So, a little te this chapter...

  For the first time since I started writing the novel, I found myself in a block; I didn't know how to tih the development of Boston (I hadn't thought it through, and that was the problem). Usually, I prepare in advance what I want the chapter or chapters to be in a handwritten outline, but I got into a very long path for this 'sub-ar Boston. So what I did was write 9k words :D

  This chapter is possibly one of the most difficult I have written, and I apologize if it fails in quality.

  By the way, someone ehat basically my work is just a bad copy of MTL Daily Ameri Drama (where they know I based the structure of my story) due to the ck of the system. Literally, "the system was the driving force that made the inal go at a good pace." I would like to hear your opinions.

  By the way, if you didn't know, in DAD the MC has a system that warns him he will die if he doesn't save lives, so he decides to bee a doctor. But iy, there is no real i in saving lives; it is purely selfish, which makes sense if he doesn't want to die, but he has a certain disdain for people (racism). Also, the system makes him OP by giving him IQ points (obviously...) by 'befriending' intelligent people.

  ---

  L Teddy from my shoulder only when the elevator finally arrived, "don't do that again," said Teddy, aapping my shoulder as if she had hit it hard, though I barely felt a thing.

  "Yeah yeah, let's go, I'm hungry," I urged her to ehe elevatn Teddy's furrowed brow.

  "e on, I'm starving too," exasperated Gabe, who immediately ehe elevator, said, repeatedly pressing the lobby button.

  "If you break that button, we'll have to sell you to the hotel to pay for it," I warned Gabe seriously, stopping his hand. "Even then, I doubt it would be enough," I added, smiling exaggeratedly.

  Ba the hotel lobby, instead of decreasing, the number of people had increased; every previously avaible seat was taken, and I could even distinguish people speaking in uages.

  "Oh hey, young Duns," Mr. Mosby greeted with his ever-present smile, opening his arms to his sides cheerfully. "Is there anything I assist you with?" he asked professionally, g his hands gently in front of his chest.

  "Oh, we were just going to have breakfast, Mr. Mosby, thank you," I replied, pushing Gabe's head, who seemed exasperated, to move forward.

  "Of course," Mr. Mosby opened his hands again cheerfully. "At the Tipton, we have the best tial breakfast in Boston. Please, don't let me interrupt," he kindly poio the hotel's dining area.

  To reach the hotel's dining area, we had to pass in front of Maddie's store. Seeing me heading her way for the sed time that day, she quickly hid behind her ter.

  "What's her problem?" aeddy asked, notig Maddie's odd behavior.

  "I don't know, maybe she dropped something," I said amusingly, speaking loud enough for the hidden girl to hear.

  Breakfast was quite good, although having dihe previous day at an incredible restaurant, any meal would have been overshadowed.

  "Do you guys want to do something for the rest of the day?" I asked my siblings after we finished breakfast, hoping to avoid going up to the suite again.

  "I think there's an arcade," Gabe immediately ied, st away his handheld video game sole.

  Seeing Teddy silently asking if she wao go to the arcade, my sister nodded without paying much attention.

  "All right," I stood up and walked with my siblings out of the dining area. Once again in the lobby, Maddie immediately disappeared behind her desk as if she had an automatic defense system.

  "Wait a moment," I said to my siblings, sighing incredulously once again. I walked towards the small store. "After the third time, this doesn't work anymore," I joked, leaning oore ter. I could perfectly see behind the desk and thus Maddie croug in hiding.

  "Oh, PJ, I didn't know you were there," Maddie raised her head, smiling sheepishly. "I was just, um, looking for this!" She quickly improvised, grabbing a small piece of trash at her feet and standing up, leaning to the side of me on the ter. "My workspace has to be impeccable," she added with false modesty, smiling.

  "I totally uand," I chuckled, nodding seriously. "So, did London and you resolve your issue?" I raised an eyebrow, seeing Maddie immediately close her eyes in embarrassment and bring her hands to her face.

  "Fet you heard that," Maddie slowly said with her eyes still closed. " you fet it too?" She asked hopefully, opening one eye.

  Chug, before I could respond, the same boy who had tried to flirt with Teddy the day we arrived, along with his twin brother, approached the store ter. "Hey sweet thing," leanio me, pletely ign my presehe boy greeted Maddie flirtatiously.

  "Zack," Maddie smiled rigidly, greeting the boy back.

  "So, what were you doing?" the boy smiled widely, arrogantly moving his head.

  "We were just talking," I responded before Maddie could say anything, finally catg the boy's attention. "Hi kid," I smiled at the boy with raised eyebrows.

  "You!" startled again, the boy stumbled backward, tripping abe who was distracted pying with his handheld sole. "Oh, sorry," quickly moving off Gabe, the boy apologized. "Hey! You've got a GameBoy, cool!" pletely fetting the previous situation, he excimed enthusiastically, starting a versation with Gabe.

  "Kids, uh," the other of the twins approached me jokingly, chug with mischief in his voice while the other boy and Gabe animatedly discussed the sole.

  "You really want to py with the GameBoy?" amused by the serious boy's attitude, I immediately affirmed, notig how much attention he gave to the small device.

  "Yeah," the excited boy immediately nodded, approag Gabe and his brother.

  "PJ, we go now?" Teddy, who for some reason was standing a few steps away from me, staring fixedly at Maddie, asked, crossing her arms and swaying on her feet.

  "Yeah, sure," puzzled by Teddy's sudden behavior, I responded, lookiween Maddie and my sister.

  "Excuse me," walking past the ter without taking her eyes off Maddie, Teddy said disdainfully.

  "What's going on?" ign Teddy's attitude toward Maddie for the moment, I said. "e on, Gabe," pushing my brother's head slightly to get his attention as he was leaning in pying games with the two twins.

