"What?! What do you mean I'm not going? We've been revising strategies and thought processes for the last hour!" Kowalski complained.
It was ten in the morning at the HQ in Central Park. Rocky had dropped them off earlier; the excuse to her parents would be that they were visiting Private and Rico. Private and Rico had arrived at nine-thirty, their excuse being that they were visiting some of Private's friends.
"You're injured and I won't have you hurt even further by this. It's just an observation mission and you'll be monitoring the situation from here." Skipper said. "Look." He gestured to the papers scattered across the table. "We've made some headway into this investigation. You can also help tell if any of Private's classmates were tracked. We already conducted the test on Private five minutes ago and he's clear."
"It was painful…" Private winced.
Rico pat him on the back.
Skipper and Kowalski ignored them. They were having a silent stare-down. Kowalski stood up as if his height would be more intimidating. He regretted it a minute later. His leg felt heavy and he suddenly felt faint.
"Fine." He plopped himself back in the chair. "I'll take it easy."
"We'll check on your progress, so expect calls from us." Skipper said. "Keep an eye and ear out for the other agents too."
"Alright, I prefer studying alone anyway."
"That's the spirit!" The leader said.
"That was sarcasm."
"We know, but we'll be back soon!" Private said.
"Yeah!" Rico said.
"Here, take my cell." Skipper said, handing Kowalski his phone. "I don't plan on splitting from the team, so I don't really need this."
"Good luck." Kowalski said.
The other three exited. Private did look back, but Kowalski flashed a smile.
He looked through the papers that had detailed plans on them. They had also come up with ideas for why someone would want to remove school officials. Skipper thought it was some type of brainwashing technique, but Kowalski thought it might be a murder plot.
He decided to consult the internet about the mysterious disappearances. The news didn't say anything that wasn't already known to the Penguins.
Skipper's phone buzzed.
Barry: Hey, if you get this message could you text me back with your name? Someone changed my contacts to Batman and now I have no idea who is who…I think this is either Skipper or Nicole…or Allie…or Raj…and this is why I should start memorizing numbers…
Kowalski scratched his head. He picked up the phone and texted back. The phone was showing a conversation between Skipper and Barry instead of Kowalski and Barry. He shrugged and sent the message.
Skipper: Nicole Dunbar?
Barry: Did I have another Nicole in my contacts?
Skipper: I don't know, did you?
Barry: Please tell me who this is…
Skipper: Bruce Wayne
Barry: …no, I'm not doing this…
Skipper: You use a lot of ellipses. When's the last time you heard from Nicole?
Barry: So, you're not Nicole?
Skipper: Never said I wasn't, never said I was.
Barry: No, this has to be Skipper or Raj.
Skipper: Allie would prank you.
Barry: Yeah, but I remembered that I found her phone number, so that narrows it down to Nicole, Raj, or Skipper.
Skipper: So, when is the last time you heard from Nicole?
Barry: I don't know, I would have texted her if I knew her number! Allie said something about the principal disappearing, but I don't know what's actually going on. Please tell me which number this is.
Skipper: I'm Batman
Barry: Seriously?!
Skipper: Well, I'm currently in the Bat-Cave and Alfred's just gone out to do the shopping.
Barry: …
Skipper: Alright, ask me yes or no questions to figure out who I am, but don't go for the obvious
Barry: Are you from another country?
Skipper: Ancestrally, probably. I'm sure my ancestors came from a few European countries.
Barry: Jeez…Are you a sixth grader?
Skipper: No, but technically you're not a sixth grader anymore so…your point is invalid.
Barry: Are you in seventh grade?
Skipper: I'm between grades.
Barry: You infuriate me
Skipper: Do you like Ramona?
Barry: Nicole! Only Nicole would ask me that kind of question.
Skipper: Obviously not, because I'm not Nicole.
Barry: Whoareyou?!
Skipper: Luckily, not your English teacher.
Barry: I'll be back!
Skipper: I'll be front!
Barry didn't reply back. Kowalski laughed. He scrolled through the contacts list, wondering if he should text anyone pretending to be Skipper.
He contemplated this, and then clicked Julien's home phone number. How Skipper got it, he didn't know. It rang twice before someone picked it up.
