Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Have another chapter. On a side note, I just blew a million bells on a princess crown. I've got my priorities straight!
Chapter 2
The next day, Dizzy received a letter in the mail. He took it inside and eyed it nervously for a long while. He half-expected some horrifying monster to pop out and eat him. Or perhaps it contained a scary message that read something along the lines of, "You're never leaving this town alive!"
But it turned out to be an innocent invitation from Peanut. She wanted to know if Dizzy would accompany her, Marshal, and the mayor for a night out on town. Dizzy breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe he had taken Marshal's words out of context. Yes, he was just being paranoid…the villagers of this town were incredibly nice. There was nothing to be afraid of.
Dizzy put on his usual yellow shirt with a number five emblazoned on it and headed outside. It was a beautiful day. The sun shone down on him, basking him in its warm glow. He stopped to appreciate it, drinking in its rays. It had been a while.
Afterwards, he went right over to Peanut's house and RSVP'd. She was overjoyed. But Dizzy made a quick escape before she could go on another tirade and sap his energy. He spent the rest of the day lazily fishing by the river. Once in a while, he spotted TayTay sprinting through the trees in the distance, wearing the same superhero getup she had worn yesterday. Sometimes he heard her shouting to "Asprin," again, but he had met all of the villagers and not one of them bore that name. He wondered if Asprin was her imaginary friend, but it was such a childish thing for a mayor to possess.
When the sun started to set, Dizzy went home to wash up. Right when he was ready to head out, there was a knock at his door. He opened it to find Marshal and Peanut standing there. The two squirrels looked almost picturesque in the twilight, with their dark eyes and bushy tails.
"Dizzy," Marshal greeted airily, "If I may be so bold, you're looking cool as a fair number of cucumbers."
Dizzy's mouth watered. Mmm…cucumbers are delicious.
"Nice house!" Peanut piped up, standing on her tiptoes to peer inside, "Super cozy! We should have picked up TayTay first, I bet she would love to see what your room looks like!"
"I'll invite her another time, I guess." Dizzy said, stepping out and closing the door behind him. The three animals embarked on the short walk to TayTay's manor. Dizzy took a deep breath, drinking in the cool night air. It was a beautiful evening and there was not a cloud in the sky. He looked to Peanut. "So what did you have planned?"
Peanut was practically bursting with excitement. "First stop: the café! After we drink some coffee, it's time to go shopping and we'll dance the night away at Club LOL! It's gonna be so, so super, slacker!"
Dizzy felt weary just thinking about it. Before he could comment on the matter, they had arrived at TayTay's house. Marshal rapped on the door while Dizzy eyed the candy exterior hungrily.
"Think she'll mind if I lick some icing off the door?" He wondered.
Marshal chuckled, "I wouldn't risk it."
Suddenly, the door popped open. For once, TayTay didn't don her terrible superhero getup. She was looking quite cute in a petite pink dress that matched her hair, which was pulled back in a pigtail with a red ribbon. An expensive-looking crown rested on her head, screaming volumes about her wealth. She flashed a toothy grin at her guests. "Ready to go?"
"Yeaaah!" Peanut cheered.
TayTay bolted out of her house. Side by side, she and Peanut ran into the night. "Hey, wait for us!" Dizzy cried out.
Marshal just shrugged it off. "Eh, we'll catch up with them eventually. They're just a little hyper."
"A little?" Dizzy echoed doubtfully.
The two followed the path towards the café, making casual chitchat as they went. Dizzy felt a little awkward walking next to the tiny white squirrel. He towered over him, but that didn't seem to faze Marshal at all. He asked Dizzy's opinion on Peanut, but before he could give it, the squirrel interrupted, "Better not get any wise ideas, sulky! I've had my eye on her a while. Course, I've had my eye on half the girls in town, but there are a few I'd be willing to part with if you ask nicely."
It took Dizzy a minute to realize what his friend was talking about. His cheeks burned and he laughed, "Ahuh huh! It's okay. The only relationship I need in my life is my relationship with lemon pie. And every other dessert out there!"