  "Oh yeah, Zad Cody e with us?" turning off his sole to the disappoi of the other two kids, Gabe asked, apparently quickly f a friendship with the twins.

  "Sure, but only if you behave," I said seriously, staring menagly at the more rebellious-looking of the two boys, making him step back again. It was amusing to see him so scared for no reason.

  "See you ter, sweet thing," smiling at Maddie, I said amusedly, watg as she lowered her head with her eyes tightly closed, pletely embarrassed.

  "Hey! That's mine," offehe boy who had been previously scared to look me in the eyes surprisingly stared at me and excimed.

  "Sorry, kid," patting the boy's shoulder, I chuckled as we walked to the hotel's arcade.

  It was already hard for the hotel to surprise us more, or at least that's what I thought. Wheered the surprisingly spacious arcade room, it immediately reminded me of the one my siblings and I had visited a couple of times bae, though this one was even bigger.

  "Here, go and py whatever you want," I said to Gabe, handing him a twenty-dolr bill. It would st them long enough to py each game in the arcade once, I hoped.

  "Cool!" the twins, Zad Cody if I remembered their names correctly, excimed in unison upon seeing the bill, and before I could say anything else, along with Gabe, they ran towards a ter ihe pce with another employee to get quarters to py.

  While the kids pyed on the maes, Teddy, who was still standing with her arms crossed and a displeased expression on her face, seemed indecisive about something.

  "What's up?" I asked Teddy seriously.

  "I don't like her," avoiding my gaze, Teddy said, annoyed.

  "Maddie? Why?" surprised, I asked, knowing Teddy had barely ied with the girl.

  "What if she's like Regina?" finally looking at me with a furrowed brow, Teddy asked.

  "Like Regina?" I chuckled. Teddy shouldn't know anything about her, at least not more than what little she knows because of me.

  "Everyo my school knows her, and Biane about what she did at your school. Besides, she's the reason you got beat up," still aeddy quickly said.

  "Teddy, I assure you Maddie is nothing like Regina, at least from what little I've gotten to know her," I added, having only spoken with Maddie for a few minutes.

  "I don't know, I just don't like her," exasperated, rolling her eyes, Teddy said.

  "It's okay, you don't have to worry about it," gently patting my sister's head, I reassured her calmly. "Besides, we'll only be here for two weeks, and she's the closest to my age, so I wao make friends with her."

  Still with her arms crossed, my sister sighed annoyed, seemingly not g about the retively short time we would spend in Boston.

  "Let's py some maes, e on," smiling at Teddy, I pleaded lightly. "You owe me a rematch after all," I added, making her uncross her arms as she rolled her eyes in exasperation.

  "Fine, but I wouldn't call it a rematch; let's just prove that I'm better," Teddy said arrogantly, walking towards the arcade's ter.

  Like the st time we had stepped into one of these pces, there were very few maes where I could beat Teddy, and at some point while we peted on another mae, the kids also joined us, making a petition on each mae.

  When all the quarters were goeddy had topped the scoreboard with the most points, winning over everyone seemingly with ease.

  "PJ, I go to Zad Cody's suite? They live here," Gabe asked excitedly as we left the arcade, apparently making pydates with the other kids.

  "You'll have to ask Mom about that," cheg the time on my wristwatch, I replied to Gabe, hoping that after a couple of hours Mom and Bob would have finished... whatever they were doing.

  "All right, let's go ask my mom in our suite," Gabe said excitedly

  to the other kids before they all ran to the elevatether.

  "No running in the lobby," Mr. Mosby called out to the three kids from behind his front desk a moment ter, l his head in disappoi.

  "PJ," Teddy murmured beside me.

  "Yeah?" puzzled by her sudden demeanor, I asked.

  " I have a magazine?" discreetly pointing to Maddie's stand, Teddy asked with some embarrassment ione.

  "Sure, let's go," I chuckled, walking with her to Maddie's stand.

  Maddie, like the day before, was sitting with an open book on her ter, pletely focused on taking notes from whatever she was reading.

  "The limit does ," approag quietly to see what she was studying, I said, looking at a calculus problem she was w on, causing Maddie to jump surprised in her seat. "Careful, PJ!" Maddie excimed as she actally threw her pencil in my general dire, luckily missing everything. "What did you say?" quickly adjusting her posture and ign the pencil she had just thrown, she smiled and asked.

  "Your problem," pointing to her notes, "your fun osciltes between two values, so your limit isn't defined," I calmly expined.

  Without taking her eyes off my face, Maddie nodded slowly for a few seds befaining her posure. "I uand," she moved her hand as if to write in her notes but stopped, apparently remembering she no longer had the pencil in her hand. "I'll write it down ter," she added, closing the book and moving it slowly.

  Uo help myself at her rigid behavior, I chuckled lightly, leaning once more on her ter.

  "Did you want to talk about something?" Maddie asked, trying again to hide her growing embarrassment, adjusting a strand of her hair slowly as she leaned on the ter.

  "Oh yes, she wants a magazine," I said, pointing to Teddy, who had been silent beside me all this time.

  "Oh, how long has she been there?" Surprised to see Teddy quickly returning to her inal posture, Maddie asked nervously.

  "I've beehe whole time," Teddy responded forcefully, raising one eyebrow. Despite having spoken to her, I could see my sister was getting annoyed with Maddie again.

  "I'm sorry, I didn't see you there, I was a bit distracted," Maddie apologized embarrassedly, notig Teddy's rea. "Which magazine do you want?"

  "I waeen," Teddy said, crossing her arms again, causing Maddie to quickly move to hand it over. "I'm going to the suite," Teddy added, holding her magazine, and walked to the elevator without saying anything else.

