The sound of a pencil scratching against paper reached Ferb's ears. He groaned and turned to face his brother's bed. "Phineas, please, it's three in the morning."
"I really want to invent, though," the redhead whined. "And our room is where I get all of my best ideas."
"Tomorrow, I'll build a noise-canceling field around my bed. But until then, no midnight inventing."
"Fine," Phineas muttered. "I'm going for a walk."
"You mean you're going to make out with Isabella again?" Ferb teased.
"We don't 'make out'." Phineas rolled his eyes. "Just cuddle. Besides, it's not like I can do much else right now."
"Fair enough. Goodnight, Phineas."
"Goodnight, Ferb."
"That screw goes in the upper right of that plate," Phineas said to Baljeet.
"Mhm-hm," the Indian boy muttered, not really listening.
"And then you twist that shaft in there," he continued.
"Okay," Baljeet responded, growing increasingly irritated.
"And then you attach that plate to the shaft," he said, oblivious to the other boy's frustration.
Baljeet finally lost his patience. "Phineas, I am sorry but I do not need your help to build a car engine! I am perfectly capable of doing that on my own!"
"Sorry," Phineas muttered, his eyes downcast. "I just wanted to help."
Baljeet immediately regretted his outburst. "No, it is I who is sorry, Phineas. I know this is much harder for you than it is for me." He went to give his friend a reassuring hug, but Phineas quickly stepped back. "Heh. Right. I can't touch you. Sorry."
"It's okay, Jeet. This is a big adjustment. For all of us."
Baljeet cleared his throat. "Do you, uh, mind showing me where this axle goes?"
Phineas grinned. "Not at all."
Candace shut the door to her room, motioning Isabella away from it. "Look, I need a favor," she whispered.
"What do you want?" the younger girl asked.
"I need you to spy on Jeremy for me," Candace responded.
Isabella gave her a confused look. "Why do you want me to spy on your boyfriend?"
"I left a comment on one of his instagram posts that said my hand would look better with a ring on it. I want you to tell me his reaction."
"Okay… couldn't you just say that in person and see his reaction then?"
"Teenage things. You wouldn't understand."
Isabella was amused by her friend's antics, but decided to play along. "Fine. I'll do it. When do I go?"
"He gets off of work at five, and doesn't check his socials until he gets home at five-fifteen. Instagram is always third, before facebook but after tumblr, and he normally looks at it while he's eating, so I'd estimate five-thirty," Candace said, as if it was a perfectly normal thing for her to know.
"Okay," she responded, not questioning how Candace knew all this. "I'll be waiting inside his house at five-fifteen. I'll tell you how it goes."
"Thanks, Isabella. You're the best."
"What other patches can I get without using my hands?" Isabella asked. The other Fireside Girls rifled through their handbooks, making suggestions that were shot down immediately, until Ginger noticed something interesting.
"Hey, look. There's a 'commune with the dead' patch." The other girls laughed. "I'm pretty sure we all have that one by now."
After doling out the patches, the girls continued to peruse their books, until five agonizingly long minutes later, Katie noticed that four of them, including Isabella, didn't have their debate patches yet.
They quickly constructed podiums, and the girls stepped up- Gretchen and Adyson on one side, Isabella and Ginger on the other. Katie went to her moderator's podium facing the other two, while Milly and Holly watched from off to the side.
"Alright debaters, you know the drill. Two versus two, whoever argues their side better wins, regardless of the soundness of said argument. Today's topic: anchovies vs pineapple on pizza. Isabella, since you are chief, preference defers to the other side. Team A, what is your argument?"
"We select anchovies," Gretchen declared.
Katie's mic squealed, causing all seven girls to shrink back. She quickly tapped it before attempting to talk again. "Sorry about that. Team A has chosen anchovies. Team I, you will be defending pineapple's right to be on pizza. Are both teams ready?"
"Yes!" all four girls cried enthusiastically.
"Then let the games begin!"
"What'cha doin'?" Buford asked as he stepped into the Flynn-Fletcher backyard.
"Buford, what have I told you about taking my catchphrase," Isabella growled.
The bully laughed. "It ain't like you can anythin' about- eek! Cold! Stop it! Stop!" Isabella removed her knee from his groin as the other boys howled with laughter. He tried to take a step forward, but fell flat on his face, causing everyone to laugh even harder. She placed her foot above his head, ready to step on it, but Phineas grabbed his girlfriend and pulled her away.
"To answer your question, Buford, we are making a way to flavor air for me and Isabella," Phineas said, still with his arms wrapped around her stomach.
"Actually, it is Isabella and I," Baljeet corrected. Everyone except Ferb glared at him.
"Actually, it is Isabella and Phineas," Ferb said. Isabella and Phineas giggled, the former finally stopping her struggle and relaxing into the latter's arms. In response, he kissed her on the cheek, causing her to turn bright red.
"Get a room, ghosties," Buford mumbled.
"Actually, neither of us are ghosts," Phineas said. "She's a spirit and I'm a poltergeist. Ghosts are the manifestation of-"
"I know the diff," he snapped. "But yer barely a poltergeist, Pointy. Ya can't lift anythin' heavier than a pencil."
"A pencil's all I need," he replied.
"A pencil's all I need," Buford mocked. Isabella walked (floated?) over to him and slapped him through the face. "Ah! Brain freeze!" he cried.
She chuckled. "I could get used to this."
Phineas floated over to her. "You won't have to. I'm almost done designing the machine that will put our souls back in our bodies and bring us back to life."
"So why are we doing this?" Isabella asked, gesturing at the blueprints of the air-flavorer.
Phineas scratched his chin. "Good point. Hey Ferb, I know what we're gonna do today!"