Law rubbed at his eyes, rolling over on the bed and glancing at the alarm clock beside him. It was already 9:52 in the morning. He blinked, surprised by how long he'd managed to stay asleep. Usually he woke up several times a night, but today was one of those lucky occurrences.
Noises on the floor caught his attention. Shachi and Penguin were sprawled out under a blanket, in nothing but their boxers, snoring rather loudly. He winced at a particularly phlegm-filled intake of air. It was a miracle those two got any sleep at all with the volume of noise they produced…Actually, it was a miracle anyone got sleep with them around.
Swinging his legs over the bed, he padded over to the mirror and ran a hand through his hair. The circles under his eyes were getting darker and more pronounced as time went on. With a sigh, he got dressed and opened the door without disturbing his crew mates.
"Hmm." He muttered, noticing that Lexi was no longer asleep on the couch. Then, it occurred to him that Lexi was probably on her way to class. One look in her room confirmed that her purse, book bag, and Lexi herself were all missing. He was willing to bet her truck would be gone as well.
Footsteps behind him caused Law to turn. Bepo meandered up to him, rubbing at his eyes. "Where'd Lexi go? I don't smell her." He sniffed the air once more just to be sure.
"Most likely to the university." He replied, descending the stairs. Bepo followed him to the kitchen, where the captain poured himself a cup of coffee, already brewed thanks to the timer on the machine.
"Do you think my uniform is done?" The bear asked, and Law shrugged.
"You could go check. She took it in there." He pointed to the laundry room, sipping at his coffee. Bepo went to see if he could find his uniform. Law could see that his fur was matted in some places, and thought that perhaps the bear should get a much-needed bath after most of the day spent in the rain.
Thankfully, the skies looked fairly clear, though Lexi had emphasized that the weather changed quickly here.
Something on the fridge caught his eye, and he walked closer. There was a piece of paper held by a magnet. It read:
'I'll be at classes basically all day. If you need anything just call me on my cell phone. Bepo's uniform is in the dryer so he can wear it now, and tell the boys that they aren't allowed outside of the house. No exceptions! Please take care of Nana, and don't let her touch anything dangerous. I worry about her enough already. I'll call around lunch time to check up on you guys. Lexi.'
Law put the note down, grinning at her written words. It seems she had been serious when she'd grounded his engineers. Though whether he decided to go through with her threat since she couldn't still had yet to be decided.
Bepo came back into the kitchen wearing his orange jumpsuit, looking decided happier than before. "It's a lot cleaner than before." He said.
Law nodded, downing the last of his drink. "Perhaps we'll need to give you a bath today too."
"But I don't fit in Lexi's bathroom."
"Yes, we'll have to work around that." Law said slowly, placing his empty mug in the sink. He glanced around, as if the answer would be somewhere within his line of sight, but he still drew a blank. Perhaps he'd find a way later.
The door upstairs opened again, and the two engineers rushed to the bathroom. Shachi got inside first, leaving Penguin to bang on the door helplessly.
"Come on! I've gotta go just as much as you!"
"Deal with it!" Shachi called, and Penguin looked around pleadingly. Law sighed, walking closer to the base of the stairs.
"You know there's a bathroom down on this floor, right?" Law called, and Penguin perked up as he ran down the steps two at a time. Somehow, he didn't fall flat on his face.
"Thanks, Captain!" He disappeared around the corner and the bathroom door shut.
"I swear…" Law didn't finish his thought, shaking his head in bewilderment.
*Two Hours Later*
Lexi wrote down the last of her English lecture notes, stuffing the notebook into her bag once she was done. Just in time too. The professor began erasing everything she'd written on the board a few moments later, and Lexi sighed in relief. At least all the information was on hand this time. The last test had been so difficult without some of the material.
Someone slapped a hand onto Lexi's right shoulder, and she jumped up with a gasp. Spinning, she locked eyes with that football player from a few days ago. Cooper was his name. She let out an exasperated sigh.
"Oh, it's you." The blonde only grinned.
"Ah, don't sound so disappointed. It hurts my pride." He placed a hand over his heart, pretending to be wounded by her words. Stuffing the rest of her things into the bag and tossing it over her shoulder, she shook her head.
"What do you want, Cooper?" Her blatant distaste of his presence seeped into her voice, but he seemed to ignore it. If he had noticed at all. Who knew when it came to those jocks?
"I wanted to ask if you and your Greek friend were still coming to the party this weekend? Having an actual Greek at a fraternity party would be rad." He said, flashing his 'winning' smile once again. She raised a brow, cocking her hip.
"I said we would think about it. I might have plans."
"Well, as long as he can come than if you're busy that's ok." Her eyes went half-lidded at the barely disguised insult, but she put on a face and gave a fake smile.
"I'll keep that in mind." Her monotone replied. She was just thankful that her shirt didn't give him any chances to look down the front again
"Sweet. I'll catch you later." He said, raising a hand in farewell and turning to head towards the doors.
"Don't sound so disappointed, it hurts my pride." She mocked under her breath in a funny voice, scoffing at the sheer ridiculousness of it all. Did guys like him actually exist? Before any other jerks could approach her, she picked up her things and left the room to head to the union building for lunch.
Along the way, she pulled out her phone and checked the screen. There weren't any missed calls from home. They hadn't tried to call. Lexi hoped she could take that as a good sign and assume that everything was going fine. She swallowed, praying that she could safely make that assumption.
No longer able to ignore her growling stomach, she turned towards the food court in the union building and got in line for the Chinese food. The smells wafted throughout the room, and she salivated at the scent of teriyaki sauce.
