I am back, for a little while anyway. I have no excuse for the lapse in time.
Disclaimer: I do not own The Darkest Powers
It's the 4th of July. They are little kids. By the way, they might be done with the second grade in this one, but I will be writing other one shots with them as little kids and they will still be in the second grade. I'm not going to age them any more than the second grade.
"Will there be fireworks?" I asked as I watched Dad gathering our supplies. We were spending the 4th with Derek and his family at his house. I was really excited, but was trying to stop bouncing. As of a month ago, I was done with second grade and Aunt Lauren was always telling me that I was getting older and big girls didn't bounce around so much. I really did try, but I just couldn't stop. Derek always said that I look like a kangaroo on coffee.
"I'm not sure," Dad replied. I watched him open a small, paper bag and then look back at me. When he saw I was looking, he shut the bag and stuffed it in his pocket, making sure that I couldn't peek when he had his back turned.
"What's that?" I asked. My curiosity made me temporarily forget about my excitement-induced bouncing and I leaned forward.
"Nothing you need to worry about," he answered, hiding a smile. "Why don't you go get the cookies you made yesterday? They're in a blue tub on the counter."
"Okay," I said, hopping of the chair. I rushed into the kitchen as fast as my little legs could carry me. I slipped when my socks hit the slick kitchen floor and was sent sliding on my butt into the wall.
"Are you okay?" Dad asked, his head peeking around the corner.
"I'm fine," I said, standing up and brushing myself off. "I just slipped."
"That's what you get for running with socks in the kitchen," he scolded, his smile ruining the effect.
I just stuck my tongue out at him and reached up to grab the cookies. Sticking your tongue out was another thing that Aunt Lauren said big girls didn't do. I made sure not to do it in front of her, but that didn't stop me from doing it to Dad. He just shook his head and walked back to the living room where he was preparing everything. I looked down at the tub of cookies in my hands. I could clearly see them through the clear lid. I made them yesterday with Dad supervising. I tried to decorate them for today, but it didn't really work. Instead of stars and stripes, I got blobs of red, white, and blue. They looked funny, but Dad assured me that they tasted good, so I didn't really care.
Walking back into the living room, I handed Dad the tub and went back to supervising his packing. When he walked by me with a bag of stuff, I heard a crinkling in his pocket and I remembered about the paper bag in his pocket. What could it be?
When Dad had everything packed and in the car, we finally left. I watched out the window at all the houses. There were a lot of people in front of them. I even saw a few kids from school running around. They all looked like they were having fun.
"Are we almost there?" I asked, looking at Dad.
"Five more minutes," he informed me.
I slumped back into my seat and sighed. Why does it always take so long?
Five minutes later, Dad pulled into an oh-so-familiar driveway and I started bouncing in my seat again. When we cleared the trees, I saw Simon standing at the door holding back Wolf, who couldn't decide whether to meet the car or lick Simon's face off. When Dad stopped the car, Simon let go of Wolf's collar and they raced to the car. Wolf won, but he didn't brag. I jumped out of the car and hugged Wolf and then Simon. I hadn't seen them since the middle of June.
"Hi," I said.
"Hi," he replied, grinning. "Derek's in the backyard. Come on."
I followed behind him and we ran around to the back of the house. Sure enough, Derek was there. He was standing by a table which had a stack of paper plates and other stuff. Without warning, I launched myself at him and almost toppled him over. He caught me though and I wrapped my arms around him, hugging him as hard as I could. I felt him wrap him arms around me and hug me back.
"Hi, Derek," I said.
"Hi," he said.
The sliding glass door opened and Tori came out. She didn't hug me, but she did say hi. From Tori, that was as good as it got.
"How's your summer going?" I asked them.
"Boring," Tori said, sitting down in one of the chairs and crossing her arms.
"Tori's just mad because Liz is in California for the summer," Simon said.
"Why is she in California?" I asked.
"Visiting family or something," Simon said, "And Tori's stuck here with us."
"I'd rather spend the summer with drool-face," Tori said, looking over at Wolf. He looked over at her when she said that and cocked his ears. I giggled and looked at Derek.
"Do anything fun since I was here?" I asked.
"Not really," he said. "Mostly swimming and stuff. Simon almost broke his arm."
