The morning air was fresh, carrying a sense of new beginnings as Harper walked down the road to the Davenport mansion. The pale blue sky was dotted with soft, white clouds, and a light breeze rustled the leaves along the sidewalk. Birds flitted between the trees, their cheerful songs signaling the start of a new day.

She reached the front door and knocked twice, her heart light with anticipation of spending the weekend with Leo. They had planned to catch the new Pig Zombie movie—Pig Zombie: Cruise Ship Massacre in 3-D - Hungry Hogs on the High Seas. Harper couldn't wait to dive into the absurdity of it all.

A few moments later, the door swung open and Chase greeted her with a wide smile.

"Harper!" He greeted, his face lighting up.

"Hey." Harper replied, stepping inside as Chase held the door open for her. As she crossed the threshold, she noticed the silver case handcuffed to his wrist. "Why do you have a case?"

Before Chase could respond, Adam burst through the front door with a laundry basket in his arms, grinning excitedly. "Hey, guys. The neighbors are selling their stuff in the front yard. I spent my last five bucks on this whole basket of used socks!"

"You don't even wear socks." Chase pointed out, giving Adam a puzzled look.

"Hello? Sock puppets." Adam replied, immediately slipping socks onto his hands and making exaggerated puppet faces.

Bree, who had been sitting on the couch with a few dolls, chimed in enthusiastically. "Well, I spent my chore money starting my hideous baby collection." She held up each doll, showcasing them proudly. "There's Lip-Sore Lizzy, Pink-Eye Peggy, and limited-edition Triple-Chin Chuck."

"What'd you buy, Chase?" Adam asked, eyeing the case handcuffed to his wrist.

"I bought financial security. That's right. Just me and my money for the rest of my life." Chase replied proudly, pointing to the handcuffed case on his wrist. "I'm saving every last dollar. Friends come and go, but money is forever."

Harper couldn't help but laugh at his dramatics, but before she could comment, Tasha walked into the kitchen.

"Hey, guys." Tasha greeted, her presence immediately filling the room. "How's it going?"

"Great, now that you're back!" Chase exclaimed, practically bouncing as he joined her in the kitchen with Bree and Adam following behind. "Money, money, money, money, money."

Tasha sniffed the air, wrinkling her nose slightly. "Is someone cooking bacon?"

"Oh, turkey bacon." Adam corrected. "I'm cooking it in my new bacon pack." He turned to reveal a backpack attached to a small grill. With tongs in hand, he pulled a crispy piece of bacon from the grill. "It's a bacon cooker! On my back in a pack in case I wanna snack."

"Look, I'm glad you guys all love your chores, but you already did everything. You're going to have to wait until next week." Tasha informed the bionic siblings before she left the kitchen.

Adam's eyes widened in disbelief. "What? No, no way. I'm down to my last two pairs of spray-on jeans."

"And I have to get that Drooling Debbie Doll. She's part of a set with Barfy Betty." Bree added, showing the doll, which indeed began to vomit as she tilted it slightly. "How cute is she?"

Harper, sitting on the couch, grimaced slightly. "That's gross, Bree."

Bree shrugged, unfazed, as Adam began petting the doll with an expression of strange affection. Harper glanced at him, confused.

Chase shook his head with an amused smirk. "Now, now, now. If only you had saved your money. You'd be feeling as secure as.... Oh, who am I kidding?" He hugged the silver case to his chest with a wide grin. "I need more money too."

"Wait a minute. Why don't we just sell our things like the neighbors did?" Bree suggested. "I mean, there is plenty of stuff around here that no one uses."

"Yeah, like, this figurine. Or this book. Or this pillow." Chase said as he grabbed each object in the living room.

"Hey, I use that." Adam protested, gesturing to the pillow.

"For what?"

Adam snatched the pillow back and, without missing a beat, smacked Chase square in the face with it. Harper stifled a laugh, watching as Chase fell backward onto the couch.

Chase sat up, glaring at Adam.

"What?" Adam shrugged innocently, clearly amused. "You asked."

••••

Later that afternoon, Harper decided to head down to the Lab. As she made her way toward the elevator, she spotted Leo standing inside, a frown on his face as he stared at the floor.

"Leo, what's the matter?" Harper asked, stepping inside the elevator and pressing the button for the Lab.

"I can't go to the movies, because miss bank manager put a freeze on my fun account." Leo explained sadly, referring to his mother.

The elevator doors closed and Harper sighed, leaning against the wall as the elevator descended. When it finally stopped, they both exited and Leo continued to mope as they entered the Lab.

"I'm gonna go out on a limb and say something's wrong." Mr. Davenport said, getting up from his desk and followed them into the Lab.

