March 8th, 2017
Barney
It was the day I was dreading. I loved every kid dearly, but I don't know if I could take them all for a day. Each kid has their hobby, and combining them all will be challenging. For example, three out of five kids were dressed, fed, and ready to go, while the other two had to skip breakfast. This created an even bigger problem as I had to buy the other two breakfasts at McDonald's, which involved the other three begging for McDonald's.
"If you buy Lila and Peter breakfast, you buy us three some," Paxton complained.
I groaned but turned around and drove to McDonald's.
"Here, buy a burger and a soda," I told Cooper, passing him my credit card.
"Aren't you going with them, Nathaniel?" I asked, and he shook his head.
"Lila shares with me," He informs, and I nod.
It takes ten minutes, but Paxton and Cooper come running toward the car with fries and a soda. Cooper hands me the credit card, and after they buckled in, I drive to a park. Lila occupies herself with her phone, obviously not a social person. Paxton and Nathaniel head off to play with the younger kids. Peter and Cooper toss a football back and forth. Eventually, the three other kids come and join them.
The kids start sweating and complaining. I know they're done for now. I drive to an Ice cream parlor and let them order what they want. We drove back to the park after we ordered and got our food.
"What now?" Cooper asks, engulfing his ice cream.
"How'd everyone's Valentine go?" I questioned.
"I sat in my room like the teenager I am," Lila stated, and I nodded.
It wasn't the best, but it was a start. I looked around the table, seeing if anybody wanted to go. Paxton sighed before opening his mouth.
"I third wheeled Peter and MJ because Mom forced me to," He bit the cone of his ice cream.
"I invited MJ to the movies, but Paxton third wheeled," Peter says.
"I asked a girl out, and she said yes," Cooper said after a moment.
"What are we doing after this?" I asked, watching Peter, Nathaniel, and Lila finish their ice cream.
"Laser tag," Nathaniel squealed.
The kids nodded and ran toward the car.
"Laster tag it is," I mumbled, running after them.
The nearest one was an hour away, which was not exciting. We had two breakdowns (Lila and Paxton), three fits thrown (All Nathaniel), and two grounded (Paxton and Cooper). But, eventually, we made it. The other kids ran ahead while Paxton dragged his feet behind. I sighed and slowed my pace, making Paxton catch up with me.
"Whose team are you choosing?" I asked, pushing him forward a bit.
"I'm not playing," He told me, digging his feet into the cement.
I sighed and lifted him bridal style. Then, I carried him inside the building, setting him down on the floor. He tried to run away, so I held him in my arms.
"Hi, how many are playing today?" The woman at the front asked.
"Four kids," I told her, taking out a $20 bill.
"Is he playing?" She whispered, pointing at Paxton.
I shook my head.
"He's having a temper tantrum," I whispered, and she nodded.
"No!! I'm not!!" He yelled, kicking his legs on the floor.
I smiled at her before carrying Paxton toward a table with the other kids behind me. The kids put their equipment on before heading toward the play area. I let Paxton sit down, but I'm trapping him from running away.
"You have all the attention. What's wrong?" I asked, and he shrugs.
"Should I call your mother?" I questioned, genuinely not knowing what to do.
That makes it worse as his face pales, and he shakes in his seat. I hold him close in my lap, whispering words into his ear. He stops shaking, but his face is still pale. I fill his cup with soda and bring it up to his mouth. His face slowly gains color again. After he stopped drinking, he leaned back against me, closing his eyes.
"You're okay, Pax. Go to sleep," I reassured, watching his eyes close and open.
Thirty minutes later, the kids called quits and begged to eat brunch. I carried Paxton to the car and buckled him in before pulling out of the parking lot.
"Where do?" I asked.
"Can we go home? My Dad's making his sandwiches," Cooper said, showing me the text from his Dad.
"We want sandwiches?" I asked, and everyone nodded.
Two hours later, we made it home. The kids ran into the house, obviously wanting to have a sandwich. I carried Paxton inside and handed him to his mother.
"What happened?" She asked.
"He had a tantrum, almost passed out, and then fell asleep," I told her, heading toward the kitchen.
Laura, Nathaniel, and Lila were seated while Peter and Cooper waited in line for their sandwich. I walked further into the kitchen, searching for Clint.
"Where's my little brother?" I asked, and Laura pointed toward the outside door.
I walked outside, seeing Clint in the distance. He jogged toward me with a jar of milk. I rolled my eyes but walked inside with the jar. Laura takes the jar from me as Clint walks in with a carton of eggs. He cracks the eggs over the pan, adding them to Cooper and Peter's sandwich.
"You like eggs on your sandwiches?" I asked, and they shrugged.
"You want one, Barnes?" Clint asked, and I shook my head.
"I'm okay, lil bro," I told him.
He shrugged and made two more sandwiches before handing them to me.
"Would you bring this to Tasha and Paxton?" He asks, and I nod.
I balance the plates on both hands as I walk up the stairs. Luckily, the door was left open a little. I nudged the door, catching Paxton's and Tasha's attention. Natasha walks over toward me, taking both the plates before sitting down. Taking that as my cue to walk out, I head downstairs and into the living room, turning on a movie.
As the movie progresses, more and more people sit down to watch. Laura eventually heads up to invite Paxton and Natasha for movie night. Paxton walks down the stairs and sits by me, lifting the covers and burying himself in them.
"What are we watching?" He asked, staring at me.
"Captain America: Civil War," I told him, and he nodded.
"Where's the popcorn?" He asked, and I shrugged, trying to focus on the TV.
"I'm going to make some," He told me, and I waved him off.
A minute later, he walks in with eight bowls and a bag of popcorn. He fills all eight bowls and hands one to every person.
"You're a very generous human," I told him, and he blushed.
"I'm serious," I said.
"I bet no other kid in the room would have got a bowl for everyone in here," He blushes even more, and I stop, turning my attention back toward the TV.
"I'm sorry," He says.
"For what, buddy?" I asked
"That temper tantrum and almost passing out," He clarifies.
"It's okay, buddy. Watch the movie," I told him, and he nodded, cuddling closer.
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A/N: I'm dropping out of 7th grade ELA with a passion. We've been working on this assignment for TWO months. TWO WHOLE MONTHS!! And we have a quiz on nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and more Tomorrow. I don't know what this part is, but it's okay. Also, it's short because I wanted to finish quickly. Proofread by Grammarly cuz we love Grammarly.
BYE-BYE POOKIE BEARS!!
Word Count: 1252