I gasped and looked over at Simon. "What happened?"
"I was climbing a tree," he said.
"A dead tree," Derek said.
"I didn't know it was dead!" Simon protested. "It looked fine to me. Anyway, I got about halfway up and the branch broke. Nothing serious, but I did have to get stitches."
He pulled up his sleeve and showed me the scar. "That must have hurt."
Simon puffed out his chest and said, "I didn't feel a thing."
"Is that why you were crying?" Tori asked.
Simon glared at her. "I was not crying! I had bark in my eyes!"
"Why were you climbing the tree?" I asked.
"To get to the top," he said. "I wanted to see if I could see the house."
"And you couldn't have picked a better tree?" I asked.
"I didn't know it was dead. And it had a lot of branches, so it was easier to climb," he said.
"Were you by yourself?" I asked.
"No, Derek was with me," he said. "He didn't tell me the tree was dead until I was halfway up."
"Why not?" I asked, looking over at Derek.
"I didn't know he was going to climb it," Derek argued. "He ran ahead."
"Well, I wouldn't have told him it was dead," Tori said. "He was stupid enough to climb it in the first place. It wasn't like he would have actually made it."
"Like you would have made it to the top," Simon said.
"I would have," she said, "Without falling."
"How about we have a day without the constant arguing," Kit said behind us. I turned around to see him and Dad walk out of the house.
"Hi," I said.
"Hi, Chloe," he said. "You're a sight for sore eyes."
I smiled. I watched them walk over to the grill.
"When's lunch?" Simon asked.
"When I get this grill started and the meat cooked," Kit answered. "Derek, why don't you go show Chloe that bird's nest you found the other day?"
"Sure," he said. He started walking towards the woods and I followed after him.
"You two go, too," Kit said.
"But I've already seen it," Simon said.
"Maybe the eggs have hatched," Kit suggested.
I heard Simon sigh and then heard his loud footsteps as he ran to catch up. Tori beat him to us and bragged about it the whole way. Wolf walked in front of Derek and me. He ran off every once in a while to chase a squirrel up a tree.
"What kind of bird lives in the nest?" I asked Derek.
"I think it's a robin," he said.
"Are there eggs in it?" I asked.
"A few," he said.
"Will the mother be mad if we look?" I asked.
"We're not going to touch them," he said. "I'll just lift you up so that you can see them."
"Okay," I said.
After a few minutes, Derek stopped walking. I turned to see why he stopped and found him looking up. I followed his eyes and saw the bottom of a bird's nest right above us. Derek stepped back and put his hands together to lift me up. I carefully stepped into his hands and placed my hands on his shoulders. When he was satisfied that I was secure, he lifted me slowly. When I was high enough, I peeked over to side of the nest and saw three little blue eggs.
"Are they hatched yet?" Simon asked.
"No," I said. I nodded at Derek to start lowering me down. Wolf, however, had other ideas. He came barreling out of a bush following a frantic squirrel. The squirrel ran past Derek and so did Wolf, who knocked into him. Derek lost his balance and slipped backwards. I fell with him and ended up falling on top of him with an "oof."
"Sorry, Derek," I said, scrambling off him.
"It's not your fault," he said, sitting up.
"Wolf!" Simon called, trying to get his attention. "I can't see him anymore."
"He'll get tired and come back," Derek said, standing up and brushing himself off.
"Think lunch is done yet?" Simon asked.
"No," Derek said, "But we can go check."
"Yes!" Simon said, racing off down the trail towards the house. Tori walked ahead of us as we walked back.
"Is there going to be fireworks?" I asked Derek.
"I don't know," he said. "Dad never said anything about them. But he was hiding something."
"My dad was, too," I said. "He had a small bag and he put it in his pocket so that I wouldn't see it. What do you think it is?"
"I'm not sure," Derek said. "But I think we can cross off fireworks if it fit in his pocket."
"Dang," I said, "I was hoping for fireworks."
"Well, what your dad was hiding wasn't fireworks, but what my dad is hiding might be. He has it in the garage and he won't let us look," Derek said.
"Maybe we can sneak in and peek," I suggested.
"Can't," Derek said. "He has the door locked. Simon already tried."
"Maybe if you borrow one of your dad's cards, we can get it unlocked," I said.