"The new Pig Zombie movie comes out this weekend and I can't go." Leo explained, leaning on the cyber desk.

"Wait, did you say 'Pig Zombie'?" Mr. Davenport's face lit up with amusement. "This little piggy went home..."

Harper and Leo immediately jumped in, shouting together: "To eat your face!"

Mr. Davenport let out a playful pig-like growl and groaned like a zombie, causing Leo and Harper to shriek in mock terror.

"No way! You like Pig Zombies?" Leo asked, his eyes wide with surprise.

"Do I breathe?" Mr. Davenport replied dramatically. "They're only the greatest movies in the history of movies ever made ever!"

"We know!" Harper chimed in excitedly.

"I memorized every line by heart. And my psychotic pig oink is dead on." Leo said, demonstrating with an exaggerated zombie pig squeal, making everyone laugh.

"Finally, I have people to watch these movies with." Mr. Davenport said with delight, throwing his arms wide. "Bree hates them. Adam's scared of them. And Chase always ruins them with logic. 'A pig can't peel a banana; a pig can't crack a safe. A pig can't jump an eighteen-wheeler over an unfinished section of the highway'."

Harper raised her arms in mock triumph. "Duh, you just saw it happen."

"You just saw it happen!" Mr. Davenport agreed, laughing. He turned to Leo, a confused expression crossing his face. "Wait, why can't you go see the new one?"

Leo hesitated before replying with a grin. "Because.... Harper and I don't have anyone to take us."

Mr. Davenport grinned. "Well, you do now. We'll go see the new one on Friday. And then Sunday we'll watch the Big Pig Marathon on TV. It'll be our Pig Zombie Porkapalooza."

"Awesome!" Leo and Harper exclaimed in unison, their faces lighting up with excitement.

"You think we should invite your mum?" Mr. Davenport asked Leo.

"No!" Leo replied quickly. "We should keep this our little secret, causing she's more into the vampire-cow flicks."

Mr. Davenport nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, those are good though. I vant to chew your cud!"

••••

On Friday night, after the thrilling screening of Pig Zombie 3-D: Cruise Ship Massacre, Harper, Leo and Mr. Davenport entered the Lab with wide grins plastered across their faces. They were all sporting matching 'I Survived Pig Zombie 3-D Cruise Ship Massacre' shirts and still wearing their 3-D glasses, clearly in high spirits from the movie.

Harper couldn't help but feel a little nostalgic as they entered the Lab. She'd always preferred the experience of watching movies in theaters rather than at home. There was something about the atmosphere - the massive screen, the surround sound and the excited energy of the crowd - that made it special.

In today's world, everyone was so accustomed to watching movies on streaming platforms, where you could pause for snacks or take bathroom breaks without missing a thing. But Harper believed there was a significant difference between watching a movie at home and in a theater. The theater was an experience; it was an event.

As they all took a seat, Harper couldn't stop thinking about the film. The new Pig Zombie movie had been a rollercoaster of emotions. She had laughed out loud at the ridiculous moments, gasped in fear during the scary parts and even felt a little sentimental when the pig's unlikely heroism came through. The ending had shocked her, as the twist no one saw coming left both her and the rest of the audience reeling. The movie had been a perfect mix of horror, comedy and unexpected thrills.

"That was the greatest movie ever! A pig on water skis? I did not see that coming." Mr. Davenport exclaimed.

Harper grinned and nodded enthusiastically. "Oh, and how about the part when the pig disguised himself as part of the midnight buffet?"

Just as she was about to keep going, Eddy's face appeared on the screen on the wall. "No, no, no! Stop talking! Do you not know the phrase, 'Spoiler Alert'?"

"Oh, sorry, Eddy." Mr. Davenport apologized. "I was just thinking about the big surprise ending where the main pig turns out to have been dead the whole movie."

"Oh! Shutting down! Shutting down!" Eddy shouted in outrage before the screen turned black.

Leo shot a glance at Mr. Davenport. "Oh, hey, let's keep this quiet, remember? We don't want anyone to know we saw the movie. It's our thing."

Mr. Davenport nodded, a sheepish look on his face. "Right. Okay. Hey, you wanna help me fix your mum's jewelry box?"

"I would, but I have something fun to do." He replied, heading towards the elevator.

"Harper?"

Harper hesitated. "Um... I probably have some homework to do."

With that, she quickly followed Leo to the elevator. They exchanged a knowing glance before the doors slid shut, leaving Mr. Davenport in the Lab.

••••

The next day, Harper made her way to the Davenport mansion, her arms filled with a stack of comic books. She had always loved comics because they combined two of her favorite things: books and movies.

