Chapter 38

Upon being immediately caught in the small lie, Mrs. Wilkerson took me by surprise. I saw Francis, who had nervously stood up beside me. "It was nothing I couldn't handle on my own," I assured the woman after a few seconds of contemplation.

"See, we behaved well; we don't need a babysitter," Francis quickly interjected.

"That's not what he said," Mrs. Wilkerson scolded her son, looking at him sternly with one eye narrowing slowly, almost as if scanning him.

After a few tense seconds, the woman turned her eyes away and tilted her head, releasing her son. "Go brush your teeth," she ordered, making her son quickly exit while muttering inaudible things.

"You did a good job, PJ. You were here all night, didn't have to call the fire department or the police, two out of three kids are already in bed, and it doesn't seem like there was much destruction in the house," Mrs. Wilkerson graciously listed as she searched through the house.

"I knew you were the right one sport," Mr. Wilkerson proudly said with a big smile as he pulled out his wallet.

"Thank you," I said, taking money from Mr. Wilkerson. "By the way," I continued walking towards where I had hidden the things I had taken from the kids, "I had to confiscate these," as I left the stapler and rat trap, "and in that cereal box, there's a ton of bait. The kids have hidden an unrated horror movie somewhere, and one of the trash cans has water with burned things," I said as a farewell, approaching the door, followed by a surprised Mr. Wilkerson.

"I'm sorry about that," the man shamefully opened the door quickly. "Do you need a ride home?" he asked.

"No need, thank you, Mr. Wilkerson. Goodnight, Mrs. Wilkerson," I said, quickly leaving the family's house and walking back home. Fortunately, I hadn't brought my car; who knows what kind of things these kids would have done to it.

Unlike a few hours ago, the street was almost completely dark, only illuminated by streetlights and the moonlight, but unlike how I would have felt in the neighborhood of my past life, I was not worried about my safety.

Inside my house, the only ones present, at least in the living room, were Bob and Mom, comfortably watching TV together. "Hi, PJ. How did it go?" Mom silently asked, moving away from Bob's embrace.

"Hi, Mom. It went well, though I'm quite tired. I just want to take a bath and sleep," I assured her, quickly heading to the bathroom, winking at Bob when I was out of the pregnant woman's sight, receiving a silent thank-you from the man as I let them continue their 'romantic' movie date.

I was really tired, so after cleaning up with a comfortable hot bath, I almost immediately laid my head on the pillow and fell asleep.

The next day, being Sunday and having no plans, I found myself surprisingly watching cartoons again with a young kid.

"PJ," with an excessively sweet voice, Teddy appeared in my field of vision, clasping her hands and strangely widening her eyes, seemingly trying to force some kind of cuteness.

"Uh-oh, this is what she does before asking Dad for something," Gabe playfully said. "Careful, PJ, hide your wallet," the kid continued, amused.

"It's not true, shut up!" losing her strange posture immediately, Teddy shouted at the kid, who began to laugh lightly, seeing that his plot to annoy the teenager had worked.

Pushing the little kid's head slightly, "don't bother Teddy," I reprimanded him, "what do you need?" I asked the teenager.

"So..." as quickly as before, Teddy changed her attitude and voice again, forcing sweetness, "Mom says if you take us, I can go to the mall with Baja and Bianca," she quickly said with hope in her voice. "I promise we won't bother you, and it's just for a couple of hours," without waiting for a response, Teddy continued.

"Yeah, sure," I replied to the nervous teenager. I didn't mind, anyway; I had nothing else to do.

"Oh, come on, please, just for a little while. Mom is going out with her work friends for coffee, and Dad is working an emergency. You're the only one with a driving license and free time today," apparently not hearing my response, Teddy already had a plan in case I refused.

"Teddy—" trying to resolve the misunderstanding, I was interrupted by the energetic teenager. "Please, pretty please!" pushing Gabe forcefully to wedge herself in the center of the sofa, Teddy practically begged again, widening her eyes sadly. Obviously annoyed at being pushed, Gabe pushed Teddy back with his shoulder "he said yes" the kid said exasperated.

"Really?!" surprised and unfortunately for my ears, Teddy asked joyfully, shouting before tightly hugging my neck. "Thanks, thanks, PJ." After a few seconds where I could hardly breathe, Teddy finally let go of my neck, quickly getting up to run out of the living room. "I have to call Bianca and Baja," she shouted before entering the kitchen.

