Scientific Actress

Californi-A-Rooney

Parker, Joey, and I were hanging out in the Parker Tunnels. The boys were fishing.

"Oh, man, the rats are biting today!" Joey commented. "Oh. No, no, he got away. Man, you've built quite a sweet life for yourself in Parker Hollow."

"Yeah. My tunnels are an oasis from the cyclone of blonde drama above," Parker admitted.

"What is going on down here?"

We turned around in fright to see Mrs. Rooney crawling into the tunnels.

"No one's fishing for rats. If that's what you're thinking, Mom," Joey snapped.

Mrs. Rooney gasped. "Is that my missing Thai cookbook?"

"No, don't touch that!" I screamed.

The house rumbled for a second. "It's holding up the whole house," Parker revealed. "Kind of exciting, no?"

"No!" Mrs. Rooney snapped. "All right. That's it. The Parker Tunnels are officially closed. Get out!"

"Mom, but the muffins are almost done," Joey whined.

"You have an oven down here?" Mrs. Rooney questioned.

"No."

"Nevermind."

"We're leaving."

~~~

Maddie hugged Joey tightly. We were saying goodbye so she could go to California.

"Hey. Don't go all Hollywood on me," Parker said.

"Oh, not a chance, Parker Pants," Maddie assured him, fist bumping him. She looked at me. "Do I get a hug or what?"

I smiled, hugging Maddie tightly. She fist bumped me before I pulled away.

"Oh, Aunt Dena will take good care of you," Mrs. Rooney assured her. "Just like she did with Liv when she was doing Sing It Loud!"

"And on that very sour note, I will be leaving," Maddie said. She looked at the stairs. "I really thought that she was gonna come down and say goodbye."

"She's gonna come down," Mrs. Rooney blurted.

They looked at the stairs again. "No, Mom. She won't." A car honked outside. "Dad is waiting for me out in the car. So, bye, guys."

"We'll help you out," Parker said.

We helped Maddie get her things in the car. Maddie gave me a hug before getting in.

~~~

"Trying to access your precious tunnels, Mother?"

Joey, Parker, and I appeared downstairs, facing the adult. "We sealed them."

"They came from the earth and to the earth they shall return." Parker shut the fireplace.

"Here's your Thai cookbook." Joey revealed the book, my eyes widening.

"You moved that?" Parker questioned. "Munch, that's the only thing holding up the house!"

"Chillito, Parkito," Joey said. "I replaced the pillar with Mom's exercise ball."

"Well, what if that rolls away?" Mrs. Rooney questioned.

"Mom, relax. I braced it with Dad's hedge clippers," Joey admitted.

"Joey, do you not hear the stupid logic in those two sentences? The ball is going to pop, then this whole house is going down with it!" I exclaimed.

As if I jinxed it, the house rumbled. Things fell from the ceiling. The ceiling finally caved as we made it out the back door. The windows shattered through the whole house. Then, the whole house collapsed. A car horn blared in the distance. We coughed from the dust. Parker held me behind him, almost like he was shielding me from the collapse.

"I am just gonna say it. That was my bad."

~~~

A few hours later, what was left of the Rooneys found the belongings they could salvage and packed up their car. I cried as I helped them. They were going to be two thousand miles away from Steven's Point.

Parker stood in front of me as Joey got in the car. He wiped a tear away. "I promise I'll come back whenever I can."

"Don't promise that. Because you'll probably be able to come here, like, once a year," I reasoned.

"Keep Reggie and Evan close, okay? I know they'll be there for you, and they'll be there for each other," Parker admitted.

"That I can assure you." I smiled, despite my tears. "Thanks for being my robotics partner, Rooney."

Parker smiled. "Thanks for saying yes."

I could tell Parker was hesitating. He finally leaned in, kissing me softly. The kiss turned into a hug, a cherry red blush forming on my cheeks. I definitely did not expect that. Parker kissed me one more time before getting in the car next to his brother.

I watched the family drive the car out of the driveway. They turned onto a street, and tears finally decided to flow. I had to steady myself by sitting on the front step. I sobbed audibly, knowing they were gone for good.