But life was about to change for young Ness. And the first event to prompt this change would happen while he was still in his blue-striped pajamas. No sooner had Ness drifted into sleep than the sound of someone furiously pummeling the door brought him to his feet. Groggily, he raced downstairs towards the door.
"Ness! Ness, it's urgent!" he could hear someone wailing outside. He had barely unlocked the door when it violently swung open, revealing an enormously obese nine-year-old boy pale with fright. "Pokey! What's going on?" Ness exclaimed. His neighbor was gasping for breath and could not speak right away. To say that the boy was fat would be an understatement, for one leg of his brown pants could gird the trunk of a mature redwood; yet his small stature made his shape resemble a gargantuan pumpkin. His yellow hair looked like an upside down bowl placed on his head, and his eyes were scrunched from the plumpness of his cheeks.
"Ness… it's urgent… it's… urgent", Pokey managed to squeak out between deep breathes.
"What? What's urgent?" Ness inquired with feeling.
"I… I… Can I come in to explain?" asked Pokey, as he turned sideways to sidle through the door (pushing Ness aside) without waiting for a response. Once inside, he hastily waddled to the refrigerator, opened it, grabbed a stale piece of cake, and began to stuff himself.
"Pokey, what are you doing here? It's the middle of the night!" Ness said to his neighbor. Pokey nodded as swallowed down the last bite of the chocolate dessert.
"Sorry", he apologized. "I'm an emotional eater and I already cleaned out our fridge."
"That's what brings you here?"
"No, no! There's… there's trouble downtown, Ness!"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, the Sharks, y'know, the gang that hangs out by the arcade? Well, they, they… they're wreaking havoc in town! You'll have to come and see!"
"How bad is it?"
"Real bad."
Ness stood in thought. Yes, he thought, The Sharks had certainly become more abusive to the townsfolk in recent days. He wasn't too surprised to hear of this uproar. The last time he went downtown to buy some milk he had witnessed a Shark spray-painting town hall. Then there was the incident of the Shark skateboarding right into an elderly woman and laughing as she fell down. Those hooligans needed to be put in their place. That was for sure. Suddenly, Pokey strained his face as though he was in pain and erupted with a bout of flatulence so fierce it sounded as the roar of lion. Ness looked aghast. "Sorry," Pokey said. "I'm just a little nervous."
"It's okay", Ness answered, regaining his composure. "But we'd better head downtown if it's as serious as you say."
"Uh huh!"