“Ok-ay. It’s nice to see that you both are up so early… to see me off and for the early worms. I guess you’re excited about your sleepover as well.” He looked back at the living room before he turned his attention to them again. “Listen, maybe you two could straighten the apartment up a little today for me before you head out,” he suggested with a hopeful expression.
“Sure,” Spring said.
“Yeah, we can clean up a little,” Phoenix added.
“Thanks, and be good. Don’t let the boys talk you into doing anything crazy,” he half-teased before he grew serious. “I mean it. Don’t let them talk you into any adventures.”
Spring shot Phoenix a glance. “What makes you think the boys would do that?” she asked, shooting a sideway glance at Phoenix.
“I may be old, but I remember what your uncles and I used to get into during our breaks. Thank goodness you have Alice and Adaline. I’m not including Amber and Jade. They are probably as bad as the boys,” he joked.
“Yeah, Phoenix has already warned them to behave,” Spring mumbled before giving their dad a brilliant smile when he bent and kissed her on her forehead.
“Have fun at your sleepover, but…” his gaze flickered between them again, “not too much fun.”
Spring’s lips twitched. “We’ll be good, won’t we, Phoenix?”
Phoenix nodded. “Yeah, it will be fun.”
Phoenix tilted her head when he bent down to kiss her before she stepped aside. He pulled open the door, paused, and looked back at them. Opening his mouth, he suddenly aborted what he had planned to say and grumbled under his breath instead, shaking his head.
Phoenix clasped her hands behind her back with her fingers crossed. She tried not to laugh when their dad muttered, ‘I’ll be glad when Carmen is home,’ before disappearing through the doors. The moment he was gone, Spring broke into giggles.
“Come on,” Phoenix said, nudging Spring with her elbow. “Let’s throw everything into our bedroom before we leave.”
The two hurriedly cleared the clutter in the living room, before ordering Stardust and Little Bit to stay put. If they took the symbiots with them, it would be a huge broadcast that they had gone on another adventure. If the symbiots were here, then their dad would think they were too. Besides, it would be a little difficult trying to explain the creatures where they were going.
Thirty minutes later, they were heading toward the massive treehouse nestled in the royal gardens. The towering golden-leafed branches glowed in the morning light. Laughter and eager voices drifted down from above.
As soon as they climbed up, Roam greeted them with a shake of his head.
“My dad was rubbing his butt and muttering about ‘bald spots’ all morning.”
Spring and Phoenix burst out laughing.
“I’d pay to see that,” Spring wheezed.
Jade giggled. “I bet Amber and I could get some holovid footage if we tapped into the security system cameras in the amusement park.”
“Really? Can you—?” Roam’s voice faded as he and Jade moved away.
Phoenix sighed and pushed her hair back from her face. “Let’s just focus on getting through this adventure without getting grounded for the rest of our lives.”
Taking a deep breath, Phoenix turned to the group, eyes blazing with excitement. “We can’t take our symbiots. That would be like waving a red flag over us.”
“We told ours to stay and pretend like we were still there,” Jade and Amber said.
“Mine’s going to stay in the treehouse with Bálint and Jabir’s,” Zohar said.
“Yeah, they are going to cover for us and make shadows like we are in here if our dads check on us,” Jabir said.
“Good. Everybody, remember, don’t draw attention to yourselves. We don’t know how they would react to us visiting,” Phoenix cautioned, trying to remember all the things her teacher said could happen.
“But… they didn’t mind you visiting last time, did they?” Jabir asked with a frown.
Phoenix shook her head. “There was something really weird going on then. I-I didn’t really get to see that much,” she said. “In fact, it might not be that interesting.”
“That’s okay. At least it will be something to do today, even if we don’t get to see pirates,” Bálint said.
