about this pretty Rainbow Monkeys card?" Numbuh Three held up a greeting card. "Ooh, maybe there's money inside! Let's see. 'To Wallabee,'" she began to read aloud, "' Happy Birthday from Fanny--'"
"It's from Numbuh 86!" Numbuh Two chortled. "Numbuh 86 sent you a birthday card!"
"Gimme that!" Wally snatched the card away from Numbuh Three and tried to hit Numbuh Two with it. "All right then. Where's my present from you? Cough it up."
"But don't you want to read Numbuh 86's message? Maybe it's an invite to her next slumber party!" Numbuh Two dodged Wally's foot, shaking with laughter. He held his stomach and guffawed while Wally stood over him, scowling. "Okay, okay." Numbuh Two ran out of the room and dashed back in holding a thin, foil-wrapped present.
"That isn't…it's not…" Wally stammered.
"Yup. Yipper number 12, first edition signed chrome cover variant."
"Cool!" He grinned. "Thanks!"
Numbuh Three looked puzzled. "Aren't you going to open it?"
All three boys gave Numbuh Three incredulous looks. Wally smacked his forehead. "Geez, Numbuh Three. Sometimes I forget you're a girl. You're not supposed to even touch a comic this valuable."
"Well, excuse me." She plopped down on the couch and folded her arms.
"Hey, there's one more left." Numbuh Two picked up the last of the gifts and handed it to Numbuh Four.
"Who's it from?"
"It must be Numbuh Five's gift; it's the last one," Numbuh One observed.
"Hey, where'd she go?" Wally looked around and for the first time, realized that Numbuh Five wasn't in the room. Had she slipped out during Numbuh One's speech? Or had she been gone the whole time? "Crud, it's heavy. It's gotta be something good." Numbuh Four eagerly tore away fistfuls of the wrapping paper. His mouth dropped open. "I can't believe…a cruddy…what is this, a joke?" His teammates gathered around him. Numbuh Five's present to Numbuh Four was a brand new American Heritage Dictionary.
"Ummm…let's eat the cake!" Numbuh Three cast an urgent glance at the other two boys behind Numbuh Four's head. But while Numbuh Two sliced the cake into fifths and Numbuh Three gently pried the dictionary from Numbuh Four's clenched hands, Numbuh One quietly left the common room. He stepped into the lift and pressed 25, the level on which he thought he'd find her.
Numbuh Five wasn't listening to music, even though she had a huge pair of headphones covering her ears. Which is why she heard the faint "bing' of the elevator when it opened at the end of the hall. She heard the footsteps approaching. She heard Numbuh One clear his throat. But she didn't turn to face him.
"I suppose it was kind of funny to get Numbuh Four a dictionary," said Number One, his voice dry.
"Numbuh Five is sure he thought so too, right?" She almost smiled. "Tell the brainiac that he might try actually opening a book for once--" she stopped. Why was she being so mean?
If Numbuh One had noticed the venom that had slipped into her voice, he didn't feel the need to comment upon it. Instead, he said, "There's a piece of cake waiting for you downstairs."
"So the party's over?"
"Numbuh Four's done with the gifts."
"Good. Figured I'd wait 'til it was over to go. Wouldn't want to leave in the middle of Numbuh Four's birthday."
Numbuh One let silence be his reply for the moment. Numbuh Five thought he was considering what to say. He always chose his words carefully. Finally, he spoke. "Do you have some place to be?"
Numbuh Five swallowed." No. The team. Numbuh Five is gonna leave the team."
transmission interrupted