"I know it's cold but I can't change the temperature." Law said, spraying the stream of water onto the white bear with a sigh. The first mate huddled on the grass with a resigned shiver.
"I'm sorry." He said, dropping his head.
"No matter." Law replied, lathering the soap in his hands and rubbing it along the bear's back. The soap coated his fur with white bubbles, making it soft and smooth. Law accidentally got the water too close to his face, and Bepo shook his head to rid himself of the water.
"Hey!" Law shouted, getting splashed with water. At least he wasn't wearing his shirt so it didn't get wet, and his pants were already sprinkled with water from the spray, but the cold mist of moisture flecked onto his bare chest and it came as a shock. "Stay still, Bepo."
"Yes, Captain."
Shachi and Penguin sighed deeply, staring up at the ceiling from their places lying on the floor. The ceiling fan spun slowly, creating the barest of breezes down on the two pirates. The TV was on, the volume barely above a hearable level, but whatever it was that was on wasn't interesting in the least. What's more, Law had decided to implement Lexi's grounding, and they weren't allowed outside at all. This left little for them to do, other than lay there like lumps.
"I'm so booorrrreeed." Penguin moaned, stretching out on the carpet.
"So am I." His friend responded.
Outside, they could hear the sounds of water splashing, and the Captain talking to Bepo. The bear was getting a bath, and since he wouldn't be able to fit in the tub inside the house, they had no choice but to use the hose and some soap they'd found upstairs. The sounds of outdoor activities had them sighing in depression again. Oh, how they wished they could find something to distract them.
"Why didn't we bring some of our card decks with us?" Penguin asked no one in particular. Shachi sat up, looking around dejectedly.
"If only we had brought one of the board games from the sub too…" He mused, and then suddenly he had an idea. "Hey, do you think Lexi-chan has any games lying around?"
"Maybe. But do you think we would know how to play any of them?" Penguin sat up as well, rubbing the inactivity from his eyes.
"Only one way to find out." He stood, wandering over to the cupboard under the TV stand. Opening it, he found a bunch of rectangular boxes. Frowning, he picked one up.
"What is that?" Penguin asked, pointing to the thing in his hand.
"It says 'The Amazing Spiderman'" He scratched the back of his head, flipping it over to the other side.
"Is it a game?"
"No idea. But Lexi-chan has a lot of them." Shachi put the one in his hand to the side, picking up another from inside the cupboard. "Ferngully? What's that?" A fairy was flying through a forest on the front, but neither really understood what it was trying to say.
"How am I supposed to know? This one says 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre.' Sounds creepy. And the front doesn't look very nice either." There was a dark picture of a man shrouded in shadow on the front, and they put it to the side.
"I don't think these are games." Penguin finally said, helping his friend put away all the boxes. "Hmm…what about in the closet up front?"
They made their way to the front door, going down the hallway to the closet. Opening it, they were almost hit with Law's sword as it toppled over, but they caught it easily.
"Phew. Captain would kill us if we broke his sword." They placed it to the side so it wouldn't fall again. Turning their attention to the inside, they looked around.
There were coats hung by hooks on all sides, but a small shelf at the top held a few long boxes. They were decorated by pictures and words, and the first one they saw they grabbed.
"Hmm…Monopoly?"
"Sounds kind of fun. And look, it definitely looks like a game. I hear pieces on the inside." Shachi shook the box, and they wandered back into the living room after replacing Law's sword on the inside.
Placing the box on the ground, they opened the lid, revealing a set of small silver figures, some dice, several different types of cards, the game board, and a manual for instructions.
Suddenly, the phone in the kitchen rang, and the two looked to each other. "It's probably Lexi-chan!" Shachi said, standing to get it. Penguin followed just as quick, chasing after him.
"I wanna answer it!"
"No, I get to!"
"Says who?"
"Says me!"
"Lexi-chan likes me more!"
"No way, baka!"
They reached the phone and hit their thumbs on the answer button at the same time. "Hello?" They said in unison, angrily glaring at each other for getting in the way.
There was a pause. "Uh, Shachi? Penguin?"
"Hi, Lexi-chan!" They greeted happily. "How is the university?"
"Oh, it's fine. Anyways, I was just calling to check in. How is everything there?"
They glanced at the back door, still hearing the water outside from the hose. "Oh, it's great! Captain is giving Bepo a bath right now-"
"Please tell me he's not using my bathroom for that." She sounded distressed. Penguin grinned.
"Don't worry, he's using a hose we found outside and some soap from upstairs."
"Alright, well I might need to buy more soap after that, but as long as he doesn't make a mess." She sighed in relief. "What are you guys up to?"
"We found this box that says Monopoly on it. We were about to play it."
She laughed on the other end. "Monopoly? Oh boy, I hope you two are still friends by the end of it."
"What do you mean?" Shachi asked, and they both frowned in confusion.
"You'll see." Was all she said. "Has Nana woken up yet? On Friday's she'll sleep in a lot, so just try to keep it down if she's still asleep."
"No, but we'll be sure not to wake her up." Shachi promised.
"Yeah, nothing'll go wrong!" Penguin guaranteed.
"Hmm. Sure. Anyways, I'm eating lunch now so I gotta go. And if you guys are hungry there's stuff in the fridge you can heat up in the microwave. But read the directions first just to be safe. And don't eat it all."
"No problem, Lexi-chan!" They said in unison once again, and she sighed.
"Alright, call if you need anything. See ya." There was a beep, and they couldn't hear anything after that. They hung the phone back up and wandered back into the living room.
"Now, let's read the directions before we get started."
ns18.97.14.88da2
