From The Magic Video Game 2: Time for Tennis

Levi stayed up until 2 in the morning playing video games. As always. When he finally went to bed, he noticed that his little sister was waiting for him. She was sleeping on the left side of the futon, the side against the wall, with her pink teddy bear in her arms.

It was now 9 o’clock in the morning, and Evelyn Maeve woke up. She saw Levi sleeping very comfortably on his futon. The girl really wanted to wake her older brother up. However, she knew how he always has been, and so she decided to let him sleep in a little longer.

It was now about 9:30, and Levi somehow heard his phone go off. He didn’t have an alarm on it or anything; the ringtone sounded like that of an old alarm clock. Levi was sleeping on his right side when he heard his phone ring, and he was able to answer it in no time at all. He didn’t even look at the caller ID.

“Hello?” Levi answered feebly.
“Hola!”
“Who am I speaking to?”
“Hola!”
“No, seriously. Who am I speaking to?”
“The. Fat. Pigeon.”
“….What?”
“The. Fat. Pigeon.”

Levi didn’t answer back. Instead, he just hung up the phone. The boy tried very hard to go back to sleep. He was now lying on his stomach, making attempts to sleep in a little longer. His head was underneath his pillow, and he was sprawled out on his bed like a spider. Levi was really not in the mood to talk to anyone. Of all people, the Fat Pigeon.

Levi’s phone rang again, and he answered it.

“….What are you doing?” he asked the same person over the line.
“I’m going to Mexico!” the Fat Pigeon exclaimed.
“I just woke up.”
“Good! So, I can tell you that I’m on my way to Mexico!”
“Well, good for you. I’m going back to sleep now. You woke me up.”
“I called that I’m going to Mexico because I knew you’d be jealous!”
“I don’t care. I don’t really like Mexico that much anyway,” Levi replied.
“We are going to Cancun!” The Fat Pigeon announced gleefully.
“So?”
“I can’t wait!”
“Well, it was nice talking to you.”
“Don’t hang up yet! Well, you’re so nice!”

Levi hung up once again. He lay back down on his futon, breathing hard. First of all, why would the Fat Pigeon want to call Levi anyway? Did the Fat Pigeon want Levi to be jealous of him just because the he was going to Mexico, and Levi wasn’t? The Cranston’s have been to Mexico before, but Levi never really loved being there that much. When they vacationed to Mexico, he liked where they were, but he hasn’t shown much interest in going back to the same place again.

For five minutes, the boy was lying on his stomach. He knew his shirt was pulled up some, but he didn’t really care. His left ankle was sweaty because he had left it in his brace all night long, but he didn’t take it off. Duchess came in and lay right next to him. And the cat started purring like a motorboat. All Levi wanted at this point was to be able to go back to sleep. But his phone rang. Once again.

Levi had to pick it up this time.

“What do you want?” Levi answered, annoyed.
“Oh, and did I mention Adam Dahnwright?” the Fat Pigeon answered back.

Levi thought very hard about why the Fat Pigeon had just mentioned Adam Dahnwright.

“What happened?!” Levi asked, almost angrily.

The Fat Pigeon did not say anything else. Instead, he was humming and whistling some music from Levi’s favorite video games. Levi grew even more annoyed that the Fat Pigeon was now trying to avoid his question. This could really have led up to some serious manners.

“What’s going on?!” Levi questioned, extremely annoyed.
“You never gonna catch ‘im!” The Fat Pigeon joked.
“….What?”
“That one game you had?”
“Don’t tell me he took it.”
“Well, he did.”
“Good. Now, I will have to go over to his house to retrieve that video game.”
“Yeah. I think you will have to.”

Levi rolled his eyes and hung up on The Fat Pigeon one more time. He was so mad that he could even envision smoke coming out of his ears. Not that smoke really came out of his ears, since that can’t really happen. But that was how extremely furious he was.

The boy quickly brushed his teeth, combed his hair, and put on some clothes. Afterwards, he walked downstairs into the kitchen. He saw Victoria and Olivia sitting down, drinking some tea. Evelyn Maeve was in the common area with Duchess and Prussia. When Levi’s two older sisters saw him, they knew that something wasn’t good.

“Hey, did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?” Victoria joked.
“Very funny,” Levi answered blandly.
“Victoria,” Olivia warned their older sister.
“Yeah. This is very serious.”
“What’s up?”
“Apparently, Adam Dahnwright took one of my video games last night.”
“Great.”
“I want it back. Now,” said Levi.
“I understand that,” Olivia answered.
“And I want one of you to come with me to get it back. I am not going there by myself.”
“Where does he live?”
“Bond and Campbell.”
“I’ll come with you.”
“Thank you.”

Adam Dahnwright is really not a bad kid. Really, he is not. However, he really thinks it is funny to pick on someone, like Levi, who may pose a threat to him in the near future. Basically, Adam thinks he is “all that,” meaning a direct sense of arrogance. Not that Levi isn’t arrogant, since he can be as well. But Adam tends to have the mentality that he should be entitled to, at least, everything.

It really shouldn’t be like that. Should it be?

It took Olivia five minutes to find her shoes, put them on, and tell Levi that she was ready to go. The weather wasn’t all that great. But not all that bad either. No one was quite sure what would happen in a thirty minute time span. It could stay partially sunny. But it could also start down-pouring any minute. Olivia and Levi were going to “bite the bullet” and walk to Adam’s house.

“Was it your most favorite video game?” Olivia asked Levi on the ten minute walk there.
“One of them.”
“Well, you will get it soon. Stay positive.”
“Thanks.”
“The question is: how did he take your video game?”
“My assumption is that it fell out of my backpack, and he took it that way.”
“Oh, so you know how he might have taken it?”
“Absolutely.”

Olivia and Levi were at Adam Dahnwright’s house in no time at all. Olivia opened the door as Levi was standing almost directly behind her. He was really not in the mood to have to pick fights with Adam. Levi felt a huge lump in his throat, and he started feeling a little sick to his stomach.

This had to go well.

Adam’s mom opened the door after a few seconds, and she seemed very concerned at first. This lady, plump and dirty blonde-haired, seemed the opposite of her son. Or, hopefully, that was the case. The Cranston’s don’t know the Dahnwright’s all that well. However, both moms have run into each other at grocery stores and fast food joints in the past.

They have always seemed friendly toward one another.

“Hi,” Mrs. Dahnwright greeted in a kind manner.
“Hi. How are you doing?” Olivia answered.
“I’m doing well. How are you?”
“We’re doing well.”
“That’s good. I’ve run into Lisa many times at the supermarket. She’s very nice.”
“Why, thank you.”
“Hello, Levi.”
“Hi,” Levi answered coyly.   

As soon as Adam heard Levi’s name, he quit playing video games, ran into his room, and hid. He knew what Olivia and Levi were here for. And he was not going to admit his guilt. Oh well. In the future, when Levi and Adam are both in their twenties, they will probably admit their share of the guilt. It usually happens that way.

Or at least it should.

“We have a video game that we would like to pick up,” Olivia said.
“Oh yes. Adam, Adam, Adam. I never know what’s going on in that kid’s head. I would like to think that he just picked up the game and brought it home to make sure it was okay. But, also, I know he can be a bit of a brat,” Mrs. Dahnwright answered.
“At least it’s safe.”
“I know exactly where it’s at, so I will just bring it to you.”

Adam’s mom went into the living room; Olivia and Levi were standing in the dining room, which leads into the common area. Mrs. Dahnwright looked through the video games and found the one that the two kids were looking for.

“Looking for this?” Mrs. Dahnwright asked.
“Yes!” Levi exclaimed with sudden tears in his eyes.
“Thanks!” Olivia said to Adam’s mom as they left for home.

Once the two kids were walking back to their house on Elmhurst Avenue, Olivia said, to her younger brother:

“That was easy, don’t you think?”

​The two kids continued to walk in the direction of their house. Inside, Levi was screaming with joy and jumping up and down until he couldn’t do it anymore. However, on the outside, Levi remained pretty calm. He was just glad to have his “best friend” back, his beloved video game.

From The Magic Video Game 4: The Upbringing of  a New Comedian

It was eight o'clock in the morning, and Levi's alarm clock went off. The constant beep-beeps were coming from the clock by his nightstand. Levi slowly moved his left arm toward the alarm clock and tried turning it off. His hand consistently missed the right button, so he gave up on that.

He clenched the same fist and subconsciously raised it above the alarm clock. He clearly wasn't quite sure what he was doing, since he was still half-asleep. However, he did know for sure that he did not want to get out of bed. The question was: why was his alarm clock set to eight o'clock in the morning? That is way too early for him. Levi's fist pounded on the button on the alarm clock.

That worked, at least for a little while. Levi was able to sleep for two more hours. Once that time was up, he subconsciously heard his alarm go off again. This time, Levi knew what was going to happen. He was in control of everything, and he was going to get what he wanted, which was more sleep. Levi was not going to guess which button to press to turn off the alarm clock, and he was also not going to pound down on it.

He had another idea.

He was going to push the whole clock off the table with his hand. The somewhat lightweight object fell to the ground with a loud crash.

Levi stayed in bed. He did not really care to get up right now. Levi knew that Prussia, one of their two cats, was snuggled up next to him for the time being. And, with this in mind, he was enjoying his time sleeping on his very comfortable futon. Then, his mom came into the room.

"Levi, Rhody's coming over in thirty minutes," Mrs. LeVole said to her son.
"Why?" Levi asked in his sleep.
"Well....you invited him over."
"Since when?"
"You told me yesterday that you wanted him over, so I assumed you invited him," said Mrs. LeVole.
"Oh, I did?" Levi remarked, semi-smart-alecky.
"He said he's coming in about thirty minutes."
"Okay. He can wake me up."
"Levi, please."
"I'm up."

It did not take long for Levi to wake up and get ready for the day. He came down to the kitchen after taking a quick five minute shower and made himself some cereal, since he was in the mood for it.

He then lay on the couch in the common area so that he could focus on waking up before his friend came over. It was now 10:25 in the morning, and he heard a knock on the door. He slowly got up and opened the door to find out that it was Rhody.

