WATP ch. 16- Meet the Sorensons

Two weeks later, Kowalski was preparing to try out for the swim team.

Kenny and Private sat next to Skipper, Rico, and Barry on the bleachers.

"Did the coach ask about the shirt?" Barry asked.

"She said it was alright." Kenny said distractedly.

"You alright there?"

Kenny nodded.

Private nudged Barry, signaling the end of that conversation.

They watched the group of teenagers warming up. They were split into groups of three. A few students left when they were told that they would also have to do workouts. A couple of others squealed that the water was too cold. One said that the water was too wet.

The others were passable.

Finally, it was Kowalski's turn. He was to swim beside another boy and a girl.

"DeRege, Taro, Waller, it's your turn." The coach shouted. "Make me think you're good enough for me to consider you. At the very least, don't make me puke."

Kowalski gave a short nod.

"Yes Ma'am." Waller answered.

"You got it Coach Merrick!" DeRege said with a wink.

Coach Merrick scowled. "If I was Forrest, you would have been at the deep end of the pool by now. Begin."

The three of them dove into the water and started swimming.

Kowalski kept himself steady as he flew through the water. His wet shirt stuck to his body, but didn't bring him down.

Kenny and the others cheered for him.

"Coach Forrest wouldn't really do that, would he?" Private asked.

"Maybe not to us sixth graders; but he might toss an annoying Sophmore like DeRege in the pool or across the field." Barry said. "Though no one really knows if he actually has thrown a student before, Coach Forrest is a pretty intimidating PE teacher if you get him mad enough."

"Yeah, I think people across town know Barry's last name by now." Skipper said. "Wheeler!" He said gruffly. "Get back here with that soccer ball or you're going to learn how hard it is to scrub down the locker rooms at the end of the year."

Private and Kenny tried to stifle their laughter; a few students who had heard them were giggling a little. Rico burst out with laughter.

"See?" Skipper said in the same voice. "Blue's got the spirit even if the name doesn't suit."

"I agree, he certainly has a sense of humor."

The students looked around to see that Forrest had approached from behind.

Skipper leapt up and nearly fell off the top of the bleachers. Luckily, Rico had caught him just in time.

"And you're lucky I have a sense of humor as well." Forrest said. "Not to mention, that was a pretty decent imitation. A few years back, I had a cocky little seventh grader who tried to mock me. Now, I take things in good humor, but this kid sounded like Donald Duck with Bronchitis."

The kids laughed.

"So, what're you doing here?" Barry asked.

"Well, it just so happens that I work here."

Barry turned pink. "Sorry, I meant-"

"I know what you meant, Wheeler. Coach Merrick and I were going to meet with the other teachers to discuss the upcoming sports sessions. Was that DeRege I saw?" He gestured to the doors that led to the locker rooms.

"Yeah." Skipper said.

Rico scowled.

"I'm not fond of him either, Blue." Forrest said.

Coach Merrick approached the stands.

"Alright, everyone, I need you to clear out. Those three were our last group; I have notified them that the official announcements will be on the bulletin board by the gym after the Thanksgiving weekend." She said.

The students filed out as the tryout kids left the locker rooms. The buzz of chatter started immediately.

Skipper, Rico, Kenny, Private, and Barry hung back for Kowalski.

"Better hope your little friend doesn't choke!" A sneering voice came from around the corner. "Ah, freshmen…or as I like to call them, fresh meat. Aww, and some baby sixth graders."

"Shut it, DeRege." Skipper said.

"Sorry, I don't take orders from shrimpy fifteen year olds who think they still own everything." DeRege said. "Have you not realized that middle school is over and you're in the big leagues, kid?"

"Have you not realized that I can drop kick you to the moon?" Skipper snapped. "I've seen things that you'd throw up at. I've done things…well, that's classified."

"Trying to act tough?"

"Who says I'm acting?"

DeRege shook his head. "Aww, you look so pitiful. Hey, Blue, how's it going?"

"Leave." Rico growled.

"Well, that's not nice." DeRege huffed. "Oh, your lame excuse for a friend is here." He said, jabbing a thumb in Kowalski's direction. "He'll never make it." He laughed as he walked away.

Rico showed every sign of wanting to hit the pompous boy, but Skipper held him back. Rico stopped when he spotted Kowalski's nervous grin.

"So, did I do well?"