"Women, huh," sighing with annoyance, Gabe settled back in his place, raising the volume of his cartoon before taking a sip from his milk glass, which he calmly left back on the small table in front of the sofa.

Amused again, I pushed the kid's head, much to his chagrin, without him being able to avoid it.

Several minutes later, and a mystery more than a talking dog and his friends managed to solve, Teddy returned excitedly. "Let's go, let's go," pulling me by an arm, the teenager urged me to move out of the house.

I had barely managed to grab my keys before my excited sister managed to pull me out the door. When we reached 'Debbie,' I opened the doors before entering. "Put on your seatbelt," I ordered the teenager before putting on my own and starting the car.

"All right, where are we going first?" I asked Teddy after a moment, allowing the car's engine to warm up.

"Let's go to Bianca's first," turning on the radio, searching for a good station, moving things inside the car, opening the glove compartment, and looking at herself in the small mirror of the sun visor, Teddy said casually.

"Oh yeah, sure, let's go to Bianca's house," I said sarcastically. "Where does Bianca live?" I asked after a moment, seeing that Teddy didn't understand my sarcastic comment.

"Oh, yeah, sorry," embarrassed, Teddy said before starting to guide me.

Several minutes after driving guided by Teddy, we arrived in front of a beautiful two-story house surrounded by a large garden at the corner of a street. "We're here!" Teddy cheerfully said, immediately getting out of the car as I parked 'Debbie' in front of the house.

From the driver's seat, I could see Kat comfortably lying on a small porch chair, quietly reading a book. It seemed that Teddy had greeted her as they passed by because without taking her eyes off the book, Kat raised a hand to wave at my sister, who was already knocking on the door.

A few seconds after Teddy knocked on the door, it opened, revealing her teenage friend, who, excited to see my sister, dragged her inside before closing the door behind them.

Surprised by my sister's sudden abduction, all I could do was wait inside the car for her and her friend to come out. At least I still had the music station Teddy had chosen.

It was interesting to witness the dichotomy in Kat's behavior, inside and outside of school. For the past few weeks, every time I coincidentally encountered her in the school hallways, she looked much more upset, strangely always alone. However, now, even when alone, there was a calmness about her as she read her book, involuntarily moving her feet that hung outside the small chair she was lying on.

Feeling the obligation to get out of the car to greet her, I followed the same path Teddy had taken a few moments ago until I reached the few steps before the porch of the house.

"Hey, Kat," I greeted the girl immersed in her book.

"Hi, PJ," she responded calmly while turning a page without diverting her attention from the book. "PJ!" a moment later, probably registering what she had just said, she shouted in surprise, closing her book immediately and hiding it behind her back as she straightened up on the chair. "What are you doing here?" she quickly asked while erratically fixing her messy hair with her free hand.

"I'm taking your sister, along with Teddy and another friend of theirs, to the mall," I explained to the teenager, who strangely seemed disappointed for a moment. "Oh, yeah, Teddy," probably remembering having greeted my sister a few seconds ago, she said, pointing to the door of her house.

As Kat raised her hand, she saw the sleeve of her hoodie, then took a hem of it, looking at it for a brief moment before quickly getting up, yelling "no!" to run surprisingly fast into the house.

"Yeah, it was nice to see you too. See you later at school," I said to no one as the girl left me alone outside her house. Kat's behavior took me by surprise. The hoodie was a bit old and a bit torn, yes, but I didn't think it was enough to elicit such a reaction. Well, obviously, it was the product of a teenager's modesty.

Checking my watch as I walked back to 'Debbie,' I hoped that my sister and her friend wouldn't take much longer to come out of the house. A few steps before I could leave the Stratford family's garden, the door of the house opened again. "Wait," I heard a woman's voice say.

From the door of the Stratford house, a blonde woman stood with a pleasant smile. "Oh, hi, nice to meet you, Mrs. Stratford. I'm PJ Duncan; my sister Teddy is inside with your daughter Bianca," I greeted, assuming the woman's identity, then walked back to the beginning of the porch steps.

"Yes, I know. Thank you for taking Bianca," the woman kindly said, still maintaining her pleasant smile. "So, you're the famous PJ," she said playfully, studying me alongside 'Debbie.'

"Famous?" I asked, surprised.

"Oh, yes, it's just that teachers talk about you and the little genius kid occasionally in the parent-teacher meetings," the woman said, amused by what was probably a surprised expression on my face. "And we went to see the last game," she continued before losing her playful smile, "sorry about that," she quickly apologized, probably thinking that the memory of the lost game had affected me, smiling again, albeit a bit forced.