“Hey, Rhody,” Levi greeted his friend and neighbor at the door.
“Yo,” Rhody responded.
“Wanna play some video games?”
“I’m down for some of the classic stuff.”
“Cool beans. I’ll set up the system,” Levi replied.
“What have you been up to today?” Rhody asked.
“Woke up about thirty minutes ago.”
“Yeah. Same. I just did not want to get out of bed.”
“I didn’t either. My cat didn’t want me to wake up.”
“That’s right. Always blame it on the cat.”
“Well, Prussia was just being too cute.”
“As always.”

It was one of those extremely lazy days. Levi had Rhody over since 10:30, and they had spent all of their time playing video games. Levi ate something when he had just woken up at 10 in the morning, but he was starting to get hungry again. Honestly, Rhody was starting to get hungry as well.

When it was Rhody's turn to play, Levi decided to lie on his back on the floor. His stomach started to make very loud noises, and Rhody could hear it. He laughed to himself while playing his turn. Levi's face grew as red as a maraschino cherry. He couldn't help that his stomach was being loud today. And Rhody was probably going to laugh at him for that.

"Want to order Chinese?" Levi asked his neighbor and friend.
"I thought you'd never ask," Rhody replied.
"I guess I was reading your mind."
"I think you were."
"I'm just really hungry, and I want Chinese," Levi remarked.
"Where do you want to go?" Rhody asked.
"I think you know."
"I think I know as well."
"Should we go out then?"
"Yes. Let's walk there."
“We have nothing else better to do, so why not?”
“Definitely.”

Levi and Rhody were not the only ones home. Levi's mom was at home, but she was working on a mini project for her own business. Victoria was at her apartment with her friends. Olivia went to Louise's family's house with their dad and younger sister, Evelyn Maeve. And Rhody's sister, Jayneley, had the day off. So, with that in mind, Victoria, Felisha, Bonita, and Jayneley were most likely planning to go to Chicago today.

It was a nice day to do so. Levi's mom was not going to be at home for very long. After finishing up on her project, she was planning to go to Louise's house as well. Levi was invited to go, but he said no because he had Rhody over. He would probably come over to Louise's once Rhody had to go back to his house.

It took Levi and Rhody a little bit of time to think about what they wanted to do. Sure, they were most definitely hoping for some Chinese food. However, Levi was hoping for Chinese food a little earlier. Rhody just wanted to eat something.

Levi was finishing up on his turn on the game, and then he could talk about what he wanted to do. Rhody helped himself to some milk because he was in the mood for it. He watched his friend and neighbor play the video game. He waited for him to lose the game so they could get food somewhere. Levi was just focused on getting to the next level. Two minutes later, Levi couldn't stop shouting at the game. He had lost, and now he was ready to get food.

"Rhody, let's get Chinese food now," Levi remarked after he regained his composure.
"Sounds good to me, bro," Rhody replied.
"Which one do we go to? Should we go to that one on Lincolnway by the university?"
"That's my favorite one. LEECHEE NUTS."
"LEECHEE NUTS," Levi repeated humorously.
"Now that's what I'm talking about," Rhody said.
"Should we walk there?"
"It's a thirty minute walk."
"Let's walk."
"I'm down for that."

Levi and Rhody walked over to the Chinese restaurant. They knew it was going to take a while to get there. The two young men probably should have taken the car, but why not take advantage of this nice day? Even though the Chinese restaurant is in the uptown area of Valparaiso, Levi and Rhody were most definitely up for a nice walk. It might take them about thirty minutes to walk there, but it was worth it in the end.

What else would they want to do?

Levi didn't feel like driving when he knew for a fact that he and Rhody could easily walk there. And Rhody's car was in the shop. He has had issues with his car for a week. It was time for him to get it in. When they arrived at the restaurant, they were quickly seated, and they sat at a booth to wait for the server to ask them what soft drinks they’d want.

"What do you call a cow with no legs?" Rhody asked.
"I don't know. What do you call ‘em?" Levi asked.
"Ground beef!"
"Here's another one, Rhodes. What is the difference between a fish and a piano?"
"Tell me another one, Levi," Rhody said.
"Why not that one?" Levi asked.
"You've told me that thirty million times already!"
"I have?"
"Yes, Levi. You definitely have."
"I can't think of any other joke at the moment."

There were two kids who could somehow fit the profile of menaces. They were sitting at a booth, eating their food. The kid with the long blonde hair, Adam Dahnwright, glanced up and saw some people that he would want to make a menacing conversation with. The other kid, who has shorter curly brown hair, glanced up as well.

At first, they didn't want to do anything. They were hungry for Chinese food. Then, Adam was hoping to make a menacing conversation with Rhody and Levi. He knew exactly what he wanted to say. He just had to find the right time to make such a menacing conversation. And, at least the Fat Pigeon could be somewhat trusted with that.

"Look, Randy. Our friends are here," Adam stated.
"They are," the Fat Pigeon replied.
"This was pretty....unexpected, I guess."
"Tell me about it. I didn't even know that they even liked coming here."
"Oh please. You know how Levi is," Adam remarked.
"I know how you are," the Fat Pigeon said.
"Very funny, Randy. Very funny."
"It's a joke. I hope you know that."
"I was kinda playing into it, to be honest."
"Sure you were."
“Are you going to say hi to them?” Randy asked.
“Definitely, Randy. Of course I’m going to do that,” Adam replied.
“Do you know where they’re sitting, Adam?”
“No.”

Levi and Rhody sat down to eat their Chinese food, and they didn’t pay attention to who all might have spotted them. A few minutes later, the two knuckleheads, named Adam and Randy (The Fat Pigeon), walked over to Levi and Rhody’s table and wanted to make some conversation with them.
This conversation was most likely going to be somewhat goofy and hilarious because Adam has never had a “serious” conversation with Levi before. The Fat Pigeon has never had a “serious” conversation with Levi before either. In fact, The Fat Pigeon has always been one to follow Adam’s lead.

“Hi friends,” Adam greeted Levi and Rhody.
“Hello,” Rhody said for Levi and himself.
“What are you doing?”
“Drinking water. What are you doing?”
“Standing here,” the Fat Pigeon replied for Adam.
“Makes a lot of sense,” Rhody answered.
“Are you busy?”
“We have tennis practice later.”
“Didn’t know you played tennis, Rhody.”
“I don’t. I just watch my friends play tennis. Are you busy?”
“Me and Adam are going to Adam’s grandma’s.”

After Adam and the Fat Pigeon left Levi's and Rhody's table, there was complete silence for all but a few seconds. Then, Levi and Rhody could not stop laughing. It was so obvious that Adam and the Fat Pigeon wanted to make this conversation as menacing as possible. It didn't work. And Rhody and Levi knew it wouldn't. They just continued to eat their Chinese food because of how hungry they still were.

They were both on their fourth plate, and they were thinking one more plate would suffice. After eating here, Rhody and Levi were greatly consider getting ice cream from their favorite place on Morgan and Lincolnway. So, basically, on their way back to Elmhurst Avenue. Unless Rhody wanted to come with Brody to his oldest half-sister's house, on Lafayette Street.

​“How are the lo mein noodles?” Rhody asked.
“They’re really good. Get your own,” Levi replied.
“I haven’t gotten the lo mein yet. I was going to go back up and get another plate. Probably just full of lo mein.”
“How many plates have you gone through?”
“This is my third plate. How about you?” Rhody questioned.
“Same. I want another plate full of lo mein,” Levi remarked.
“It was weird seeing Adam and the Fat Pigeon.”
“Yes, it was. I’m hungry.”
“I’m also hungry.”

Hello friends!

It has been a while since I have given out any facts about my writing projects. Most of what I've done included samples of my writing projects, since I have been so busy. 

Now, I want to list 10 new facts about The Magic Video Game. Since it has been so long since I have listed anything.

* Levi Cranston works in the IT department for a company in Boston. He just recently earned a promotion for his hard work.
* His girlfriend, Mackenzie Burbanks, is a graphic designer.
* Evelyn Maeve, Levi's younger sister, is currently a senior in high school, and she is planning to attend college in Boston. She decided that she wanted to leave the Chicago area, and Levi could not be any more excited about that!
* Olivia, Levi's older sister, does social media work for a company in New York City. She now lives in Brooklyn.
* Victoria, another older sister, lives in Valparaiso, Indiana with her husband and two daughters. She works part time so that she can spend time with her kids.
* On top of his full time job, Levi is a part time tennis coach. His best friends, Jack Andrews and Asad Prejesh, coach tennis as well.
* Levi, Mackenzie, Jack, and Asad share an apartment in Allston, a neighborhood in Boston. They do a ton of get-togethers with a few friends who live a couple blocks away from them.
* Levi is an avid tennis player, runner, and always around for a game of pickup basketball.
* In Fall 2016, Levi was involved in what could have been a horrific car accident. His car was t-boned by a drunk driver when he attempted to turn left on his parents' street, soon after he moved to the other side of downtown Valpo. Luckily for Levi, his car was t-boned on the passenger side, and he was the only one in the car. He walked away with a minor concussion.
* David Savino, one of Levi's best friends, now lives in Arizona. For Memorial Day weekend of 2018, David flew to Boston to visit Levi, Mackenzie, Jack, and Asad. One night, Mackenzie hung out with a few friends in Boston. Levi, Jack, Asad, David, and a couple other Boston friends played video games straight from 6:30 in the evening Saturday night to 6:30 in the morning on Sunday. They went through ten medium-sized pizzas.
* Levi is painfully shy. He does not like having a lot of acquaintances. He prefers having a smaller group of really good friends.
* Levi does not like small talk. He would prefer spending time with his friends and girlfriend by doing something other than just sitting around and talking. 

That is all I have for right now!

Stay tuned for more about my blog in the extremely near future.

Signed,

You Know Who

From The Magic Video Game 4: The Upbringing of a New Comedian

It was most definitely one of those typical summer days when no one wanted to wake up as early as they probably should. At nine o’clock in the morning, Levi was still sleeping. Per usual. However, even though the morning was proving to be very lazy, he was planning to ride his bike over to his girlfriend’s house later this afternoon. All of his friends were going to be busy today, with the exception to Rhody, who would probably walk with Levi and Mackenzie over to their favorite wing place.

