The Bike Thief

Claire, Phil and Luke were riding their bikes down the street when they saw a tall blonde woman jogging in their direction.

As the woman was passing them, she said, "Hey".

Claire and Phil responded with "Hey", and just as they were past her, Luke tripped and stopped riding his back.

Seeing this, the woman introduced herself, "Hey".

Claire and Phil stopped riding their bikes and introduced themselves.

"Hey, I'm Claire Dunphy and this is my husband Phil", Claire introduced.

"Dunphy. As in Alex Dunphy?", asked the woman.

"Yeah, how'd you know ...", asked Claire.

"I'm Desiree", she introduced herself, "Zephyr doesn't stop talking about Alex whenever I visit. It's sooo cute whenever he rambles on about her".

"You know Zeph?", asked Phil.

"Yeah. I'm his neighbour. I live in 314", Desiree said.

"Oh. The two-bedroom cottage with the indoor/outdoor family room", said Phil.

"Very good. How did you know?", asked Desiree.

Phil smiled and said, "Bet you're loving that steam shower".

However, he was elbowed by Claire, who said, "Phil, that's creepy".

"Sorry", he muttered, "I'm a real estate agent. We caravanned that house. Great deck".

"Thanks", she replied, "I first just came here until my divorce was final, but Zephyr and his dad are such good neighbours that I decided to stay here with my daughter".

Jokingly, Phil said, "Now who is coconuts to divorce you?".

"We gotta go, but we'll see you around", cut in Claire.

"Why don't you come over sometime?", said Phil.

"I'd love to", said Desiree before jogging away.

"She's awesome", Phil told his wife.

"No way. I heard that apparently, she seduced her neighbour", she said.

"What?", exclaimed Phil, "That's horrible". As Phil began to bike, he didn't look forward and almost crashed into Luke. "Watch it buddy!", he said while swerving his bike to avoid Luke, "That still looks like a girl's bike".

"Just add more black tape", she replied.

[Commentary]

Claire and Phil

"My son has been riding his sister's old bike", began Phil

"It's only until he's responsible enough to take care of his own bike", interjected Claire, "He spilt soda on my computer. He ruined our digital camera by taking pictures of himself underwater".

"It's a girl's bike. I'm all for teaching him a lesson", argued Phil, "But I worry about the ridicule he might get from some loudmouth bully".

[Commentary ends]

Jay beeped the horn of his car as he stopped right in front of them. "Hey. Nice bike, Sally".

"Dad", groaned Claire.

"Come on", Jay defended, "He looks like Little Bo Peep on that thing".

"Actually, not for long", interjected Phil, "He's getting a new bike this afternoon".

"I am?" asked Luke.

"He is?" questioned Claire.

Phil nodded at their words.

[Commentary]

Phil

"Sometimes, a man's gotta put his foot down and do what a man's gotta do", said Phil. "And if the old lady doesn't like it ... Honey?", he asked, making sure Claire wasn't in the house, "That's too damn bad".

[Commentary ends]

"Dad, this is the coolest bike ever", said Luke as he took his new bike out of the shop.

"Awesome", commented Phil, "So, listen buddy. Some members of this family don't think you can take care of this bad boy".

"You mean Mom?", he asked.

"Your words, not mine", he clarified, "Look, your mom and I are a team and she ... we feel like this is a chance for you to show some responsibility. Don't make us look like jerks".

"I won't", Luke stated.

Phil nodded his head and was about to say something when he noticed someone on the street. "Hey!", he shouted. Across the street, a 13-year-old boy, who was jogging while wearing shorts, trainers and a t-shirt, stopped. Looking around for a few seconds, he saw Phil and quickly crossed the road.

"What's up Phil?", he asked.

"Yo, Zeph", tried Phil, "what you doing?".

"Made it to the Soccer team so I'm making sure I stay in shape for the upcoming matches", Zephyr replied.

"Oh yeah. Alex told me about that. She said you were great", said Phil.

"Really? Thanks", Zephyr said while sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. He looked at his watch before saying, "Gotta go. After this, Alex and I have to get our science project ready and do the first simulation".

"Okay", Phil said while waving at Zephyr who began jogging away.

[Commentary]

Phil

"Ten minutes after making a promise to me, he goes and leaves his bike unlocked", Phil began, "All I can hear is Claire's voice in my head. 'He's not responsible. You never should have given him a bike' So I decided to teach him a lesson and let him think his bike was stolen. I know that sounds kind of rough, but sometimes it's a dad's job to be the thought guy".

[Commentary ends]

"Luke. You made me look bad. I mean you made your mom and I look bad. We are a team", Phil said as he walked up the stairs. Knocking at the door, he asked, "Luke, you in there?".

"Hey Dad", Luke said. Phil took that as his queue and opened the door and found Luke on his bed playing on his tablet.

"Hey. Hey buddy", he said, "That, that was pretty fun today, huh? Getting a new bike".

"Yeah, that was awesome", Luke replied, looking up from his tablet.

"So what happened after I took off?", he asked, sitting down on Luke's bed, "Anything you want to share with me?".