"You, my friend, were amazing." Skipper said. "Now let's go home."

Kowalski was given a hat by Rico since his hair was still soaking wet. The boys walked home and managed to get back inside the apartments just before it began to rain. They chatted excitedly about the swim team and hoped that Kowalski would get in.

Just before they entered the elevator, Alice gave Skipper an envelope. She said she didn't know who it was from, but it was addressed to him.

Skipper opened the letter in his room once Barry and Kenny had left. Rico was lying on his bed with his laptop open on his chest.

"Boys!" Skipper called. "Looks like we have another fan letter." He scowled.

Kowalski sat in Skipper's chair while Private sat at the edge of Rico's bed.

"It's another threat from whoever this is. It basically says to quit while we're ahead." Skipper said. "This isn't good…they said that if we continue to investigate their threats, they'll reveal everyone's secrets, including our friends. They're threatening all of our friends."

"You mean, Kenny, Barry, Ramona, and Allie are in danger?" Private asked.

"Along with Marlene, Izzy, Nat, Manfredi, Johnson, and whoever else we call our friends." Kowalski said. "And maybe even those we don't consider as our friends."

"And our families…" Skipper said.

Rico's phone rang. He looked at the number and gave a confused look.

Skipper took it and held it to his ear. "Hello?"

He heard the voice on the other end and put it on speaker.

"Hey guys, it's me, Johnny."

The boys sighed.

"What is it?" Skipper asked.

"I received the information you sent me on the threats you've been getting." Johnny said. "And we're investigating it as we speak. I believe it's a harmless attempt by a lower agent of Blowhole to get you guys to back off. Don't worry about it unless I say it's an emergency. The primary situation is that we get Private to stay. We believe that he is vital to the team."

"We're working on it." Kowalski said.

"This basically means he's nearly destroying the lab every other day in attempt to fix the situation." Skipper said.

Kowalski glared at him.

Johnny chuckled. "Well, I wish you luck. Don't worry; I'll keep an eye out as well."

The boys stayed silent for a few minutes after the call had ended.

The silence was broken by another incoming call.

"It's your dad." Skipper said.

"Hi" Rico said, switching off the speaker and holding it to his ear. "Hmm? Mm-hm…oh…okay…yeah…bye…" He blinked in confusion and slowly put the phone down to his side. "Dad…he marry…summer…"

"Oh, wow." Kowalski said. "I-uh…"

"Er…congratulations?" Private said awkwardly.

"Sorry, buddy; we don't know what to say here."

Rico shrugged. "Meh."

"Well, then…meh." Kowalski said.

"So, are you guys going back home for the Thanksgiving break?" Skipper asked.

Rico nodded.

"Me too."

"Not me." Kowalski said. "Kenny and I are staying."

"Er…" Private had another awkward expression on. "I don't celebrate Thanksgiving."

"Well, Kowalski and Kenny were invited to Ramona's house last year, right?" Skipper asked.

"Yes, but Ramona told me that her family decided to go to Georgia this year. She has a grandmother, uncle, and a few cousins who live there." Private said. "They're flying out on Sunday."

"Oh, what about Allie's house?" Kowalski asked.

"Allie told me that her cousin's house is going to be packed." Private said.

"Well, that settles it then." Skipper said.

The boys looked at him with confusion etched on each of their faces.

"You two, and Kenny, are coming to my place for Thanksgiving."

Rico grinned. Private and Kowalski's jaws dropped.

"But-"

"Uh-"

"Nope, I won't hear a question against it."

"Thank you, but won't your house be full enough already?" Kowalski asked. "I mean, there are still one or two restaurants open somewhere in town."

"My mom said I could invite a few friends over." Skipper said. "And I'm assuming Barry has plans."

Private nodded, still in shock.

"R-really?" Kowalski asked. "We can come to your house?"

Skipper smiled in response.

"Thank you!" Private tackled Skipper in a hug.

"Okay, you're welcome." Skipper said. "Try not to do much hugging and mushy stuff around my dad and brothers."

"Sorry." Private said, letting go.

"I'm not going to do that, but I am going to say thank you." Kowalski said. "I'm certain that Kenny will be excited to hear about it."

…

…

Kowalski was right in saying that his brother was excited. Kenny practically jumped everywhere and he had a bright smile on his face.

A week had passed and the students were filing out of their classrooms.

