Oh my gosh, I have not updated since October! I bet no one cares though, because this is kind of a suckish story. Anywho, thanks to those who are reading for your patience! And thanks to my chapter four reviewers, EppopinkfangirlXDXDXD (...yes, I DO do my research! Heh heh...) and Karenkook (I wonder how he will too!)! Also, quick refresher: Josh is Mort's 16-year-old brother, Kylie is Maurice's 4-year-old sister, and Riley is Skipper's 12-year-old sister. So without further ado, chapter 5!
When They Came
Chapter Five: January 1
The boat ride had been mostly silent and uneventful, save for the occasional someone dropping something into the water, and the extended family was finally at the airport in Mozambique. And Julien, though he was still upset, was very fascinated by it all. This was the biggest place he had ever been in in his life, and he had a lot of questions. Annoying ones at that.
"Dad, what is that thing being?" he asked his father, pointing to an escalator.
"You don't know what that is?" Josh (Mort's cranky older brother, in case you've forgotten) asked him.
"No."
"Wow, you're an idiot."
"Josh, be nice, or you're answering all his questions." Josh's father said, while trying to hold onto his bag and keep Mort from running off.
"He's going to have to," Julien's dad said. "We have to get our tickets. Josh, can you just please watch them while we go get them?"
Josh was reluctant. "Do I have a choice?"
"No."
He sighed. "Fine."
The four adults left the five kids by the chairs and got in the short line for their tickets.
"Are you going to be answering my question or not? The king should not be kept waiting!"
"How many times do I have to tell you!" Josh exploded. "You are not a king! You are a spoiled, selfish little brat who throws a fit when things don't go your way!"
Naturally, Julien was greatly offended by this, and kicked Josh in the leg.
"Ow! You little!" Josh began to chase Julien around the area, drawing the attention of others. Maurice, Mort, and Kylie watched as the two ran circles around them. And watching Julien run was fascinating to Mort, for whatever reason. So no surprise that Julien was stopped in his tracks when the little four-year-old clung to his leg.
The adults came back with the tickets, and one metal detector and passport check later, all nine people finally boarded the plane.
The plane had rows of three seats on one side and rows of two on the other, separated by an aisle. The group was seated in the middle of the plane in the following formation. Julien had a window seat, of course, with Maurice next to him in the middle and Josh sitting on the aisle seat. Mort was in between Kylie, who had the window, and his mother. They were behind the three boys. Across the aisle from the boys, Julien's father had the aisle seat and Maurice's mother was next to him. Mort's father was behind her, with an empty seat next to him.
"Mr. Lemkus, why are you having an empty seat next to you?" Julien asked, looking over the back of his seat.
"If no one happens to take it, then it will be the time out seat." Mort's father answered.
"The time out seat?" Josh asked.
"If one of you misbehaves, you sit back here with me."
Josh looked at Julien then back to his father. "Can I sit there now?"
"No."
Josh sighed.
"Okay, I'm bored!" Julien declared.
"We haven't even left yet," Maurice told him.
"Don't even think about getting bored yet," Josh told him. "It's a 17 hour flight."
Julien stared at him blankly. "How long is that?"
"A long time."
"WHAT?" Julien's jaw dropped. "Why was I not inform-ed?"
"Because we knew you'd scream!" Josh said.
"Father!"
"This is going to be a long flight," Julien's father said.
"Well, duh!" Julien exclaimed. "It's 17 hours!"
The pilot's voice came over the intercom as the flight attendants demonstrated the proper way to use the flotation devices and all the other emergency equipment. Julien refused to put his seat belt on. He tried to open the airplane window to no avail. And someone took the empty seat next to Mr. Lemkus, trapping Josh with the annoying "king". But at last, after much waiting, the plane began wheeling down the runway, and was soon in the air.
The excitement of New Year's was over. Kowalski, Rico, and Private had not been allowed to spend the night, but Riley's friends had. Skipper was too distracted to declare complete unfairness. He wasn't going to let himself be fooled by new neighbors again. He just knew that the new neighbors were spies; why else would a whole bunch of them be moving together? It didn't make sense to young Skipper, and he was determined to expose these spies as what they really were.
"Skipper!" Skipper looked up from his desk in his bedroom. His sister was standing in the doorway. "Go to bed, it's almost one in the morning."
"You're not the boss of me!" Skipper declared, even though she technically was at the moment.
"Yes I am, now go to bed." Riley said. She closed his door and left.
Skipper pinned the piece of paper he had been writing on to his bulletin board. He dug out his supplies: a pair of toy binoculars, walkie talkies with a 30 feet talking range, and the pocket knife he'd gotten from his dad, and laid them out on his desk. He had things all set; and there was only one and a half more days until the new neighbors arrived. Skipper put on his camouflage pajamas, turned off his light, and crawled onto his bed, not bothering with the blanket. He finally went to sleep.
What was Skipper's dad thinking, giving a second grader a pocket knife? And yay, Skippy in camo pajamas! Well, I hope this was worth the wait (if anyone was waiting). Reviews are appreciated! :)