Capítulo XIV- 'Día De Leo'

     If it weren't for the screen in front of Patience, the bionic siblings' movements would cause an eyebrow to arch. A pair of goggles rested on the bridge of their noses with funky colors blinking, reading their eye movement and displaying the environment around them. They stood on a platform, a glowing ring below their feet detecting bodily movement. They wore their mission suits, decorating their bodies in red and grey. The environment displayed around them was a destroyed city. They stood on an empty parking lot with a broken edge and rusted lamp posts flickering above.

     Patience's mouth twisted every time one of them reached too close to the other sibling and whacked them, whether it would be an arm or a leg. Disguised, two ninjas jumped to Bree. They attempted to grab at her, but she super sped away. Adam and Chase lunged at the masked rebels and fought them off.

     Chase kicked the last rebel toward Adam and threw him into the distance. A loud buzz rang as Mr. Davenport stopped the simulation. He removed the key from the cyber desk and held it up, "Adam, that was the rebel leader. The whole purpose of today's mission simulation was to interrogate him."

     He replied, "I did, and his answer was," he threw his body forward and waved his arms aimlessly, "AHHHH!" He hopped off the platform and grabbed his water and towel off the cyber desk. His siblings followed behind.

     "Hey, next time, could you maybe throw in a cute, blue-eyed rebel?" Bree suggested. Mr. Davenport sent her a look. "What? I'm just sayin'. It's not gonna kill you to add a little somethin'-somethin' for the ladies." 

     Leo stretched his arm out, "Step aside, amateurs." He grasped Adam and Chase's goggles and dragged Patience off her stool, linking their arms. Her eyebrows furrowed as he led her to the platform. "Go ahead, Big D. Set it to 'Awesome' so Patience and I can kick some butt." He placed his hands on his hips, heroically standing.

     Patience smiled and placed her goggles on. Darkness took over, but she still looked around the room. "Yeah, Mr. Davenport! It's time to put my skills to the test!" She turned her body to the side, lifting her foot. She huffed out a strong kihap, for a sidekick.

     Mr. Davenport lifted the goggles off their faces. Patience frowned seeing the bright colors of the lab. She looked around to find the bionic siblings a couple of feet away by the rock wall. They sat in their chairs around the glass table with their belongings, taking a break. However, they listened to every word between Mr. Davenport, Leo, and Patience.

     Mr. Davenport kept the goggles close to himself. He stated, "These goggles are not a toy."

     Leo responded, "Come on! My birthday's coming up. Globally known as Dia De Leo."

     "No. I designed the mission simulator to fine-tune their bionics. Not to go on 3-D joyrides." He shut the goggles off. He placed a hand on his shoulder, "Besides, you're not trained for it."

     "I'm trained for it. Patience taught me how to block," Leo smugly said, crossing his arms.

     "Mr. Davenport, this could extend my skills in martial arts." Patience held her hands out, "Technically I'm still a blue belt, but I haven't stopped practicing."

     Leo leaned in, whispering to him, "That's three belts below a black belt without the strips."

     "No," he restated. "None of you have the training required to use it." Mr. Davenport stepped off the platform, attempting to end the conversation.

     But the two teenagers followed behind him. Leo attempted, "Well, how about as a birthday gift you give me my first bionic ability?"

     "Or I could gift-wrap reality and you could play with that for a while," Mr. Davenport quickly squeezed his shoulder. He grinned and walked away, leaving Leo and Patience standing by themselves.

     Chase rose from his chair, "So Leo's having a birthday." He crossed his arms, asking, "What are you, like, nine?"

     Leo dully corrected, "14."

     Chase snickered, "No, seriously."

     Leo's eyes widened and Chase's grin fell. He awkwardly looked at Patience, whose eyebrows were furrowed. "If you thought he was nine, how old did you think I was?"

     Chase answered, "No, I always thought you were 14. It was just a little harder to tell with Leo."

     Bree chortled and rested her hands on her hips. She asked Leo, "So, how are you going to celebrate?"

     Leo smiled, raising his eyebrows, "We're all going to celebrate. Every year my mom throws me a big surprise party."