"Don't worry," I said, trying to show that her comment hadn't affected me. "We'll win the next one," I asserted confidently to the woman, making her smile again. "So, we'll definitely be there to support you," she kindly assured before comfortably falling silent.

Not knowing how to continue the conversation, I also remained silent, making a sudden feeling of awkwardness grow quickly, if possible.

Descending the few porch steps of her house, the woman lost her friendly smile, putting on a much more serious face. "Look, PJ, you seem like a nice guy," she said, checking the door of the house and speaking in a low voice, "and I'm only telling you this because I believe you're really a great kid," she continued, lightly squeezing my arm, "please take care of my daughter." With seriousness, the woman requested.

"Oh yeah, don't worry about it, Mrs. Stratford. I'll keep an eye on wherever the girls go in the mall; Bianca will be safe," I assured the woman, imitating her serious demeanor.

"You're very kind, PJ, but I didn't mean Bianca," the woman responded, smiling again as she shook her head. Before I could ask what she meant, the door of the house opened again, and Teddy and Bianca came out heading towards 'Debbie,' talking merrily. "We're ready, PJ. Let's go. Mrs. Stratford, it was nice to see you again," Teddy said to the woman, who also said goodbye to the teenager and her younger daughter.

If the woman wasn't referring to Bianca when she asked me to take care of her daughter, then she was referring to "Katherina!" turning toward her house, the woman shouted, and a moment later, Kat, with a much less worn hoodie, came out of the house with a furrowed brow, walking slowly towards us.

"Please, PJ," smiling again, the woman said before walking back into her house. She stopped in front of her daughter for a moment, kissing her cheek and whispering something that, judging by Kat's reaction, slightly annoyed the teenager, making the woman laugh as she continued walking back into her house.

"Hello again," I greeted the teenager, amused. "So, are you coming with us?" when Kat reached my side, I asked playfully as we walked towards 'Debbie.'

"It seems so," staring ahead, Kat responded with irritation as she continued walking until we reached the car and the girls waiting.

"Hello, Bianca," I greeted the younger Stratford as I opened the driver's door and adjusted the seat for them to get into the back.

"Hi, PJ," for some reason, the amused teenager greeted back before quickly entering the car behind Teddy, apparently understanding how, promptly returning the passenger seat to its place behind her.

"Well, after you," I joked to a strangely irritated Kat, who quickly entered the car, allowing me to close the door behind her.

Bidding a final farewell to Mrs. Stratford, who stood on her porch with a much wider smile, I circled around 'Debbie' to enter through the driver's door.

Inside the car, the younger girls were laughing amusedly at something. "What's so funny?" I asked as I started the car. "Nothing," irritated Kat was the one who replied, making the girls in the back laugh even more.

"Why did you decide to come with us?" genuinely intrigued, I asked Kat, who was staring fixedly out of her window. "It's a stupid rule my dad made," explained Kat, annoyed.

"Yeah, right, as if you didn't want to come," Bianca from the back sarcastically added.

"Shut up!" annoyed, Kat turned in her seat to shout at her sister, who was again laughing with Teddy.

"Where are we going now?" I asked, trying to quiet the laughter of the girls so that Kat wouldn't be so upset.

After finishing her laughter, Teddy again took charge of directing the way. Besides the cheerful chatter of the girls in the back of the car and the music playing, there could have been an uncomfortable silence as Kat continued to stare out of the passenger window.

Surprisingly, Baja, Teddy's other friend, lived on the same street as Alan. In fact, Alan's house was just a few neighboring houses from where I had parked. After letting the two younger girls out on my side of the car, I didn't have to wait long this time for them to return, now with the new addition of their third friend.

"PJ," acknowledging with a slight head movement, Baja greeted, entering the car behind Teddy and Bianca.

As we passed by Alan's house, "Baja, do you know the Treveilers?" I asked, hiding my concern. "Yes, Mr. Treveiler is a veteran. My mom says he's one of those who obviously saw action. He wakes up very early in the morning with his older son to exercise on the street and train boxing in their frontyard. He's very cute, the son, not Mr. Treveiler," the girl continued, clarifying the last part while trying to stop Teddy and Bianca's teasing.

"Well, I'll tell Alan that you think he's cute. I'm sure he'll be pleased to know," I joked, making at least two of the three girls in the back laugh.