Spontaneity is the key to happiness.

The kids’ mom was at work, and their dad took the day to work at home. Then, he was going to have some father-daughter time with Olivia, who had to cancel her plans with her friend, Cameron Sedley, because he had last minute plans with his family. They had a family reunion to go to in Hobart, so that would hopefully be fun.

Again, spontaneity is the key to happiness.

Evelyn Maeve had plans to go over to her friend’s house for a little while. Who knew how long she would be there? And what were they going to do, since both of them live in downtown? Would they just walk around downtown Valparaiso? Would they get ice cream? Would they follow Levi, Mackenzie, and Rhody to their favorite wing place?

Spontaneity is the key to happiness. Or is it?

“Is Levi still sleeping?” Evelyn Maeve asked Olivia. They were sitting outside, drinking oolong tea.
“I would imagine,” Olivia replied.
“Yeah. He’s never awake at this time.”
“Nope. Not at all.”
“So, are you still hanging out with Cameron?” Evelyn Maeve questioned.
“No. He has to go to Hobart today,” Olivia replied.
“What for?”
“His aunt is hosting a family reunion, and Cameron’s family found out about it last night.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. We’re seeing each other tomorrow. And besides, Dad and I are golfing this afternoon.”

Olivia’s friend, Cameron Sedley, used to be her boyfriend. Right now, they just want to be friends but might eventually be back together. Olivia has actually thought about living in Spain for a year, and Cameron has also liked that idea. They dated for quite a few years but then they suddenly didn’t like the idea of dating, at least for now.

Unlike Levi and Mackenzie, who have been together for almost nine years.

Olivia saw Levi sleeping on his back with the left side of his face in the pillow. He seemed to be very comfortable with his comforter wrapped around him. She saw that her little brother's breathing was very steady, and also that his right hand was at his side, and his left hand was on his stomach.

Hoping to not wake him up, she slowly and strategically moved both of his hands so that they were on his chest so that he could feel his own heart beating. His right hand was on his chest and his left hand was covering his right hand. Olivia was amazed at her younger brother’s long bony fingers that lay on top of the life inside him.

"Can you feel your heartbeat, Levi?" Olivia asked her younger brother of a little over a year.
Levi nodded in his sleep. According to Olivia, this was pretty cute.
"Is it fast?" Olivia asked.

Levi nodded again in his sleep. It was only 9:30, and Levi had stayed up until about four o'clock playing video games. Of course, he was going to sleep in. Olivia sat with him for about five minutes because she was hoping that he would wake up as soon as possible.

Because today should be good.

“Olivia, what did you do?”  Evelyn Maeve spoke as she entered Levi’s room.
“I didn’t do anything,” Olivia replied.
“Really?”
“Just look at our brother.”
“Did you draw on his face or something?” Evelyn Maeve questioned, somewhat confused.
“Nope,” Olivia replied quickly.
“Then, what should I see?”
“Just how Levi’s sleeping.”
“Okay. I trust you.”
“Thanks, sis.”

Evelyn Maeve walked over to where Olivia was sitting on the floor. Since the past ten minutes, Levi didn’t move at all. He was somehow sleeping on his back, which is not normal for him. And his hands were still on his chest, feeling his heartbeat, thanks to Olivia. Both girls thought this was really cute, especially Evelyn Maeve, who then decided to put one hand over Levi’s hand to see if she could also feel his heart beating.

She could. Probably the most beautiful thing that would happen to her today.

After a minute, she used the same hand to shake him gently. Levi didn’t move. Pretty obvious that he was still sound asleep. He had been sleeping for only five and a half hours, so he was probably out like a gourd.

Oh well.

“His heart’s really strong,” Evelyn Maeve said to Olivia with a smile.
“I’m sure it is,” Olivia replied with a smile.
“Should we just let him sleep? He won’t even move when I try to wake him up.”
“I’d say for another hour. It’s only 9:45.”
“When are you guys going golfing?” Evelyn Maeve asked.
“Not until about one o’clock, because Dad still has some work to get done,” Olivia answered.
“At least you have some time to play some video games.”
“Yes, at least.”
“Can I join? I’m not going over to Randy’s until 1:30.”
“Yeah, sure.”

Olivia then had that look on her face, indicating that she was going to do something quite menacing. Evelyn Maeve had absolutely no idea what was on her mind. Right now, she didn’t really even want to guess. She wasn’t quite sure if Levi would be involved. She wasn’t quite sure if she would be involved. Evelyn Maeve just waited to see what her older sister was going to do.

Tension was building up. Quickly.

Then, Olivia was about to make her move. While still sitting right next to where Levi was sleeping, she quickly shoved his right arm, pushing him toward the wall. She may have meant for this to be funny, or just to wake him up. Evelyn Maeve was just appalled. She has never seen her sister do that before, from what she could remember.

“OLIVIA!” Evelyn Maeve shouted.
“GOD!” Levi shouted.
“Wakie wakie, eggs and bakie,” Olivia semi-sung slowly and cunningly.

Levi was not amused. His eyes were closed, and he just wanted so badly to go back to sleep. He had only been asleep for five and a half hours, and that is most definitely not enough for him. Levi was still lying on his futon, but he turned over and pulled his covers over him. Then, he somehow found his pillow and put that over him as well.

Now, Levi went back to sleeping on his stomach. Normal.

Olivia was now starting to feel bad about what she had done, and Evelyn Maeve was now starting to get amused by everything that had happened. Olivia is really not that mean. Obviously, she just wanted to wake up her little brother because it was already 9:45 in the morning.

Note to self: that is the absolute worst way to wake him up.

The two girls went back outside. They didn’t have oolong tea in hand anymore, but that was okay. They just wanted to sit outside for another hour because at least the weather was nice at the moment. It was probably good that they let their poor brother sleep for at least another hour. Then, he would have six and a half hours of sleep.

Much better.

“I am never going to wake Levi up that way again,” Olivia remarked.
“Good,” Evelyn Maeve replied.
“What time is it now?”
“Now, it’s….10:30. Should we wake him up?”
“Probably,” Olivia responded.
“How are we going to wake him up now?” Evelyn Maeve asked.
“I’ll be gentle this time around.”
“Sounds like a plan. What are you going to do?”
“I’m just going to resort to shaking him gently.”
“Good.”

Olivia and Evelyn Maeve went back into the house to see their dad working on stuff for….well….work. Olivia and Evelyn Maeve waved at him, and he waved back. He had his earbuds in, so he was probably listening to some classic rock music in order to get his tasks done faster.

Listening to music can get a job done more quickly. No joke.

The two girls walked up the stairs to Levi’s room and saw that he was still sleeping. It was 10:30, like Evelyn Maeve said. Levi was still sleeping on his stomach, with both arms wrapped around his body pillow. Olivia and Evelyn Maeve thought this was cute, but they both agreed that he should probably at least think about waking up now, considering the time.

Olivia shook her younger brother gently. After a few seconds, Levi was slowly stirring. His head went up for a second, and then he let it fall down in his pillow. He let out a heavy sigh and, as both Olivia and Evelyn Maeve predicted, he tried to go back to sleep. At least they were being a little more gentle to him this time around.

Then….

“Hey, Levi?” Olivia said quietly to his little brother.
“What is it?” Levi responded even more quietly.
“You might want to wake up now.”
“Why?”
“It’s already 10:30, and don’t you have plans with Mackenzie and Rhody?” Olivia replied.
“Later,” Levi replied in his pillow.
“How many more minutes should we give you then?”

Levi held up two fingers in the form of a peace sign.

“Two?” Olivia clarified.

Levi nodded sleepily.

​Poor Levi. He really needs his sleep, and the fact that Olivia and Evelyn Maeve interfered with his sleeping made it slightly worse. The two girls left his room and returned outside to where they were before. And they waited for another thirty minutes until Levi finally woke up and joined them. 

From The Magic Video Game 4: The Upbringing of a New Comedian

It was April 2014, so really not that long ago. Levi was home from college for the weekend, and he and Victoria had some brother-sister time at the mall in Merrillville. Since about three years ago, Levi and Victoria have gotten closer, because in summer of 2011, both kids were sick with a sinus infection for pretty much the entire summer. Levi was going into his sophomore year of college, and Victoria was not quite done with her undergraduate career, as she had one more semester to go. Really, both kids have always been pretty close, but they definitely knew each other’s similarities and differences.

Levi was hoping to find at least a couple shirts with his favorite band logos on them. He was also interested in some lights for his apartment in college, so he wanted to go to at least a few stores. Victoria was, however, more interested in the latest fashions, so she wanted to spend as much time as possible in the mall.

It was definitely a cooler day, so Levi was wearing his black athletic jacket with a white stripe down the arms, his favorite grey shirt, and jeans. Victoria was wearing her favorite skinny jeans, blue and green cami, and white cardigan, so she was most definitely trying to live up to her definition of fashion in one way or another.

It was now eight o’clock at night, and Victoria and Levi walked toward the food court to see what they could get to eat. They were hoping for something relatively quick because they wanted to finish up on their shopping. At least Victoria was hoping for that. Levi couldn’t have cared less. He was happy with what he had bought with his own money.

A couple new t-shirts from his favorite rock bands, a set of water show speakers, and a lava lamp. Since he has an obsession with lights.

And Victoria decided to spend at least $86 on new clothes and a set of water show speakers. Just because she thought they were cool. She cared a little more about expanding her wardrobe. Levi cared a little more about expanding his array of lights and adding a few more rock band shirts to his wardrobe.

The two kids got tacos from the food court.

“Want to hit up the bar once we get home?” Victoria asked, once she was done with one of two tacos.
“I thought you would never ask,” Levi answered.
“Craft beer again?”
“That’s usually what I go for.”
“I want a mai tai. That just sounds good right now,” Victoria remarked.
“I want a cider, come to think of it,” Levi said.
“You and your cider.”
“And you like to try anything and everything.”
“Yep. Something different every time.”
“That’s good, though.”

Deal. Victoria and Levi could easily drop the car off at the house and then walk down Lincolnway to see what bars they could go to. They technically live in downtown, so they could do that. Levi’s best friends, on the other hand, couldn’t do that as much. Unless they went over to Levi’s, and they’d all walk together.

