"Butch," Boomer calls out to his brother, "Who were you talking to when you pulled over?"
"It was an old friend of mine. Don't worry too much about it!" Butch assures his brother while he ruffles up his hair.
"You looked as if you had a long day in the office. Care to tell us what you found out?" Brick questions Serena after he sits in the love seat.
She motions for a drink and comments, "I'll tell you once it all settles in. Right now, I have too many loose ends I need to tie up."
"Is it that bad?" Boomer wonders before he opens the fridge to get her as well as himself something to drink.
Serena thanks him for the drink, snaps the can open, takes a sip, and declares, "Oh man! That's really good."
"It's actually that bad, Boomer. Once I left from your school, I was called in to the base again to meet with General Malone about Bell." She tells them before she sips again.
Butch crashes on the couch after Boomer fills in a seat next to her, "One question," "Why were you at our school today…as a lifeguard?"
Boomer and Brick were curious to hear her response too.
"I never knew you were certified as a lifeguard." Boomer utters to himself.
Serena settles the can on the coffee table before she exhales a deep sigh at the question and replies, "I happen to enjoy volunteering for my community in my spare time. Besides, the only three people who knew we were even related were Bubbles, Blossom and Buttercup."
Butch suspiciously eyes his older sister as she continues, "You know I don't like to sit down for too long when I know I can be doing something fun."
"What were you and the principal talking about?" Brick inquired after he recalled that their principal talked to her when she was on her break.
"You three are some noisy kids…you know that. I see why people get so frustrated with me since I always wanted to know things."
"So are you going to answer the question or not?" He demands once he props himself up on the love seat.
She releases another sigh and explains, "He thanked me for helping out the school. He told me that the kids appreciated my services and that someone would relieve me of my duties for the next grade level."
Boomer reflected on the vase of sunflowers that was delivered when the "A" on the stationary card started to look familiar to him.
He shakes his head and deems Principal Alma not capable of doing something such as that.
"Besides, he asked me if I wanted to participate along in the activities and I couldn't deny it." Serena finishes what Alma asked of her.
"He did sure ask a lot from you…" Butch's voice brings Boomer out of his thoughts about their principal.
She leans back on her couch and asserts, "When you're a responsible person, people tend to trust you with a lot of information."
"If you say so…" Brick adds in his own opinion on the situation.
Butch looks at Boomer, then Serena and lastly at Brick before he flashes him a signal that only he would recognize.
'I figured that they would have called us sooner or later. The work season is right around the corner.'
4444
While Bubbles tend to an ill Blossom, her pink cellphone vibrates. It signals that someone tries to reach her.
Buttercup searches Blossom's messenger bag, locates Blossom's phone and spots Flash picture under the nickname "Baby".
'He must have put his name as that…' Buttercup assumes before she presses the green button and accepts the call.
"Hello?" She asks once she answers it.
"Is this Blossom?" Flash's voice can be heard on the other end.
"I'm so sorry but there is no one here by the name of Blossom. This is Amanda Rhines, may I ask who is calling?" Buttercup alters her voice and lies as Bubbles prevents herself from giggling out loud.
"My name's Flash. I thought this was my friend's number. You said your name is Amanda, right? Are you in high school?"
'Is he trying to hit on me?' She suspects before she puts him on speakerphone and records the conversation.
"No darling, I'm a freshman at Townsville U. Are you in high school?" Buttercup poses in a valley girl accent.
"Townsville U, huh? I'm planning to transfer there in the fall as the university's starting quarterback." Flash falsely brags.
"I guess I can make sure that I look out for someone name Flash. See you later then." She ends the phone call and makes sure she hangs up the phone.
Bubbles and Buttercup burst out in to laughter at the whole situation.
"I always knew Flash was a liar but man he was laying it on thick for Amanda Rhines." She affirms.
"He didn't even bother to hang up after he found out that you were a girl." Bubbles claims.
"We need to make sure that Blossom knows what she's doing with this one." She warns her sister.
4444
"I'm so freaking bored!" A bored Lucas loudly exclaimed after he kicked a red punching bag with his right foot.
"Play the game." Prince suggests while he stares at the book that was in front of him.
"Already did that…" He complains while he peers up at the ceiling of their room.
"Go bother Argos." Prince throws out another suggestion before he hears, "Did that already."
"Then go finish some homework. I'm tired of hearing you complain." He claims as he breaks away from his book.
"I want to go back to Townsville!" Lucas declares out of the blue.
"Why? So you can go see Blossom?" Prince questions his close friend and right hand man's reasoning.
"Did I ever tell you that I ran into her and her boyfriend at the mall?" He discloses about his encounter with Blossom at the mall.
"Are you sure that was her boyfriend?" Prince challenges him.
"Blossom doesn't just pick anyone to carry her bags for her." Lucas concludes his report on what he observed from the young woman.