  "I did something to make her mad, didn't I?" Maddie asked, watg my sister walk away, defeated.

  "Don't worry about that, you did nothing wrong," I assured Maddie calmly as I paid her for the magazine.

  "Yeah," Maddie straightened up with a faint smile.

  Walking back to where Maddie had thrown the pencil a few steps behind me and back to her ter, I pced the pencil on her closed book. "Good luck with calculus, 'sweet thing'," I joked as a farewell.

  "Thank you," Maddie said, smiling shyly, pig up her pencil.

  When I returo the suite, I found the three kids sitting on the couch watg television. "This TV is bigger than our refrigerator!" one of the twins excimed excitedly.

  "It is, I measured it," the other twin added proudly.

  "I'm gd, but if you two want to stay here, you have to ask your parents. Gabe, you were supposed to e up and ask Mom if you could go to their suite," I said seriously to the kids; it was important their parents knew where they were.

  "Oh, Mom is taking a nap; Dad said she was really tired," Gabe said calmly without taking his eyes off the TV.

  Too muformation, I didn't o know that.

  "I heard my name, oh hey champ!" Bob came out of his room pletely eid cheerful, smiling broadly. "I was thinking now that it's stopped snowing, I'll go up to the hot tub. You wanna e?" he asked cheerfully.

  "Dad," pretending to be focused oV and avoiding studying the man's body nguage further, I greeted. "I'd love to, but I have pns," I quickly responded with a small lie. I didn't think I could look him in the eye for a couple of hours, even days.

  "Pns?" Bob asked proudly, putting his arm around my shoulder.

  "With Maddie, the girl from the lobby store," I tinued rigidly.

  "What!?" one of the twins, separating his attention from the TV incredulously, asked.

  Bob, surprised along with the other people present, looked at the noisy boy intrigued. "I mean, cool," feeling the pressure of people's gazes unfortably, he corrected, making his brother silently ugh.

  "Okay," Bob said puzzled, nodding slowly. "Do you need money?" seemingly deg to ighe boy, he asked me.

  "Oh no, don't worry, just going for some milkshakes," I quickly made up.

  "All right, Dun genes, man," Bob said happily, ughing arrogantly as he walked towards the suite door. "Kids, don't break anything, and PJ, good luck," he stopped at the door, warning Gabe and his two new friends who nodded simultaneously without taking their eyes off the TV, except for the excited boy who was looking at me with his mouth open.

  "All right, first we're going to talk to your parents," I said, pointing to the two twins when Bob left the suite. "And then I'm going with Maddie to see if she wants to hang out," I muttered to myself as I walked to the suite door.

  The kids lived several floors below our suite, without worry, the er of the two boys, whely wore vests with his shirt tucked in, opehe suite door aered their home. "Mom, we have guests!" the boy shouted.

  "Oh hi," a woman whom I reized from yesterday's show came out of one of the rooms, smiling kindly.

  "Pleased to meet you, ma'am," I shook hands with the woman. "My name is PJ Dun, and this is my brabe," I tinued introdug us.

  "Gabe is going to stay to py," the er of the twins said.

  "Yes, I just came to introduce myself. My family and I are staying in the VIP plus suite," I tinued.

  "Oh, I see," the woman smiled kindly. "Don't worry about your brother, I'll be here all the time, and in a few hours, Zad Cody's nanny will e to look after them," the woman tinued cheerfully.

  "I get it now!" suddenly the other twin, who had been staring at me since we left our suite, shouted excitedly. "You're basically me in a few years," he poi me.

  "Cody, what is your brother talking about?" the woman asked, looking at the er boy, Cody, ed.

  "Yeah, 't you see it?" the other boy, Zack, asked incredulously, pointing at me. "We're only different in haircut, height, and age, which means Maddie is only dating him because he reminds her of me," the boy finished expiniedly, smiling broadly.

  "Yeah, no, definitely not," Cody denied vehemently after paring his brother and me for a few seds, turning with Gabe. "Let's go to our room, we have everything," he added pletely uned.

  "I just o cut my hair, do some exercise, aime take care of my height," Zack muttered to himself, walking behind his brother and Gabe.

  "So are you going out with Maddie?" apparently uanding the situation with his son, Mrs. Martin asked seriously, raising one eyebrow.

  "Well, that's the pn," I said, I hadn't actually asked her yet; I just needed an excuse to not have the stant reminder of what Mom and Bob had done.

  "I see," nodding slightly, the woman studied me slowly from head to toe with a furrowed brow. "Don't make her cry," she finally warned after a few seds of unfortable silence, and without saying anything else, she walked bato the room she had e from.

  "Why would I make her cry?" I asked no one again, unfortable, ahe small family suite on my own.

  Since I had already gotten myself into a kind of 'date' with Maddie and everyone knew about it, I just o inform Maddie. Once again iel lobby, this time I found the girl arranging merdise on the shelves of her stand.

  "Hey, sweet thing," I said, watg as Maddie stopped her hands.

  "Please, you not call me that?" Maddie turned slowly and said.

  "Why? I think it really suits you," I helped the girl by lifting one of the boxes of products.

  "Really?" Surprised, Maddie almost dropped a chocote bar before managing to pce it on the shelf. "Well, yeah, I do work in a dy er," she joked.

  "Yeah, you dht?" Laughing nervously, Maddie said, embarrassed, rigidly arranging another dy.

  "So, speaking of work, do you finish at the same time as yesterday?" I handed more dy to her to awkwardly arrange as I asked. I had to 'mention' that we were going out.

  "In fact, I'm finishing earlier today; I just o here," Maddie said, feigning plete disi, "why?" she asked.

  "Well, if I remember correctly, you mentioned knowing a great ilkshake pce," I moved a box to open a new one, pretending to care.