He stopped mid-step and just stared at me.
"What?" I asked, confused.
"Have you ever picked a lock before?" he asked.
"No," I said. "I've never had a lock to pick."
He just shook his head and started walking again. "A card won't work."
"Why not?" I asked, catching up with him. "It works on TV."
"That's TV," he explained. "They always make things look easy. Besides, how would we get in the garage without Dad finding out?"
"One of us could be look out while the other picks the lock," I suggested. "And if your dad or my dad comes, the lookout can tell the other. Kind of like that one guy we learned about in school. That guy from that one war."
"Paul Revere?" Derek asked.
"Yeah, him!" I said. "We could make Simon do it. And if somebody comes, he can say that thing that Paul Revere says…whatever that is."
"Fine," Derek said.
"Yes!" I said. "Hey Simon!"
I went running ahead to catch up with him. He had a pretty good head start so I was out of breath by the time that I got to him.
"We have a job for you," I said.
"Is it dangerous?" he asked.
I hesitated and said, "Only if we get caught."
"I'm in," he said, grinning.
"We need you to stand lookout while we break into the garage," I explained. "You can be like that Paul Revere guy."
"Do I get to dress up?" he asked.
"Why would you want to?" I asked.
"Well, if you want me to be like Paul Revere, shouldn't I at least look like him?" he asked.
"No, but you can sound like him," I said.
"Alright," Simon said. "But I get an extra cookie."
"Deal," I said.
…,,,…
"Anybody coming?" I whispered to Simon.
"Nope," he whispered back. "They're still outside."
"All clear," I repeated the message to Derek, who was currently trying to get into the garage. I didn't really know what he was doing, so I just let him work in peace. He had said that he had read this in a book one time and that the guy swore it worked. When I asked him what the difference between that and what I saw on TV was, he explained that books were more accurate. I just let continue and watched.
"Almost," he muttered. I heard a click and then he reached up and turned the knob.
"How did you do that?" I asked, looking at him in awe.
"I told you," he said. "I read it in a book one time."
"I won't doubt you again," I said.
"Yeah you will. But I won't hold it against you," he said. "Now come. We don't have much time."
We made sure that nobody was coming and then snuck in. It was dark, but Derek didn't want to risk either of our dads seeing the light. I couldn't really see where I was going, so I followed close behind him.
"Where is it?" I asked.
"I saw him put in it in the cabinet," he answered.
"Where's the cabinet?" I asked.
He stopped suddenly and I ran into his back. "Here."
"Thanks for the warning," I said, rubbing my sore face.
"Sorry," he said. "The knob is high, so I'm going to have to lift you up."
"Last time you did that, we fell," I reminded him.
"There's nobody here to push me, so come on," he said. He wound him fingers together again and I stepped into his hand. "Don't open it. Just turn the knob and pull enough so that it won't close again."
"Okay," I said. He lifted me up and I grasped the cold knob. When I turned, the knob stopped. "It's locked."
"What?" he asked. "Why would he lock it?"
"Maybe he knew you would get in," I suggested, looking down.
From outside the room, we heard Simon shouting. "The parents are coming! The parents are coming!"
I scrambled down and ran for the door with Derek at my heels. We made it out and managed to shut the door before Kit turned the corner. He stopped in his tracks when he saw us standing there trying not to look guilty. He glanced at the door and back at us, shaking his head.
"Lunch," he said. "And stay out of there."
"Why?" Simon asked. "What are you hiding?"
"Who says I'm hiding anything?" Kit answered, smiling.
"You locked the door," Simon accused, crossing his arms.
"I lock a lot of doors," he countered, crossing his arms.
"Only when you don't want us getting him," Simon said.
"Exactly," Kit said turning around and walking back down the hall before turning the corner and vanishing from sight.
"Did he answer me?" Simon asked.
"No," Derek said. He walked past Simon and followed after Kit.
"What just happened?" Simon asked.
"We're missing lunch," I explained.
"Oh!" he said, bolting down the hall towards the door. I followed him outside and was about to get a plate when I saw that Derek had already gotten me one and had even filled it for me.
"Thanks," I said, pulling myself up next to him.
He grunted an answer, his mouth full of food. I dug into my potato salad and listened to Dad and Kit talk about work or something. He wasn't very interesting, but everybody else had their mouths full and couldn't exactly talk.