Comics were like 'book-movies,' blending the visual action of film with the narrative depth of prose. They were an art form that allowed her to experience intricate plots and snappy dialogue while being swept away by dynamic illustrations, stunning set-ups, and imaginative special effects.

When she arrived at the mansion, she noticed an unusual silence hanging in the air. She opened the front door and stepped inside, only to find Leo sitting on the couch, looking a little guilty, with Tasha standing nearby, arms crossed and Mr. Davenport looming over him.

The tension was thick and Harper could immediately sense that something was off. Her instincts told her to turn around and leave, but before she could retreat, Tasha's voice rang out.

"Oh, no you don't!" Tasha exclaimed, her tone stern as she caught Harper just as she was about to close the door. "Harper Estelle Wilson!"

Harper let out a small sigh of defeat, realizing there was no way out of this. She reopened the door, stepped back inside and cautiously closed it behind her.

"Oh, you got the full name." Leo couldn't resist teasing her with a smirk.

"The movies. Did you know about this?" Tasha asked, her voice sharp.

Harper hesitated, shifting the comic books in her hands. She didn't want to make things worse, but it was too late. "Maybe...." She mumbled, nervously tugging at a strand of her hair. Tasha raised an eyebrow. "Yes."

Tasha's eyes narrowed as she shifted her focus back to Leo. "I can't believe you went behind my back and saw those freaky, monster pig things."

"And Leo, I can't believe you let me take you to the movie when your mum said no." Mr. Davenport added, flatly.

Tasha turned to her husband in disbelief. "You knew about this?"

"Yeah, but I had no idea you said he couldn't go because he didn't tell me." Mr. Davenport explained.

Tasha shook her head, clearly frustrated. She turned back to Leo, arms crossed, and a stern expression on her face. "So you lied to both of us."

"Oh, no. I lied to him. I disobeyed you." Leo quickly corrected her.

"You're grounded. No TV for a week." Tasha firmly, her arms still crossed. "I specifically told you not to see that movie."

Leo's eyes widened in protest. "Come on, this isn't fair. I don't like high-heeled shoes and lady magazines, but I don't tell you not to buy them with your money."

Mr. Davenport raised his hand, signaling Leo to stop talking, but it was too late as Tasha turned to him in disbelief.

"Sorry, I was just trying to stop him before he buried himself. But I was way too late." Mr. Davenport explained with a sheepish grin.

"What about Harper?" Leo inquired.

"She wasn't the one who lied." Tasha clarified.

"Yeah, I just tagged along." Harper said with a sheepish smile, hoping to deflect the attention away from her.

••••

Later that night, the Davenport family gathered in the living room, buzzing with excitement. Mr. Davenport stood proudly at the top of the stairs, gently guiding Tasha, who had her eyes closed with anticipation, down the steps. The moment had arrived for her surprise.

"Keep your eyes closed." Mr. Davenport instructed in a playful yet serious tone.

Tasha grinned, her curiosity palpable."Okay, okay."

"Keep 'em closed." Mr. Davenport repeated with a smile, his voice tinged with excitement.

"All right. All right." Tasha said enthusiastically, but as they made their way down the stairs, she tripped slightly, bumping into the couch. "Ow!"

"Watch where you're going." Mr. Davenport warned with a chuckle, steadying her gently before guiding her toward the couch.. "All right, sit down. There you go." Leo, standing by, handed over the jewelry box, which was carefully draped in a red cloth to keep the surprise intact. "Okay. And... open 'em!"

With a dramatic flourish, Mr. Davenport removed the cloth just as Tasha opened her eyes.

"Surprise!" Everyone shouted in unison, grinning from ear to ear.

Tasha's face lit up with disbelief. "Oh! You fixed my grandmother's jewelry box!"

"It took a long time, but Leo and I painstakingly restored it to its original condition." Mr. Davenport explained.

"Emphasis on the painstaking part." Leo added with a slight grimace, remembering how difficult the repair process had been.

"That is so sweet of you guys." Adam said sincerely, giving Mr. Davenport a friendly pat on the back.

However, the moment took an unexpected turn when Adam, still adjusting to his super strength, accidentally knocked into Mr. Davenport a little too hard. The force made Mr. Davenport drop the jewelry box, and it fell to the floor with a sharp clink.

Everyone gasped in shock, eyes widening as the box tumbled.

"Oh, my God." Harper muttered under her breath.

Adam, looking mortified, quickly pointed to the shattered pieces on the floor. "I'll clean that up for five bucks."

______________
PUBLISHED: 3.06.22
DEDICATIONS: Peters_suit_lady omgthatssocrazy