Bundle of Bodes

Chapter 5

Kinsey and Bode climbed out of the toy chest just as the door to Kinsey's room opened. "Oh, there you guys are!" Nina said. "I've been looking for you. Come on, I need to show you something."

The two Locke siblings followed Nina downstairs to the kitchen.

"Check this out!" Nina said. She gestured toward a box sitting on the dining table. "I was cleaning out the basement, and I found this box with a bunch of old plates and silverware!"

"Wow, old plates. Super exciting, Mom," Kinsey said.

"Yes, but not just old—vintage! Not exactly sure how far back these date to, but they're amazing!" She took out a couple plates from the box, causing a dust cloud to erupt. Bode went into a coughing fit. "That's the only problem: these things have been down there for years. They need a good clean. So, I wanted you guys to help out a little while I continue cleaning up down there. I just want you to polish up the plates and the silverware. Shouldn't take too long."

Bode sighed. "Fine." He took a seat at the dining table.

"Hey, it can be fun," Nina suggested. "You can turn it into a game. Maybe, whoever polishes the most dishes wins!"

"I rather play Whack-a-Bode," Bode said.

"Come on, just do this for me real quick. Then you can go back to goofing around."

"Let's just get this over with, Bode," Kinsey said.

"That's the spirit!" Nina said as she went back into the basement.

Bode dipped his towel into the bucket of hot water and began polishing the dishes, wiping off a thick layer of dust and grime. "These plates are disgusting."

"Well, that's why we're doing this—so they're not disgusting anymore."

"Yeah, I know. Still doesn't make it any less disgusting to clean, though."

"Kinsey!" Nina called out from the basement. "Come here! I wanna show you something!"

"'Kay, coming!" Kinsey said as she got up from the dining table and went down to the basement. "What'd you want to show me, Mom?"

Nina was crouched over a box filled with papers. "Look at these. They're a bunch of Duncan's old artwork. Probably from when he was around your age."

"Lemme see." Kinsey picked up a stack of the papers and flipped through Duncan's various drawings, paintings, and sketches from when he was in high school. "These are awesome! Honestly, I think he was better than me at that age."

"Oh, don't be so modest."

"I'm not! These are honestly really good!"

"Yeah, they are. But not necessarily better than your art. Just different is all. He never got accepted into Parsons."

"That's true," Kinsey smiled. "We should definitely save these. I wanna show them to Uncle Duncan next time he comes over."
"Yes! I'm sure he'd love to see his old artwork again."

"Or he'd absolutely hate it," Kinsey chuckled. "Either way, it'll be an interesting reaction." She put the stack of papers back into the box. "Alright, I should get back to helping out Bode."

"Thanks for doing that for me," Nina said.

"No problem, Mom."

When Kinsey arrived back in the kitchen, Bode wasn't at the table. Most of the plates and silverware were still left unpolished. "Bode?" Kinsey called. "Bode? Where are you? Don't think you can run off and get away from doing the rest of the dishes." She walked into the winter study, but he wasn't there. He wasn't in the drawing room either. "Ugh, did you go up into your room, you little snot-gobbler?" She walked up the stairs. "I swear, I leave for a minute, and you just run away from your chores like you always do," Kinsey muttered. She opened the door to Bode's room, and she did see Bode in there... it just wasn't the Bode she expected.

Bode's Glee was jumping on the bed. "Oh, hi, Kinsey!" he said. "Wanna come jump on the bed with me? It's super fun!"

"Umm... what are you doing here? How did you get out of Bode's head? And where's the real Bode?"

"Bode left his head open, so me and the other feelings thought it'd be fun if we came out here for a change!"

Kinsey looked around the room and saw Sadness crying in the corner and Anger tearing out pages from books and ripping them up. "Oh, shit. This is not good at all. Where's the real Bode?"

"I don't know," Glee said. "I haven't seen him."

Kinsey rushed back to her room. Bode was standing in the corner—the same spot his original body was standing when he put the Head Key in. "Bode! There you are!" Kinsey said. But Bode didn't respond. He just continued to stare blankly. "Bode?" Kinsey walked up to him and checked the back of his neck. There was no key in it. "Okay, come on, Bode, I know you're messing with me. Just stop so we can put all your feelings back in." He still didn't respond. "What the hell is going on with you?" That's when Kinsey remembered Erin Voss. She was in a state much like the one Bode was in now. Maybe the same thing that happened to her happened to Bode. She just hoped to God it wasn't a permanent state. She really didn't want a vegetable for a brother if she could help it. Kinsey picked Bode up and set him down on her bed.

The door to Kinsey's room opened. She looked back and saw that it was another Bode. "Whatcha doin' in here?" the Bode said.

"I'm just setting Bode down on the bed."

"Why?"

"Because he's not being responsive, and I don't want him to get hurt. Now, who are you?"

"I'm Bode's Curiosity."

"Oh. Do you know who was responsible for all this? For all of you coming out of Bode's head?"

"Hey, I'm the one who's supposed to be asking all the questions here; I am Curiosity, after all."

"Just answer my question."

Curiosity began opening and looking through Kinsey's drawers. "It was Mischief's idea, and it sounded fun to me, so I followed along. Ooh, look at this!" Curiosity took out a bra from one of the drawers.

"Give me that!" Kinsey snatched the bra out of Curiosity's hand. "Stop looking through my stuff, you little snoop!"

"Sorry!"

"I should've known it was all Mischief's idea. He's been nothing but trouble today."

"You're lucky you don't live in there. He's nothing but trouble every day."

"Do you know what happened to Bode? Or where the Head Key is?"

"No. I've actually been wondering that myself. Certainly is a mystery."

Kinsey walked back out into the hallway, where she saw Rudeness walking by. "Hey! Do you know where Mischief is?" Kinsey asked.

"Like I'd tell you, barf breath."

She didn't think he'd be any use, but it wasworth a shot anyway. Suddenly, she heard the front door open. She looked downbelow from the railing to see who it was. It was Tyler. Oh, shit. Just waituntil he sees this mess.