Tonight was nice enough that Victoria and Levi could walk from the house on Elmhurst Avenue to a bar or two. Tonight was not nice enough to wear Hawaiian-print shirts, shorts, and flip-flops. It just wouldn’t work out. At least for now.

Once Levi and Victoria finished eating their delicious tacos, they walked around the mall a little longer. Until the mall closed at nine o’clock at night. Then, they walked outside toward Victoria’s car. They got into the car after two minutes of walking in the parking lot and headed home. Victoria turned on some rock music. Their favorite.

“When do you want to play tennis again?” Levi asked Victoria.
“The next weekend you come home?” Victoria answered.
“Works for me.”
“Yeah, I wish I played tennis more often.”
“Well, I’ll be home for the summer, so we will need to play much more often,” Levi said.
“Deal,” Victoria replied.
“Mackenzie’s been wanting to play as well.”
“Oh cool.”
“We’ve been meaning to play at school, but things just….” Levi stated when he heard a loud crash.
“WHAT THE….”

Well, snap. The car had stopped. No one seemed to be hurt at the moment. Neither Victoria nor Levi had any idea what was going on right now. Victoria tried turning on the ignition, but the car wouldn’t start. She started crying. Levi had no idea what to do. He heard Victoria muttering cuss words under her breath, and he saw that his older sister of three years stepped out of the car to assess the damage done to it. Being curious as he was, he also stepped out to see what had happened.

Victoria started to cry harder when she saw how damaged her car was. Levi saw what exactly had happened. There was a pick-up truck that was stopped; the driver was apparently waiting for someone to back out of the parking space, and Victoria’s car had run into the back of the pick-up truck.

“Hi,” the driver acknowledged Levi’s presence, but he was clearly not happy to see him.
“Hey,” Levi responded quietly.
“Did you do this to my car?”
“No. My sister did.”
“I hope she has insurance,” the driver remarked somewhat rudely.
“She just didn’t see you,” Levi replied, trying his hardest to defend his older sister of three years.
“Yeah. Sure she didn’t.”
“What all happened to your truck?”
“Pretty good sized dent I’m sure.”
“Great.”

Levi had a very pleasant conversation with the driver of the pick-up truck. Victoria didn’t want to see the damage done to her car. She had tried turning her car back on with absolutely no success. She called their mom.

“Hello?” their mom answered.
“We were in a car accident,” Victoria tried saying through her tears.
“You….what?!”
“We were in a car accident.”
“I can’t understand you. You’re not coming in clearly,” their mom remarked, starting to get worried.
“I ran into a….”
“Victoria, give it to me,” Levi said plainly to his sister. Victoria handed him the phone, and she continued crying.
“Levi, what’s going on?” the kids’ mom answered.
“We were in a car accident,” Levi replied, as calmly as possible. His phone was pressed firmly against his left ear, and his right hand was tugging at the top part of his unzipped athletic jacket. The bottom part of his t-shirt was right at the button of his jeans. He pulled his t-shirt down and went back to tugging at his jacket.

“What?! Is everyone okay?!”
“Yes, we’re fine. Shaken up, but I think we’re okay.”
“Okay. Where are you?” Mrs. LeVole questioned sternly.
“In Merrillville. We just left the mall. Victoria ran into a pickup truck,” Levi remarked. He could feel his heart pounding very hard in his chest. Even though he was just as shaken up as Victoria, he was somehow able to stay calm on the outside.
“Oh dear. How bad was the damage?”
“Bad enough.”
“Okay. We’ll get there as soon as we can.”
“Ah! We’ll see you then.”

Levi hung up after another minute of talking to their mom, and he handed the phone back to Victoria. The driver of the pickup truck was still not happy with what had happened, and Victoria was clearly not paying attention to where she was going. She and Levi were obviously deep in their conversation for her to not pay attention at all. Both siblings were quite shaken up, and they knew that they had to deal with the police and likely have her car towed for a little while.

The kids’ mom was on her way to the mall where the accident had occurred. The kids’ dad, Olivia, and Evelyn Maeve, were at their dad’s friend’s wedding in Chicago, so they could most definitely not come out to Merrillville at this time. Louise and her family were in Oberlin, Ohio, visiting her husband’s family. And Elizabeth and her husband were in Naperville, Illinois, visiting her husband’s grandparents, who live there.

The police had come within five minutes and interrogated each party. And a witness who heard the crash when she was walking toward her car. She didn’t go up to the scene because she didn’t know what to say. She didn’t want to make the situation any worse than it was, and she didn’t want to get on anyone’s nerves, according to her thinking.

The two kids got everything that they had bought from the mall out of the car before it was towed.

“Are you guys okay?!”Mrs. LeVole, their mom, asked as she walked quickly up to her kids.
“Yes, we’re fine,” Levi answered for himself and Victoria, who was way too choked up to say anything.
“I see Vicky’s car is about to get towed.”
“The car won’t start.”
“Oh dear,” their mom responded. Victoria was sitting on a curb with her head in her arms, which were somehow resting comfortably on her knees. When Mrs. LeVole calmed down, she and Levi sat on the same curb, but a little farther away from Victoria because they knew that she needed her space at this time.
“We were talking, and I guess she wasn’t paying attention to her driving.”
“That’s happened to me before, actually. A week before our wedding.”
“I think I remember you telling us that once.”
“Back then, it was a horrible experience. Now we think it’s funny. But I’m hoping that there isn’t too much damage to Vicky’s car.”
“I do, too.”

When they all finally arrived back to their house in downtown Valparaiso, Mrs. LeVole went to bed. Victoria and Levi didn’t want to go upstairs. They didn’t want to go to a bar. And Victoria didn’t want to go to her apartment, even though her friends were still there. She wanted to stay here, especially since the sofa she was on was way too comfortable for her to get off it.

She called Jayneley, one of her roommates, to stop by the Cranston’s house to give her whatever toiletries and fresh clothes that she might need for the time being, as she was staying over at her family’s house for the night.

In five minutes, Jayneley came over to the house. The front door was wide open, so that she could come on in without having to wait for someone to open the door for her.

“Hi, Jayneley,” Victoria greeted her good friend from the sofa. She clearly did not want to get up. Jayneley walked over to where she was.
“Hey. What happened?” Jayneley replied.
“Levi and I were in a car accident.”
“Dang it. You guys aren’t hurt, I hope?”
“No,” Victoria answered. Levi wasn’t in the common area. He was getting himself something to eat, since he was hungry again.
“Weren’t you two going out tonight?” Jayneley asked, quite curious.
“We were going to.”
“I saw that in the group message. I just got off work, so you know.”
“Thanks for dropping off my stuff.”
“No problem.”

Once Jayneley left, which wasn’t too much longer, Victoria and Levi decided to stay in the common area and watch as many comedy movies as possible until they both fell asleep. Levi heated up some barbeque chicken from earlier. Victoria was not hungry, so she didn’t want anything to eat. She just wanted to get her mind off everything that had happened tonight. And Levi didn’t think he could blame her.

The next morning….

“Levi? Are you awake?” Mrs. LeVole said as she gently shook her son.
“No,” Levi answered quietly. It was noon, and he fell asleep on the sofa at two o’clock in the morning, since both he and Victoria could not fall asleep until then.
“It’s noon. You might want to think about waking up.”
“Why? What’s going on today?”
“You’ve been sleeping for so long. Victoria has been up since nine o’clock this morning,” the kids’ mom remarked.
“Okay,” Levi replied just as quietly, pulling his plush throw over him. It was so obvious that he did not want to wake up.
“Louise and her family are coming over in an hour.”
“Fine. Have it your way.”
“Sorry, Levi. You’re gonna have to start moving.”
“God, I’m sore.”

From The Magic Video Game

It was near the end of Levi’s seventh grade year, and he, Jack, and Asad were walking over to Levi’s house for an afternoon. It was a Friday afternoon, and things were going very well. Levi never said much about how much he really liked Mackenzie, but Jack and Asad knew how obvious it was, since they knew that Levi would always look in her general direction if she was there, and he would always shy away because he wanted to maintain his emotions.

The three boys saw Mackenzie walking toward her parents’ car. Jack and Asad waved at her. Levi, however, looked away.

“Levi, I have a proposition for you,” Jack told Levi.
“And what is that?” Levi answered with apprehension.
“Pick a dandelion and give it to her.”
“Are you serious?”
“Very.”

Levi didn’t do anything at first because he wasn’t sure that he could actually do this. He was extremely timid on these matters. He thought about doing it, and then he would shy away from doing so.

“Come on, Levi!” Asad encouraged him.
“Just do it,” Jack said.

Levi just sighed and gave in to his friends’ proposition. The boy quickly picked a dandelion and walked slowly toward Mackenzie, a brown-haired, brown-eyed girl. He was breathing very hard, and his cheeks turned beet red. His heart was pounding so hard against his chest that he could actually hear the racket inside him.

Thumpa, thumpa, thumpa, thumpa.

He was still walking toward her, and he started feeling sick to his stomach. It still had to be done, though. He had to interact with this girl some time.

“Hi,” Levi spoke quietly. Mackenzie turned around and saw Levi. She could actually hear him.
“Hi, Levi,” Mackenzie answered politely.

Levi thought about what to say, but he couldn’t think of anything else. With a pounding heartbeat, he quickly gave her the dandelion. Then, he let out a heavy sigh.

“Awwww….thanks!” Mackenzie exclaimed.

Levi smiled coyly. He could feel the pain in his throat when he swallowed. He did his best to keep his high emotions inside. It worked.

“Well, bye, Levi,” Mackenzie said.

Levi couldn’t say anything back. Instead, he waved. Then, when she left with her family, he ran back to his friends. Then he started crying.

“She is so gorgeous!” Levi exclaimed to his friends.

The three boys sat down by the school sign until Levi stopped crying, which took about fifteen minutes to actually calm him down. Then, they all went over to his house for the afternoon and played video games.

