that,” I say, rubbing the back of my head. “Dad brought him and Grandma in because of the whole mutant dog situation, I guess.”
“What about Krispy?” Jack asks, looking worried. “He’s not going to do something to my dog, is he?”
“Nah,” I say, “I think it has something to do with the guy that made him that way.”
“Huh,” Jack says.
“Regardless, we have training to do. I’m certain that Superior and Nico can handle it with no problem,” Panther says, getting into the driver’s seat. “Sunny, you’re in charge of Cubby while I’m driving,” he adds over his shoulder. “Push the second button and your chair will come up.”
“Um, yeah, sure,” I say, suddenly realizing what I was really brought here for. I’m the babysitter boy. I push the button.
“He’s got snacks in the cabinet next to you. Try to go light on the cheese curls, he’s a little too addicted,” Pan adds, checking the rearview mirrors and starting the RV. Ace and I grab a seat as he starts to drive. To my surprise, the moment I sit down in my chair, a tablet on a mechanical arm comes up.
“How do I get mine?” Max asks, looking over at us.
“Button on the right,” Jack says. “You can’t actually stop Nico from pimping out a machine--half the time I caught him adding things without even looking, like all of a sudden there’s a computer console floating behind his back as he toys with the wiring on the other side of the RV.”
“Sounds like Dad,” I say, tapping on the screen and staring blankly at the list of online classes provided. “He programmed this with college agricultural classes,” I mutter. “Was this chair made for me?”
“We put you there so you can reach Cubby when you need to,” Pan calls back to me. “Of the four of you, you’re the one I trust most.”
“He’s got a point,” Ace admits. “I don’t even have cousins--I don’t think I’ve even dealt with a kid younger than me before, except when I visit the hospitals. That doesn’t count, does it?”
“I have!” Jack says. Everyone but Pan turns to look at him.
“So we’re all agreed, Sunny’s the best choice,” Max says blandly.
“Yep,” Ace says.
“It wasn’t up for debate,” Pan drawls.
“I didn’t try to flush all of them,” Jack mutters, crossing his arms over his chest. The sound of muffled laughter comes from Max, but when I look at him he’s staring intently at his screen as if nothing happened. Soon everyone has their tablets pulled up. There’s a long stint of silence, until I stumble upon the games.
There’s an image of everyone in the room on the tablet, and a ball floating in the middle. I glance up, looking over at Cubby. “You wanna play ball, buddy?” I ask him, leaning over and bringing up the game on his tablet. He lets out a delighted laugh and smacks the screen with his hand lightly. Max jerks, looking a bit blank.
“There’s a ball in my screen.”
“Dad programmed a ball bounce game,” I say as Jack leans over to look at Max’s screen. Soon all of us are tapping on the screen, throwing the digital ball back and forth--until Max discovers the weapons part of the game. Now digital explosions are flashing on our screens and Cubby is laughing his head off.
So we’re a bit simple minded, okay? At least the seriously long trip down to Texas will be entertaining!
***
“We’re here.” The words jerk me awake--okay, I’m lying. It’s not so much the words as the ice cold marbles that are rolling down my shirt. Either way, I’m awake. I jump to my feet, doing a stupid dance to get the marbles out of my shirt. Max merely records me with his phone and I realize belatedly that Panther’s holding the marble bag.
“That was cold,” I complain as the last marble drops to the floor and rolls away.
“Your father told me how hard it was to wake you up,” he says simply. “We don’t have time to
“What about Krispy?” Jack asks, looking worried. “He’s not going to do something to my dog, is he?”
“Nah,” I say, “I think it has something to do with the guy that made him that way.”
“Huh,” Jack says.
“Regardless, we have training to do. I’m certain that Superior and Nico can handle it with no problem,” Panther says, getting into the driver’s seat. “Sunny, you’re in charge of Cubby while I’m driving,” he adds over his shoulder. “Push the second button and your chair will come up.”
“Um, yeah, sure,” I say, suddenly realizing what I was really brought here for. I’m the babysitter boy. I push the button.
“He’s got snacks in the cabinet next to you. Try to go light on the cheese curls, he’s a little too addicted,” Pan adds, checking the rearview mirrors and starting the RV. Ace and I grab a seat as he starts to drive. To my surprise, the moment I sit down in my chair, a tablet on a mechanical arm comes up.
“How do I get mine?” Max asks, looking over at us.
“Button on the right,” Jack says. “You can’t actually stop Nico from pimping out a machine--half the time I caught him adding things without even looking, like all of a sudden there’s a computer console floating behind his back as he toys with the wiring on the other side of the RV.”
“Sounds like Dad,” I say, tapping on the screen and staring blankly at the list of online classes provided. “He programmed this with college agricultural classes,” I mutter. “Was this chair made for me?”
“We put you there so you can reach Cubby when you need to,” Pan calls back to me. “Of the four of you, you’re the one I trust most.”
“He’s got a point,” Ace admits. “I don’t even have cousins--I don’t think I’ve even dealt with a kid younger than me before, except when I visit the hospitals. That doesn’t count, does it?”
“I have!” Jack says. Everyone but Pan turns to look at him.
“So we’re all agreed, Sunny’s the best choice,” Max says blandly.
“Yep,” Ace says.
“It wasn’t up for debate,” Pan drawls.
“I didn’t try to flush all of them,” Jack mutters, crossing his arms over his chest. The sound of muffled laughter comes from Max, but when I look at him he’s staring intently at his screen as if nothing happened. Soon everyone has their tablets pulled up. There’s a long stint of silence, until I stumble upon the games.
There’s an image of everyone in the room on the tablet, and a ball floating in the middle. I glance up, looking over at Cubby. “You wanna play ball, buddy?” I ask him, leaning over and bringing up the game on his tablet. He lets out a delighted laugh and smacks the screen with his hand lightly. Max jerks, looking a bit blank.
“There’s a ball in my screen.”
“Dad programmed a ball bounce game,” I say as Jack leans over to look at Max’s screen. Soon all of us are tapping on the screen, throwing the digital ball back and forth--until Max discovers the weapons part of the game. Now digital explosions are flashing on our screens and Cubby is laughing his head off.
So we’re a bit simple minded, okay? At least the seriously long trip down to Texas will be entertaining!
***
“We’re here.” The words jerk me awake--okay, I’m lying. It’s not so much the words as the ice cold marbles that are rolling down my shirt. Either way, I’m awake. I jump to my feet, doing a stupid dance to get the marbles out of my shirt. Max merely records me with his phone and I realize belatedly that Panther’s holding the marble bag.
“That was cold,” I complain as the last marble drops to the floor and rolls away.
“Your father told me how hard it was to wake you up,” he says simply. “We don’t have time to
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