  "Oh yes, it's the best ilkshake p Boston," Maddie exaggeratedly affirmed.

  "I just don't believe you," shaking one of the dy bars slightly with false suspi, I said.

  "Oh, but I'm telling the truth, what I do to make you believe me?" Maddie leaned challengingly on her ter.

  "I was thinking maybe we could go today?" I slowly leaned on the ter, allowing my eyes to wander around.

  "Yeah?" Lost ihoughts, Maddie smiled, asking, "oh yeah! I mean, yeah sure, no problem," she responded excitedly before calming down and again ag disied.

  "Perfect," relieved that I hadn't lied in vain, I smiled at her, "so we have some things te," I picked up other boxes stacked on the floor o the store ter, rolling up my sleeves.

  "Yes," Maddie smiled slightly, lost in thought. A moment ter, ing to her senses and quickly moving te the things I handed her.

  Quickly w together, we finished with all the dy boxes. Maddie closed her stand, picked up her belongings — a backpad a bulky coat. "I'm ready, shall we go?" she asked, smiling broadly.

  "Actually, I also need my coat. Do you mind if we quickly go to my suite to get it?" I remembered the street was now covered in snow; I couldn't go out just in what I was wearing, a thin gray sweater.

  "Sure," Maddie walked calmly beside me to the elevator.

  "So..."

  I said ihe elevator as the doors closed and the mae began to lift us through the hotel floors. The awkward silencreased slowly, along with the number of floors. "What do you usually do for fun around here? I don't think you just go for milkshakes," I added.

  "Oh, you know, the usual stuff — some parties, hanging out with friends, more parties, going to the mall," it was obvious that for some reason she was lying. L the volume of her voice with each thing she said, it seemed she was running out of imagination to make up hings.

  Before I could ask her to tell me about all those parties, the elevator doors opened as we reached our destination.

  "e on," I said, opening the suite door and smiling at her as she entered with me.

  Mom, dressed in a long robe, was sittio Teddy, who was still reading her magazine, in the living room with the TV on.

  "PJ, oh, who's this nice girl?" Mom smiled pretentiously from the coud asked.

  "Mom, this is Maddie, she works at the hotel. Maddie, this is my mom; she works at a hospital," I said, awkwardly presenting them, not pnning on Mom already being out of her room.

  "Pleased to meet you," Maddie straightened up awkwardly, speaking oddly formally.

  "Likewise," Mom responded, not losing her mog smile.

  "Obviously, you already know my sister Teddy," I poio my sister, who for a moment looked up from her magazine, sighing, ign our presence again, burying her fa the pages. "So, Maddie and I are going for milkshakes, do you want anything?" I asked, walking slowly with Maddie to the door, discreetly urgio leave.

  "Uh, yeah," Mom said excitedly, "the biggest strawberry milkshake they have," instinctively pg her hand on her bulging abdomen, she added.

  "Got it, Teddy?" I asked, pointing to my sister. "All right," after a couple of seds without getting a response, I tinued defeated.

  "Do you need money?" Mom asked, leaning slightly, apparently preparing to stand up.

  "Don't worry, Mom, don't get up, I'll take care of it," I quickly assured her, avoiding her getting up. "So, see you ter."

  "See you ter, Maddie," Mom smiled signifitly from the couch, bidding farewell.

  "Likewise, excuse me," Maddie replied a bit nervously, walking out of the room under my guidance.

  "I'm sorry about that, I didn't know they would be there," I said apologetically, noting the girl's embarrassment.

  "It's okay, really. I just hope I didn't make a bad impression," Maddie replied nervously, waiting for the elevator.

  "Bad impression? Why?" I asked, intrigued.

  "I don't know your st name. I was so informal with your mother, and now she might think I ck manners because I'm from a 'lower css'. Plus, your sister already hates me," Maddie quickly expined in frustration.

  "Lower css?"

  "I'm sorry, I hadn't thought about that," the elevator doors opened again. "PJ Dun," I introduced myself ihe elevator, extending my hand.

  Rolling her eyes pyfully, Maddie shook my hand firmly. "Maddie Fitzpatrick."

  "Pleased to meet you, Maddie Fitzpatrick," I said. "I don't think Teddy hates you. She just... I don't know," I tinued, addressing her s.

  "Oh, it's just a figure of speech, don't worry. I have twelve siblings, I know how this works," Maddie reassured, amused.

  "Twelve?" I asked, surprised.

  "Yup."

  "Twelve siblings," I murmured in disbelief. "I only have two, with one more on the way. I don't think I could handle living with nine more."

  "Once you get used to the races for the bathroom, it's a piece of cake," Maddie joked, assuredly leaving the elevator as we reached the lobby.

  Outside the hotel, like in the m when Gabe and I went running, the streets were still covered in snow and ice. "So you live in Texas but your family is inally from Colorado?" Maddie asked as we walked through the streets of Boston.

  "In Medford, it's a small town about an hour and a half from Houston," I expined.

  "That expins why you don't have an at," Maddie ented, smiling.

  "Who says I don't have an at?" I sarcastically mimicked a Geian at.

  "Okay, cowboy, calm down," Maddie joked, attempting to mimic the at as well.

  "Hey, that was really good," I said impressed, nodding at her.

  "Thanks, I've been practig," Maddie admitted with false humility.

  "Practig a Texan at?" I asked ironically.

  "Well yeah, it's a great tool. You never know when it might e in handy," Maddie replied, suppressing a ugh with mock seriousness.

  "I hought of that. I'll take your example," I said, exaggerating a Boston at.

  "Uh no, you really need a lot more practice," Maddie immediately denied, causio feign offense.

  "Oh e on, it wasn't that bad," I protested.

  "Believe me, it really was. But don't worry, everyone has to start somewhere," Maddie desdingly assured, putting her hand on my shoulder.