"Hello?" An older man's voice came.
"Hello, is this the Makyhira residence?" Kowalski asked, disguising his voice.
"Yes it is, this is Julien speaking."
"Julien?"
"Yes, were you looking for my son, Julien Jr?"
"Yes, I'm a friend of his from school."
"My son has a friend besides Maurice and Mort? Well, I'll be right back." The phone was put down.
Kowalski's face split into a wide grin and he wrote 'Julien Jr.' on a blank paper.
"Hello?" Julien said. "Who wishes to speak to the Royalness of me?"
Kowalski cleared his throat and spoke in the same high-pitched voice as before.
"Hi Julien, I was wondering…um…oh darn, I'm so shy…" He fought laughter as he spoke. "I… I wanted to say…I really admire you and…you're super hot!"
"Oh, really?" Julien asked seductively.
Kowalski mimed gagging to himself. "Oh yes, I…um…I really wanted to get to…to know you better first…"
"Sure, ask me anything. But first, what's your name?"
"My name is Juliet." Kowalski said. He mouthed the word 'what?' to himself.
"No way! That is a perfect name! We could be Julien and Juliet."
"Right." Kowalski said in his normal voice before clearing it. "I-I mean right…ehe, sorry that was my…brother! Yes, silly brother!"
"He sort of sounded like that Kowalski guy."
"Forget about that, I want to know…what do you love the most?"
"That's easy, me! Oh, and dancing, but mostly myself!"
Kowalski shook his head. "And…what do you hate the most? I have to ask because we should get to know each other. I love dancing and I hate spiders."
"It sounds stupidy…"
"No, Julien, you can tell me anything!"
"The thing I hate the most is the thing I'm sc-"
"Your fear?"
"Yeah."
Kowalski got his pencil ready. "Go ahead, I'm listening."
"I'm really scared of…this is dumb…of people who don't move. Like the fake people in the stores and the people who pretend to be statues…also the people on the street who play music and do stuff"
"You're afraid of mannequins, street artists, and street artists who become living statues." Kowalski wrote all this down.
"Thank you for not laughing; it's something that has plagued my mind for years."
"I have to go now; hopefully I can call you again soon."
"Yeah, sure, but can I have your phone-"
Kowalski ended the call. He then started laughing loudly, disrupting his healing ribs. He wasn't laughing at the fears, but just the idea of messing with Julien.
During Spring Break, Skipper had called Julien's father to explain what happened with Marlene. Julien's father apologized and said he'd deal with his son. Julien was in a bit of a foul mood after the break and never figured out why his dad grounded him for a month.
This made Kowalski laugh even more. After he was able to breathe again, his mind drifted to Kenny. He had last seen his brother playing the DS before breakfast. The brothers hadn't even spoken to one another before Kowalski left. Kenny must be upset.
He dialed 'Home' on Skipper's contacts.
"Sorenson residence, how may I help you?" Rocky said.
"Hey, can I talk to my brother?" Kowalski asked. "But don't tell him it's me; just say I didn't give you my name."
"Alrighty then, he's playing Spyro on Brian's old PS2." There was a brief silence while Rocky went upstairs.
Kowalski heard the distinct noise of videogames.
"Hey, Kenny. Phone's for you."
Either Kenny didn't hear her or he just didn't want to respond.
"Kenny, why aren't you talking today?" Rocky asked.
Kowalski was startled. Kenny hadn't spoken all morning? Granted, it was only eleven, but he still should have been talking with the Sorensons.
"Has he said anything?" Kowalski asked.
"We haven't heard a peep from you all morning." Rocky said. "I'm putting you on speakerphone and you're near him."
"Kenny, are you alright?"
"His posture tells me he heard you." Rocky said.
"Hey bro, I know what Toby did yesterday was mean and he hurt you, but I hope you know we shouldn't resort to violence unless absolutely necessary." Kowalski said. "I can try to fix your game, but you need to talk to me. Is it because I didn't answer you last night? I needed time to think. I still don't know how I feel about you being in danger."
More silence.
"He turned off the game and is leaving the room." Rocky said.
"Figures." Kowalski sighed. "That's basically what I did to him. I'll handle this when I come back."
