After receiving the cookies again, Jonah decided to take action and went to The Spoon with the box of cookies in hand, luckily Amber was on her shift and waiting.
"Jonah, what are you doing here?" Amber asked, looking at him.
"I wanted to give you this," Jonah told her, handing her the box of cookies. "I hope you like them, they are some cookies that my mom made"
"Ok," Amber said, opening the box and uncovering the frosting. "these are sorry cookies"
"Yeah well...they were for Andi but she didn't like them" Jonah confessed. "I didn't know who else to give them to. My mom tried very hard to make them"
"Thank you" Amber told him with a smile.
"Well, I'd better get to school," Jonah said, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. "It was nice to see you Amber"
"Don't you want to stay for breakfast?" Amber asked. "I'll get you baby taters and a strawberry milkshake"
"No thanks, I'm not hungry" Jonah said. "I just want to make things right with Andi" he said goodbye to his ex-girlfriend and left the diner, Amber watched him leave longingly and with a sigh returned to wait at the tables.
On the other hand, back in Philadelphia the day of the move arrived and the entire Vázquez family was already ready to go and the moving truck was already parked outside the house.
"Okay troop," Victor said. "The day has come" everyone applauded. "time to leave"
"Wait" Rosa said. "let me see if everyone is here"
"Here we are Rosa" Mary said to her adoptive mother as she and her four siblings stood at the door.
"I already packed my video games and my computer," said Eugene. "but they will go with me in the back seat, I don't want them to be damaged"
"Aren't we missing someone?" Victor asked. "I only see Mary, Darla, Eugene, Pedro and Freddy"
"Where's Billy?" Pedro asked looking around. "he knew we were moving today"
"Surely he went to save the world" Darla said and remembering the promise she made when she discovered Billy in his adult superhero guise she realized. "I mean...surely, he's out there, you know he always runs away"
"Wait, I know where he is," Freddy says to his family.
"Don't take too long Freddy, we have to go now" Victor told him.
Freddy went back into the house looking for signs of his best friend and adoptive brother, calling his name everywhere without receiving any response.
"Billy, don't tell me you ran away again" Freddy told him. "I thought you'd already moved on from that phase, come on dude, come out from wherever you are"
Freddy continued searching until he found Billy fast asleep in a corner of the room, since the house was empty, he was lying on the floor in a fetal position.
"Are you kidding me?" Freddy grunted and walked over to his friend. "Billy..." he shook him to move him. "Billy wake up"
"Five more minutes" Billy mumbled in his sleep and continued to sleep.
"Don't make me do it Billy" Freddy told him, Billy ignored him and moved to the other side with his back to him. "well...don't say I didn't warned you"
Freddy went to the kitchen for a glass of water and threw it in Billy's face, who immediately woke up with a start and coughing.
"What the hell Freddy?!" Billy protests, shocked and angry as he looks at his foster brother. "Why did you do that? Couldn't you have chosen a less aggressive way to wake me up?" He took a towel and wiped his face. "Look at me, I'm wet and since my clothes are inside the boxes I won't be able to change"
Maybe if you had remembered what day it is today I wouldn't be forced to throw a glass of cold water in your face" Freddy said. "Me?, what the hell is wrong with you? Have you seriously forgotten that there's an important event, the house is empty and you are sleeping on the floor?"
No" said Billy and looked around. "Wait, where's the bunk bed?" Freddy slapped his forehead.
"To be the smart one you're not using your brain right now dude" Freddy told him. "you just mentioned that all your clothes are packed in boxes and haven't you noticed that the bunk we slept in mysteriously disappeared along with our stuff and the whole house?"
"Unless they're remodeling, the other option is that we move." Billy thought until he reacted and jumped to his feet. "Today we're moving to shadyside!"
"Ding, ding, we have a winner," Freddy said sarcastically.
"Leave your sarcastic jokes for another time" Billy told him frantically looking for his things.
"Were you looking for this?" Freddy tossed him the calendar and Billy saw the date circled in red.
"Holy moly!" Billy exclaims in panic. "I can't believe I was so stupid to forget that we moved today" said Billy and looked at Freddy. "Where is everybody?"