"Oh c'mon Dizzy, that's no way to live!" Marshal chided. After a pause, the smug villager added, "You and TayTay would make a cute couple, dontcha think?"
"Uh…I don't think she's my type…" Dizzy said awkwardly.
Marshal snorted. "Fine. I guess your idea of the perfect woman is a girl coated in chocolate and caramel."
"And butterscotch, woo-oo." Dizzy offered, licking his lips.
Finally, they arrived at the café, on the northern end of town. It was surprisingly crowded that evening. Monique the cat and Agnes the pig were drinking tea at the far end of the room. When their group walked in, the two villagers ceased their conversation and cast them judgmental glances. Dizzy nervously tried to avoid their gazes and walked to the counter.
TayTay and Peanut were already seated there, ordering two mochas from Brewster. A fierce-looking white tiger was sitting a few chairs down, sipping his mug. He turned his face towards Dizzy and the elephant flinched slightly. The tiger's eyes were heavily bloodshot. He was intimidating to the max. With a grunt, the old cat finished his coffee, paid Brewster, and left. Only then could Dizzy relax.
"Bye Rolf!" TayTay called as the tiger exited the coffee shop.
Peanut shivered. "Ugh. He is soo creepy, TayTay! I don't know why you associate with him."
TayTay just smiled, watching where Rolf had disappeared. After a moment, she swiveled in her seat to face Dizzy. "Aren't you going to order?"
Dizzy realized with a jolt that he had been staring at her. "Uh, yeah!" He looked at Brewster and ordered a blue mountain coffee with plenty of cream and sugar. Marshal ordered a Kilimanjaro with a dab of pigeon's milk.
It tasted like caffeinated heaven. "Wow…" Dizzy breathed, smelling the sweet scent of coffee beans through his trunk. "I've never tasted coffee like this! Startown doesn't even have a café."
"Just another perk of being in Taytown." Marshal smirked.
An audible gag reached Dizzy's large ears. He turned his head in the direction of the two girls at the corner of the café. Monique was rolling her eyes. Dizzy only felt confusion. But before he could ponder this any further, Peanut was demanding they chug their coffees so they could get to shopping.
Brewster agreed with her. "Yes…drink up while it's hot…" He cooed in a soft voice.
"Fine, fine." Marshal sighed, forcing the scalding coffee down his throat.
Dizzy did the same. Before he knew it, TayTay had caught his hand and was whisking him away towards Main Street. Peanut bounded ahead, squealing about all of the stuff she was going to buy.
"And I'm going to wind up carrying all of your bags again." Marshal sighed. But Dizzy could still see the amused smirk playing at the corners of his lips.
The four hit up Timmy and Tommy's store first. The furniture was rather expensive, but Dizzy decided to treat himself to a few new pieces for his house. He bought a spiffy dice stereo and a new bed with colorful sheets (his old bed had just about caved in). The Nook Brothers promised to have this shipped to his house by tomorrow.
He had a little extra money to spend on clothes. While TayTay and Peanut went to buy pink shoes at Kick's, Dizzy hung out at the Able Sisters' with Marshal.
"Get the denim jacket," His stylish friend urged, pointing to his own jacket, "It's all the rage."
"You really think it looks good on me?" Dizzy said, slipping the jacket on. He observed it from all angles in the mirror. The color did kind of look nice with his skin.
"It's great." Marshal confirmed with a nod. "You should get it, sulky."
"I think I will!" Dizzy said, beaming. He allowed Sable to ring him up. As she did so, he shot a sneaky glance at Marshal, "Did you know I'm actually a superhero? My alter ego: Fashion Lad!"
Marshal rolled his eyes. "Oh please! You're beginning to sound like TayTay. Besides, we all know I'm the most fashionable animal in Taytown." He struck a pose.
"Would you like to wear this out?" Sable asked in a friendly voice.