From The Magic Video Game

After an evening full of fun and games, Olivia and Levi had to come home. They were “packing” to go home when Marty, Sporto, Cosmo, Jack McFrost, and Jefferson marched into the room where the two kids stayed for the better part of a week. They frowned and said nothing as they watched Olivia and Levi get ready to go back to Valparaiso.

“I hope you had fun,” Marty broke the silence.
“We did. Or at least I did,” Olivia answered.
“I also did,” Levi added.
“Well, I’m glad,” Marty said.
“Levi, you owe me an arm wrestle next time we meet. Deal?” Sporto told the boy.
“Absolute deal,” Levi remarked in his own unique way.

Sporto and Levi shook hands. In the time to come, they would most likely become very good friends. Cosmo began to sob like there would be no next day. Jack McFrost and Jefferson hadn’t said anything yet. They were both waiting for the perfect time to say something before the two kids left for home.

Princess Spaziana paid Olivia and Levi her good-byes when they were at the beach this afternoon. Tonight, she had a masquerade to attend for her older sister, Valkina. She had given both kids a bag of Belgian chocolates, courtesy of her own family.

“Did you try the chocolates that Princess Spaziana gave you?” Jefferson asked the two kids.
“They’re really good! Levi ate all of his already,” Olivia answered.
“They are very delectable and very delicious and very scrumptious and….” Jack McFrost said in a monotone.
“We get the idea, Jack McFrost,” Marty told the snowman. To Olivia and Levi, “Well, I’m glad to hear the chocolates are very delectable and very delicious and very scrumptious, and I think they all mean the same thing.”
“They do,” Levi answered matter-of-factly.

It was true that Levi had quite a stomachache since he ate all of the chocolates in one sitting. Even though he can eat a lot, he realized that eating a lot of chocolate might not have been the best idea. He did not really feel sick to his stomach; it was more that his stomach just hurt. From eating too much chocolate, of course. Olivia kept a few chocolates in her own bag to share with the rest of their siblings. She also thought the treats were very delectable and very delicious and very scrumptious, and….

“Well, I think we will have to leave now,” Olivia said wistfully.
“Okay. Bye, everyone!” Marty answered.

Olivia and Levi waved to all of their new friends, and they all waved back. The two kids found themselves inside the same unidentified flying object that took them to Wakahakai, and, before they knew it, they found themselves back on the porch of their own house. Everyone was at home, and the whole family must have had dinner already because their parents were doing the dishes. Victoria and Evelyn Maeve were watching some game shows when Olivia and Levi opened the front door.

“You’re back!” Victoria almost exclaimed.
“And what a wonderful adventure that was,” Olivia said gleefully.
“We are not going to Wakahakai again for a while,” Levi reminded his older sister.
“It beats going to Rhode Island.”
“Oh, shut up!”
“It’s only a joke, you know.”
“Well, you know our relatives would not take kindly to that,” Victoria remarked.
“Some would find it rather hilarious, like flying pigs,” Levi said.
“Flying pigs don’t exist.”
“Where we went, they do.”

When Levi walked into the kitchen, he noticed that there were four pieces of pizza left. He put two pieces of pepperoni pizza on a plate and walked into the living room to join the rest of his sisters. When he set his plate down on the coffee table, he went back into the kitchen and grabbed a cold soda from the refrigerator. He sat down on the couch with Victoria and rested his head against her shoulder. Victoria rested her head against her little brother’s head.

A few minutes later, all four kids decided to watch one of their most favorite movies of all time. Levi ate his two pieces of pizza and eventually had a craving for the last two pieces in the box. Olivia was offered the two pieces of pizza, but she rejected the offer. They were right in the middle of watching the silly cartoon, and Levi walked back into the kitchen and looked for the last two pieces of pizza. However, the pizza was nowhere to be found. The last two pieces were not in the box, which was on the counter but no longer there. Nor was the pizza in the fridge. Revenge was nigh.

“Hi, buddy,” his dad said, trying to, of course, impersonate one of his favorite comedians.
“Did you eat the pizza?” Levi questioned.
“I sure did!”
“Revenge is nigh.”
“It was good pizza.”
“I had two pieces.”
“Weren’t it good, bro?”
“It were good.”

Levi and their dad went to a grocery store to get some groceries, among other important things that the family may have needed. Their mom found the girls in the family room watching a good movie. She watched the rest of the movie with them before they all decided to make chocolate chip cookies before the boys came home.

An hour later, when Levi and their dad returned home from an adventurous trip out to the grocery store, they smelled chocolate chip cookies. But they were not like most chocolate chip cookies. These cookies were gooey, just like Mr. Cranston and Levi love them. After they both ate their share of the good chocolate chip cookies, Levi went back into the living room to be with his sisters.

“Dance time!” Olivia announced.
“Dance time?” Levi asked.
“Dance time!”

Olivia and Levi set up the CD player and decided to turn it on. Victoria decided to just sit on the couch, drink a soda, and laugh at the two kids trying to act goofy. Evelyn Maeve was in the kitchen with their mom, and they were making more delicious chocolate chip cookies. Their dad also decided to watch Olivia and Levi act silly on their little dance mats. Levi took a few puffs on his inhaler and then realized that he should have his ankle brace on. He ran upstairs to his room to put the annoying support on his ankle, which took less than two minutes. By the time he came downstairs, Olivia had all of the songs picked out and everything.

“What are we doing?” Levi asked.
“Your personal favorite,” Olivia replied.
“That’s a good starter. I would have started my other personal favorite, that I like that choice.”
“Serious?” Olivia asked as she gave her younger brother a strange look, as if she was in complete disbelief.
“Why not?”
“Well, let’s do that song after we finish my selection.”
“Then, I’ll probably decide something else.”
“And if you do….”
“Then, I will be morbidly depressed, and then I will make friends with a cat.”

That struck everyone as funny. Both Olivia and Levi started to dance to some obviously good dance music and then really got into it. There was shouting, screaming, and other loud noises that emanated through the entire house. For the majority of the time, Olivia would win their own “matches,” but Levi would win a match or two.
“YEAH, BOY!” Olivia and Levi shouted simultaneously.

The two kids danced to more music rather humorously, just because they wanted to. They started shouting at each other in high-pitched voices, and they had more fun than they had when they first started playing this match. After they finished this round, they stopped and took a break for a few minutes.

Playing the last “match” made Levi remember a jump-roping contest that he took part in when he was in sixth grade.

Levi and his friends, Jack Andrews, Asad Prejesh, and David Savino helped out with the school charity by participating in a jump-roping contest. They all competed against each other to several dance songs. The four boys ate lunch together in the cafeteria. Afterwards, they all went to gym class and prepared for the event. This competition contained of four teams of four students. Levi and his friends were on one team. Adam Dahnwright and his team were together. The other two teams consisted of all girls. Levi was the first to go, and his favorite dance song played, and he won the match with the most jumps and also that he didn’t stop in the two and a half minutes’ worth of competing. When he finished, he felt that he might have had a slight asthma attack. When he was in the locker room after the end of the competition, he came up with one of his unique catchphrases, besides “Absolutely.”

“MR. HOT STUFF’S BACK!” Levi shouted as he took off his t-shirt.
“And now, we are going to have a match that’s rather intense!” Olivia shouted at the top of her lungs.

Olivia and Levi continued to have fun for at least another hour. Levi was pretty tired from the trip to Wakahakai, but he was not going to pass up a few more matches just because he wanted to fall asleep some time soon.

It was now 12:30 in the morning, and Levi grew even more exhausted than he already was. He didn’t want to have a dance party anymore. He put his shirt back on and lay across the sofa. Victoria and Olivia decided to challenge each other while Levi had made attempts to fall asleep. Their dad was still watching them try to compete against each other and thought humorously of them being their own hilarious selves when dancing hilariously to dance music.

​When Victoria and Olivia decided to call it a night, they went upstairs to their bedrooms. Levi was now sound asleep on the couch. His dad decided to carry him up to his bed, where his younger sister probably was at this point. It was really easy to carry the boy into his room, since he is somewhat small. Once their dad put Levi in his bed, he covered the boy up in his comforter. 

From The Jazzy Island of Dinosaurs

Last night, after the end of the fiesta, the Grzedek’s were dropped off at their house in St. John by Jack Enjille and Angela. The five kids came back later than expected: eleven o’clock at night. Oh well. The expedition was well worth the time they came home.

All five of the Grzedek kids had a lot of fun on Galavanti Island. They all had a lot of fun at the fiesta. They had a great time with their new friends. And they even had great food made by their new friends.

However, Caleb had to get ready for his first performance.

Today was the day of the concert and Kathryn and Mark’s sister’s graduation party, and everyone was excited. Caleb went over to Kathryn and Mark’s house extra early to practice, about nine o’clock in the morning. On the walk there, he saw Alessandra trying very hard to catch up with him.

“Hey, Caleb!” she greeted.
“Hey!” Caleb answered back.
“Are you super excited about the concert?”
“Very much so! What time does the party start?”
“The party starts at two, but that will be when we’re practicing.”
“And, of course, we perform at 7:30 tonight.”
“You are correct.”

Caleb and Alessandra continued to walk toward Kathryn and Mark’s house. Not a word was spoken. Not even the word, “a,” was spoken. The two kids kept on walking silently, just enjoying each other’s company.

The way it sometimes should be.

It seemed like a long time for the two kids to get to their friends’ house. Caleb lives on the west side of the neighborhood. Alessandra lives on the east side. And Kathryn and Mark live on the south side of the neighborhood.

“Where is Jennifer going to school?” Alessandra asked Caleb, somehow feeling as if she should have known the answer.
“I can’t remember. I know it’s a private university, but I just can’t think of the name of it, though,” Caleb replied.
“I also know it’s a private university, but I can’t seem to….oh no.”
“What?”
“Here comes….Ryan Phillips.”

And the truth was….here came Ryan Phillips. In his car, with his beanie on, most likely heading toward his best friend’s house. The only difference now was that he was listening to punk rock music in his car.

“Hi,” Ryan said in a goofy voice.
“Hi,” Caleb answered, but Alessandra just smiled.
“I’m wearing a beanie.”
“I see that.”
“Where’s your beanie?”
“I don’t have a beanie.”
“Ya want a beanie?” Ryan offered.
“Maybe later. Alessandra and I are headed to Kathryn and Mark’s house,” Caleb replied.
“Okay. Ask them if they got beanies.”
“Alright. Will do.”

