Chapter 12

Sportacus received Stephanie's message and immediately flipped over to the open door. He quickly shouted,

"Sky Chaser!" And the pedaling machine came out of its compartment. Jumping off the door, Sportacus landed on the vehicle and pedaled down to the mailbox.

"Hi Stephanie and…" Sportacus said as he landed near the two new girls. Something inside him was a little disappointed that Stephanie wasn't alone.

"Rose." The "girl" answered.

"Nice to meet you. So what's up?" He asked.

"Oh Rose is new here and she just wanted to meet you is all." Stephanie smiled. Something inside her wished that Rose wasn't there.

"Well, that's…" Sportacus didn't get a chance to finish as his crystal went off.

"Uh excuse me." He said and quickly flipped off in the direction of the trouble.

"What was that?" Rose asked.

"His crystal. It tells him when someone is in trouble." Stephanie explained. An evil thought crossed the robot's mind. That's how I'll get him. His crystal and this perky, pink haired, girl, she thought. The pink haired girl looked over at Rose. Something really didn't seem right but she shook it off. She just needed to get used to the new girl.

WWWWWWWWWWWWWW

Later, Stephanie sat in her bedroom writing in her diary. Rose had not wanted to play with her and the others saying she had to get home. The nine year old brushed it off but when she saw the girl walk away something seemed unusual about her gait. There was a knock on the door and she bid the person to enter.

"Hello Stephanie."

"Hi, Miss Busybody. I thought you and Uncle Milford were still down at Town Hall."

"Oh no. We just got here. I'm going to make dinner and I wondered if you wanted to help me." Miss Busybody offered. Stephanie remained quiet for a few minutes. She and her mother used to make dinner together. Miss Busybody sensed her hesitance and moved closer toward her. Sitting down on the bed, the Mayor's assistant tried to be as helpful as she could.

"It's ok. If you don't want to, I understand. Just let me know if you change your mind." She gave Stephanie a quick hug and stood up.

"I want to. Can you just give me a minute?" The pink haired girl wondered.

"Of course dear." Miss Busybody left the room and headed down the hall toward the kitchen. Stephanie picked up the picture of her parents and smiled.

"You wouldn't mind would you mom?" She asked. Of course, she would get no answer from the picture but something inside her said she should still ask. After a few minutes, Stephanie got up, set the picture down, and walked down the hall.

WWWWWWWWWWWWW

Rose sat on the workshop table watching her father tinker inside her chest cavity. She had left Stephanie in a hurry because she could feel the gears inside her starting to stiffen.

"How does that feel?" Robbie asked.

"Better." Rose answered.

"You still haven't disposed of Sportadope." He reminded her.

"I have a plan. Nothing will get in the way of my objective." She reassured him.

"Nothing will stop me."

WWWWWWWWWWWW

After dinner, Stephanie walked outside and up to the mailbox. She placed the letter tube into the chute and pulled the lever. Once again, Sportacus was there in a flash.

"What's up?" He asked.

"I cooked dinner tonight with Bessie. I…" Stephanie stopped.

"That's good." Sportacus tried to be supportive.

"Do you think that my mom would be upset?" She asked. Sportacus smiled slightly.

"No, I think your mother would be very proud of you." He said. Stephanie smiled a little and wrapped her arms around him. The hug felt good. It felt right. Sportacus wrapped his arms around her and held on.

"I miss them." She said.

"I know." Sportacus aid quietly.

"I know."

To Be Continued...