"Wanna go swimming later?" Simon asked after swallowing.
"I didn't bring my suit," I said.
"Tori has an extra," Kit said. "I'm sure she wouldn't mind letting you use it."
"Fine," Tori said. "It doesn't really fit me anyway."
"Thanks, Tori," I said.
She didn't answer me and I went back to my lunch.
…,,,…
A half hour later, we were standing on the edge of the large pond behind the house. Simon immediately found the rope and swung himself in, splashing us in the process. Tori, upon being splashed, launched herself into the pond and tried to drown Simon. After a few minutes, we followed them in to save Simon. We spent the next hour splashing each other and goofing around. Every once in a while, Derek would dive underneath and pull me under. Even after he'd done it a few times, I would still kick and punch, only to have him pull me up and hold us both afloat as I clung to him. Simon tried it once and I nailed him in the stomach with my foot. He stopped after that.
After another ten minutes, I got out of the water and wrapped myself in the towel. I sat down underneath a tree and watched them. Derek came out five minutes later to see if I was okay. When I assured him that I was fine, he fetched him own towel and sat down next to me.
"What do you think they're hiding?" I asked.
"I don't know," he answered. "Maybe it's nothing."
"But then why was the cabinet locked?" I asked.
"Maybe he has something in there that he doesn't want us playing with," he suggested.
"Then what was my dad hiding?" I asked.
"It really could've been nothing," he said. "And even if it is something, don't hatch some scheme to figure it out."
"Why not?" I asked. "You don't want to help me?"
"Whatever they're hiding, if they're hiding anything at all, is probably for tonight anyway. Why try and figure it out when you're going to find out tonight anyway?" he asked.
"Fine," I said. "But I still want to know."
…,,,…
"Alright, everybody get together," Kit said.
I stood next to Derek and waited. Kit brought a paper bag out from behind his back. I looked up at Derek and he gave me a look that said 'see?'
"You guys have to promise to be careful," Kit said. He looked pointedly at Tori and said, "And don't use it against your brother."
He reached inside the bag and drew out a sparkler. I looked over at Simon and Derek and grinned.
"One for everybody," Kit said. He handed us each one and then he brought out a lighter from his pocket. "Everybody ready?"
We all nodded and he lit Simon's first. Sparks came from the tip and he waved it around, creating lines. Tori was next and then Derek, then me. I grinned as I waved mine around. I drew a squiggle and Derek drew a circle around it. I looked over at Tori, who was ruining everything that Simon drew. Eventually, the flame went out and the fun was over. Kit collected the sparklers and disposed of them.
"Thank you," we all said.
"You're very welcome," Kit said.
"What were you hiding?" I asked Dad. He looked at me confused for a second before remembering.
"Oh," he said. He reached into his pocket and brought out the little bag. He told us to hold out our hands and close our eyes. I did and felt him drop something in my hand. When I opened my eyes, I saw a small pile of little white balls. From the look on everybody else's faces, they didn't know what they were either.
"Throw one on the ground," Dad instructed. I picked on up and tossed it at the ground, earning a 'pop.' Simon's eyes lit up and he threw one of him. We all started throwing them as hard as we could. Wolf got excited and tried to catch the pops. We would throw one and when it popped, he would follow it. It was all fine until Tori 'accidently' threw one at Simon's feet and he yelped and fell over, dropping all of his and causing one large 'pop.' He looked down and then he looked up at Tori before launching himself at her, causing her to drop hers. Kit and Dad bolted forward. Kit grabbed Tori, who was about to launch herself at Simon and Dad grabbed Simon and held him back. I looked at Derek and he nodded. We both lifted our hands and dropped them at the same time, releasing the contents on the ground to create two large 'pops.'
We watched our dads struggling to hold back Simon and Tori for a little longer before Derek said, "Want a cookie?"
"Sure," I said.
I followed him over to the table and he reached up and drew out three. He handed me one and then he handed one to Wolf.
"I think we should have fireworks next year," I said.
"I don't know," Derek said. "I think we have enough entertainment now."
I laughed and watched the show.
I'm not really sure which one I'm going to do next, but I think I might either do Derek's birthday or Mother's day.