"Finally!" Barry yelled. "And I finished my homework…I swear, my English teacher is the only one who would give me a boatload of homework."

"You were reading two chapters." Allie said, rolling her eyes. "Don't be a baby."

"Gee, are you sure you're not Ramona?"

Allie laughed. "No, but someone has to be her when you're the bouncing goofball."

"Hey, your dad's here." Kenny said.

"Yup, see you guys next week!" She said. "Have a good holiday." She gave the boys hugs before she left.

"See you later!"

"Have a good time!"

"Eat a lot of food!"

They heard her laugh at Barry's comment before the car drove off.

"How are you getting home?" Kenny asked.

"Subway." Barry said.

"Really? You ride the subway by yourself?" Private asked.

"No, I'm sitting next to Roy. His stop is two after mine and Skipper asked him to keep an eye on me."

The other two nodded.

…

…

Two hours later, Kowalski, Private, and Kenny were in the back seat of Rocky's car. Skipper was in the front.

It was a bit of a drive and the younger boys found themselves being nudged awake by Kowalski and Skipper once they had arrived.

"Wow…" Private said.

"Interesting." Kenny said.

"What did you expect?" Skipper asked.

"A military bunker." Kenny said. "This is so…normal."

Skipper and Rocky laughed.

"Nope, just your average two story house." Rocky said.

The two of them led the way in.

The room they entered in looked clean and perfectly decorated for the next night's dinner.

The living room, however, was a different story. The couch pillows were strewn on the floor and a jacket had been tossed lazily over a chair. There were pictures on the wall of the Sorenson family and others. The kitchen looked like a war zone with everything out and being prepared. They heard a door open and a woman came out with a heavy sigh, staring at the kitchen.

"Hey mom!"

She jumped and looked around. "Skippy, Rocky!" She said. She threw her arms around them and squeezed them tightly. "I missed you two! Oh, who are your friends?" She smiled at the other three. She looked almost exactly like Rocky and Skipper, except for a few facial features.

Kenny tried to hide behind Private. Private smiled, but was unable to respond. Possibly it was because she looked kind, but also not someone to be taken lightly.

"Hello," Kowalski said. "My name is Kowalski. I am Skipper's roommate and so is Private here. And this is my little brother, Kenny. Thank you for allowing us to spend the holiday at your house."

"Of course, any friend of Skipper's is a friend of us." She said. "Please call me Sapphire."

"Are the others home yet?" Rocky asked.

"Not yet, sweetie." Sapphire said. "Chris is coming tomorrow and Toby doesn't get back until late tonight. Your father is picking Brian up now and should be here relatively soon. Actually, your Aunt should be here soon to help me."

"Wasn't that Grandma's job?"

"She and Grandpa took the little ones out to the park because that happened." She pointed to the mess in the living room.

"Little ones?" Kowalski asked.

"My brother's children. He's gone to the store for me. I'm going to need help around here."

"We can help." Skipper said. "Can we put our things down first?"

"Yes, in your room please." She pointed upstairs.

Skipper's room looked like the one at the apartment, except there were a lot more posters here than at school. The boys went back down to find Rocky helping her mom with preparations.

"Alright boys," Sapphire said. "I need someone to help in the kitchen and the others to clean the living room."

"I'll help." Kowalski said. "I'm a great kitchen helper and I don't bite."

"Good." Rocky said, handing him a towel. "But can you work with food?"

"Work with food? No, food works with me."

"Is that so? Put your skills where your mouth is."

The other three went to work in the living room.

An hour later, the door opened and five children ran in, chattering loudly. An elderly couple came in, followed by a younger couple with a baby.

"Finally, you're here!" Sapphire said. "I need help here."

"Alright, we're coming!"

"Oh, these three are Skipper's guests." She gestured to the boys. "I think one of them went to the bathroom. Anyway, this is my sister in law and her husband and their four children. Those two are my brother's daughters." She pointed to two chattering girls. "They're nine years old."

"We're identical!" One of them said.

"Fraternal, sweetie." Sapphire said.

"Hello, nice to meet you all." Private said.

"Why is your voice funny?" an eight year old boy said.

"Er, I'm from England."

"What language do you speak?" A six year old girl asked.

"It's Britainese." The older boy said.

"No, it's English." Private said.

"Wow, just like America!" A five year old boy said.

