Chapter 43: Good Mom, Bad Dad
"Hey, Z-Money!", Phil welcomed as he opened the door and let Zephyr inside. "So. What you here for?", Phil curiously asked.
"Alex and I are going to the cinema", Zephyr answered.
"Ohh. I love going to the cinema", Phil muttered, "What are you guys going to watch? Personally, I love horror movies. The more gory, the better".
"I'm not exactly sure", Zephyr answered, shrugging his shoulders, "Alex is the one choosing and she said she's keeping it a surprise".
"Ahhh. I remember the good old days", Phil said, nostalgia evident on his face, "I was 22, my old ex, Carla Concannon, and I went to the cinema but she didn't tell me what we were watching till we got there".
"That's ... nice", Zephyr commented, unsure of what to say.
"I had a great night that day", Phil sighed. Snapping out of his stupor, he coughed into the back of his hand, "Alex is upstairs. Still getting read-". As he was about to finish, he was interrupted by a series of screams and shouts from upstairs. "Let me go and check what's happening", Phil said, walking up the stairs.
"I'll come with you", Zephyr replied, following after Phil, who tripped over the stairs.
"For the rest of your lives", Claire yelled, "You are not allowed to shout at each other".
"But you are?", Alex asked.
"Yes, Alex. Yes, I am", Claire answered, "Because I feed you and I clothe you and I pay the mortgage".
"Woah, pretty sure old Dad deserves a shout out", Phil interrupted.
"Phil!", Claire exclaimed in frustration.
"Sorry", Phil apologised, "Should've taken the temperature of the room first".
"What's wrong?", Zephyr asked, having to push past Phil to be seen.
"Luke and Manny barged into our room while we were changing", Haley screamed, "The little pervs!".
"Can I just say?", Manny interrupted, "In Europe, this would be no big deal".
"Actually", Zephyr cut in, "It would. Most, if not all, Europeans value their privacy and don't like to be seen by the other gender while changing. I'm pretty sure it's a universal thing where guys and girls aren't meant to see each other change". Hearing his statement, Alex, Haley and Claire agreed.
"It's fine", Luke said, not hearing what Zephyr said at all, "You guys can see me in my underpants whenever you want", pulling down his zipper.
"No! Hey! Luke! Luke!", Claire yelled, taking a hold of his hands and stopping him from continuing, "Keep your pants on, for goodness sake". Taking a deep breath, she continued, "Okay! Girls! I need you to grow up a little and not get so hysterical over everything". As she was saying this, Phil behind her was making some gestures to show he didn't agree. "I need things to start changing around here or I will change things. There will be no more TV, no more Internet, and no whatever else I can think of", Claire continued. Turning around, she looked at Phil, "May I have a word with you Phil?", she asked, dragging him into the bathroom and locking the door before he could give her an answer.
Seeing the duo enter the bathroom, Manny and Luke saw no reason to stay and made their way downstairs and entered the kitchen soon after. Haley let out a grunt before entering her room, making sure to slam the door shut, leaving Alex standing awkwardly outside. "Hey", she muttered, grasping Zephyr's attention, "You ready for the movie"?.
"Yep", Zephyr answered, nodding his head. "Are you ready?".
"Give me a few more minutes", Alex replied, "I need to change my t-shirt".
"Oh. You got your new glasses", Zephyr commented, just as she was about to turn around. "They look good on you", Zephyr complimented.
"Thanks", Alex said, pulling a strand of her hair behind her ears.
"I see you listened to my advice and went with the half rectangular half circular frames", Zephyr stated, staring at her, "Proves my amazing fashion sense".
Alex rolled her eyes, "Don't try it. I showed Mom, who sent a picture to Gloria who convinced me to buy these".
"You look cute", Zephyr complimented, "The glasses frame your face better and bring more attention to your eyes. So. Can you tell me what we're going to watch?"
Alex rolled her eyes at his blatant attempt, "Nope. Now stop distracting me. I need to get changed. So shoo", Alex waved him off, quickly entering her room.
Shaking his head, Zephyr made his way downstairs and entered the kitchen where Manny and Luke were discussing what they were going to do while go-karting.
A few moments later, Claire walked into the room with Phil in tow, "Boys! Guess who's taking you go-karting?", Claire asked, then immediately pointed at herself, "Me!".
"Why?", Luke questioned, "Are we in trouble? I know I failed but at least I brought in my report card".
"No. You're not in trouble", Claire scoffed, "Today's all about having fun, you know? Go-karting is just the beginning".
"What else are we going to do?", Manny asked in excitement.
"Whatever you want", Claire replied, stuffing her bag with everything she might need.
"I want to bring Dad", Luke stated, "He's fun".
"And I'm not? Unfortunately, he's doing something else that requires his full attention", Claire retorted, ruffling Luke's head.
