"MAMI! BRUNO IS IN MY ROOM!"
"Silly Pepa," said Alma. "She must be having a nightmare."
That's what Alma had said a few nights ago, when Pepa first returned. But the screaming continued.
"Maybe you should go check on her," said Julieta, instead of doing it herself. She had to stay in the kitchen, where she always was.
"I guess so," Alma sighed.
She barged into Pepa's room and shouted.
"BRUNO!"
She looked around but didn't see him.
"Go back to sleep."
"Okay, Mami…" Pepa whimpered.
She cried herself to sleep, and didn't wake up at all for the next two days.
Luisa was feeling guilty.
"If only I had started looking earlier…" she said.
"We all should have started looking earlier," Mirabel said. "Besides, if it wasn't for you, she might have never been found!"
"I just hope she's okay," Luisa said.
"I'm sure she will be," said Mirabel. "Don't worry about this too much. You're awesome!"
Luisa sighed.
"Thanks, sis…"
They hugged for some reason.
Crack! Mirabel's glasses broke!
"Uh… what was that?" Luisa asked, hoping that she hadn't broken someone's bones again.
"MAMI!" Mirabel whined. "LUISA BROKE MY GLASSES!"
"Uh-oh…" Luisa said.
A few hours later, Alma found a bag of leftover food.
"There is a 'B' on the bag," she said. "That must be for breakfast. And since it's breakfast time, I'll eat it now."
"Actually, I think that B is for Bruno…" Mirabel said.
"Mirabel! You said Bruno again!" Alma scolded.
"Yeah, so?" Mirabel grinned.
"You're supposed to say Tío Bruno," Alma said. "Go stand in the corner and say TíoBruno until you learn your lesson."
"Okay..." Mirabel sighed.
An hour later, Bruno entered the room.
"TíoBruno, TíoBruno, TíoBruno, TíoBruno…" Mirabel chanted while standing in the corner.
"Uhhh… what?" Bruno asked.
"TíoBruno, TíoBruno, TíoBruno, TíoBruno…" Mirabel repeated in the same monotone voice, without turning to face him.
"Never min d," Bruno said, walking away.
Julieta was cooking as usual when Bruno snuck up behind her.
"Hi," he said. "What are you doing?"
"I'm cooking as usual."
"Don't you ever do anything else?"
"Sometimes. But I like cooking."
"Can I help?"
"No. Cooking is my job."
"Can I help? Can I help? Can I help? Can I help?"
"NO! GO AWAY!"
"Okay, okay. You don't have to yell…"
Thud! Crash! Tumble!
"Uh… what was that?" Julieta asked.
"Help! I've fallen and can't get up!" Alma called form across the house.
"It was probably nothing," Bruno said.
"I'd better go check…" Julieta said, for some reason.
She ran away, leaving the food unattended.
Several minutes, she still hadn't returned,
Bruno decided to "help" by stirring the food.
Julieta rushed back into the kitchen and started yelling again.
"BRUNO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
"I was just helping…"
"Did you eat anything?"
"What? Nooooo!"
"Did you add any ingredients?"
"No, of course not! I would never!"
"Get out of here."
Bruno walked out of the kitchen, crying. Then, he ran into Dolores.
"Are you okay, Tío?" Dolores asked.
"I can't believe she yelled at me…"
"She's just stressed because of… well… you know…"
Pepa! Bruno thought.
"Did she wake up yet?" he asked.
"Hasn't even stirred," said Dolores.
"Oh…" Bruno said.
"Camilo would never admit it, but he was crying like a baby when she came back home," Dolores said. "Anyways, we're going on a walk. Wanna join us?"
"C-C-can I?" Bruno asked.
"Sure! The more, the merrier," Dolores said. "Antonio, did you find your shoes yet?"
"Casita found them for me!" Antonio said.
"That's nice, but you really ought not to lose them in the first place," Dolores said. "Oh, and you can't bring your emotional support jaguar with you."
Then, she left the house with her two younger brothers and Bruno following close behind.
Shortly after they left, Julieta went to throw something away and saw that the trash can was full of shiny green shards.
"Huh? What's this?" she asked. "Did somebody break a green vase?"
Bruno's stomach kept gurgling while he walked outside.
"That's really gross!" Dolores said.
"Sorry!" Bruno said. "I haven't eaten in a couple days. I'm just really worried about…"
"SHE'S FINE!" Dolores blurted out. "I mean… I'm sure she'll be okay…"
Bruno didn't respond. He just stared into space. His ears were ringing and everything was fading to black.
"Uh… are you sure you're okay?" Dolores asked, but she sounded far away to him.
Thud!
Bruno fell to the ground.
"What happened?" Antonio asked.
"He's…umm… taking a nap," said Dolores.
"Let's abandon him!" Camilo said.
"Great idea!" Dolores said, giving him a high five. Then, the three siblings ran back home.
A few hours later, Bruno woke up. He also returned home.
When he opened the front door, a flood of water splashed out!
"What," he said.
Mirabel was standing the corner again.
"Tía Pepa, Tía Pepa, Tía Pepa, Tía Pepa, Tía Pepa, Tía Pepa, Tía Pepa, Tía Pepa," she said.
"WHAT," Bruno said.