"Why don't you like Thanksgiving?" The eight year old asked. He was bopped on the head by one of the twins. "OW!"

"No hitting!"

"Sorry, Auntie."

Private scratched his head. "Well, it's not that I don't like it. It's that we don't celebrate it."

"Why?"

"Er…well, I don't know. I suppose because it happened in America?"

"Why?"

"Er…I-I don't really know."

"Why?"

He looked to Skipper for help, but the older one was busy trying to move breakable items to higher shelves.

"Well, there are some things we do know and some things we don't know."

"Like what?"

"Like how the dinosaurs died." The eight year old said. "I think they got eaten by the ground. 'Yum, yum, I'm the ground and I like dinosaurs!' nom nom nom…That's where dinosaur chicken nuggets are from." He stated.

"Nuh-uh!" His sister said.

"Yeah-huh!"

"No."

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Why they tastes like chicken, den?"

"Because they want to train your tummy. Then when you're eight years old, they tell you that you eat dinosaurs and it changes completely because…of…one…CHOMP!"

The kids jumped and the younger ones screeched.

The eight year old laughed.

"Not funny!" His brother grumbled. "That was mean. MOMMY! TOMMY IS A MEANIE HEAD!"

"Harvey, I'm right here." His mother said from the kitchen. "You don't need to yell. Tommy, please save those stories for your boy scout camp nights."

"Sorry, mom…" Tommy said. "INTRUDER!" He put his arms up defensively.

"Guest intruder, Tommiekins." Skipper said. "That is my roommate's younger brother, Kenny."

"Like that guy on that show who always wears orange!" Tommy said.

"And who said you're allowed to watch that show?" Tommy's father asked.

"Toby watched it with me when he babysitted me."

"Babysat. You know that word, and you also know that some shows aren't for you."

"But I'm a big boy!"

"Well, big boys give their cousins a hug!" A voice said from the doorway.

"Brian!" Tommy said. "Can I play your Playstation?"

"No, it's really old." Brian said. "And I'm waiting until it's an antique worth a million dollars."

"Not going to happen."

Private looked around to see a larger man entering the room. He felt Kenny shrink behind him slightly.

He had light brown hair and brown eyes. Brian looked like both of his parents. His hair was dark like his younger siblings and his eyes were the same color as his dad's. Private wondered what the older brothers looked like.

"Hello there, Skipper mentioned having a few friends over."

"Hello, sir." Private said.

"Please, call me George. You are a guest in my home and you might as well use our first names here. Let's see if I remember correctly. You must be Kowalski." He pointed to the taller boy.

Kowalski nodded. "I think we met in passing."

"Ah, and are you Barry?"

"Not even close." Skipper said.

"Nah, I think I'd know if it was Barry." Brian said.

"He makes quite the presence, doesn't he?"

"…"

"Sorry, I didn't catch that?" George said.

"I'm Kenny." Kenny mumbled.

"And I'm Private!" Private said.

"Ah, Skipper mentioned a friend from across the pond. Nice to meet you."

"You too, sir."

"Please, I'm only 'sir' in a professional environment. Does this look professional to you?" He gestured to the younger kids who were playing with the baby.

"Oh, absolutely!" Brian said.

"Funny, kid." George said.

"Hey, that's what the doctor calls me."

George gave his son a light smack.

The rest of the evening passed nicely. Sapphire Sorenson had asked if Kowalski could switch places with Toby because her son was not much of a help.

Skipper's uncle and twin cousins lived nearby and the other kids were sleeping over at their house.

His grandparents had a guest room on the first floor and everyone else was upstairs.

There were four rooms. One was a small guest room which Toby had partially converted into his game room. Another was Rocky's bedroom. Chris and Toby shared a room while Brian and Skipper had another room. Since Chris wasn't coming until the next day, Brian decided to sleep in his brother's bed while Kowalski took Brian's. Private and Kenny were able to squeeze into the guest room.

"Now you know how Barry feels about having me as a roommate." Kenny said with a grin.

"Yeah, except I'm not Barry." Private said.

"We should all have a sleepover. Or camp out together." Kenny said. "You, Me, Barry, Ramona, and Allie. We should go camping."

"Have you ever been camping before?"

"No, but I've heard of it." Kenny said. "Basically it's all about having fun, telling ghost stories, and eating roasted marshmallows."