  Under Maddie's guidance, we tinued walking through different streets of Boston. After a few mialking about various things, including the differences in our schools, we arrived at what looked like an alternative café.

  "Yoing to love this pce. They use recimed materials for everything, and the ingredients are anic," Maddie said excitedly, pulling my arm and swinging open the café doors, dragging me along with her.

  Leaving my coat on a hook by the door and helping Maddie with hers, I studied the pce, filled with photographs of people in parks and squares dressed in various colors, along with slow, cheerful music pying.

  The pce smelled quite unusual, but surprisingly, it was quite crowded.

  "Hey Maddie," the waitress, a girl dressed simirly to the photographs in the café, cheerfully greeted Maddie, hugging her. "Oh, and who are these arms?" she looked at me directly, attempting poorly to be discreet, excitedly tapping Maddie's arm.

  "Michelle," Maddie said, obviously embarrassed. "This is PJ," she slowly opened her eyes widely at her friend, warning her.

  "PJ, niame," Michelle smiled boldly.

  "Michelle's not bad either," I said kindly to the pyful girl.

  "Oh my, a gentleman, and he's not from Boston?" she tried and failed again to be discreet, asking Maddie who increasingly avoided the gaze of aaring at her, staring at the ground with her hand on her forehead.

  "Texas," I stretched my hand in a beted greeting.

  "Mmm-hmm, o meet you," taking my hand and quickly puttiher hand on my opposite arm, pressing it down, she said, "that's a really nice grip," biting her lip, the strange girl said again boldly.

  Must be something ier, it wasn't possible that all the girls in Bostohe same.

  "Okay, enough," Maddie pushed the waitress with her hip, making the tter release my hand and sequently my arm. Embarrassed, Maddie smiled and said, "Michelle, we want two ilkshakes, please," she added slowly and with a warning in her voice.

  "I get it, I get it, o chase me out of here," Michelle said, raising her hands pyfully as she walked away. "Hope to see you again, PJ from Texas."

  "Yeah," I said slightly unfortable, saying goodbye to the girl.

  "Sorry about that," embarrassed Maddie said, pressing her lips and puffing out her cheeks slightly, clearly embarrassed by the situation.

  "Don't worry, I don't mind," I assured her as we took a seat at one of the tables. It was definitely strange.

  "She just gets excited very easily," Maddie expined, still slightly embarrassed. "We've known each other for years; we volu the same charity."

  "Charity work?" I asked, surprised.

  "Yeah, at a shelter for seniors. We serve them food and help with things," Maddie expined casually.

  "That sounds pretty good. I did a couple of weeks of volunteering back at Medford Hospital, a me tell you, I've given enough spohs to hairy men in this life," I joked.

  Laughing with a hint of disgust, "Really?" Maddie asked incredulously.

  "Oh yeah, it's tough work. That's why I think everyone should be grateful to nurses."

  "So, what, you want to be a doctor or something?" Maddie pyed with the decorations oable, ied.

  "Yeah, a doctor bae took an i in me because I know a couple of things about medie. So he offered to teach me, and I go to the hospital every day after school," I expined calmly.

  "A couple of things," Maddie repeated with a slight smile, ied.

  "I study a lot," I rangely, causing Maddie to rest her head on her hands, smiling, lost in thought. "How about you?" I asked, bringitention back.

  "Law, enviroal w," Maddie replied fidently.

  "Enviroal w?" I asked, surprised.

  "Oh yeah, with the way panies keep ign our enviro, climate ge will be irreversible in a couple of years," Maddie said seriously. "I mean, just look outside; an average car emits around three to four hundred grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer traveled. We have to act, and there's er way than using the w," she tinued, slowly getting angrier.

  "Amen to that!" suddenly arriving with our milkshakes on a tray, Michelle eically interrupted Maddie's speech, pg the drinks oable. "Fuck those panies," she wi me, walking back to where she came from.

  "I made a speech, didn't I?" embarrassed Maddie asked.

  "Yeah," uo resist much longer, I took a sip of my milkshake, clearly affeg Maddie. "And I agree with you, and I'm gd someone like Maddie Fitzpatrick cares enough to do something," I poi her, smiling. "By the way, this is really good."

  "I told you so," Maddie smiled, taking a sip of her own milkshake.

  Time passed ihe café; having found her enviroalism not strange, Maddie tio talk about the topitil realizing she had been talking for a long time. She ged the subject, asking about life in Texas and what I learned from House.

  "So you're like a disease detective?" summarizing, Maddie asked, widening her eyes with amusement.

  "That's a way to put it," I chuckled, amused by the cise but accurate summary.

  "That sounds cool. What's the best 'case' you've been involved in?" intrigued, drinking the st of her milkshake, Maddie asked.

  "I 't give you too muformation, but a patient with rvae in the brain," I slowly said, enjoying the shoaddie's face.

  "Larvae? Like worms?" disgusted, Maddie asked in a lowered voice.

  "Yup, neurocysticercosis is a parasitife of tapeworm rvae," I expined.

  "Tapeworms? How a ied with tapeworms?" incredulous, Maddie tinued.

  "Usually from eating pork," I added, notig how Maddie imagihe situation with disgust.

  "I'm never eating pain in my life," the girl decred.

  "You just have to be careful with pork, cooked at the right temperature. It's serious, but easily preventable with proper care," I assured her.

  "You guys want anything else?" Michelle, arently was atteo the state of our drinks, notig that Maddie's milkshake was finally empty, asked.

  "Oh no, thanks," Maddie lightly pushed her empty gss forward.

  "For now, nothing, thanks," I handed over my own loy gss. Somehow, the milkshake had disappeared pletely.