"Yes please!" Dizzy changed, putting on the denim jacket and sticking the number 5 shirt into a bag. Right as he did so, TayTay and Peanut came walking into the shop. TayTay froze in her tracks, looking questionably at Dizzy's new get-up.
"…What is that?" She asked in a quiet voice.
"Fashion Lad's newest look!" Marshal joked.
Dizzy laughed, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "You like it?"
"No." TayTay said quite bluntly, "Put your other shirt back on."
"Ooh, shot down!" Peanut chirped, looking highly entertained at all of this.
But TayTay's eyes were dead serious, as if the light had gone out of them. She stared hard at Dizzy, waiting for him to follow her instructions.
He immediately felt defensive. "Sorry, I already bought it…uh…you can have my old shirt if you want! It might be a little big though..." He held the bundle out to her.
TayTay's expression changed in an instant. The light was back and she was smiling again. "Thanks, Dizzy!" She said, happily accepting his gift.
He breathed an inward sigh of relief. What just happened? But Peanut was already rushing them out the door. It was time to dance the night away at Club LOL.
Peanut was the life of the party. She took to the dance floor as if she had been born on it and began busting out all sorts of moves. TayTay was jumping up and down like a maniac, waving her arms. Marshal was much calmer, keeping to himself and shaking his bushy tail all around. Dizzy felt incredibly awkward.
Nearby, a gold dog was doing a cute little one-step routine. He tried to mimic her. But then TayTay grabbed his hands and shouted, "Dance, Dizzy, dance!" The next thing he knew, he was bouncing up and down with her, shaking the floor. But he was laughing so hard he barely noticed.
It was a fun night. They danced for a long time, until their feet could barely support them. When K.K. Slider went on break, they left. Dizzy could have fallen asleep right there, in the road. It was dark and cold outside. The other animals in town were most likely sleeping.
Peanut, somehow, still harbored energy. She was like a battery that never lost its juice. She insisted they make one more stop, deciding on the museum. Blathers, the owl that ran the museum, was probably the only villager awake at this time of night. Not even Taytown's mayor could hold out much longer—she was literally falling asleep on her feet.
Yawning, Dizzy allowed Peanut to drag him there. Blathers gave them a warm welcome. Peanut and TayTay went running off to the aquarium while Marshal and Dizzy were left behind once more.
Marshal blinked repeatedly, trying to clear the sleep from his eyes. "Wanna head upstairs? Blathers has a pretty cute little sister."
"Sure." Dizzy said, stifling another yawn.
"I heard that!" Blathers called after them, "Please do refrain from hitting on my dear sister, eh wot? I am inclined to remind you that less civilized owls eat little squirrels. In fact, Great Horned owls such as myself will sometimes devour smaller owls! The savage world we live in is truly fascinating!"
They left Blathers blathering to himself. Dizzy had winced at the veiled threat, but Marshal swaggered on up the steps without a care in the world. But Blathers must have made some sort of impression, because he walked right on by his sister and entered an exhibition room. Dizzy followed. As soon as he was inside, he froze in his tracks.
"This is a good place to take a nap." Marshal said, gazing at the exhibit approvingly, "See, there's a bed in the corner and everything…something wrong?"
Dizzy was visibly shaking. His eyes were incredibly wide and beads of sweat were rolling down his gray skin. "This…this is my house." He whispered, his quivering trunk causing his voice to shake.
Marshal laughed, "I think someone's a little tired. We're still at the museum, Dizzy."
"No, no!" Dizzy gave a choked cry, "This exhibit looks exactly like my house! The carpet, the walls, even the furniture…it's all arranged in the exact same way!" The frantic elephant paced around the room, willing it to be different somehow. The only difference was a toilet missing in the corner. But the resemblance was uncanny. This was his home, and there was no mistaking it. Someone had been in his house and recreated it here.
An idea struck Dizzy. "Who created this exhibit?" He demanded, making a beeline for the exit.
Marshal shrugged. "I don't know. One of the villagers…?"
Dizzy rushed outside, skidding to a halt by the poster. There, he discovered the name of the person who created this exhibit.
TayTay.