Private laughed. "I've never been camping either. Speaking of trips, I heard a lot of people at school talking about a sixth grade camping trip."

"Oh yeah!" Kenny said. "Barry and Ramona wouldn't stop talking about it in the summer. Apparently all the sixth graders go on a camping trip during spring break. We stay in tents and everything. The trip happens every year; Kowalski told me that he noticed the astonishing lack of sixth graders last year and the year before."

"Did he ever go?"

Kenny shook his head. "No, remember, he came in seventh grade and I was in fourth. Marlene mentioned it to me too."

"That sounds pretty cool…a camping trip for a whole week. And with my friends too, I-" His face fell. "I might not be here…"

Kenny groaned. "I forgot…maybe you can tell her that everything's going to be alright. I mean, she can't just take you out of here because of a few bad weeks." He sighed. "I mean, come on, we're pre-teens in a combined middle school and high school, there's bound to be drama."

Private laughed. "You sound like Kowalski."

"Well!" Kenny huffed. "I'll just sleep then and we won't mention this again. Off to my dreams of Doris!"

The boys burst out laughing.

Their laughter was cut when the door opened abruptly. A shadowed figure

"I. Am. Trying. To. Sleep." The voice growled.

Kenny whimpered.

"You're next on my target list if you don't-"

"TOBY!" Rocky's voice snapped. "It's ten at night, not three in the morning. Leave them alone and go to bed."

"Aw, but I wanted to mess with their heads."

"Toby. Bed. NOW." Rocky growled.

"Yeesh!" Toby said. "Night night, children!" He closed the door.

Private got out of bed and opened the door a crack "We're not children!" He called.

"Yes you are!" Toby replied.

"WOULD YOU SHUT UP!" Rocky yelled.

"SORRY, I DON'T THINK AUSTRALIA HEARD YOU!"

"SORRY, I DON'T THINK I CARE!"

"Toby, Rocky, what are you doing?" Brian asked, turning on the hall light.

"ARGU-sorry, I am arguing with my dear brother." Rocky said.

"YEP!" Toby bellowed.

"Yeah, I think they're the reason the city never sleeps." Skipper said, having opened his door. Kowalski's muffled laugh came from in the room.

"You shouldn't argue when it's Thanksgiving." Brian said.

"Well, there should also be an absence of chattering children!" Toby said.

"We're not children!" Private said. "We're pre-teens."

Kenny snickered. "Yeah!"

"That is not an accent of this country." Toby pointed out.

"Yes, yes, he's British. Anything else, Captain Obvious?" Rocky said.

"Nope."

"Then why don't you leave them alone and GO TO BED!"

"BACK TO YOUR BEDS!" A deep voice barked. "Unless you WANT to practice army drills. And I know all branches, courtesy of my siblings and myself." The floor was filled with silence. "I didn't think so. Now, grandchildren and guests, go to bed. And I don't want any of you up until at least six in the morning unless you have to use the bathroom. Am I clear?"

"Sir, yes sir!" Rocky and the boys said, scrambling back to their rooms.

Private and Kenny remained silent and drifted off to sleep.

…

Kenny woke up in a room he didn't recognize. He jumped out of bed, seeing another bed nearby. Private's backpack was at the foot of the bed along with an overnight bag. It took him a few minutes to remember where he was.

"Forgot you were at Skipper's house?" Kowalski's voice greeted him.

"Hi!"

"I was going to wake you up earlier, but you looked so comfortable."

"What time is it?"

"It is half past nine."

He joined his brother for breakfast. Sapphire had made pancakes and bacon for everyone. Toby was told to go last.

Both Skipper's mom and grandmother tried to get Kowalski and Kenny to eat more, but both claimed they were satisfied. Kenny had two pancakes, which Sapphire put butter and syrup on; and finally ate two piece of bacon so that Skipper's grandma was satisfied. Kowalski, however, was content with one plain pancake and his mind could not be changed. Grandpa Sorenson tried to lecture Kowalski into eating, but the teen was having none of it. The elder man let the subject go, muttering about stubborn teenagers.

Private was overjoyed that Sapphire had let him eat pancakes, bacon, and two mini muffins; something that his own mother would not let him do.