  For several more minutes,

  Maddie and I tinued chatting ihe café; it was easy to find almost any topi, and like with the enviroal topic, the girl had a clear opinion on many other topics, surprisingly ahead of her time.

  When I noticed, the street was starting to darken. Calling Michelle, I ordered the milkshake for mom and the check.

  "Don't worry, I've got this. After all, it's my fault we came here," I assured Maddie, preventing her fr to take out money.

  "Thanks," Maddie quickly said, smiling slightly embarrassed.

  With an excessively rge biodegradable strawberry milkshake in my arms, I walked back to the hotel with Maddie.

  "So you have another job at the hotel?" surprised, I asked.

  "Yeah, I'm a nanny. Do you remember the twins?" raising her hand approximately to the height the two children shared, Maddie asked.

  "Zad Cody, yes, my brother stayed pying with them," I immediately uood Mrs. Martin's warning.

  "Yes, them. I've been their nanny sihey arrived at the hotel less than a year ago," Maddie expined calmly.

  "They seem like good kids," I ented, looking at the decorations oreets. Due to the date not being far from Christmas, there were still hundreds of thematic lights.

  "Yeah..." Maddie said, not soundiirely vinced.

  As we tinued our way to the hotel, Maddie told me about different advehat the obviously eic children had been on.

  "So Cody, the smart one, almost won a girls' beauty test?" amused, I asked.

  "Yeah, the best part is that he decided to leave the test, making Zapete in the final instead," Maddie ughed at the memory.

  "That's funny, but I hope my brother doesn't get involved in any of their 'adventures,'" I said, silently thanking the hotel doorman for opening the door. We had arrived once again.

  "Well..." pointing to a strange figure in the lobby, Maddie ughed.

  At the reception desk, Gabe was apanied by a strangely shaped figure covered in an excessively long coat and a hat, talking to Mr. Moseby.

  "I assure you, Mr. Moseby, my brother hurt his throat this m when we went out running, and we want any WWF rental you have," I silently heard my brother say.

  The strangely deformed figure had the shoes of a child, and from the shape of the "torso" of the person in front of me, it was obvious that it was really a child oher's shoulders.

  "So to be clear, your older brother, present here," notig my presence, Mr. Moseby kindly smiled, pointing at the figure in front of me, "who has hurt his throat, as the only other person with privileges in your suite apart from his parents, wants to get any WWF rental we have?" the maed.

  "Correct," without any shame, surprisingly skilled at lying, my brother said.

  I uand, is that what young Dun wants?" Mr. Moseby asked again, pointing to the covered figure and maintaining his smile, making whoever was at the top of the human tower nod.

  "Please, Mr. Moseby, call me PJ," I said, having seen enough and smiling at the obviously amused man, taking the three kids by surprise.

  "PJ, hold on a moment, if you're there, then who are these two?" Gabe quickly excimed again, without any shame, pointing to the other two kids covered by the coat.

  "Let's see who they really are," Maddie, who was also eained by the situation, said seriously.

  "It's Zad Cody!" Gabe preteo be surprised, exaggeratedly pointing to the kids, who were one on top of the other, smiling shyly.

  "He would've gotten away with it if it weren't for you meddling kids," the base child of the human tower, whom I nnized as Cody, slowly said, maintaining his embarrassed smile.

  Uo help but chuckle, the kid had made a refereo the Scooby Doo cartoon, and I had uood it.

  Proud to see that his joke had worked, Cody was a bit less worried, fetting that he still had his brother on his shoulders, he moved his body trying to pose.

  "Careful," I said, moving to catch Zack, who was falling, actally knog over a table behind us with an expensive-looking vase, causing it to wobble and finally fall. "Whoop!" Still holding Za one arm, I mao stretch to grab the vase.

  "Wow, you're really strong," Zack, oddly ging to me, said, impressed.

  "Thank you," I said carefully, pg the vase and the child back where they were safe.

  "Excellent catch, PJ," Mr. Moseby said, extremely relieved, halfway climbing his own desk.

  "It's nothing; I couldn't let it fall; it would've been quite dangerous for his health," I assured the man.

  "Oh, yes, Zack too," Mr. Moseby said, noticeably offending the child, stepping down from his desk embarrassed.

  "Yeah... back to the important stuff," ign the implications of what Mr. Moseby had just said, I said, "what you did was wrong, kids."

  "Yes, identity theft is not a joke, millions of families suffer every year," Mr. Moseby, who moments ago seemed on the verge of a heart attack, said seriously.

  "Yeah, not cool, guys," Gabe said disappointedly, crossing his arms and shaking his head beside me.

  "You're not getting away, kiddo," pushing my brother's head to stao the other children, I said, "I think you o learn not to steal other people's identity, what do you think, Mr. Moseby?"

  "Well, PJ, I think there might be some snow that needs shoveling iel garden tomorrow," Mr. Moseby said, pointing to the entrance door, emphasizing kindly on my name. Once again, it had started snowing, fortuhis time I wasn't outside to freeze.

  "I think Mom and Dad will pletely agree with that; it seems we won't be going for a run tomorrow; you'll be busy," I said to Gabe, who immediately lowered his head defeated.

  "Mrs. Martin will agree too," Maddie said sinisterly, putting her hands on Zad Cody's shoulders.

  "Agree with what?" dressed and apparently ready to give her show, Mrs. Martin asked seriously from the lobby side, immediately sure that the children had done something.

  "Ah, Miss Martin," Mr. Moseby said, smiling broadly and starting to narrate his children's behavior and sequently the punishment offered.

  "Sounds fair enough, shoveling some snow f to fool Mr. Moseby; gratutions, kids, it seems you got a job for tomorrow," Mrs. Martin said, stroking her children's heads.

  Defeated, the twins nodded.