"Outside waiting for us" Freddy told him. "we can't leave without you"
"Give me a minute while I get ready," Billy told him. "I'm coming"
"And how?" Freddy told him. "You don't have dry clothes to change into, remember? You'll have to deal with that one" he patted him on the shoulder and left the room.
"I hate you, did you know that?" Billy yelled at Freddy watching him walk away from the room.
"Yeah, I can live with that," Freddy told him in response. "someday you're going to thank me"
Billy decided that he had no reason to be mad anymore since Freddy was right, so he decided to get ready and prepare for the move.
"What happened? Did you find Billy?" Mary asked when she saw Freddy come out of the house and join them.
"Yeah, he was inside sleeping on the floor," Freddy said.
"Why would he sleep on the floor?" Pedro asked.
"Maybe because the bunk bed is now in the moving truck" Darla said and she turned to see her brother, who was walking out of the house. "Billy!" She ran to hug him, but then pulled away. "Sorry I forgot you don't like hugs"
"No, it's alright munchkin. I'm not the same guy that arrived the first time" Billy said softly to his sister. "we're siblings now so...you can hug me if you want"
"Yay" Darla exclaimed and hugged him back.
"what were you doing sleeping on the floor?" Mary asked him.
"Sorry I forgot we were moving today" Billy said. "I lost track of time and realized it when I woke up on the floor and didn't see the bunk bed in the room"
"The important thing is that you're here so we're ready to go" Rosa said, stroking his hair.
"We're all here, no one forgets anything?" Victor asked.
"The things and furniture are inside the truck, only Billy was missing but he's here now" said Freddy with a smile.
"Okay, then... let's go" Victor said, opening the car and everyone got in; he and Rosa in the front seat and the children in the back seat.
"What if we play some music to brighten up the atmosphere and the trip is not so long," Rosa said with a smile. "Billy, will you do us the honors sweetheart?"
"Sure," Billy says smiling. "Luckily I came prepared" he connected his cell phone with the bluetooth of the car radio and Victor turned it on, everyone moved their bodies to the rhythm of the music.
Victor began to drive while Freddy, Billy, Mary, Eugene, Pedro, and Darla watched out the window as they inched out of Philadelphia, past the buildings, and began the drive to Shadyside, observing the landscape on the road.
Life's like a road that you travel on
When there's one day here and the next day gone
S
ometimes you bend, sometimes you stand
Sometimes you turn your back to the wind
There's a world outside every darkened door
Where blues won't haunt you anymore
Where the brave are free and lovers soar
Come ride with me to the distant shore
We won't hesitate, break down the garden gate
There's not much time left today
Life is a highway
I want to ride it all night long
If you're going my way
I want to drive it all night long
Through all the cities and all these towns
It's in my blood and it's all around
I love you now like I loved you then
This is the road and these are the hills
From Mozambique
to those Memphis nights
The Khyber Pass
to Vancouver's lights
Knock me down, get back up again
You're in my blood, I'm not a lonely man
There's no load I can't hold
The roads are rough, this I know
I'll be there when the light comes in
Just tell 'em we're survivors
Life is a highway
I want to ride it all night long
If you're going my way
I want to drive it all night long, hmm
Life is a highway
I want to ride it all night long
(Gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme yeah)
If you're going my way
I want to drive it all night long
There was a distance between you and I
A misunderstanding once
B
ut now we look it in the eye
Oh
There ain't no load that I can't hold
Road so rough, this I know
I'll be there when the light comes in
Just tell 'em we're survivors
Life is a highway
I want to ride it all night long (Yeah yeah yeah, yeah)
If you're going my way
I want to drive it all night long (Yeah, yeah)
(Gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme yeah)
Life is a highway
I want to ride it all night long
If you're going my way
I want to drive it all night long
(Gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme yeah)
Life is a highway
I want to ride it all night long (Yeah, yeah)
If you're going my way
I want to drive it all night long, ooh
(Gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme yeah)
SONGS IN THE CHAPTER
1.-Life is a highway by Tom Cochrane (in the scene where Victor, Rosa and the kids move from Philly to Shadyside and the kids watch the landscape through the window, that's the song that Billy plays to brighten up the ambient)