The two kids waved “good-bye” to Ryan. And then they continued walking. Caleb and Alessandra knew that it was going to be a few more minutes before they would reach their friends’ house.
It was about two o’clock in the afternoon, the starting time of Jennifer’s graduation party, and they all began practicing for an hour and a half. After the end of their rehearsal, they decided to play card games. And then, once they were sick and tired of playing the same card game nine times, they went outside and helped themselves to some good food.

“So, I think our first performance is going to be amazing,” Alessandra assured her friends.
“I know it’s going to be,” Caleb answered with utmost excitement.
“I love our band name,” Kathryn said.
“I do, too,” Tad replied.
“Yeah. I seriously believe ‘The Sound of a B Flat’ really suits us well,” Mark said.

And they all did. Not only because ‘The Sound of a B Flat’ is a rather catchy name to begin with. It also applies to all five kids. Since they all plan on being in the school’s band next year. And it, for them, would most likely be an exciting experience. Since they are all great musicians.

“The chocolate balls are amazing,” Alessandra said out of the blue, after a lot of thought about the band’s name and how it applies to school.
“Who made the chocolate balls?” Caleb asked.
“I think Tad did. They’re really good,” Kathryn replied.
“Merci beaucoup!” Tad answered gleefully.
“I’m taking French some time,” Mark blurted out.

The kids will all be in seventh grade next year, meaning that they might have the opportunity to take a class in their choice of a foreign language at school. If they would have to wait until eighth grade, or if scheduling conflicts would happen to exist, the five kids would still attempt to learn the language through dictionaries, TV shows, and actual books.

“Guess what? I also plan on taking French!” Alessandra exclaimed, again, after much thought.
“I’m taking Español,” Caleb said.
“I am, too!” Kathryn exclaimed louder than Alessandra.
“And I am not!” Mark answered excitedly.
“Have fun taking that language. French is so much better,” Tad joked.

Caleb, Alessandra, Kathryn, Mark, and Tad were still sitting together at the one table. The boys went up to get more Italian meatballs, chocolate truffles, fruit, and pot stickers. Alessandra and Kathryn still sat at the table and waited for the boys to come back. And that could actually take a while.

“You know how boys are, don’t you?” Kathryn asked her friend.
“Yes, I do,” Alessandra replied.
“They just love to grab everything on the table and see how much they can eat.”
“That’s true to a point.”
“My dad and brother are like that,” Kathryn remarked.
“I don’t think Caleb and Tad are getting that much. They said something about getting more meatballs because they’re so good,” said Alessandra.
“The meatballs are so good.”

In no time at all, Caleb, Mark, and Tad returned to the table with another plate full of food. They did not just get Italian meatballs, chocolate truffles, fruit, and pot stickers. The three boys got Italian meatballs, chocolate truffles, fruit, pot stickers, and some fruit punch.

Alessandra was wrong.

“The fruit punch is amazing,” she remarked to her friends.
“Yep. That’s why we got it!” Caleb replied.
“I would never have guessed.”
“So, I saw Ryan Phillips at the table.”
“He’s here?”
“Yeah. He didn’t say anything to us. Ryan was with his best friend, and they were talking to Jennifer. Probably asking her if she had beanies?” Caleb said.
“Probably,” Alessandra answered blankly.
“But I don’t think they’d stay long.”
“I don’t think they would. They have their own silly business to worry about.”
“They have their own silly business about beanies, for one.”

It was now five o’clock in the afternoon, and more people were starting to come for the concert. Other than the general graduation party attendees, such as Jennifer’s best friends, the first family to arrive was Caleb’s immediate family, aside from Kathryn’s and Mark’s family, who were obviously already there.

The time passed very quickly, and more and more people came, including Tad’s and Alessandra’s families. The kids, plus Andrew Grzedek, and his girlfriend, Eliza Colbert, helped move the equipment from the basement to the backyard.

“What time is it?” Caleb asked.
“6:54. So, I think we need to start moving things. Now,” Alessandra replied.
“Okey doke.”
“Tad, your chocolates are maliciously delicious!” Adam shouted from the top stair.
“Merci beaucoup!” Tad answered back.
“Okay, guys. We need to move the drum set out first. So, we need to move it piece by piece. Be careful with it while you’re going up the stairs,” Alessandra ordered.

It was now seven o’clock, and everyone started moving the drum set up the stairs into the back yard. They were eventually done with putting up the drum set. Now, the band had to bring up the keyboard, its stand, the guitars, and the tambourine. As well as the smaller equipment.

With some help from their friends, the move was quite simple, really.

Everything was now in order, and the band was ready to perform. Jennifer did not really want to make a huge announcement about her siblings’ new band. So, she just said:

“Here is ‘The Sound of a B Flat.’”

Right after the start of the concert, Caleb and Tad did their own rap covers, and Mark got very nervous. So nervous to the point that his palms were extremely sweaty, like a lake, and he was pretty sure that he could not keep his composure.

Caleb’s rap, according to most of the audience, was thought to be rather hilarious, as well as Tad’s. However, they were both very different. Caleb’s rap was more about dinosaurs. And Tad’s rap consisted mostly on video games.

No one really thought about how good Caleb and Tad have appeared to be at writing raps. Two kids in seventh grade, in a school band, at the threshold of their own garage band. Writing raps, according to the majority of people, is a pretty difficult task. Someone has to be really good to write a really good rap.

And Caleb and Tad pulled it off pretty well.

Caleb and Tad used goofy voices and play-on words to make their rap covers as funny as possible. Mark died laughing during both pieces, due to how hilarious they both were. Because of the humor emanating throughout the entire backyard, the drummer was still nervous when he started playing, but he managed to keep his composure and pull through.

Afterwards, the kids played a playlist of covers for their favorite songs. Mostly R & B covers and a few rock songs by their favorite artists from back in the day. The vast majority of the audience thought that the middle school-aged kids could actually pull off some very good covers. No one thought it was bad at all. However, there were some people there who are not quite music freaks like everyone else there. Even though this is the case, they most likely enjoyed themselves, and they would probably see if there were any more Italian meatballs, chocolate truffles, fruit, pot stickers, and fruit punch left.

At the performance, Alyssa and her friends were classic examples of music freaks. The four young girls were so into the performance that they actually danced during the concert. They were very cute when they were dancing, and even Kathryn and Caleb joined them when they were not performing with the rest of the band.

At the very end, Alessandra dedicated a specific song that she made up herself to Caleb, since they have been best friends since they first met. During the time that Alessandra sang this song, Caleb actually broke down emotionally. Alyssa and Kathryn went up to him and hugged him. This moment was truly the best one yet.

Then, the concert was over. Everyone enjoyed it. It was now about 8:15 in the evening, and there was still more good food on the table. Some people stayed, and others left. The band stayed to help put the equipment back down into the basement. As promised, Andrew and his girlfriend met up with everyone in the band downstairs.

“You guys did extremely well,” Andrew said.
“Thanks!” Alessandra answered gleefully.
“Both rap covers were very good.”
“I wasn’t sure if I was actually going to handle backing them up because they were both so funny,” Mark said.
“Yeah. I saw you! Were you nervous?”
“Extremely. My hands were literally shaking before Tad’s. I think it was Caleb who kept me in line.”
“He’s very good at keeping people in line if need be.”
“I agree.”

Then, the five band members planned their scheme. A rather hilarious one. Caleb, Alessandra, Kathryn, Mark, and Tad decided to take Alyssa’s teddy bear when she was not looking. Then, they ran up to Kathryn’s room and found some doll clothes dating back to 1991. They put the clothes on the teddy bear. Then, they found a hat. The kids tried to fit Caleb’s sunglasses on Alyssa’s teddy bear, but they were obviously too big. He still put them on anyway. Then, Tad made a sign for the bear that said….

“Kiss me. I’m Polish.”

Someone knocked on the door, and Kathryn opened it. Eliza was at the door. It appeared that she was very mad at the kids because they secretly took Alyssa’s bear. However, Andrew was not with her. He was probably socializing with his two best friends, Jason Lazinski and Matthew Bartz. Regardless, Eliza was pretty upset at the whole band.

“What exactly are you doing with Alyssa’s bear?” Eliza asked with a stern look on her face.
“We were making a friendly gesture by inducting the teddy bear into the Polish Posse that we have,” Tad said.
“She has been looking for her teddy bear for about fifteen minutes, and she is literally bawling because she has not been able to find it. What did you do to it?”
“Sorry,” Caleb replied. “We were inducting it into the Polish Posse.”
“What exactly is the Polish Posse?”
“It’s a new idea for the name of the band.”
“Oh, okay. Alyssa!”

Alyssa ran into the room and quickly grabbed her teddy bear. Then, she ran out of the room with tears streaming out of her eyes like an ocean. Eliza also left the room and let the band members go about their own business. She was not nearly as mad as she was before Alyssa had found her teddy bear.

Silence for a few seconds. Then, Alessandra felt the need to speak her mind. No one else was thinking about much. They all thought mostly about how well they performed tonight. And the name of the band never crossed their minds.

Out of the blue….

“I actually don’t like our name,” Alessandra blurted out after all but thirty-two seconds.
“What?!” Everyone else answered almost simultaneously.
“I just don’t think it suits us very well at all.”
“Why not?” Tad questioned.
“I like the idea of ‘The Polish Posse.’”
“Like the idea of trying to induct Alyssa’s teddy bear into the Polish Posse?”
“Yes. Who all agrees that ‘The Polish Posse’ sounds better than our previous name?”
“We should add something more to it, though,” Caleb said.
“Like what?” Kathryn asked.
“Well, I don’t really like the idea of just ‘The Polish Posse.’ I don’t think just that name alone suits us very well.”
“What exactly do you have in mind?” Tad questioned his friend.
“Well….”

The five kids sat in a circle on the floor to come up with ideas on the new name for the band. At first, no one could think of anything. However, after a bit of discussion on the current name of the band, everyone, including Caleb, Alessandra, Kathryn, Mark, and Tad, collectively decided that the name of their band should not be “The Sound of a B Flat” anymore. And it shouldn’t even be just called “The Polish Posse.”

