Howard Moon was with his friend Lester Corncrake. The look on his face was a bit irritated, Lester was just being his usual weird self, but he was really driving the maverick's patience.
"Ok, a one and a two and a no, no, no, you're doing it wrong again you dunce!" Lester squawked.
Howard rolled his eyes and groaned. "Lester, I only came here for a cup of sugar," he said
"That's nonsense honky, keep moving! One and a two and oh! You dance like a deformed moose!"
"What? You can't even see me, how do you know how I'm moving?"
"I can hear you! You're stepping out of rhythm and you move so bad I can smell it! Ok, again one and a two and ah! Forget it you're hopeless!"
Howard plopped down on a chair exhausted. He didn't know how long Lester made him dance, but his whole body was exerted and nearly out of energy. He didn't really know why he hung out with the blind old weirdo except that they have a few things in common, like their love for jazz and music of similar genres, but other than that not much. Who else did he have to talk about his passion with? Vince hates it so much that he's allergic, Naboo can't stand the sound of it, and no point in trying to talk to Bollo about it, the big ape despises him. So Howard had no one but Lester to really talk with.
"Well boy, it doesn't matter if you're dancing sucks, there's other things you can do, like playing instruments, like a kazoo!" Lester laughed and slapped his knee.
"Yeah I'd be great with that," Howard said sarcastically while frowning.
"Here you go Louie Armstrong, start practicing!" Lester reached in his jacket and threw a plastic kazoo at Howard.
"Oh thanks!" Howard was becoming very irritated by Lester.
Lester laughed out loud. "I'm only messing with you Howard, I love you like as if you were my son!"
"Whatever you say weirdo," Howard mumbled.
"Woo! You're a riot Moon, that's why I enjoy your company!" Lester wiped away tears that formed from laughing too hard. "Oh, I forgot to tell you, I won't be here tomorrow because I'm going to the Blues Festival in New Orleans, so I'm going to be gone for a while."
"Isn't that a shame," Howard said. He really didn't care; he just wanted to go home so he can go in a jazz trance, so he can get away from everything like loneliness, ridicule, and any other things that ail him.
"Oh one more thing, my niece Alice is going to housesit for me, so I'd appreciate it if you could just drop by to keep her company sometimes," Lester said.
Howard looked up. He didn't feel as angry anymore. "Alice? You didn't tell me you had a niece." He said.
"Why wouldn't I? Don't you think I have family? I don't know about you, but I have a life!" the blind old man cackled.
Howard could've knocked him down, but he wanted to concentrate on Lester's niece that he never mentioned before. "So what's she like?"
"Oh she's in her twenties, very nice personality. I taught her everything I know, so she's spectacular. I don't know if she's good-looking, but I bet she is, after all she's related to me! So that's means she must have a black ass like me,"
Howard shook his head. He couldn't believe Lester's ridiculous delusion of being black. Lester was pale as a ghost and was old and gray. Besides that, Alice sounded like she'd be very interesting. If she was related to Lester, there'd be no doubt about him getting along with her.
"Well I guess I'll go then, Lester, have fun in New Orleans," Howard said as he was getting up to leave.
"See ya boy! Be sure to practice on that kazoo, you could become famous someday!" Lester laughed some more. Howard sneered and left.
He made his way back to the Nabootique. As he opened the door, he saw Vince standing with his hands on his hips. "Hey Howard! Did you get the sugar?" Vince asked in his usual bubbly voice.
"Oh um… no," Howard said. He forgot all about it.
Vince let out a loud moan and threw his head back and jumped up and down, throwing a minor tantrum. "Howard! You were supposed to get the sugar so I could make sugar cookies!" he whined.
"Oh well I'm sorry, Lester made me forget, you know how he is. Besides, those things aren't good for you."
"I wasn't gonna eat them, I was gonna build something" Vince grinned
"What on earth were you going to build with cookies?" Howard gave him a puzzled look
"Sunshineville! The place where dreams are made! Charlie told me to make it!"
Howard's eyebrows knitted together and his mouth hung. "Can you say that again Vince? I don't think I heard you, think I had something crazy stuck in my ear," he stuck his finger in his ear.
"Sunshineville you geezer!" Vince laughed. "It was going to be a magical place of magical wonders where all you have to do is think of your dreams and it'll happen! Sadly construction will be delayed no thanks to you."
"W-what? Have you gone off the deep end Vince? You were going to make a sculpture out of cookies for your strange imaginary friend?"
"No I was going to make a city, a metropolitan utopia! Charlie had me in charge of this huge task because he knew I had the vision and the spirit to make it! Don't you see how much I need that sugar? It's a small request for such an enormous magnificent thing Howard. "
The sheer nonsense was making Howard aggravated. "I really don't want to hear this rubbish right now Vince, I have to much on my mind right now!"
"Howard! Think about it! It's the place where dreams come true! Think of all the sad people's hearts you'd be breaking if it's not established! Think of those people crying as you sleep because you're so bitter!"
"Lay off me will you? I want to be alone now!" Howard walked past Vince to go upstairs.
"Hear that Howard? It's people weeping right now because Sunshineville isn't being built! Don't you hear it? It sounds like this, 'Oh... If only there were a way for my dreams to happen… why oh why can't they come true? If only there was a way!' Listen do you hear it Howard? Does it make your heart ache? Does it cause you a great deal of pain? Charlie won't like this! He'll be very angry!" Vince followed him.
"Shut up you berk and go buy yourself some sugar!" Howard shouted, going in his room and slamming the door.
"I'm only playing with you Howard, you know Charlie likes you! He really does! Remember that!" Vince called.
Howard ignored him and pulled out one of his jazz records and put it on his record player. "Ok Ellington, send me on a ride," he said smiling. He closed his eyes and let the room be filled with Duke Ellington's soothing music. Soon his body and mind entered a deep meditative state. In this, he became deep in thought and began to wonder about Alice and he asked himself various questions. What did she look like? Was she beautiful? What would she think of him? Would she like him?