"Alright, be safe."
Kowalski hung up.
Private contacted Kowalski to say that they'd forgotten to update him, but they were doing okay. The investigation wasn't going as far as they wanted, but they were still searching for clues.
The phone buzzed again.
Barry: I've narrowed it down even further! I now can deduce that you are either Nicole or Skipper.
Skipper: What happened to Raj and everyone else on your phone?
Barry: I finally got responses from all but you and three other people.
Skipper: How is that narrowing it down to two?
Barry: Ramona gave me what used to be Kenny's phone number and Marlene gave me Kowalski's.
Skipper: Smart cookie.
Barry: And you've got to be Skipper because Nicole never says things like that to me.
Skipper: Brilliant, but I'm not Skipper.
Barry: Nicole?
Skipper: Nope. Has she responded?
Barry: No, I've sent a few messages though. But how am I supposed to know if you won't tell me who you are?!
Skipper: I'm not Nicole, I'm not Skipper either.
Barry: But I don't have anyone else in my contacts! Who the heck are you?!
Skipper: Your secret admirer.
Barry: AHA! Megan just sent me Nicole's number. I got you now, Skipper.
Skipper: Not Skipper.
Barry: Then who is it?
Skipper: Kowalski on Skipper's phone.
Barry: Are you serious right now? Dude, you could have just said that from the beginning! What the heck?!
Skipper: It was fun messing with you.
Barry: Oh brother
Skipper: So, have you heard anything from Nicole?
Barry: I really haven't. I don't know what's going on.
Skipper: Alright, see you later! Btw, you shouldn't let six year olds play with your phone.
Barry: XP
Kowalski put the phone down and started going through papers again when he got a communicator alert from Skipper.
…
The other three had been searching around town and didn't come up with any definite answers yet. After poking aimlessly around, they finally decided to go into the school.
They were able to get in by telling one of the remaining janitors that they forgot something in the office. There were no staff members at the school today, so the boys had it all to themselves.
Private kept lookout while Skipper and Rico hacked into the computer. Kowalski had come up with different codes to hack into the system.
Rico was at the front desk computer while Skipper had managed to get into the Principal's office.
Skipper accessed private emails, but didn't find anything threatening. They did find Mr. Taylor's address.
"This is too easy." Skipper said, entering the front office.
Rico shut down the computer and gave Skipper a questioning look.
"We shouldn't have been able to just get in; does security really stink around here?" Skipper asked.
Rico shrugged.
"Guys, we should go." Private said, indicating the janitor who was looking at them with a suspicious expression.
The boys said they didn't find it, but it was okay. They left before they could be questioned.
It took a while to walk all the way to Mr. Taylor's street.
"Hey Rico, you have a permit yet?" Private panted.
"No." Rico said.
Private groaned. Skipper told them that they should keep going. As they approached the house, they saw police tape and a squad car in front of it. A buff man got out of the car and walked over to the teens.
"What are you doing?" He asked gruffly.
"Walking, is that a crime?" Skipper shot back.
"No, but this is a crime scene and we're investigating here." The man said. "I'm Officer X, don't forget that."
"Duly noted, but we're perfectly allowed to visit a friend." Skipper said.
"My friend lives here and I want to make sure she's okay." Private said.
"A bunch of kids can't do anything." Officer X scoffed. "Just go home."
"We're not going anywhere." Private said.
"Do I have to arrest you three?"
Skipper discreetly opened his communicator watch, hoping it would reach Kowalski.
"For walking down a street?" Private asked.
"For snooping."
"Oh, so visiting a friend is snooping now?" Skipper asked.
Rico shook his head.
"You're getting on my nerves." X said.
"Officer X, we just want to walk down a street and visit a friend!" Skipper said loudly, hoping Kowalski would catch the name.
It was a few minutes of staring the boys down before Officer X was distracted by the radio in his car. A deep voice emanated from the radio.
"All available cars, please respond. Emergency on the west side of town. Officer X, we could use your help down here, there's a holdup at the bank. We think there are hostages, please respond."
Officer X went to the car and grabbed the radio.