     Disbelieved, Adam questioned, "Really."

     "Really?"

     "Last year, she baked a cake the size of me," Leo pointed his thumbs to himself. "I'm not gonna brag, but I was delicious."

     Patience pursed her lips, "There has to be a better way to phrase that." She waved her hand, "But it was still super good! Imagine it!"

     The bionic teenagers turned their heads up to the sky as if they were imagining it. Patience gave them a look of curiosity, but let them use their imagination to the best. 

     Patience unlocked her phone and lowered the brightness. She contained her excitement, merely showing her smile as she stood in the middle of the bionic siblings. She shushed them as the phone displayed Leo's present she and Tasha bought for Leo. Well, Dante as well. When she didn't have enough from her allowance, he pitched in the last couple of dollars.

     Adam gasped and she covered his mouth. Bree peered over Chase's shoulder and tilted Patience's phone closer to her direction. Her eyes widened seeing that her eyes were not deceiving her. Chase shushed his siblings before Leo could hear them. Mr. Davenport stole his attention to the other side of the room. They were looking at his monitor as he answered Leo's questions.

     Patience couldn't hold it in anymore. If it was something smaller, then she could keep her mouth shut. But not what they bought him. She hadn't bought him something this expensive before. It was only a few hours away before Patience could reveal his present. She trusted the bionic siblings would be able to keep the secret for two more days. Though, she might give Adam three hours before he spilled. She would have to keep him in check.

     Patience shut her phone as the lab doors hissed open. The bright orange blazer clinging onto Tasha's frame blurred, rushing to Mr. Davenport's side. She had the biggest grin Patience had ever seen her wear. She quickly said, "Guess what? I just found out that I won an award for my undercover reporting on expired produce: Something in The Crisper Can Kill You." Her hands laced together.

     "Congratulations!" Mr. Davenport embraced her. "That's so great!"

     "Oh, thank you, but the award banquet is the same night as Leo's birthday," her eyebrows creased together. Tasha rubbed Leo's arm, sympathizing, "I'm sorry, honey. I'm gonna miss it. If I don't show up, I'm afraid that they're gonna give my award to overdramatic screenhog Linda Montieres."

     Leo placed an assuring hand on her. "It's okay, mom. Go have fun. You deserve it." He trekked away to the bionic siblings and Patience. Bree curled a fist around Leo's shirt. He tripped over his feet. "Hey."

      She roughly yanked him closer to the others. "I thought she was gonna throw you a party." Bree demanded, "I was promised a party!"

     "Every year she comes up with this lame excuse to make me think she's not throwing me a party." He glanced at the happy married couple conversing about the award. "Award? Please. Have you seen her reporting?" he commented. "Right, Patience?"

     Her lips parted, snapping her head to him. "Uh, wha-" She nervously chuckled, "I don't want to answer that question."

     Tasha inquired, making her way toward him and setting a hand on his shoulder, "Leo, are you sure you're not mad? We've never been apart on your birthday."

     Adam's figure towered over Leo as he rubbed his shoulders. "Oh, please! He'll have plenty of birthdays," he shrugged, "but who knows when you'll win anything again." 

     Leo held a panicked look and Tasha's face fell, her lips pouting out. Patience tapped his arm and shook her head. Adam let go of Leo, hiding his hands in his jacket.

     "Mom, go get your award." Leo coughed, "Chocolate frosting."

     "I promise we will celebrate the following night," Tasha assured.

     "Hey, why haven't we ever had a birthday party?" Bree motioned to Adam and Chase, asking Mr. Davenport.

     "Donald!" Tasha scolded, "You haven't thrown them a birthday party?"

     "Of course, I celebrated their birthdays. Remember when we-" Bree placed her hands on her hips and pursed her lips. "When we went to the-" Chase crossed his arms, denying his memory. Mr. Davenport admitted, "Yeah, I never celebrated their birthdays."

     Tasha quirked an eyebrow, "Did you also eat all the cookies before Santa came down the chimney?"

     In a soft voice, Bree questioned, "What's Santa?"

