"Then she just left and didn't even take her hot dog with her," I said to Patty as I slid the forks under the hot water to clear the soap off.

"I wonder why she was acting that way," she stated as I handed her a plate for her to dry.

I shrugged. "I don't know. It was like she had a personality shift or something."

"And you say she was fidgeting and didn't speak much?" Kathy asked as she handed me another dirty glass. It was no regular drinking cup. It was golden glass with little blue and red diamonds around it.

I nodded. "Yeah and she was acting shy, retiring and…well, awkward, to be blunt about it."

For a while nobody said anything else. Then I noticed that Kathy and Patty were exchanging glances. I mean it. They weren't just looking at each other. You could tell each other thoughts.

Then Kathy said, "And you say she…blushed?"

"Yeah."

She nodded, finishing with the plate in her hands. "Uh-huh," she muttered.

I furrowed my eyebrows as I processed what she just said. "What do you mean, 'uh-huh'?"

"Oh nothing!"

Yeah, I'm not buying that. I turned off the faucet and dried my hands. "Kathy, I know you very well. And that was no ordinary 'uh-huh.' I know when you try to mean something but at the same time you don't. Now, what was the meaning behind that 'uh-huh'?"

Once again, she and Patty exchanged glances, as if to say, "Should I tell him or not?"

I read that expression clearly. So much so that I said, "Tell me what?"

Patty cleared her throat and leaned against the counter. "Well, Spiny, based on what you have told us so far, it seems that Darla is showing symptoms of having developed an infatuation towards you."

My heart froze and so did all my bodily functions. "Come again?"

"What Patty means is that Darla has a crush on you," Kathy said.

"I know what she meant. I'm just…what?! Darla's got a crush on me?!" My mind started to try to process what had just been said…and my neurons nearly got fried in the process. Darla? Crushing on me? That was like saying that Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez had gotten married!

When I finally recovered the strength to speak I said, "Darla is a tomboy, for crying out loud!"

"But she's still a girl," said Patty. "Even if she is not feminine, she is still a girl. And you're a guy."

I still wasn't convinced. "But…but, girls, think about it! I mean, Darla and I know each other since kindergarten! She's always been a tomboy! We're like brother and sister!"

Kathy sighed deeply and got the bottle of milk out of the fridge. "Spiny…you…you are a very, very, very, VERY attractive guy."

Well, I hate compliments in the middle of arguments. "So?"

"So….besides that, you're athletic, smart, sweet, gentle, and are very good when it comes to treating girls," Patty responded.

"So?" I repeated.

"So…you're what every girl in the world would want in a man. You have to realize, Spiny that even your close friends are at one point or another feel something for you. Like for example, take Amanda, Megan, Miranda, or Sophie. They're your friends, right?"

"Sure they are," I responded.

"Well, they also have crushes on you. The point is that it's very easy to fall in love with you. If I wasn't blood-related to you, I'd probably be like that."

"You're not blood-related. You're just my stepsister."

She shrugged. "Well, you know what I mean."

The three of us exited the kitchen to the Family Dining Room where Robert and Greeny had just finished cleaning the table. "When you guys finish that, I want you to go to you room to finish your homework," I said.

"I'm already done with mine," said Greeny.

"Then I want you to take a bath. Patty, will you help him please?"

"Sure. Come on, let's go, Greeny."

"If I take a bath will you give me something?" Greeny asked.

I glared at him and patted him on his behind. "I'll give you something if you don't take a bath."

"Aw, Spiny!" he whined.

After everyone else left Kathy and I went to the living room. She curled up on the loveseat in front of the TV and tuned to her favorite program. I sat in my black leather recliner. After while of saying nothing, I broke the silence. "So…you really think that Darla's got a crush on me?"

"It's not hard too, you know."

"Yeah…true. You got any ideas of how to prevent her to continue infatuated with me?"

"Well…I know you won't like the idea…but try to set her up again with Roger."

I leaned forward on the recliner and started playing with my fingers. "Yeah, I think I'll do that."

"Yeah you…wait! Did you just volunteer to match-make?!" Obviously, she knew my point-of-view on these things. I told her what Lilia and I had decided last night after Jabberjay left. "And we both agreed that we needed to get them together to make everyone happy.

She smiled. "Well…looks like I won't have to do any sneaking behind your back this time."

I laughed sarcastically. "Yes, of course. We wouldn't want to break tradition now, would we?"

When the show we were watching concluded I sprinted up the stairs to my room and dialed Lilia's number. "Lilia?"

"Hi, Spiny. What's up?"

"Well, not much to be honest. I just wanted to ask you something."

"Sure, baby. What is it?"

"Are you ready to initialize Operation Roger and Darla?"

"You really want to?"

"I have never been more certain of anything in my whole life."

"Okay, chief! I'm ready to serve this worthy cause! What's the first order of business?"

"First thing we do is a sleepover."