The rest of the day passed by with meeting more family and eating a light lunch. Chris finally made an appearance. Private noted that Chris and Toby looked the most like their father, Skipper and Rocky looked more like their mother, and Brian was in between. Chris was a pretty nice guy and seemed the opposite of Toby.

Finally, the kitchen was opened to everyone and dinner was served.

Private and Kenny followed behind Tommy and went to sit. Grandma Sorenson bit back a comment on how little food Kenny and Kowalski had.

Before everyone sat down, Private took a picture of his food and sent it to Barry who promptly sent him a picture of his own food.

"Alright everyone, I think we should begin a prayer." George said.

"Prayer?" Kenny asked.

Tommy's eyes were wide. "You don't know what a prayer is?" He asked loudly. Private was reminded of Barry.

Kenny blushed and looked down on his plate.

"I know what it is…I just didn't know that families did that…" He mumbled. Only Tommy caught that.

"Why doesn't your family pray? Doesn't your mom-?"

"Tommy! That's enough." His mother said, giving him a stern look.

"I just wanted to know why-"

"Tommy, there are some people who don't pray. There are lots of different religions and even people who don't celebrate Thanksgiving or don't pray and we should respect them."

"Sorry."

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to."

"I'm sorry, Kenny."

"I forgive you." Kenny said softly.

Everyone held hands as George led them into prayer. He asked that the family be watched and bless the food. Kenny looked up once to see Rocky smiling at him.

"Alright, let's eat."

Private found himself being questioned by Tommy and his twin cousins about being British and if that meant he knew the author of Harry Potter or if he had ever met the actors.

Kowalski was chatting with Tommy's father who worked in a science laboratory.

Kenny sat between Private and Toby, eating silently.

"Hey Ken-ken." Toby said. "Again, I hope I scared you last night." He said in a sorrowful tone. "I really try."

Kenny looked at him oddly.

"What's the matter, cat got your tongue?"

Kenny shook his head.

"Seriously, dude, sorry about last night. I just wanted to have fun."

Kenny nodded.

"Are you alright?"

Kenny nodded again.

"You seemed nervous this morning. Did I really scare you that badly?"

No response.

"Toby, just leave him alone." Rocky said. "Don't worry, Kenny, he's just a big goofball."

Kenny gave her a small smile and returned to his food.

After dinner came the different pies. Kowalski had a very thin piece of pumpkin pie while Kenny was served a slice of Pumpkin and apple pie along with the banana cream pie. He picked at the three and eventually ate about half of the pumpkin, half of the apple, and all of the banana cream. Sapphire was satisfied with him.

Kowalski made polite conversation as he helped clean the kitchen. Private played games with the kids, and Kenny just tried to stay in the background as if he was one of the pictures. Whenever anyone tried to talk to Kenny about it, he simply shut them away and pretended not to hear them.

Kenny particularly wanted to avoid Toby. He tried to distract himself by playing with the baby, but the kids had to return at the end of the night. Kenny had disappeared to the guest room once the others left.

…

By the end of the weekend, Private was convinced that Sapphire was trying to get him to store food in himself for hibernation. Kenny stayed quiet and tried to be out of sight.

Kowalski still wouldn't eat as much as the Sorensons would like, but he did help around the house. Kenny ate more because he was intimidated by George's lectures. Every time he tried to eat a little bit, George would take the plate and fill it up while lecturing the boy on good eating.

Skipper got a picture of Private enjoying the vacation and hoped that the younger boy's mother would see that he's having fun.

Toby kept trying to startle Kenny, causing the younger boy to hide behind his brother or Private.

Every time Toby did this, Rocky would either yell at him or shove him. This resulted in both of them shoving, smacking, and hitting each other. Usually, Chris or George would break up the fight while Brian and Skipper shook their heads.

Rocky and the three boys returned to school on Sunday night. She and Kowalski chatted about who had the superior kitchen skills with Skipper putting in his opinions. Private fell asleep, but Kenny stayed awake this time.

The boys arrived to see Rico unpacking. They conversed about their weekend and cleaned the room a bit.

Meanwhile, Kenny had discovered that Leonard and Izzy were already fast asleep and Barry had yet to return. He texted Private who had told him that Barry was probably running late as usual.

That night, both Kenny and Kowalski seemed anxious about something. Kenny wasn't asked because no one was awake in his room. Kowalski brushed off questions and said that he was still full from the feast. The other three didn't believe him for a second, but didn't ask any more.