He Who Calls
Chapter 15
Milo woke up and stared at the ceiling. It's my birthday, he thought. Oh hell. Why did I wake up? Oh yeah. No choice. He stood up and changed from the shorts and t-shirt he slept in to his normal clothes. The clock said eleven twenty. He'd done a good job sleeping in. Milo breathed deeply, and walked out the door.
Aelita was having similar problems waking up. She had burned her three songs on to the CD, and she knew Milo would think that was enough, but she didn't think so. And then she saw the situation with perfect clarity. She was already in her clothes for the day, so she ran out the door. Jeremy, Odd, and Ulrich joined her on the way. Yumi was coming later. Jeremy was holding the CD.
"Why are you in such a hurry?" asked Odd as they ran. "Milo hates getting up before noon when he stays up until four in the morning."
"How did you know he stayed up until four in the morning?" asked Aelita.
"I was doing Milo Get The Hell To Sleep Patrol—"
"What's that?"
"Jeremy, Ulrich, and I take turns getting up at four in the morning and making sure Milo's asleep," Odd explained. "He doesn't sleep enough. If he isn't asleep whoever's on patrol pokes their head in and yells 'Milo, Get The Hell To Sleep!' If he seems reluctant, they stay and bug him until he goes to sleep. We have a similar program for Jeremy. So anyway, I found Milo sitting at the computer trying to find Franz Hopper, so I yelled 'Milo, Get The Hell To Sleep!' I also saw the present he was working on for someone. It's awesome."
"Who's it for?" asked Aelita.
"Sworn to secrecy, sorry," said Odd.
"For me, then. I'm the only one whose birthday is anytime soon," said Aelita. "Come on, what is it?"
"You'll find out in two days," said Odd, and then slapped his hand to his forehead. Aelita laughed.
"Milo taught me how to do that," she said, still chuckling. "And I fell for it the same way you did." They were standing outside Milo's room. Yumi walked up suddenly.
"Hey, guys," she said. "What's up?"
"I just learned the heavily guarded secret of Milo Get The Hell To Sleep Patrol," said Aelita.
"What's that?" asked Yumi.
"I'll explain later." That was when Milo opened the door and walked out.
"Surprise!" they all said in unison. "We made you this," Jeremy continued as he handed Milo the disc. "All our top three favorite songs are on it. We hope you like it!"
"Thanks, guys," said Milo. "I'll listen to it really soon! This is really cool." Aelita stepped forward, and without saying a word kissed him on the lips. He was a little taller then she was, so she had to bend forward a little. It seemed right. Neither of them had any experience, so they couldn't say if the other kissed well. All they knew was that it seemed right. After a second they broke apart. Odd whistled and Jeremy, Ulrich, and Yumi clapped.
"You have no idea how long we've been waiting for you to do that," said Yumi.
Aelita was a little shaken, but smiled.
"I'm guessing as long as I've wanted to."