  "How did it go?" pletely unabashed, Mrs. Martin took Maddie's arm, asking, nodding her head towards me.

  "Oh, it went quite well," taken aback by the suddenness of the question, Maddie replied slightly embarrassed.

  "Good," Mrs. Martin said, staring at me slowly.

  "Okay..." a bit nervous because the womaionless face kept staring at me, "I think we're going to dinner; see you ter?" trying to ighe woman, I asked Maddie, who happily nodded.

  Saying goodbye to the other people present, after agreeing on a time for the kids to shovel, Gabe and I slowly walked back to the elevators. As I walked with Gabe, I could feel Mrs. Martin's gaze on my back.

  "That was awkward," ihe elevatoing back up to our suite, Gabe said with plete un, "you weren't pnning on telling Mom, were you?" he asked, smiling.

  "Ha!" I excimed amused, patting my brother's shoulder.

  Mom, like Mrs. Martin, agreed with the punishment, thinking it ropriate.

  room service for everyone, we had dinner, "we o go grocery shopping for the rest of the two weeks; we 't be eating out all the time like this," Mom said worriedly, looking at everyone's dinner while drinking her ically rge strawberry milkshake.

  After dinner, sihe hotel had its own gym with showers, Bob, Gabe, and I prepared ge of clothes to go upstairs, " I call Zad Cody? I promised they could e," Gabe asked Bob, who nodded calmly after a few seds.

  I could hear Gabe asking to be ected to the Martin's suite a few seds before he began talking eically and hanging up shortly after.

  The hotel's gym was surprisingly well-equipped, although unlike our home gym, any ym with more than three maes would fall uhe same definition.

  Gabe was excited to see so many maes, asking and trying to use eae, "what's this for?" he asked, pointing.

  "They're bars and pull-ups," I expined, carefully releasing the rowing mae aing Bob sit down, "we're doing this, so if you want, you try it."

  "All right," excited, Gabe said as he gracefully climbed slightly on the mae, taking the bar.

  "Good," watg Gabe struggle to pull up a couple of times, I said, "but now try to do it more trolled," remembering how Case did it, I mimicked his movements.

  "Ah, it's easier said than done; you do it?" dropping from the bar, Gabe asked.

  I hadn't tried it before, seeing how Case always did it, it certainly might seem easier than it really was, but he was Case.

  Taking the bar and bending my legs to be fully hanging, trolling my breathing, I pulled and surprisingly mao rise, slowly mimig Case's movements with effort, moving from side to side with my arms flexed.

  "Wow, cool," excimed Gabe.

  trolled, I repeated the movement a few more times.

  "Wow, that's super cool," suddenly said the voice I reized as the twins'.

  "That's what I said," heard proud Gabe.

  With tired arms and hands, I carefully lowered myself from the bar, unlike Case who could be hanging for several minutes with dozens of repetitions; I had only managed a couple correctly.

  "Good job," Bob said proudly, patting my shoulder.

  "All right, Maddie, we're done here for now; you go back to studying," Cody, who was dressed in several sweatbands, told Maddie as he warmed up.

  "Oh no, I have to stay here and... take care of you, that's what your mother pays me for after all," Maddie immediately replied.

  With the three kids trying to repeat what I had done and failing to different degrees, especially Cody, who simply hung on the bar, Bob and I were the only ones really exerting ourselves to exercise, despite my foy form when using any of the maes.

  "You should show off once more; you have an audience," murmured near me, Bob pointed slightly to Maddie, who had been sitting on one of the benches since she arrived.

  "I don't think—" I was saying, but Bob interrupted me.

  "e on, none of that, take off your shirt and go up on the bar once more," hitting my side, Bob practically pushed me.

  "I'm tired," I said to deaf ears, as with his hands on my shoulders, Bob guided me to the bar.

  "e on, e on, I know what I'm saying, champ," repeatedly hitting my side with his hand, Bob insisted.

  Ashamed, I slowly took off my shirt, feeling cold air on my back, I knew Maddie had been very eained watg our entire workout session, but this was awkward and unfortable.

  Once agaiing the process now with much more effort, I stood up once again, trying to trol the ast and dest as much as possible.

  "Look at that, Cody, that'll be me in a couple of years," Zack said, excitedly approag with the other two kids to watch Case's pull-ups.

  "You know your theory has no foundation, just because we're blond doesn't mean we'll grow like PJ," Cody obviously said.

  Managing to do only half of what I did the first time, I dropped on my feet, feeling my hands slightly burning. Maddie, who had fotten to turn her face away, tio stare fixedly at my torso. Yes, this was unfortable.

  "Okay, I think we're done here, right?" taking my shirt from Bob's hands and quickly putting it ba, I said.

  "Yes, our job here is done," Bob ughed amused, patting my shoulder forcefully.

  Using the gym's showers,

  we ed up and prepared to return to the suite. Maddie, saying goodbye once again apanied by the twins, avoided eye tact at all costs. Yes, it was unfortable.

  "I'm telling you, you have to use all the tools at your disposal to get the job done," raising his eyebrows suggestively, Bob said, "I know about this, after all, yoing to have three siblings," winking, Bob tinued.

  "Please," with slight displeasure at the new mental images, I stopped the man who simply ughed again, hitting my shoulder.

  The day, at about the same time as the day befabe and I woke up, "that's stra looks like yetting ready to go for a run," waiting for only his shoes to be missing, I said, stopping Gabe who lowered his head a moment ter, "remember you have to shovel snow," I reminded him, smiling.

  ging his pants and his chosen shoes, Gabe with his head dowhe room with me behind.

  "Good luck with the snow," pushing my brother's head towards the twins already prepared in the lobby, I said without receiving any response from the boy.

