Boys Will Be... Cats?

Chapter 4

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Phil was in a predicament. When he got on the plane to head back to his hometown he had two suitcases: one with his clothes for the next two weeks and one with his toiletries and his camera. When he got to his parents' house Friday night and opened the trunk of the cab, there was one suitcase. Phil had no clothes.

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Louise wasn't lying when she said her and PJ were going to show up "bright and early" on Saturday. No living human being should be allowed to arrive at someone else's house at 5:00 in the morning. Dan hadn't even gone to sleep until 3:30. He couldn't help it. He was stressing.

Phil Lester was going to be at his house in exactly 14 hours now and Dan was not prepared at all.

"Come on." said PJ. "We can start with a banner. That should keep you distracted for a while. I brought paints!"

All Dan could do was shrug. "I guess."

"Awesome!" said Louise. "I'll go get some snacks." She winked at Dan and went to go raid the kitchen.

Hours passed, and Dan was finally starting to feel less anxious. The banner looked... okay, and the trio had stuffed themselves with as many stolen cupcakes as they could. The only thing left to do was wait.

"Something is missing," Louise said. She walked over to Dan and looked at the neatly decorated house.

"Yeah," said PJ, standing up from his seat. He stood on the other side of Dan and stared at the open house. (Personally, PJ thought the decorations looked a bit plain, but Dan hadn't wanted a party in the first place, so he let it go.)

Dan shrugged. "It looks fine to me."

Louise leaned over and put her arm around him. "That's where you're wrong, darling. I think I know exactly what this party needs." She grabbed both boys' hands and dragged them to her car. "Get in, losers. We have 2 hours."

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Phil woke up late Saturday afternoon. He had meant to get up earlier, but he spent a long time catching up with his family the night before. Phil now had 3 hours to buy enough clothes for two weeks (that he actually liked) and be home in time to get ready for Dan's birthday party. He got out of bed and walked down the hall to his brother's room. He knocked softly on the door and waited for Martyn to answer. He needed some fresh clothes before he could go to the store. Martyn let Phil in, he changed quickly, borrowed the keys to his parents' car, and headed for the city's mall.