After several more minutes of driving, we arrived at the Stone Creek Mall. "So, don't leave the mall, and we'll meet in about three hours at the entrance," I told the younger girls as we all got out of the car. "Yes, mom," Teddy sarcastically replied before leaving with her friends, laughing again.

Now alone with Kat, the uncomfortable silence that was previously overshadowed by other things inside the car was painfully obvious. "So, do you have anything you want to buy?" uncomfortably, I asked the silent and still upset girl.

"Yeah," fixing her gaze ahead again, Kat started walking towards the mall.

"So, how have you been?" I asked as I walked alongside Kat in the mall parking lot, "How have things been at school?".

"Why are you here with me?" stopping abruptly, Kat asked, regulating her voice, as at the beginning of her abrupt question, she spoke much louder than she should have planned. Now she seemed embarrassed to attract attention.

"What?" surprised, I asked without understanding. "Yeah, why are you with me? You can go on your own; we'll meet in three hours at the entrance, right?" Kat quickly said with exasperation. "Well, I don't know, I thought it would be fun. We could talk about school or what we do outside of school. I mean, we're friends, right?" I asked puzzled by the sudden expression of disbelief in Kat.

"Friends, you and me?" strangely surprised, Kat incredulously asked.

"Well, at least that's what I thought," puzzled, I said. "Aren't you?" I asked, receiving as a response a thoughtful frown, slowly shaking her head.

Well, this clears it up. She really ignored me because she didn't want to be friends with me. "Can I at least know why you don't like me?" I possibly did something unintentionally.

"What?" this time it was Kat's turn to ask, surprised.

"Yeah, well, obviously, I did something and now you do not like me. You ignored me the whole way in 'Debbie,'" I explained, recalling the awkward moment in the car.

"Debbie?" Kat asked, puzzled.

"My car," I responded, feeling a bit embarrassed as Kat immediately mocked, "you named your car?" laughing, Kat asked, obviously amused by the new piece of information.

"The previous owner did it. I just kept the name out of respect," feeling strangely attacked, I quickly explained, making Kat laugh again and making me unable to help but join in her laughter.

"You didn't do anything," after laughing, Kat said with a sudden change of attitude. "It's just that I thought you wouldn't want to be seen with me." Embarrassed, the teenager continued.

"What? Why wouldn't I want to be seen with you?" surprised, I asked. "Are you a communist?" jokingly, I asked silently as I looked around. Being in the 90s in Texas, I was completely sure that would be a valid reason to speak secretly.

"Don't be an idiot," amused by the comment, Kat shook her head. "It's because of the rumor, you know," she continued, again avoiding my embarrassed gaze.

"Rumor?" once again, for what seemed like the tenth consecutive time in our conversation, I asked puzzled. "Usually, I'm the last to hear rumors at school, and I think I have enough intelligence to discern between truth and a rumor," I said, pretending to be offended. "I don't even care to know what the rumor is. I'm sure it's a lie," not letting the girl explain, I quickly spoke. "I'm sure that if I hadn't cleared up the rumor that was spreading about me, a few more days, and they would be calling me the second coming of hypocrites," I ironically commented, surprisingly making Kat laugh in agreement.

"You're right," again embarrassed, Kat affirmed. "I let a stupid rumor affect me. Sorry for ignoring you," with a small smile, Kat said, now at least without avoiding my gaze.

"It's okay. It's not like the whole ride was awkward in the front of the car," sarcastically pretending pain, I said, making Kat roll her eyes, fake laughing again, "don't be overdramatic; you had Debbie to keep you company," blatantly mocking, Kat laughed before moving forward.

"For your information, Debbie is incredibly nice to me," following Kat towards the mall, I responded, managing to make Kat laugh again, amused.

---

Author Thoughts:

As always, I am not American and Not a Doctor.

In the movie, there is no Mrs. Stratford (in fact, it's one of many plot holes). Is she dead? Did she simply abandon them? We don't know. She is only mentioned but does not appear in the movie, and it is the father alone who takes care of the girls.

With this, I mark the beginning of the end, but of what? The one who answers correctly wins an incredible prize (the same prize as before).

Another chapter has passed, so new thanks are in order. I would like to express special thanks to:

keyakedo

RandomPasserby96

11332223

Having said that,

I think that's all. As always, if you find any errors, let me know, and I will correct them immediately.

Thanks for reading! :D

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