Countdown

Chapter Three

Philip finished his homework just in time to hear his mom say,

“Philip! Dinner!” Philip gathered the papers and stuffed them in a drawer.

“Coming!” He called back, as he got up from his desk and went out of his room. Philip ran downstairs and smelled the food before he even saw it. Noodle casserole.

Philip went into the kitchen, where his dad was washing some dishes and his mom was taking the casserole out of the oven.

“Oh, gee mom, it smells awesome,” Philip said, feeling like in heaven.

“That’s great, son, now sit down. We need to talk to you,” Philip’s dad said, sternly. Philip jolted out of heaven instantly.

“About what?” Philip asked, nervously, as he sat down.

“Apparently George came,” Philip’s mom said, sitting down as well.

Philip gulped. “H-how did you find out?” He asked his parents.

“George’s mom called and apologized for the fact that he came here when he wasn’t supposed to,” Philip’s mom said, not happy with her son.

“Is it true?” Philip’s dad asked.

“Yes, but it’s not my fault that he came,” Philip said.

“No, but it is your fault for letting him stay,” his dad said.

“We are very disappointed in you, Philip. We told you, no friends in the house. Sam was an exception. (For the chocolate chip cookies, of course.) Otherwise, no friends are allowed to come over and you are not allowed to go over to your friend’s house,” Philip’s mom said, sternly.

“Sorry,” her son apologized.

“We have decided to take away your television privileges for a week as well as your phone,” Philip’s dad said.

“What? But-”Philip protested.

“Sorry, son, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles. You have to be punished for doing such a foolish act,” his dad said.

Philip hung his head sadly throughout the entire dinner, which was, by the way, quite good.

“May I be excused?” Philip asked, before his mom took out dessert.

“Are you sure?” His mom asked. It was unusual for him to leave the table before eating dessert. Philip nodded his head.

“Ok, go ahead,” she said, opening the fridge.

“Aren’t we being a little bit too hard on him, Robin?” Philip heard his mom ask his dad as he went up the stairs.

“He has to learn to not do such irrational acts. It’s for his own good.” His dad said.

Philip sighed as he went into his room. He grabbed his phone from his bedside table and put it in his parents’ room. Then he went back into his room and opened up his laptop to check his email.

hows it going? Sam began chatting with him.

not good. my parents took away my tv privileges AND my phone! Philip typed.

that sucks, man.

they found out that george came and they got reaaaaal mad.

hang in there, bro

thnx :)

no probs. if ya need anything just tell me ;)

Philip closed his email and started to play Mario Kart.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You have now arrived at the John F. Kennedy Airport in Queens, New York. The temperature is currently 0 degrees Fahrenheit. On behalf of our flight crew, we hope you enjoyed your flight and thank you for choosing to fly with American Airlines.”

“C’mon, Justin,” Barry nudged his friend who was sleeping next to him.

“Wha?” Justin said, drowsily.

“C’mon, man. We have to get out quick,” Barry said, managing to get a bag down from the cabin.

Justin quickly got up, rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, and began to help his friend.

Ten minutes later, they were at the baggage claim, watching out for their suitcases.

“Good thing they didn’t detect the bomb,” Barry muttered, as he grabbed his blue suitcase.

“Did you just say bomb-” Justin started to ask in disbelief.

“Shut up,” Barry hissed, clamping a hand over his friend’s mouth.

“Sorry,” Justin whispered, spotting his red suitcase. Barry went over and grabbed it.

“But seriously. What are we doing carrying a bomb?” Justin asked in a low whisper, as his friend handed him his suitcase.

“You said you wanted to get rid of Chinatown forever. Bombing it up is the perfect way to destroy it,” Barry whispered back.

“B-but, Barry-” Justin said, still shocked from the fact that his own friend has a bomb in his suitcase.

“C’mon, Justin. Stop being such a coward,” Barry said, going towards the exit. Justin still had doubts about this whole thing.

“It was your idea, anyway. Just think about what they did to us,” Barry said. Justin, at once, began to steam.

“Right. They have to pay after what they had done to us,” Justin said, fiercely.

“That’s my partner in crime. Now come on. Let’s get this bomb working,” Barry said.

The next day arrived, and Philip was unhappily sitting in his bed. It was no fun being suspended. Philip slowly got out of his bed, washed up, and changed his clothes. He headed downstairs and heard his mom banging pots around in the kitchen.

“Hey mom,” Philip said, coming into the kitchen.

“Hi sweetie,” his mom said, looking up from her washing of the pots. She noticed how his face was down as he sat at the table. She turned off the water and went over to him.

“Aw, Philly, don’t look so sad,” his mom started.

“What else can I be, Mom? I got suspended, grounded for life, my T.V privileges were taken away, and my phone! What else can I be, but sad and upset?” Philip said, angrily, tears welling up in his eyes.

“I’m really sorry, but Dad is right. You do something wrong, there are consequences,” his mom said, stroking his hair lovingly. Philip sighed sadly.

“Don’t worry. All your punishments will only last a week, Philly.” His mom assured him.

“Even the grounding?” Philip asked.

His mom nodded as she went back to the sink to start washing the pots again.

“Now, eat some breakfast and then go outside for some fresh air. Maybe ice skate around the pond,” she said, turning on the water.

Half an hour later, Philip was outside, going to a park right around his block.