He simply shakes his head at his close friend naïvete whenever it boils down to the object of his affections.
"I swear you're a piece of work sometimes, Lucas." Prince declares after he rubs his temples.
Lucas was rocking on the beanie bag before he leaping up, kicking the punching bag again, and sending it flying until it stops at the end of its line.
'I need to break those two up! Knowing Blossom, she doesn't just trust anyone with her feelings! So I will have to destroy the trust the two have for one another.'
4444
"What is it? Is it about them?" Brick needled after he recognized the signal Butch had flashed him.
"Yeah. They had called me earlier while we were in the car." He answers his orange head brother's question.
"That's why Boomer had asked you who called you, right?" Brick questions as he remembers that Boomer mentions it to him.
Butch nods his head a yes and alleges, "It's legit too! They even referred to me by number and first name. I had a feeling that they were bound to call us sooner or later.
"Now that you mention it, it's around that time that work picks up. So how are we going to balance this job and compete in the tournament?"
"Trust me, we will find a way! There's going to be a meeting some time this week. So be ready to stay on your toes."
"I understand. We have to keep those two out there in the dark about this…"
"It's already done. This is something we don't want them involved in." Butch expresses with seriousness in his tone.
Knocks were heard followed by Boomer's voice, "Hey, what are you two doing in there?"
"Nothing! I was just looking for a shirt that Brick borrowed from me. We'll be out in a minute." Butch lies to his brother.
"Serena thought you two were planning something in there." He revealed the reason why he had knocked.
"Tell her that every time we talk, doesn't always meam we're scheming!" Brick declares a little annoyed at the fact that Serena knew exactly what they were talking about.
"Just be ready to head out at any moment." Butch reminds him, who nods his head.
4444
"Are you alright?" Buttercup overhears her sister's voice while she brushes her teeth.
She leans over the sink to wash her mouth out before she replies to her sister's question, "I'm fine Bubbles. You worry too much!"
Bubbles inspects her face for any signs of a lie and explains, "I can't help it. It seems as if no one else would so it is passed on to me."
"Before you go," She stops her sister before she exits from her sights.
"Yeah, what is it?" Bubbles politely asks because she senses that something bothers Buttercup from her tone.
"What do you think about Butch and his brothers? I don't want you to show favoritism when you answer this question. I want your honest opinion."
Buttercup watches Bubbles reactions to her question as a thoughtful expression materializes on her face.
"I mean they're like us. They love each other very much. They won't hesitate to take up for one another when it is necessary. You can tell Brick gives off that leader vibe, Butch's the one who is loyal and Boomer is the heart of the team."
"Yet now that you mention it...we don't know a lot about them."
"My feelings exactly…nothing." Buttercup expresses with emphasis on nothing, which she selects from Bubbles response.
The blonde settles her chin in between her thumb and index finger and confirms, "Maybe there's a reason why we don't know so much about them."
"Bubbles, when has there been a time where we couldn't handle ourselves?" She questions as she points her toothbrush at her.
"I don't mean to jinx our good fortune but there has never been a single time." Buttercup proclaims, washes her toothbrush and sticks it with the others.
'Actually there has…you just can't remember it.' "Not that I could think of, but still you of all people should know how upfront Butch is. I'm surprised he didn't tell you anything."
"You make it sound as if we're going out together or something?" Buttercup grumbles after she listens to Bubbles.
She then places her hands on her hips now and declares, "Come on Buttercup! You can't deny that Butch has some feelings for you. You can't be that thick in the head that you didn't notice."
"That doesn't mean anything! It's as if we're following a color code: jade to emerald, scarlet to cherry and navy to cerulean." Buttercup complains.
'She says it in such a weird manner but now that she mentions it…she does have a point.' She considers.
"Let's save this conversation for when we have the third member of our party to join and discuss." Bubbles suggests to include Blossom's opinion.
Buttercup sighs out of frustration, "Alright then, if you say so…"
4444
Meanwhile in an abandon warehouse...
There were sounds of people that shuffled about, who were not permitted access to the building.
At least legally that is…
"Hey! How long do we have to wait again?" A voice grumbles amongst the darkness.
There was no immediate answer to the voice's inquiry, "Shush, I'm tired of hearing you complain."
"I don't like to sit still, obviously…besides I've been craving some action lately." The voice responds after the complaint from earlier.
"Quiet down! We will have our time."
"Remain patient. Just wait a couple of more days until we can make our move." The other voice answers.
"You heard the boss! We wait a couple of more days before we move out." An additional voice speaks up.
"For now, we need to call the reinforcements in to take inventory just to be on the safe side." The voice proclaims
"When do you want this to take place?" A voice inquires.
"Tomorrow afternoon." The voice declares.
0000
Author's Note:
07.26.16 Major editing revision