Friends, Family, and... Feathers? Book One: Abducted By The Flock

Chapter Twelve:

"So... How old are all of you?" I ask once everyone (except Iggy) was seated at the table.

"Well, Max, Fang, and Iggy are all fourteen, I'm eleven, Gazzy's eight, and Angel is six. How old are you?" Nudge says all this in what has got to be record time.

"I'll be thirteen in about a week," I tell them. Nudge gasps.

"WE CAN HAVE A BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR YOU! Can we Max? Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty PLEEEEEASE?"

Slowly, almost unwillingly, Max nods. "We can have your party on your birthday. When is it?"

"Um...well...I don't really know... The foster home people decided it should be the day they found me. May 26."

"Okay. That's in..." she thinks for a moment. "Eight days. Everyone be ready."

"Ooooh what do you want for your present?" Nudge says excitedly.

"I really don't need any-" I start, but she cuts me off.

"Of course you need presents!"

When I try to protest, she cuts me off again. "I'm gonna buy you something anyways. You might as well tell me what you want."

Letting out a groan, I shake my head. "Surprise me," I mutter.

Iggy then strolls into the room, setting a humongous tray of pancakes on the table.

"Did you make bacon?" I ask.

When he nods, I have to literally restrain myself from jumping up and hugging him. Did I mention I have a bit of a bacon problem?

The seven of us devour the food, and for a few moments all that can be heard is the disgusting sound of hungry mutants stuffing their faces. Once I've finished my (insert number that doesn't make me sound like a pig here) pancake Fang gives a low whistle and raises his eyebrow at me.

"I haven't eaten in three days," I explain to him truthfully. Looking like he regrets asking, he nods and quickly looks away.

After breakfast, Nudge asks me if I want a "complete makeover". Iggy, thankfully, comes to my rescue.

"She was going to teach me sign language," he says. Bless that boy! "But..." oh, God, he wouldn't dare! "that can wait till later," he finishes. If there is a God, he will protect me from this girl.

Well, God didn't protect me. Nudge tried to wrestle me into a pink sundress-type thing, but I fought her down. Literally. She bit my arm.

So, instead, I'm wearing a white, one shoulder top and light-wash skinny jeans, tucked into a pair of tan boots. She's curled my hair and brushed it all over my right shoulder, in a careless-looking way that actually took like 45 minutes.

Finally pleased with her work, Nudge grabs my wrist and tugs me out into the living room. The Gasman's mouth drops open when he sees me, which is both flattering and a little bit creepy. He's quietly whispering to Iggy, who's got a bit of a jealous look in his eye. Fang looks surprised, and Max mutters, "You look really pretty."

"Are you kidding? She's beautiful!" Angel exclaims. I laugh, thanking her with my thoughts and wondering if she really means it.

'I do,' comes her young voice into my thoughts. What a sweetie pie.

"Oh! I need to get a picture!" Nudge says, running off to retrieve a camera.

"Smile!" she shrieks, but I stick my tongue out at her.

"You should smile. You have a pretty smile," Angel says.

Feeling strangely compelled to listen to her, I smile wide, displaying my pearly whites. Nudge snaps a couple of pictures, then exclaims, "Group photo!" she zips around, arranging everyone, then sets the camera on a table, setting it on a timer.

"Everyone in close!" she says. Bending down a bit so Max, Fang, and Iggy can be seem behind me, I look up and notice Iggy is gazing to the right of the camera. Reaching up and taking his face in my hands, I direct him towards the camera.

I feel him start to lose his balance, and suddenly he topples down, bringing me, Gazzy, and Angel down with him. Max falls down laughing. Well, everyone knows laughter is contagious. Without warning, all of us are rolling on the ground, howling with laughter.

Eventually Nudge gets up and grabs the camera. Luckily, someone bumped it and it was pointing to the floor when it took the picture. So it captured our happy family moment, freezing our laughing faces forever.

"Nudge, I need a copy of that picture. And the one of my...ugh, makeover."

"Kay," she says absentmindedly, thumbing through the photos.

"That's a really nice camera," I say, leaning in to examine it. Then I notice the images are a bit grainy. I take it from her hands and adjust the zoom. When she gives me a quizzical look, I explain, "I like photography."