the true mister young

Mr. Hospitality

"Great! It worked for once! The food's not not cold! So i'm not a total failure as a genius/inventor. Take that Sydney!" he announced. Echo grimaced at the name of who she thought was Adam's first girlfriend from college.

"Adam...how did all of the food stay warm this whole time?" Echo asked, just realizing that this totally wasn't normal.

"Look under the table." he said with an unusual twinkle in his eye.

Echo leaned under the table and saw a metal plate attached to the insides of the table. Wires came down from the plate and disappeared into the the floor.

"Those wires you see connect to the oven where the same system that cooks your food also keeps it hot...Eh huh hem." he coughed. When Echo looked up Adam was blushing as red as a beet all the way up to his ears. He had obviously been enjoying the view.

Echo scowled at him playfully "Liking what you see?" she asked still pretending to be angry.

He nodded repeatedly but before he could dig his grave any deeper the doorbell rang and saved him.

Sighing in relief Adam answered the door and greeted Mr. and Mrs.Zizzleswift politely. Mrs. Zizzleswift was wearing one of her infamous Queen Elizabeth hats that Mr. Zizzleswift always cracked jokes about. Adam had met Echo's parents before but he was much more comfortable around people like that in a school setting instead of such a relaxed one and even less comfortable with Echo herself present.

"Oh! Mr. Young! You didn't have to prepare such an elaborate meal!  And it's Echo's favorites too!" Mrs. Zizlleswift squealed.

"The flowers are for you ma'am and please, call me Adam. I am your daughter's age after all even if I am her science teacher too." he said politely. He pulled out Echo's seat next to his, and then Mrs. Zizzleswift's across from her daughter's and as he took his own seat he shook Mr. Zizzleswift's hand.

"It's so good to see you two again. Thank you for coming over. Shall we eat before we talk?" he asked, doing his best to make a good impression.

"Honey, you need to act more like Adam. He's only fourteen and he has better manners than you. There's something wrong with that." scolded Mrs. Zizzleswift.

"How was your sleepover, dear?" asked Echo's father, purposefully ignoring his wife.

"Alright I guess. We didn't get much sleep because Adam's friends decided to crash the party." she answered whilst secretly holding Adam's spare hand under the table. With him being right handed and her being left handed it was easy to do with no one noticing. Adam had to cover up his laugh with a cough. It wasn't all that unusual for Derby and/or Slab to raid his house on Friday nights.

"I already apologized like twelve times Echo! I didn't know!"

She looked at him in fake shock. "Yeah just like you didn't know that Mr. Tickleschootz's clone would grow to be as big as a house and I would have to save your sorry butt." she shot back wiht a grin.

"It's not my fault he ate all of my growth hormones! And those cost half my salary anyway!" he complained.

"Whatever. You were supposed to be watching him...them! Why was he even near the hormone chemical thingys anyway?!" She argued.

Mr. and Mrs. Zizzleswift sat back and watched in amazement as their child and her young teacher argued back and forth perfectly portraying the fun and educational learning environment that Adam had accidentally invented for Finnegan High and it's science department.

"And then there was the time that we all had to be quarantined because you made a truth gas volcano..." Echo was interrupted before she could finish.

"Nuh-uh. Also not my fault, Derby duped something in there with the baking soda and vinegar." Adam had to grin. He always enjoyed remembering the good times he and his class had had together.

"Want some more spani coppita , Echo?" he asked offering her a second piece. She had had an unusually small piece. This was after a hilarious retelling of how Echo had ended up faking a make out session with a dog in front of the principal so Adam could keep his job and his rightful copyright. That story ended with Mrs. Zizzleswift in stitches and Mr Zizzleswift with tears running down his face from laughing so hard.

"No thank you, I'm stuffed." Echo had barely eaten. But so had he from nerves.

"I would love to meet this Derby fellow. " announced Mrs. Zizzleswift. "He sounds like a riot."

Echo winked at Adam. "Would you like to meet Derby or  Francoise Bolognaise, his French alter ego?"

"An alter ego?" asked Mr. Zizzleswift, a psychologist.

"We aren't quite sure about Derby yet, sir?" Adam answered with a shrug.

"I'm glad to see that you are taking such care of our daughter." Mr. Zizzleswift said pointedly eliciting a blush from Adam.

"The, um, ah reason I've asked you to dinner today is, ah , um" Echo squeezed his hand under the table to reassure him. " I would like your, um, permission to , ah , date your daughter."he blushed harder.

"YES!" cried Mr. Zizzleswift, punching the air. "Fork up the dough wife!"

Adam was absolutely shell shocked, and when he looked to Echo for answers she appeared just as surprised. "What the heck?" she asked. This wasn't the reaction either teen had been expecting.

"Honeys, we took bets on what we wee being invited over here for. My husband thought it was because Adam, here wanted permission to date you, Echo. I thought you had done either something really bad or really good. I wasn't sure which." she shrugged like it was perfectly normal.

"I told you, Liz. Adam's totally that kind of guy that would be that formal about it. Not to mention that it was already dead obvious he was into her." Mr. Zizzleswift announced proudly waving his five dollars in the air."

"Quit bragging hun, the poor boy looks quite faint. OF COURSE you have our permission in dating Echo. We know you only want the best for her." said Mrs. Zizzleswift kindly, reaching across the table and patting Adam's hand.

Now Adam had his courage back. "Before you say that there are a few things you are going to need to know. Don't make any decisions until you've heard it all. Don't interrupt or i might not be able to finish." For the first time Echo heard Adam tell his story.

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Coming from Adam himself it was harder for her to listen to. Yet, neither she, nor Adam, nor either of the older Zizzleswift's cried.

"With that said, I am worried for your daughter's safety. Because I care about her I only want the best for her. If you don't think that being in a romantic relationship with me will be good for her, then..." he choked back the first sob." then I will quit my job at Finnegan and take the position I was offered at N.A.S.A.."

"Are you serious!? ADAM!?" Echo stood up too quickly and knocked her chair over backwards so hard it left a small dent in the wall. she looked at him, her eyes filling with hot tears. She raised her hand up as if she were going to slap him and it hung there in the eerie silence shaking with the tension in her body she choked once from holding back the tears and her breath. She dropped her hand and ran upstairs to Adam's bedroom and shut the door so she could cry in peace. Adam punched the door frame. "I'd have felt better if she hit me, damn it. I knew she'd react like that...I didn't know it would hurt me that badly though...damn it!" a tear slipped down his cheek unbidden.

"Do you love her?" a voice broke into Adam's inner thoughts.

"What?" he asked , not understanding the question.

"You know the answer to that honey." said Mrs.Zizzleswift.

"I know that I know. I just want to hear him say it. Do -you- love- her?"Mr. Zizzleswift asked again more forcefully.

"I know that I'm still young but I love her more than my own life."

"Okay then." he said. Without a goodbye or turning back they left the Young household without another word.