"Hey", Alex waved at Zephyr as soon as she entered the kitchen. Standing up and dusting himself, Zephyr quickly walked over to Alex.
"Goodbye. We will be back in a few hours", Haley said, grabbing her car keys.
"Whoa whoa!", Claire stopped them, "Where are you going?"
"Zephyr and I are going to the movies so Haley's going to drop us off", Alex answered, receiving a nod from Zephyr.
"After that, I'm going to the mall", Haley continued.
"Oh fun", Claire muttered, turning to look at Phil, "That sounds like fun doesn't it Phil?".
"I'm not much of a shopper", Phil replied. "It would depend on-", Phil stopped himself seeing the glare his wife was giving him.
"Bathroom", Claire mouthed, causing Phil to realise what he was meant to do.
"Hey, girls. How about you clean the bathroom before you go?", Phil asked, moving so he was standing right in front of them, "It'd really help your mom out".
"Oh. It's not about what your Mom wants", Claire interrupted, waving her hands, "Your mom's cool with whatever. It's about what your Dad wants".
"I would really like it if you could clean the bathroom", Phil said.
"But our movie", Alex exclaimed.
"Why do we have to do it now?", Haley asked.
Taking a deep breath, Phil replied, "Because I say and because I'm your Dad".
"This is so unfair!", Alex complained.
"Come on guys!", Claire clamoured, clapping her hands, "Let's go".
As soon as she left the room with Luke and Manny, Phil looked at his daughters and asked, "So. How does this usually start?"
Seeing that Claire wasn't in the room, Zephyr decided to speak up, "P-Money. I think it would be really cool if you let Haley and Alex clean up the bathroom later".
"I agree with you Z-Ball", Phil replied, "But if they don't clean the bathroom, Claire will kill me".
"Pft", Zephyr waved off his concern, "That's not true. Desiree says that all the time to Dad but nothing ever happens".
"Claire's different", Phil whispered, looking around to make sure Claire wasn't in the house, "If I don't do what she says, I'm not going to be able to survive till tomorrow".
Sighing, Zephyr shook his head in disappointment before snapping his finger, "I got it".
"Got what?", Haley asked.
"What about if they do half the work now and then half the work later?", Zephyr asked.
"That might work", Phil muttered, "But I need a guarantee that you guys will come back in time".
"Uh", Zephyr murmured, "How about this? I'll help them clean the bathroom as much as they can within an hour and if they don't come back in time, I'll clean the rest. I'll make you some food as well to sweeten the deal".
Phil thought the deal about it for a few minutes before holding his hand out, "Deal" with Zephyr quickly shaking his hand. Nodding his head in satisfaction, Phil exited the room.
"You didn't have to do that", Alex muttered as soon as Phil left the room.
"I hate to admit it, but she's right", Haley agreed.
"I'm always right", Alex replied.
"Urgh", Haley groaned, "Stop being such a nerd".
Just as Alex was about to say something, Zephyr interrupted, "Okay! Okay! Let's just do what we said so we can go and do our things after".
"Fine", Haley compromised with Alex nodding her head in agreement.
[Time Skip]
"Yo", Phil greeted as he saw Haley, Alex and Zephyr walk down the stairs.
"We've done as much as we could in an hour", Alex said.
"We're leaving", Haley added.
"Most of the bathroom is clean", Zephyr finished, following after them.
"See? That wasn't too hard, was it?", Phil asked, walking up the stairs, "Thank you. Now have a good time".
Instead of answering, Alex opened the door and waved, with Haley following and Zephyr muttering, "Bye Phil".
Phil walked up a few stairs before tripping, "Damn it. I've got to fix that step", he cursed. Continuing upwards, Phil took a deep breath before opening the door. "Holy Mackerel!", Phil exclaimed, slapping his face to ensure he wasn't dreaming. "This is so clean!", he exclaimed.
[In the car]
"How on Earth are you so good at cleaning?", Alex asked as Haley reversed the car.
"I don't think I've ever seen the bathroom so clean", Haley admitted, changing gears and putting her foot down on the throttle, causing the car to lurch forward.
"Most of the grime in bathrooms is a mixture of dead skin cells, hair, clothing fibres, bacteria and more", Zephyr commented, "By mixing some common household appliances, you can create a solution that is highly effective at dissolving and removing grime. In simple words. Chemistry".
"I don't want to know the details", Haley stated, "I'm just glad that Dad's off our back and, hopefully, Mom too".
"I wouldn't be too hopeful", Alex replied.
"Why?", Haley asked.
"Mom's somehow going to ruin whatever trip she has planned for Manny and Luke and realise that things should return to normal", Alex answered.
Haley let out a sigh, "You're right".
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone