“Theodore…” I was staring at the stranger in my apartment. I needed to chew Ted out, but not in front of this innocent guy. He’d most likely been forced into this. “I think Ellie’s calling you.”

Catching onto my lie, he said, “Now why would Ellie be calling me?”

Sometimes I want to smack that smirk right off his face!

“Her door is sticking lately. She can’t get into her room.”

“I don’t hear anything.” Ted’s eyebrows twitched in his impish attempt at holding back laughter.

“You’re also near deaf from playing your techno at near lethal decibel levels.”

He stuck his tongue out like the third grader I sometimes think he is, and made his way to the hallway.

“Fred, that door is really sticky. I should go help him.”

“I can help, too…”

“No!” Dang it! “No. You just stay here. Be back in a jiffy.”

I pushed Ted into Ellie’s room and shut the perfectly operating door.

“Theodore!”

“You really gotta teach me how to yell in a whisper.” He said.

“Oh, I’ll teach you something!”