"Not really", Luke muttered.

"So, if I went out to the garage, to take a picture for the scrapbook, there'd be no surprises", Phil said.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it. I just made a mistake", Luke said with worry.

"Yeah. A big mistake. You're making me look bad here buddy", Phil exclaimed while standing up, "I told your mom you were ready for this".

"It's just a scratch Dad", defended Luke.

"That's not the point Luke. I'm sorry what?", Phil asked.

"I scratched it in on the driveway. I'm sorry", pleaded Luke.

"So it's not stolen?", questioned Phil.

"No. Why?", based Luke, confused.

"That's good. Because there are bad people out there who would steal a bike. Those are thieves", he said, making his way out of the room, "You sit there and think about the scratch part. That's not good either".

[Commentary]

Phil

"The good news is Luke has his bike. More good news, I taught a random kid a lesson by stealing his bike", defended Phil, "Best news, Claire knows nothing. So I figure I'll just dump the bike where I found it. That way, the random kid gets his bike back and I don't get asked a lot of questions".

[Commentary ends]

"I mean, I don't understand, why are you sneaking around and trying to hide things from me? I actually think it's pretty funny", said Claire.

"You do?", questioned Phil.

"I do. I mean, you steal a poor kid's bike only to find out Luke's bike wasn't stolen but only slightly damaged", stated Claire.

"I know right? That is soo me", said Phil, rubbing the back of his head.

Just as Claire was about to say something, a voice from behind them said, "Hey Mrs Dunphy. Hey Phil".

Turning around, they saw Zephyr walking down the street with some books and a box in his hands. "What are you doing?", asked Phil.

"Alex and I have to prepare our project", Zephyr said and pressed the doorbell.

Claire turned to look at Phil and said, "This conversation is not over. We are going to talk about this later. I've got to go and make sure that Zephyr boy and Alex don't do anything". After saying that, she made her way inside the house.

"Hey you two", she said as she walked into the kitchen where she saw Alex with her books in her hand. "Where are you going?"

"We're going into my room. Zephyr has most of what we need. The rest is in my room so we're just going to do things there", replied Alex.

Despite how poorly Alex worded it, Claire took a few deep breaths and calmed herself down, "Sure. Make sure to keep your room door open".

"Don't worry Mrs Dunphy", said Zephyr as he and Alex made their way up the stairs.

[In the room]

Alex sat on her bed while Zephyr sat on the floor with a piece of wood which had been drilled with a small hole. In his hand, he had one prism while there was another prism on Alex's bed. Using the first prism, he refracted light through the hole and onto the second prism which then displayed red light onto the wall. As Alex changed the angle of the second prism, different colours appeared on the wall. Nodding, she quickly wrote down her observations in her notebook before turning to look at Zephyr and saying, "I think that's it".

"All that's left now is to make a presentation", he said.

"Yeah", said Alex. After finishing writing down her note, she sat at the edge of her bed and said, "You know, I never expected this to be so fun. Most other cu-boys aren't smart enough to even know who Newton is".

"Does that mean you're surprised by how intelligent I am?", asked Zephyr turning to look at her.

"I guess", she replied.

"Hey, I've got a question to ask you", he said.

Alex looked at him and nodded, "Go on".

"Do you have any friends? We've sat together every day at lunch for a few weeks now and no one ever comes to sit with you", he asked.

"I could say the same about you", she retorted.

"Mhm. I guess. It's just too much effort dealing with them", he nodded, "Most of the girls in our year care too much about their looks and boys. While boys pay too much attention to how cool they are and if they can get a girl. It's all so stupid to me. They sacrifice their future for temporary joy that often leaves them heartbroken".

"You're right", Alex said, "But most people aren't like us. They'd rather rush head-first into a relationship without even getting to know their partner."

"You still haven't answered my question though", Zephyr said. At his words, she mumbled something. "Speak up. I can't hear you".

"I said no", she spoke up.

"It's kinda sad that a smart person like you doesn't have any friends", he said, "But that's where I come along"

"What?", she asked.

"I'm your friend dummy", he said.

"Don't call me dummy, idiot", she retorted while pouting. Seeing her face, Zephyr started laughing. "Hey! Stop laughing!".

"Nope", he said, popping the 'p', "You look really cute when you pout though. Personally, I still prefer your smile".

Punching his arm, she said, "You might be my friend but that doesn't mean you can bully me".

"Don't worry", he said in a righteous tone while rubbing Alex's head, "I only bully my friends".

Hearing his words, Alex and Zephyr started laughing. Unknown to them, Phil, Claire and Haley were standing outside their room. Phil was holding a camera that recorded the interaction.

"Aw, they're soo cute", Haley whispered.

"I know right", replied Phil, "Who knew Alex would act so timid?"

"Did you see her face?", said Haley, "I bet that within a year they're going to start dating".

"No way", argued Phil, "It'll take them less than 6 months"

"Can you two take this seriously?", Claire said, "We should be thinking about how to deal with this".

"Just let them date when the day comes honey", said Phil.

"Yeah. Did you not see the chemistry?", joined Haley, "It's unbelievable".