  As I walked through the lobby to go for a run, London, who I hadn't seen since yesterday, dressed in armingly pink sportswear, was standing calmly waiting, immediately she began 'warming up' by rapidly swinging her arms when she saw me.

  "London," amused by the extravagant movements the girl was doing to warm up, I greeted her.

  "Ah, PJ, I hadn't noticed you there, are you going for a run?" falsely surprised, the girl asked, having seen me already.

  "Ye—" I was saying, but immediately London interrupted me.

  "What an incredible ce, I was going to go for a run too," putting her hand on my shoulder excitedly she excimed, "we go together," as if she was answering a question I hadn't asked, the girl kindly said.

  "I'm fih that," I said, amused by her btant ck of shame.

  "Ah, London, are you going for a run?" Mr. Moseby, arently was always w early, asked surprised.

  "Moseby, what are you talking about, I always go for a run at this same time," ically opening her eyes, London said slowly to the hotel manager.

  "Ah... yeah, silly me," puzzled, the man, seeing the girl's attitude, nodded slowly, "ah, I get it, good m PJ," ging his attention, seeing me beside London, Mr. Moseby added amused.

  "Good m," smiling, I replied, "are you done... warming up?" I asked London, who nodded excitedly, "all right, excuse me," I said kindly passing by the hotel manager.

  Outside the hotel, like the day before, the cold immediately hit my face, chilling every breath I took as I began jogging towards the park. It was going to be a great day.

  Upon arriving at the park entrance, London, who was behiarted gasping for air. "Are you okay?" I asked, ed. We hadn't even started runni.

  "Yeah, obviously," London replied, catg her breath.

  "Okay, let's go," I decided to run much slower to let her get used to it as we started jogging through the park.

  "So..." as we ran, with siderable effort, London said betweehs, "what... have... you... done... in Boston?" she asked, panting out the st part.

  "Well, not much really," I easily replied, realizing we were jogging at a pace far slower than I was used to. "Yesterday Maddie took me to this milkshake pce, it was really good, I don't know if you've been there," I added.

  "Stop," suddenly halting iracks and miraculously catg her breath, London excimed, surprising me. "What did you say?" she asked.

  "We went to a milkshake pce, we were served by this girl 'Michelle'," I nervously repeated, seeing London furrow her brow.

  "That cheater!" she excimed.

  "What?" I asked, were they peting?

  "Ah, nothing," immediately gione as if nothing had happened, London said casually, waving her hand. "Let's tinue."

  After saying that, she shot off running faster than she had before.

  It didn't take me long to catch up to London, and she didn't take long to reach her limit. Such a sudden sprint with the endurance she had shown was surprising; it only sted a few seds.

  Leaving London on a park bench gasping for air, I tinued with my own run with her permission.

  Returning to where I left her, I found her surprisingly sitting calmly on the same bench with a coffee and a magazine, even in the same spot.

  Where did she get that? There were no vendors in sight.

  "Ah, PJ, done?" getting up, tossing her magazine and coffee into a nearby trash cheerfully, London asked.

  "Yeah," I replied, still trying to figure out where the coffee and magazine came from. We were also quite far from any park exit and therefore any café.

  "Something wrong?" ily, London asked.

  "No, nothing, let's go," I said, walking towards the park exit.

  During the now much calmer walk, London took the opportunity to talk non-stop about various things in her life. "And that's how my dad recovered all our stuff," she fielling a surprising story of a diamond and oil mine when we arrived at the hotel.

  Upoering the hotel lobby, suddenly grabbing my arm, like when I returned her dog, "Hahaha, you're so funny PJ!" out of nowhere she excimed, barely speaking at all on the way back to the hotel.

  Pullio Maddie's store, London tinued ughing.

  Oh, I see.

  "What's going on?" Maddie, like everyone else in the lobby, noticed our presend asked in surprise.

  "Oh, just PJ and I went for a run, you wouldn't uand," smiling broadly, London replied.

  "Run?" crossing her arms and pletely ign me, Maddie asked London.

  "Yes, we've been running since m, just the two of us," tilting her head and staring at the irl, London replied.

  I mostly ran alone.

  "That's cheating and you know it!" pletely losing her calm and leaviore, Maddie excimed.

  "Me?" offended, London asked, "do I have to remind you about the milkshakes, Miss Milkshake?" unfortably, London said.

  "He invited me, that wasn't in the cuses," Maddie immediately defended herself.

  Cuses?

  "And he invited me to run, that wasn't in the causes either," London quickly said.

  "It's cuses," incredulous, Maddie corrected the irl.

  "I don't uand what Santa and his wife have to do with this?" London asked suddenly stopping the hostility.

  "That?" Maddie asked for a sed before uanding it, "I'm not talking about Santa Cus, cuses are-" she was expining but the irl interrupted her.

  "I don't care, I thought we agreed to fair py," annoyed, London said, crossing her arms and turning her head.

  "Yeah, well, I thought the same," mimig the irl's as, Maddie said.

  "So, if I uand correctly, you were peting to go out with me," I said incredulously and with a hint of disgust; just saying that reminded me of Joey Do home.

  "Yes," both still annoyed, Maddie and London replied simultaneously.

  This was supposed to be a quiet day.

  ---

  Author Thoughts:

  A couple of things:

  1. Is it really awkward for PJ to have niames for his siblings? As an older brother myself, it seems strao refer to any of my siblings by their names; it feels too formal.2. It's possible that the chapter will be uploaded on Wednesday instead of Tuesday, and there won't be a chapter on Thursday. I want to the 'mini ar Boston.

  With that said,

  I think that's all. As always, if you find any errors, please let me know, and I'll correct them immediately.

  Thank you for reading! :D

  PS: PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW.

  By the way, ge the synopsis, what do you think?