​Now, it should be called….

“The Polish Posse of the Island.”

From Rockybado: Robot King of the Island

It was eleven o'clock at night when the boys were dropped off at their houses. They were all tired and sad that they had to leave their new best friends, Rockybado, Jeremy, Johnny, and everyone else whom they had just met.

When the Ingram's came home, their parents were already asleep. The boys quietly put on their pajamas and went to bed. The boys slept peacefully until the sun rose in the sky.

Ten o’clock the next morning arrived quickly, and David and Brody were still sleeping. David woke up now, but Brody was still sleeping soundly. Dawson, their oldest brother, went upstairs to check on him, only to find that the only thing his younger brother did was stir.

Brody was sleeping on his side. Completely mindless of everything going on around him. His eyes were closed. His chest was rising and falling steadily. His mouth was half open. His mood bracelet turned a dark blue, meaning he was calm. Their white cat, Honeybunny, and their white and grey-spotted cat, Felicia, climbed onto his bed and lay on top of him.

And Brody was snoring quietly.

It was thirty minutes later, the boy was still sleeping. He couldn’t help it since his sleep schedule was more messed up than it had been before the expedition to Texamilio. When Toby snuck into his older brother’s room, he brought with him a squirt gun. This ten-year-old was thinking about squirting Brody to the moon.

Squirt!

“TOBY!” was the first thing that came out of Brody’s mouth.

Toby did nothing else but smile menacingly. He was really going to get it, wasn’t he? Toby was cruisin’ for a bruisin’. It was obvious that Brody was really not happy. His peaceful sleep had been interrupted by his younger brother. And Toby was sure going to get it some time. Probably now. Brody chased Toby around the house until they both grew winded.

“You are such a nuisance,” Brody said to Toby once they both caught their breaths.
“I just wanted to wake you up. That’s all,” Toby answered.
“Well, you should have let me sleep in a little longer. My sleep schedule is destroyed.”
“You can’t say that,” Toby said.
“Why not?” Brody asked.
“Weren’t we only in Texamilio for about a week?”
“Good point, but I’m still tired.”

Toby and Brody said nothing for a few minutes. They stood in the common area, with their arms crossed. The boys were thinking about what today would entail. Tonight, David and Brody wanted to have their friends over for a sleepover party at their house.

It was now five o’clock in the afternoon, and Andrew, Adam, and John Garfield were at the Ingram's house. Dawson and Brett went to Merrillville to go bowling and have pizza with their friends.

"Hey, David?" John asked later.
"Yeah?" David asked.
"Did you meet Rockybado?" 
"That's why we went to Texamilio." 
"So, did you keep a photo of him?" 
"We forgot the camera," Brody answered for David.
"So, who is this Rockybado?" John questioned.
"He's a robot who lives in Texamilio, an island just west of Hawaii," Andrew said.
"How could you get to Hawaii and back in all but a little less than a week?!" John asked, surprised.
"In his spaceship," said Toby.
"How could you go all the way there in such little time?" 
“That has yet to be determined,” said Andrew. 

The Ingram’s ordered Chinese take-out for the kids while they watched a Sci-Fi movie. They then played board games. After that, they just felt like talking amongst themselves. It was nice being able to catch up with their old friends.

"Adam?" John asked.
"What?" Adam answered.
"How did you fly back to Crown Point when you got home?"
“We didn't actually do that, either. We went into Rockybado's spaceship." 
"What does Texamilio look like?"
"Well, kind of like Crown Point," Andrew answered.
"Not a chance! Texamilio must be a lush island that resembles Hawaii in many ways, since they’re so close.”
"Go see for yourself," said Brody. "It is full of grass, water, blue sky, streets, houses, cities. You know, all that kind of stuff."

The boys talked some more until they went to bed. The boys put on their pajamas and then fell asleep. Everyone was sleeping peacefully until Brody woke up. He couldn't fall back asleep. He went to the kitchen to get a drink of milk. On accident, as Brody tried to pour the milk into a glass, he dropped the glass, and it broke. The boys, of course, woke up to the sound of breaking glass.

"What was that?" David asked once he woke up abruptly.

They all tiptoed into the kitchen and saw a huge mess on the floor. There was a huge puddle of milk, and it was obvious that the glass was broken. Several big pieces and some small pieces on the floor. Splendid.

“BRODY!"

Brody gave everyone a blank stare after they all shouted his name. He was speechless. David, Toby, Andrew, Adam, and John kept staring at him. Brody suddenly grew embarrassed as he couldn’t help but freeze where he was. It didn’t help matters that everyone else also looked at him blankly. The room was filled with silence, like a milkshake filling a cup.

What just happened here? At about two o’clock in the morning?

“You spilled milk all over the floor, and you broke your favorite glass,” David said.
“Oh, darn,” Brody answered in a seemingly nonchalant manner.
“It was your favorite glass. It had robots and aliens all over it,” John replied.
“Oh well. I got that glass from a fast food joint when I was four.”
“There’s another one that you like, which should still be in your cupboard.”
“That’s my second favorite glass.”
“Can we help clean up the mess and then go back to bed? My sleep schedule is ruined,” Andrew questioned somewhat seriously, whereas everyone else took that as a joke.
“No! We’re all up. We should play some video games,” Adam replied.
“Good idea,” Brody answered.

The boys were nice enough to help Brody clean up the mess that he made. Then, Brody got another glass of milk in his second favorite glass. He met the boys back in the basement, where they all returned when Brody was getting himself another glass of milk. All of the boys were setting up the game consoles so that they could pull an all-nighter and play their favorite video games.
“We’re pulling an all-nighter,” David announced.
“Wait. What time is it?” Adam questioned.
“Only two o’clock.”
“We have a lot of time on our hands. So we can play as many video games as we want!” Andrew exclaimed.
“What are we playing?” Brody asked.

The boys looked at each other. They hadn’t quite thought about what they wanted to play. They only thought about the fact that they were going to play video games.  It was good that Brody had brought up what they were going to play, so that they could have some idea of what console needed to be plugged into the TV.

Everyone looked through the games that the Ingram’s have, and they couldn’t quite make up their minds about what they had in mind. Car racing games. Epic maze games. Battle games. Classic games. The possibilities were endless. The boys had to make up their minds in a “short” amount of time, or otherwise they would have almost no time to play video games.

They would be way too sleepy.

“Is everyone in the mood for playing car racing games?” Toby asked.

Everyone actually nodded or agreed otherwise. It was two o’clock in the morning, and they had about three and a half hours of sleep. They were now all wide awake, and they wanted some soda to keep it that way. David and Adam walked into the garage to get a whole case of grape soda, so the boys could have their sugar fix. When the two boys came back downstairs from their expedition in the garage, Brody, Andrew, John, and Toby were already playing some games.

Once everyone started drinking grape soda, a sense of hype emanated through the entire basement like a breeze. And everyone knew it. They were going to be so wound up tonight, since they had sugar rushing through their systems. All of the boys were shouting loudly while trying to beat each other at the car racing game on the relatively old console.

After a while, David and John stepped away from everyone else and decided to catch up. It has been about a week since they have seen each other, and John had moved to Valparaiso from Crown Point when school had just gotten out for the much-needed summer.

“So, how was the move to Valpo?” David asked.
“Very exhausting!” John answered.
“Where exactly do you live now?”
“We live on Jefferson Street.”
“We used to live on the exact same street.”
“Oh wow.”
“And then we lived on Coolwood Drive before we moved to Crown Point.”
“Oh, so the way south side.”
“Definitely. I loved it there, but I love it here more. So, why did you move?” David had to ask.
“My mom’s job has always been in Valpo, and the commute on Highway 30 was very hard in the winter. It wasn’t bad, but sometimes, the roads were not at their finest. So, we thought it would be easier to live in town,” John answered.
“Do you like it so far?”
“I love it.”
“I have a friend who lives only a few blocks away from you.”
“It’s a very small world, isn’t it?”
“It’s a very small world. However, he lives a little west of your house.”

After talking for a few more minutes, David and John eventually came back down into the basement to be with everybody else. The boys were still playing the same car racing game for the next five and a half hours. This game never got old. They could not help but try to win at least one round in the game. Toby was sprawled out on the recliner like a cat on a bed. Now, it was David, Brody, Andrew, Adam, and John who were still playing video games.

At the end of three and a half hours of continuous gaming….

“What time is it, John?” Andrew questioned.
“It is now 5:30 in the morning,” John answered as he looked at his wristwatch.
“Should we call it a night?”
“We should call it a night,” David answered for John. “I’m beyond exhausted.”
“Do we have anything tomorrow?” Brody asked.
“Thank God, no.”
“Yeah, but Mom and Dad are going to wonder what we’ve been up to all night.”
“Well, we’re growing boys. We need our sleep,” Andrew chimed in.

At 5:31 in the morning, the boys just now got ready for bed. Well, Toby fell asleep at four in the morning. He was so sound asleep that he couldn’t hear any noises made by the other boys. David, Brody, Andrew, Adam, and John finished their last car race, and then they returned to their sleeping bags.

All of the boys were trying to go back to sleep. It was, of course, very hard at first. They were all wound up after their exciting car races. But the truth was, they had to go back to bed now. It was so early in the morning, and Mr. and Mrs. Ingram would most likely wonder what the boys were up to all night long. Their first assumption would be that the boys played video games until the wee hours of the morning.

Toby, of course, fell asleep at four this morning. After all the boys tried going back to sleep, John was the first boy to actually do so at 5:42. Then, Brody fell asleep at 5:48. Andrew then fell asleep at 5:56. David fell asleep at six o’clock in the morning.  And Adam was the last boy to legitimately fall asleep at 6:05. 

At 6:30 in the morning, Dawson and Brett went downstairs to see what the boys were up to. All of the young boys in the basement were sleeping soundly by now. It was evident that David and Brody both forgot that they were doing something today, and it was going to be very exciting. If they had remembered, they probably would not have insisted on pulling an all-nighter. As a matter of fact, they would probably have been awake by now. No matter how much sleep the boys would have had, they would still be excited about what they were going to do. It was just all a matter of remembering what it was.