"I'm guarding the crime scene of-"
"ARE YOU QUESTIONING YOUR SUPERIOR?! There's a gunman, get your butt over here!"
"Yes sir!"
He looked back to see Rico walking around the corner and the other two had disappeared. He sighed and hurried off, not noticing that Rico was alone.
Rico laughed and went back to the house while the other two emerged from the neighbor's tall bushes. They entered the house. It looked as if it had been burglarized. There was a smashed lamp in the living room and knocked over things. Some things could have been knocked over when the rest of the family was removed.
The three of them split up and searched the house.
Private found Nicole's room. Evidentially, she shared it with one of her cousins. Things looked less messy, but a lot of her personal items were gone. There were barely any clothes on either side of the room. Nicole's phone was half hidden under her pillow. He took it with him as he went to look in the other kids' room. Their room looked about the same as the other room.
Rico had gone into the hallway and ended up entering the garage. The car was untouched and the garage was looking relatively normal. He shrugged and looked around the house more. He entered the bathroom, not expecting to find much. Something caught his eye before he could leave. A crumpled paper was next to the trashcan. He picked it up and unfolded it. It appeared to be notebook paper that was full of writing. His eyes grew wide and he hurried out to find Skipper.
Skipper was now communicating with Kowalski as he went through emails.
"Basically, you're looking for something that looks off. Did you try deleted emails?" Kowalski asked.
"Yeah, I found out that Mr. Taylor was talking to someone called Dr. B sometime before the end of the semester." Skipper said. "He emailed saying that he heard of what happened. Mr. Taylor was suspicious, but needed a teacher…hold on, let me send you the information."
"Skipper!" Rico said. He had dragged Private into the office room.
"Rico found this…I'm positive that it's from Nicole." Private said.
Skipper took the paper and read it:
"If anyone finds this, please help. We're in danger. I'm hiding in the bathroom with my cousins, trying not to cry. I have to stay strong for them. We're trying to stay quiet, but they don't understand and it's scaring them. These guys came in looking for my uncle. My aunt shoved us in the bathroom and told us to lock the door and be quiet. That didn't help, my youngest cousin is screaming, the four year old is asking a million questions, and the six year old is trying to help me make them be quiet. I hear shouting and fighting. Something broke downstairs and my uncle is yelling. What do these people want? Why did they come in the middle of the night? I just realized that I left my phone in my room. I wish I could get a silly text from Megan or Barry, just to feel calmer.
It's been an hour and everything's quiet now. My younger two cousins fell asleep in the bathtub. The six year old is trying not to cry. I know how he feels. Why haven't my aunt and uncle come for us yet? I wish my dad was here, he'd know what to do.
Another hour and the six year old fell asleep. I'm wide awake. I've never been this scared in my life, not even when those ninjas burst into the classroom. At least they were scared off by Ramona, Barry, and Private. I wish they were here, Ramona knows how to cheer people up. I have a confession to make if anyone finds this; I snuck a look at my uncle's email. I know he's the principal and he didn't mean for Rhonda to come, but I feel like he shouldn't have answered the creepy guy. I hear voices downstairs. Someone's coming up, I'm scared now. I woke up my six year old cousin. I'm going to see what's happening. I told him to hold onto this notebook.
It's three in the morning, we have to go now. These people said that my aunt was in their hospital. They said they're the good guys, friends of Skipper's family. I know Skipper, he's a good guy. If you find this, I think you might know where we are. If anyone finds this and my aunt and uncle are dead, please take care of my cousins. If I'm not there, make sure my cousins are safe, fed, clothed, and as happy as they can be. I'm being rushed now. Leaving my phone here in case those bad guys use a tracking app or something. Got to go."
Private took out the phone. "Nothing unusual was on her phone." He said. "So, does that mean your dad could find her?"
"Probably." Skipper said. "If you can visit her, she might be grateful for outside contact."
"I can ask Agent Simms." Kowalski said.
The boys jumped, having forgotten that they were still on communications with him.
"Uh, you might want to get out of there." Kowalski said. "I tried sending Officer X on a wild goose chase, but I messed up when he asked who I was. Apparently 'Captain Kirk' doesn't exist."
Rico and Private groaned.
Skipper shook his head. "Alright, move out!"
