Some may think that living with your best friend in a treehouse in Dragon Valley would lead to a life of action and non-stop fun; truth is, it's no different to anywhere else. Sure, we do have a lot of fun; racing through the valley, stealing money from rick folk at the Kingdom Stone temple, and eating way too much sushi being a large part of it. But we also have a lot of evenings where we just don't do much; this particular evening was a fine example.
Normally, I enjoy watching the news. OK, 'enjoy' is maybe too positive a word, but it rarely feels like time wasted. However, on this particular night, there was almost nothing for the news to report; it was so dull, I was laid flat on the sofa, half-asleep. If it wasn't for Carol jolting herself awake again every five minutes, I would have actually fallen asleep!
The news moved on to yet another filler piece. I decided I'd had enough; I wanted to go out and do something fun.
"Hey, Carol?" I asked as I raised myself up on my elbows.
"Hm?" she mumbled in reply; she sounded like she wasn't really listening.
"Wanna go out tonight?" I press, hoping to get something more than a non-committal noise.
"Go out?" she yawned.
"Yeah."
"Nah," she sighed. "Feelin' kinda lazy tonight."
I knew how to get her moving. "We could try that new sushi bar in Shang Mu, 'Seafood Joy'."
"Maybe some other time."
Wait… what? "Are you really turning down sushi?" I asked, stunned Carol would even think of doing so.
"Yeah."
"Are you feeling OK?"
"Course."
"But you never turn down sushi…"
"First time for everything," Carol shrugged as she curled up in the chair; still not quite believing the wildcat who would eat her own weight in sushi and still go back for seconds had just turned it down, I laid back to wait to see what the next programme is.
"Up next, 'Shang Mu's Got Talent'!" the TV announcer said.
That got both of our attention. I sat bolt upright and looked at Carol; we knew we were thinking exactly the same thing.
"Race you to the sushi bar!" she challenged as she dashed out of the treehouse before I could answer; by the time I had grabbed some money, turned off the TV, and got down to ground level, Carol had already got her bike going, and was accelerating hard towards Shang Mu.
"No fair!" I chuckled as I gave chase.
I ran as fast as I could, but there was no catching Carol; by the time I got to the restaurant, she'd already parked her bike.
"That doesn't count as a win," I teased. "You had a headstart."
"Nah, you were just slow!" Carol countered, grinning ear to ear.
"How dare you?" I replied, grossly overacting on purpose.
Carol couldn't help but laugh. "Either way, I won, so you're payin'!"
I smiled and shook my head as Carol led us both into the restaurant.
The restaurant proved to be worth the trip; the food was delicious! The race had clearly worked up an appetite too; I lost count of how many platefuls Carol went through! Once we'd had enough, I settled the bill, then we headed back out to the streets.
"We'll definitely have to come back someday," I decided as we headed back to where Carol was parked. "Delicious and good value; not enough places get both right."
"My tummy hurts," Carol moaned in response.
"Well, you did eat a lot of sushi!" I chuckle. I expected Carol to respond to that, but she didn't. "Are you OK?" I asked, getting a little concerned. "You're looking a little green."
"I am green," Carol replied.
"…you know what I mean," I winked reassuringly.
"I think I ate too much."
"Not for the first time." At that point, I heard a weird sort of bubbling; Carol looked like she was about to pop. "I do hope you're not about to-"
Carol interrupted me with possibly the longest and loudest belch I have ever witnessed.
"That was a good one!" she grinned.
"Carol, really!" I laughed. "That wasn't very ladylike!"
"Better out than in!"
"Well, you definitely look a lot better," I sighed as I brought myself back under control. "Wanna race back home?"
Carol didn't answer; her attention was focussed entirely on a rich woman that had passed us just a moment before. I recognised the look on her face, but before I could stop her, Carol dashed after the woman. I called out "Carol, no!" but she wasn't going to stop; she sliced through the woman's handbag strap and snatched the bag itself.
Then it got worse: two police officers appeared from around the corner.
"Stop that thief!" the woman cried.
Carol slid to a halt and turned back on herself; I turned as she passed me. Together, we sprinted down the road, easily outpacing the pursuing police officers. And with the junction ahead clear of traffic, we'd be able to lose them in the alleyways opposite-
A police van pulled up at the lights. And we were going too fast to stop in time.
Carol slammed into the side of the van with a loud clang; I slammed into her a moment later. When my senses came back to me, I was on my back, pinned by a dazed Carol on top of me, and surrounded by four police officers looking down on us both disapprovingly.
"…what happened?" Carol groaned as she returned to reality.
"We kinda ran into the side of a police van," I explained.
"Ah… How much trouble are we in?"
"A lot," one of the officers answered.
We didn't put up any resistance as the police handcuffed us and bundled us into the van; half an hour later, we were in a gaol cell in a nearby police station.
"I'm really sorry," Carol murmured sheepishly after a few minutes silence.
"I know."
"I couldn't resist."
"I know."
"I didn't mean to get us locked up."
"Relax Carol," I assured with a smile. "This isn't the first time you've got us into trouble, and I'm sure it won't be the last. At least this time we've got a TV. Want to see what's on?"
"We're not going to try to escape?" she asked, puzzled.
"We'll probably be let out in the morning," I explained. "And if not, we can escape then."
"But my bike-"
"Will be fine. I heard one of the officers say they impounded it. So let's just relax and see what's on," I suggested as I turned the TV on.
"And now back to 'Shang Mu's Got Talent'!" the TV announcer said.
I have never turned a TV off so quickly.