​“Goo monin, sleepyhead,” Brett said to David.
“What do you want?” David answered feebly after slowly waking up.
“It’s now 6:30! We are going to the amusement park at around ten o’clock, and John and his family are also coming with us.”
“That’s nice. Just let us sleep.”
“How long have you been up?” Dawson questioned.
“We went to bed literally thirty minutes ago,” David answered feebly.
“Well, you guys can sleep for a couple more hours.”
“Yeah. That’s what we’re doing right now.”

From The Magic Video Game

Marty, Sporto, Cosmo, Jack McFrost, Jefferson, and everyone else had made plans to take their boat to West Lulu. Kaloi was actually going to accompany them. This was extremely important, since they were now tracking the footsteps of Darveda, Nelson, and Hilda. They boarded the boat and headed west toward West Lulu, which would not be north of here. That would be where North Lulu would be.

Everyone was on the boat, but they were not really as bored as they had been while heading in this general direction. Levi, Olivia, and Princess Spaziana were playing video games on their share of the expedition to North….er, West Lulu. They just played against each other in car racing games for a few rounds. And then Levi could hear his stomach gurgling loudly. Once again.

And Olivia and Princess Spaziana could also hear the gurgling noises coming from inside his stomach.

“Didn’t we just eat not too long ago?” Olivia questioned.
“I’m starving,” Levi answered while his face was beet red.
“What do you want? I’ll get it for you,” Princess Spaziana offered kindly.
“A cake.”

Princess Spaziana and Olivia looked at him as if he was an alien from Mars. Surely he would have wanted something slightly more nutritious. There were some boxes of Chinese take-out, steak cubes, and deli sandwiches in the refrigerator. But a cake? Really? That really would have suffered in comparison, in terms of what food would be deemed “healthy.”

“A cake?” Olivia asked Levi.
“A cake,” Levi answered with no emotion.

Princess Spaziana and Olivia walked upstairs into the kitchen and tried to find what Levi had asked for, a cake. They found Sporto and Cosmo wrestling each other to the ground. Jack McFrost and Jefferson were looking at random magazines, mostly to find pictures of food. Good food. And what were Marty and Kaloi doing?

No one would have guessed.

“We are singing a song by Horace O’Beanie!” Kaloi shouted almost as hysterically as Cosmo.
“Kaloi and I are singing a duet and this song for the Annual Singing a Song Contest,” Marty answered.
“Wait. So are you singing a duet….and this song?” Olivia asked to ensure clarification.
“Yes, a duet and this song.”
“What’s your duet?”
“This song.”
“You should have said that you were singing a duet rendition of this song.”
“Well, it is.”
“Just to clarify my confusion, once again, a duet and this song are two different songs, right?”
“Nope. A duet and this song are the same song. We’re just singing this song as a duet.”
“HURRY UP WITH THAT CAKE! I’M STARVING!” Levi randomly shouted in a silly high-pitched voice from the basement.

Afterwards, everyone looked at each other in a weird sense of confusion. They didn’t know what to say to that. Since when was there actually a cake? Did someone have to make a cake? There was certainly not a pre-made cake on the boat. But apple pie is always the solution to all problems, aside from a rotisserie chicken, which they did not have. Princess Spaziana and Olivia came back downstairs and got a whole apple pie for Levi, assuming that he would eat all of it. The two girls were not hungry, but that was okay. Levi didn’t care to offer any of the pie to anyone else but himself. He apparently was very hungry.

Of course Levi ate the whole apple pie.

“I’m back….” A raspy voice emanated throughout the boat via intercom.
“Oh no,” Marty moaned. “She found us.”
“Wait. Who found us?” Jefferson asked.
“Take a wild guess.”
“Marsha O’Beanie,” the Eskimo answered dreamily.
“Absolutely not! It’s Darveda, and she is here to destroy Winderplassic Estates,” Levi answered for Marty as he was running up the stairs.
“Thank you,” Marty said to Levi as he was ready to defeat her and her henchmen.

Time to destroy! Thirty minutes into the feud, Marty, Sporto, and Cosmo tried “very” hard to push Darveda, Nelson, and Hilda off their boat. It wasn’t working too well for either side. None of the involved creatures and people was taking this as seriously as it should have been taken. They didn’t wrestle each other to the ground. They just pushed each other around like buck-toothed nerds.

However, yet another joke was up Darveda’s sleeve. She, of course, picked mud out of her shoe and threw the mud at Sporto. The walrus had mud splattered all over his face, and he was quite mad that a villain would do such a thing.

“NOW YOU’RE UGLY LIKE ME!” Darveda roared with an evil laugh.
“What?!” Sporto exclaimed. “I have mud in my face, and I want to get it off!”
“Here, I’ll help clean it off with a wet towel,” Marty kindly offered.
“BACK OFF, BOLOGNAHEAD!”

Marty backed off as Darveda and her henchmen ran off to another corridor on the boat. Apparently the mud that was thrown at Sporto was like no mud that anyone has ever seen on this green earth. This mud could change the perception of the victim, who somehow had the weird ability to see his or her friends as random objects.

“Who are you?” Sporto suddenly questioned.
“Marty. Why? I think you know me.”
“I see you as a clarinet, and I AM NOT BEING SAVED BY A WEIRD OLD CLARINET!”
“Sporto, are you….”
“I’M NOT ANYTHING!”
“The only way to get you back to normal is to find Darveda and capture her.”
“What?! Darveda caught me?!”
“….Yeah.”
“OH MY GOSH! WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO?! I’M GONNA….”
“No, you don’t! We have to navigate and see where Darveda is and catch her before she gets away with this,” Jefferson chimed in.
“I see Darveda,” Cosmo spoke suddenly.

Marty pressed a button to launch a net in her general direction. Darveda, Nelson, and Hilda evaded the trap. Sporto was not quite back to his normal self yet. They had to be spotted a second time for Sporto to return to his normal senses. The net plan didn’t work. Another idea had to. Levi and Marty ran around the boat to search for Darveda, Nelson, and Hilda. They thought they searched every corridor of the boat, so they decided to backtrack and see if they had missed any places where the three jokesters might have be hiding. Marty and Levi heard a slap from several  doors down.

“NELSON, YOU GOOD-FOR-NOTHING, BISCOTTI CRUNCHIN’, EGG-HEADED, COFFEE GUZZLIN’, PRUNE JUICE SIPPIN’, SPINACH EATING BOLOGNAHEAD! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO HELP ME HIDE FROM MARTY!” Darveda shouted in Nelson’s face.

Nelson shrugged his shoulders. Before they made their fabulous trip to this boat and attempt to claim Winderplassic Estates as part of their own, they both flew in a new rocket to the wonderful country called Laos to find Hilda.

When the two had reached reached Laos, they found themselves trapped in a rainforest. Darveda saw a cat and made it ugly by her secret trick, by throwing mud in its face. Of course. She also made it seemingly ugly by turning it into mud. The two played in the mud for a long time, until Hilda found them acting relatively immature.

Darveda and Nelson snuck to the outside of a boat, with Hilda running quickly behind them. They had a secret plan to destroy the entire boat by throwing mud at it. Not like that mud would really destroy the boat. But the three people liked to think it would, so they were about to throw mud at the boat anyway. In a pointless manner. Until a random person approached them, thinking Darveda, Nelson, and Hilda were the owners of this fine boat.

“Do you know where the lagoon is?” the person asked.

Darveda said nothing to the person. Instead, as a response, she threw mud in that person’s face. The person grew disgusted at the fact that he had mud thrown at him. Not to mention, he had spotted Darveda pick mud out of her shoe.

“Oh, you’re icky! I don’t like icky,” the human shouted.

He perceived Darveda as a flute and Nelson as a banjo. The human ran, or sailed swiftly away from the “musical instruments.” He would probably be never seen again by Darveda, Nelson, or Hilda. All he would have to do to get his perceptions back to normal would be to jump into the body of water and get cleaned off.

And now to defeat Darveda, Nelson, and Hilda.

“I have an idea,” Levi said, after he picked up a shoe that had some mud in it.

It was evident that Darveda had accidentally lost her shoe soon after she threw mud in the random person’s face. Levi had found it by the door and picked it up. It was probably Darveda’s “prized possession.”

“And what might that be?” Marty asked the quick-witted boy, as he gazed at the missing shoe.
“I would think there would be an emergency boat on the roof of this huge boat. I’ll go up on the roof, bring the boat down and let the three get in the boat. Once the boat is finally in the water, I will cut the rope that attaches that small boat to this boat, and they will be gone.”
“You are brilliant, Levi.”
“I know.”

Marty stood and watched Levi climb up the roof of the boat that greatly resembles an ark. Levi’s assumptions were correct. He found a small canoe with a rope attached to it. In front of the “emergency boat,” there was a screen with a list of destinations that the boat was programmed to take. There were nine destinations in total: Laos, the Philippines, China, England, France, Spain, India, Serbia, and Israel. Levi pressed “Laos” on the screen. Before he knew it, he found everyone watching him complete his intelligent task. Except for Darveda, Nelson, and Hilda.       

“I love a boy who has guts,” Princess Spaziana replied to Olivia, who, in turn, shrugged her shoulders.
“So you know, he has always been this way,” Olivia said.

Levi was still on top of the roof. He had the shoe in his hand, which he threw into the water. He then called the three outside as he lowered the boat by the rope. When they returned, Darveda, Nelson, and Hilda seemed excited to get out of a stuffy boat and be outside where the weather was pretty cool. The boat was now in the water, and the three entered the emergency boat.

“HAVE A SAFE TRIP, YOU CHOWDERHEADS!” Levi jokingly shouted at Darveda, Nelson, and Hilda.

Once he started the boat by touching the screen, he cut the rope that was attached to the roof. The boat drove off without anyone’s control. With this in mind, the three did not know where they were off to. They just enjoyed their ride into the abyss. Darveda, Nelson, and Hilda would most likely not be seen again for a little while, as long as they couldn’t find the materials needed to build a rocket in order to come back to Wakahakai.

​“That was relatively painless,” Levi said after he jumped off the roof and landed on his feet.