They managed to slip out before Officer X came back.
"He said investigations were going on, but it was completely deserted." Private said.
"I bet he's just the guard for the real investigators." Skipper said.
"Us." Rico said.
They headed back to the HQ to exchange news. Skipper looked amused to see the exchange between Barry and Kowalski. The information on Julien wasn't as important, but it was still on the back of their minds.
Kowalski voiced his concern about his brother playing games, but Skipper said it might just be a teenage rebellion sort of thing. Kenny was thirteen and he hadn't had the chance to go through what other boys his age did.
Rico came back to stay at the Sorenson's house two days later. They managed to find out where Nicole and her cousins were by asking Skipper's dad. Sapphire said she knew the boys were in the organization, but she wasn't too happy about them being in danger. Rocky had been denied permission until she was eighteen, which was actually just under a year.
Kenny still didn't speak to anyone. He was completely into gaming.
The day before Private and his dad had to leave; they came over to the Sorenson's house. They planned to visit Nicole to see if they could get answers. Private was hoping to talk to Kenny, who really hadn't said anything to anyone since the incident with Toby. The game had remained broken, no matter how much Kowalski and Skipper played around with it.
…
Andrew and Private arrived in time for breakfast. The Sorensons were happy to have guests over. Kenny didn't react upon seeing Private, but the latter gave him a hug which went unreturned. Dinner table conversations attempted to include Kenny with no luck, he just wasn't there. He did rinse his dishes in the sink and put them in the dishwasher before retreating upstairs.
Private came up ten minutes later.
"Hi." Private said. He sat on a beanbag chair next to Kenny. "What're you playing? I see Mario and Pikachu, that's confusing."
Not breaking eye contact with the screen, Kenny picked up a case and tossed it into Private's lap.
"Super Smash Bros? Can I play?"
Kenny nodded slowly. Private connected another controller to the GameCube and Player 2 was added.
"I don't know any of these characters, do you?" Private asked. "I'll pick Kirby."
Kenny picked Link.
"Oh, we're battling! Uh, I have no idea what to do…Daniel never owned this game."
Kenny didn't respond, he simply began pushing buttons. Both of them seemed to be doing horribly, not that they minded.
They played for a while with Private making commentary here and there and Kenny in stony silence. They occasionally heard the sounds of laughter downstairs, Rico's being the loudest.
"So…" Private said after half an hour. "Have you heard about the Principal disappearing?"
Kenny didn't look at Private, but his eyebrows lowered slightly. He shook his head.
"Apparently, someone was after them. They placed a tracker on Nicole Dunbar and we think Rhonda's an enemy. The house was deserted and wrecked. I found this." Private pulled out the paper and put it on Kenny's knee.
Kenny paused the game and read the note, his jaw dropped.
"We're going to see if she remembers anything about what happened." Private added. "Do you want to come with us?"
Kenny shook his head.
"Skipper told us about you wanting to join us." Private said.
Kenny put down the controller and stood up to leave, but Private was faster. Having predicted this reaction, he hurried to block the door.
"Please listen." Private said.
"Stop." Kenny rasped.
"No." Private said firmly. "I'm not letting you do this. You're not walking out on us again. We're here for you, you know that."
"Then where were you?" Kenny snapped. "I was taken out of the hospital without being told beforehand! They didn't even let me stay that night; they threw me in a foster home. Toby pushes me around and destroyed my game. I'm done with everyone telling me what I can and can't do. I don't want to talk to anyone if they're not going to be honest with me."
"They were, they said it was dangerous." Private said. "They also said you could possibly be our allies by keeping an eye on everything at school and the apartments."
"They didn't give me an answer as to why you could be on the team and I can't. Barry, Ramona, and I are older than you."
"It isn't fair, but we're trying to reach a compromise." Private said. "Maybe it's not going to work out like you wanted, but doesn't it mean anything that we're trying? We're not giving up on you guys. Aren't you one of the people who told me that one person can't control my life? I stood up to my mother, I didn't shut people out. Think about it, we're leaving at one."
Kenny sunk into a beanbag chair and stared up at the ceiling.
…
The boys were getting ready to leave for the safe house where Mr. Taylor's wife, children, and niece were staying.
