Timely Trials

Chapter 8: Laughing and Programming

ANTONIO POV

I learned once not to fall asleep when someone wanted me awake. And from personal experience, I know that the worst person to accidentally nap near is Amelia Jones. It isn't a pleasant experience, I can tell you that. Of course, it is true that for some people Amelia will be more gentle, but for most unlucky people, she won't hold back. Being on the receiving end of Amelia's antics isn't always exactly fun. If you weren't all ready her friend, it wouldn't take long for you to dislike her.

With all that said, I felt sorry for Lovino when Amelia caught him sleeping in his room rather than being awake. I was still cleaning up some of the lunch mess when she passed by me, brushing back her hair and muttering, "He's not worth the trouble of getting this out."

The next second, she was coming back with something in her hand. I didn't have to look to know what it was. Not only had I had experience with the object, but I had been a witness to its usage on others before that time. What she had to be carrying back to Lovino's room was a pink, plastic baseball bat. Our boss, Mr. Arthur Kirkland, had told Amelia off for trying to bring an actual baseball bat to work with her. I don't think he actually meant it or thought she would do it when he told her she should just bring a plastic one instead, if she so desired. Regardless of what he meant, she bought one that evening.

And now she was walking into Lovino's room with it in hand. I dumped the last of the lunch's trash into the garbage can and waited for the sounds I knew would come: a simple "aha!" followed by the sounds of plastic repeatedly hitting bedsheets. Then high-pitched screaming, after which, unsurprisingly, came "What the hell? I'm awake all ready! Stop it, damn you!"

I couldn't help but start laughing. I felt a little bad about it, but it was very funny, even if I couldn't have a visual of it.

"I can hear you, you idiot! Stop laughing at-- ahh! Stop it!"

I just laughed harder.

Amelia must have still been hitting the bed with the baseball bat as she said, "Shut up, stupid! Now get up all ready and move, move, move!"

Amelia must have really hated Lovino for some reason. I didn't think about it very long because Lovino was suddely running behind me and cowering behind me, screaming, "Get her to stop hitting me!"

And then there was Amelia with her baseball bat, running for Lovino. "I said shut up! Stop yelling!"

She was yelling, too, but when I opened my mouth to point it out, Amelia missed her target and hit my shoulder instead.

"Hey--"

"Sorry, bad aim."

"Stop trying to smack me with that thing!"

"I will not!"

"You really should stop it, Amelia--"

"But this is fun."

The two of them were running around the table and me, with Lovino ducking behind me and leaving me to be hit.

By the time someone came in to see what was happening, I had the baseball bat and had two people attacking me to grab it. I heard a door opening the second before both Amelia and Lovino had jumped on me, making me fall to the floor underneath them. In the process of falling, I threw the baseball bat away from me and started laughing again. Amelia was laughing and made no move to get up, which meant neither Lovino nor I could get up easily; she was the one on top of us. It reminded me of when I was a kid and my friends and I would pile up on top of each other to make a "sandwich." Those were fun days.

The laughter at the moment of hilarity died instantly when someone cleared his throat. I couldn't see the door because of my position, but I could see Amelia's face, and she no longer had a smile. She was blushing, which knocked down the number of possibilities of who was at the door. But given where we were, there was probably only one person it could really be: our delightful boss, Arthur Kirkland himself.