     Leo, Patience, and Tasha's jaws dropped, glancing back at Adam, Bree, and Chase. Their heads slowly turned back to Mr. Davenport. "Oh, come on!" Tasha glared at him. She marched to the lab doors. Mr. Davenport trailed behind her, countering her scolds.

     Leo spun to his siblings and best friend. "This is gonna be the best birthday ever. The size of the party is equal to the size of the excuse. I'll go work on my surprise face." Ambling to the doors, he slowly pivoted and his jaw dropped, extending his arms out. He walked backward, expressing his surprise faces.

     Adam clapped, "Whoo-hoo!" He gathered Bree, Chase, and Patience in a huddle. "Leo's having a surprise party!"

    Patience winced, "I don't think so. Tasha hasn't told me anything about his surprise party."

     "Well, maybe she's finally found out how much of a horrible liar you are," Adam smiled, putting a hand on her shoulder. Patience's lips pursed and her head fell forward.

     "Adam, if Leo was having a surprise party, don't you think we'd be invited?" Chase pointed out, crossing his arms.

     "Yeah, you're right," his eyebrows furrowed. "Who does Tasha think she is not inviting us?"

     "No," Bree snapped. "Tasha and Davenport really are going to an awards ceremony. This is horrible. Leo's gonna be so disappointed."

     "Yeah, every year, Tasha surprises him. Even if it was just once, he's going to be crushed." Patience frowned, "This was the first birthday he was going spend with you guys."

     Chase's face lit up. "Unless we throw him a surprise party and invite everyone from school."

     "Well, what do we know about throwing a surprise party? Patience, have you ever had a birthday party?" Bree asked.

     Patience's mouth twisted. She thought back to the last party celebrated in her home. She didn't count the ones Dante and Tasha surprised her with the last two years. It was a small thing with cake, movies, and video games at her house. The last one she had was before her parents' divorce. "I haven't had one since I was ten."

     Adam shrugged, "Well if it was me, I'd want a bouncy house and a pinata. Wait, and a clown. No, wait! Put the pinata on the clown, in the bouncy house, and hit everything at once!" Patience, Bree, and Chase sent him strange looks. "Candy's bound to come out of somewhere."

     "Oh!" Bree beamed, suggesting, "Let's invite Glitterhead! You know that internet star who sings her songs in sign language? You might have heard her latest CD, Talk to the Hand."

     "Or maybe we could bring what he likes for his birthday," Patience motioned around them.

    "Patience is right. Leo would want something cool at his party," Chase agreed. "Like those sci-fi mutants from his favorite television show." His hand made a fin on top of his head, Shark Man, and," he bounced up, flipping his arms, "Flipper Boy!"

    Patience asked, "Chase isn't that your favorite TV show?"

     He countered, "It could be his too."

     "No," she disagreed. "I don't think it is. He likes those Zombie Pig movies, Alien Gladiators, superheroes, I can make a whole list if you want?"

     Bree tucked her hands in her back pockets. She inputted, "You know, Leo's a great brother. Why don't we just give him all three and throw in the things in Patience's list."

     "Whoo-hoo! Yeah!" Adam clapped. "We havin' a party! Leo's gonna be so surprised. I'm gonna go tell him."

     He took a step and Patience grasped his arm, "Adam, it's a surprise party."

    She released him. "Oh, right," he nodded, smiling. "Well, I'm going to go tell Leo he's not having a surprise party. That was close. He almost found out."

     "No, Adam," Patience grabbed him again and gently pushed him by the stomach to Bree and Chase. "I'm going to go home and get started on the cake." She instructed, "You guys set up the balloon and decorations. I'll bring some stuff over for decoration too. I'll text you a list of Leo's interests. So, please, get them."

     "Got it."

     "Yep."

     "Question," Adam raised a finger, "can we still bring the bouncy house and clown?"

    Patience answered, "Yes, but only if you get the things I sent on the list." 

     Adam pumped his fist.

     Patience withdrew her phone from her pocket. She clicked on her contacts and created a group chat with just the bionic siblings before she left the lab. She pictured her kitchen, recalling all the items. Most of the ingredients to make a cake were in her home already. She smiled to herself realizing she would have to make one quick stop to the grocery store for two things.

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Edited August 2nd, 2024