Finding Heartbreak [2.5 Leo Dooley]

Chapter Three

"Ugh, I think I'm going to explode," Adam says for the hundredth time as he stretches out even more in the back row of the van. Unfortunately for me, I'm sitting in the back row with him, so I get to hear -- and smell -- everything that happens back here. "That steak was the best thing I have ever ate, but I think I ate too much of those potatoes."

"Adam, if I have to smell your farts one more time, I am going to vomit," Bree says, glancing back at the two of us. She's sitting in front of Adam in the second row, so she's also getting the full blast of him. "Either that, or you're going to die."

"I think we're all going to die based on all the methane he is releasing into the air," Chase adds. "If he farts enough and the oxygen levels decrease enough in this car, it could kill us by asphyxiation."

"What are you four talking about back there?" Mom asks from the front seat. 

"Nothing," I say loudly so she can hear me over Big D's new album he dropped a few days ago. "We're talking about nothing!"

Even though Adam is making it almost unbearable in this car, I am buzzing. All through dinner at this fancy restaurant that Mom picked out, I couldn't wait for everyone to finish eating so we could get to the theater where the Amateur Sci-Fi Film Festival is being held. It's almost time for me to receive my award, and I can't be any happier right now.

Big D pulls into the parking lot to the theater just in time because Adam has let out a silent but deadly, and I desperately need to get out of this car soon before I die. I'm the last one out of the van because Adam just had to shove me down to the floorboards just so he could get out before me. Though that wrinkled my suit slightly, I don't really care right now. This night feels like it's only going to get better. 

I stare up at the theater entrance in front of me, a smile growing on my face. "Are you coming, Leo?" Mom asks me as she holds the door open.

"Yeah, I'm coming."

I hurry inside behind her. This room is packed with people from wall to wall, presumably trying to get into the film festival. Everyone is decked out to the nines even though this is just an amateur film festival. However, it makes it seem more important than it really is, which makes me even happier. 

"Are you Mr. Leo Dooley?" a man in a tweed jacket asks me. I feel so honored that he called me Mr. Leo Dooley that a smile appears on my face.

"Yes, I am him," I say proudly. "Why? Are you the man that's going to give me my award?"

He purses his lips, which makes me very nervous. "I think you should follow me," he says in a tone that scares me. "We have to talk about that award somewhere more . . . private." He eyes all the people around us distastefully, especially when he looks at Adam who's currently trying to lift Chase up into the air to give him a wedgie off the ground. "It's something important, Mr. Dooley, that we need to discuss together."

"Alright."

I follow him through the crowds of people toward a backroom where only a few people are wandering about. This man shuts the door behind me, and I notice a few other official-looking people standing in front of me. All of them are sporting matching grimaces, like they can't stand to even be in my presence.

"Is this Mr. Dooley?" one of the women asks.

"Yes," the man next to me says.

The other woman smiles at me, but it doesn't reach her eyes. "Hello, Mr. Dooley," she says warmly. "You must be confused as to why we need to talk to you."

"Uh, yeah I am," I say quickly. "I don't even know who you people are."

The woman flashes a look at the man next to me, who shrinks underneath her intense gaze. Even though I am bionic and I know I can take her on, she is absolutely terrifying with just one look on her face.

"Oh, silly little Jerome," the woman says, forcing a laugh out of her lungs that sounds more like a smoker than anything else. "He should have told you that we're the official judges for the Amateur Sci-Fi Film Festival. I'm Emily Jackson, the founder of this festival, and we have an issue with your film."

I frown at her as my heart drops in my chest. There was something about her voice that tells me something is wrong, terribly wrong, and there's nothing I can do to change it. I hate this feeling more than anything else in the world, even Maggie and Bree. It's the feeling that enters my chest every single time Bree comes in my line of sight or whenever she mentions Maggie at all. I hate it.

"What's wrong with it?" I ask them. Thankfully, my voice didn't shake at all when I just said that. "I thought that it won an award."

"Yes, about that," Emily Jackson says with a nod, "we have decided to dismiss your film from this festival. You will not be receiving that award tonight."

This is the one thing I have been excited about all day because I know it's something of mine that I've done all by myself. Chase didn't help me film it or edit the footage or even write the script. There's no way I would have let Adam even close to this film, and Bree was barely on board for it. It's all mine, and now it's garbage.

"Why?" I whisper.

"We're not sure if your film has been tampered with in any way possible from your bionic step-siblings," Emily Jackson concludes much to my dismay. "Because of this, we are not allowing your film to receive the award since it would not be fair to any of our other recipients. However, you will still be able to come up on stage with the other finalists who did not win the festival if you wanted."

There's nothing I can say to them to make them realize that I did all the work on this film. Looking at their faces, I know that I'm just a child in their eyes, that I'm someone different from them because my siblings and I are all bionic. I swallow hard and nod at them, not trusting myself to speak right now. I'll probably burst into tears if I open my mouth, and I'm definitely not going to do that in front of these horrible people.

I turn on my heel and shove the door open with my bionic arm, so it falls off of the hinges with a loud thud. The noise barely rises above the chatter of the crowd waiting to get into the theater to watch the films. Everyone around me doesn't even pay attention to me, but my family notices my attitude shift right away. 

"Leo, honey, what's wrong?" Mom asks immediately. She grabs my shoulders to look into my eyes easier. "Why do you look so devastated?"

"My film got disqualified because they think that these three tampered with it." Chase, Adam, and Bree all look at each other with matching frowns on their faces. For some reason, Bree looks the most worried about what is happening to me. "It's because you guys are bionic. They think that because you guys are bionic, you tampered with my film to make it win."

Big D steps forward, crossing his arms over his chest. It doesn't really work out for him because I can see his suit sleeves stretch at the seams with the addition of Chase's mission suit underneath his regular suit. "I have a great lawyer on speed dial," he tells me. "Do you want me to call her?"

I shake my head, shrugging. "No, I don't," I answer him. "It doesn't matter to me."

Mom frowns at me but no one else really says anything to me because the theater doors have finally opened up for the public. The crowd starts shoving us inside so we all can finally sit down, but Bree doesn't follow us just yet. People brush by her, yet she stands tall against the current. 

"I need to go to the bathroom," she says quickly. "I'll meet you guys in there. Save me a seat, okay?"

It doesn't matter to me that she's not following us. The less people who see how upset I am, the better. I know Mom doesn't believe me, but there's no way I'm going to let her talk to me about it right now. I'll just put on a brave face for tonight and get back to my normal life as a bionic hero. That's got to count as something, right? Right, I keep telling myself until I believe it.