George had to leave for a business meeting, so Andrew Davis said he'd drive the four boys. Rocky was about to complain to her brother about the youngest child being spoiled when footsteps came downstairs.
Everyone directed their attention to the small figure at the bottom of the stairs.
"I want to see Mr. Campbell."
A/N: Skipper: Hey there! We have two questions to answer today and I don't know if there were others, I was supposed to read something...uh, Kowalski, want to answer?
Kowalski: Fine. The question was about TK's schooling. No, TK does not go to boarding school. Inspiration was drawn from television shows: Zoey 101 and Code Lyoko. TK does draw experience from living in a university dorm, which is how our amazing author knows how it is to live with college roommates. (It's in my contract that I have to say 'amazing author' or bad things happen...)
Rico: Yep, bad.
Kowaslki: Rico carries out the bad things...
Rico: Yeah!
Private: Oh dear.
Skipper: Don't doubt the abilities of the author, we could all die.
Private: Skipper!
Rico: Kaboom!
Private: Rico!
Skipper: He's right, I-
Kowalski: TK, hurry before they continue!
TK: The following answer is not meant to be a rant or lecture, promise! No, I have not read that story before. I looked it up today and found the chapter you are referring to. What I gather from that story is that Kowalski had already known Rhonda before (Sorry, I skimmed it. One day I'll go over it slower, it seems interesting). In my story, they technically never met (yet) and Rhonda is a slightly different character than her cartoon self.
In the series, Rhonda first appears in Roomies – air date: June 26, 2009 where she exhibits these disruptive behaviors and is an agent as revealed when she stole Kowalski's invention. In my story, I just turned her into a slightly more disgusting and rude version of herself. In that episode, she does use Marlene as a tissue and annoys her by singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" which is some sort of code that Blowhole knows. As far as I know, anyone is allowed to take Rhonda and any other character and put them in whatever situation they want. (Any situation…okay, let's move on!)
We are The Penguins Chapter 37- Rhonda, the hideous new teacher. Document Statistics:
Created: Sunday, November 16, 2014 2:03:00 PM
Modified/Accessed: Wednesday, May 27, 2015 4:45:56 PM
Published to : Between May 27- May 31, 2015
The next part, you're going to have to take my word for. Ever since seeing the latter half of "Dead Poets Society" (Unfortunately, it was after Robin Williams passed away, RIP), I did become inspired to write the kids standing on their desks. I already had known that I wanted Rhonda in the story at some point and I figured that she could become the substitute teacher (a slightly nastier version of herself). Inspiration can also be subconscious too. I know I had to message an author when I remembered where Rico's last name came from. I had remembered the last name 'Blue' which was partially inspired by the story 'Mad, Mad Rico Blue' by GrandOldPenguin. He did allow me to keep Rico's last name as I already had written so much on the penguins. Skimming the story mentioned by the reviewer, I know I have never read this story before.
Again, this is not meant to be an attack or rant on anyone, this is my answer to the question. Unless something is too similar to be a coincidence, then you should bring it to my attention. I am one for avoiding conflict, so I hope I have answered your question and any other questions to your satisfaction. If anyone has any concerns, please do let me know.
Skipper: Pfft, what kind of ending was that?! You got problems, take it up with Rico's flamethrower!
Rico: Yeah!
TK: AVOIDING conflict, Skipper. Rico, put it away!
Kowalski: I agree, this did sound kind of strange.
TK: Not you too!
Skipper: I'm just saying, a little threatening never hurt anyone.
TK: What the-?
Rico: KABOOOOM!
TK: Seriously?! Put it away! Would you please get off my computer? Kowalski!
Kowalski: I'm wondering why we're typing our arguments instead of talking to each other in-
CRASH!
Private: Great, you guys broke the fourth wall again.
Skipper: Silly Private, the fourth wall doesn't exist in author's notes.
Kenny: Can you stop arguing so I can see if the next chapter is ready yet? Ooh, look at that!
Skipper: Wait! Uh...you didn't see anything!
Private: Okay, I'm wrapping this up. Thanks for reading this story and the absurdly long author's note. Stay tuned and we'll see you next time!
