Chapter Four: Second Word
Self defense training was going great. He could block well and could punch but he only punched the dummies, besides Sprx and me of course. He refused to punch any of the team. I guess that was our fault. We kept on scolding him for fighting us before he had started training.
"Otto, could you come here?" Antauri asked. I knew I was in trouble now. Antauri never asks me to come here unless either a.) Shuggazoom was in trouble or b.) Something in the robot was broken and he already had asked me to fix it.
"I'm coming!" I shouted as I came down the green elevator. Antauri didn't look angry and the big TV in the living room didn't show any danger. "What's going on?" I asked, completely confused.
"I was wondering if you could watch Chiro." Antauri said. "I have meditation to do, Nova's practicing with Gibson at the valley, and Sprx is somewhere in the city. You're the only one I know who doesn't have plans at the moment."
"Of course!" I said, greatly relieved that I wasn't in trouble. "Just tell me where he is."
Antauri held up three fingers and put each one down till all of them were down. Then there was a loud bang. "In his room, right?" I asked.
Antauri nodded his head and I went up the orange elevator. When I entered the room I saw that Chiro had thrown his big teddy bear out of the crib and onto the floor. I smiled and said, "Do you wanna play with Otto?"
Chiro clapped his hands as if to say Of course Otto! I walked over lifted him out of the crib and onto the floor. "What do you wanna play?" I asked. Chiro pointed at his little train set. I nodded and helped him set it up. When I flipped the switch the train made a loud whistle and Chiro began to laugh hysterically. "That was loud!" I said. "Let's hope we didn't disturb Antauri."
"Anbauri." Chiro said. I stared at him. He had said his second word.
"Antauri!" I shouted as I picked up Chiro and went down the orange elevator. "Antauri! You won't believe this!"
I entered the Command Center to see that Nova and Gibson had returned from training. "What did he do now?" Gibson asked.
"You'll see." I said. Antauri came down the black elevator a second later.
"What is it Otto?" Antauri asked. He looked slightly angry.
I pointed at Antauri and asked Chiro, "Who's that?"
Chiro hesitated for a second and then quietly said, "Anbauri?"
"It's Antauri, Chiro." Gibson said. "Not Anbauri, Antauri."
"Anbauri!" Chiro shouted. Antauri gave a small smile and took Chiro from my arms. He wrapped Chiro in a warm embrace and said, "I don't mind it. Anbauri is close enough to Antauri."
Nova smiled a little and said, "If he keeps this up he should know everyone's name by the end of the month." Then Sprx came into the living room, spoiling our good mood. He smelled horrible but I could not identify it.
"What did the kid do?" Sprx asked. "Did he learn to use the toilet?"
"No he didn't." Antauri said to Sprx. Then he looked at Chiro and asked, "Who am I?"
"Anbauri!" Chiro shouted. Then he spotted Sprx and hid his face. It was like he was scared of him.
"So he said his second word." Sprx said. "Maybe next time I leave he'll start using the big boys' toilet."
"I have already started teaching him." Gibson said. "Now, when I'm home, he asks me to take him to the lavatory. I suggest that whoever is left with the responsibility of watching Chiro starts taking him there."
Knowing I was left with that responsibility, I took Chiro from Antauri and took him to the bathroom. I put him down and he seemed to know what to do. Since everybody knows how to use the toilet I will not describe it. He was done in a minute or two and we returned to the Command Center. "Did he do it?" Nova asked.
"He did." I said. "And he didn't even need me to do anything. Just needs someone to take him there."
"That's a relief." Sprx said. "No more diapers."
"No more diapers." Nova said. "I thought I'd never see the day." We all started laughing right then and we began to teach Chiro where to go when he had to go.