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Chapter Three: Money Doesn't Grow on Trees

"RISE AND SHINE!"

Reala woke up immediately to the sound of Jackle's shriek. He groaned. "Not now, Jackle. I'm still tired." He buried his head in his arms. "Go back to sleep." he yawned.

"Sorry, can't! I'm too awake right now!" Jackle cheerfully bounced over to where NiGHTS was sleeping; she hadn't heard Jackle's wake-up call. "RISE AND SHINE, NIGHTS!"

But NiGHTS slept on.

Reala yawned again and sat up. "Don't bother, Jackle. NiGHTS could sleep through a hurricane."

But Jackle ignored him. He continued to shout in NiGHTS' face, "UP AND AT-'EM'S! (sp?) WE GOTTA SEE THE WORLD!"

"Mmm..." was the only sound NiGHTS made.

Jackle frowned. "Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww, come on!"

Coincidently, a bird flew overhead and one of its feather's fell off and drifted slowly down to where the three humans were.

As soon as the feather touched the ground, NiGHTS opened her eyes, which were still a sparkling blue-violet. She sat up slowly and yawned while stretching her arms. She then smiled at Jackle and Reala. "Good morning. How was your night?"

Reala and Jackle exchanged puzzeled glances, then looked back at NiGHTS speechlessly.

Not waiting for an answer, NiGHTS got up and began to walk towards the street. "Well, we'd better get going if we want to find a proper place to sleep by tonight. And I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving!"

"Me too!" Jackle ran after NiGHTS.

Reala trudged at his own speed. "How'd I get stuck with those two?" he muttered.

NiGHTS blinked against the sunlight as she entered the sidewalk. It seemed there were about as many people in the streets as there were the previous night. NiGHTS just ignored the as she tried looking around for a place to stay

"Why not try there?" Reala suggested, pointing to an inn across the street from where they were.

"Good idea, Ree!" NiGHTS started to cross the street.

"Wait, NiGHTS!" Reala grabbed her arm and yanked her back, right before a car zoomed by. "What the heck were you thinking, NiGHTS?" Reala growled, sounding very irritated. "You could've been hit by that!"

"Yeah, you could've been killed!" Jackle added, with a laugh at the end.

NiGHTS was a little shaken, but she got over it quickly. "I'm...I'm sorry. I promise I'll be more careful."

Reala walked in front of her. "This time, I'll lead the way."

Once the three of them got inside the inn, the receptionist looked up, stared at them strangely, then asked, "Can I...help you?"

NiGHTS piped up, "Yep! We wanna room, please!"

"Ok..." The receptionist typed stuff on her computer, then asked, "How long are you planning on staying?"

NiGHTS looked up thoughtfully. "Hmm...Well, I suppose we'll be able to see everything in about a month..."

"A month?!" Reala backed away. "Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo way! Uh-uh. Ain't gonna happen. A month is too long stuck in this body for me."

The receptionist raised a confused eyebrow, then waited for NiGHTS' answer.

"Ok, if a month's too long, then how about two weeks?" NiGHTS asked.

"Fine by me!" Jackle chimed.

NiGHTS looked at Reala. "Ree?"

"In a minute, I'm still thinking."

NiGHTS tapped her foot impatiently. "The longer it takes you to think, the longer we're gonna be here."

"Ok, ok, two weeks is good!"

NiGHTS smiled at the receptionist and said, "Two weeks, please."

The receptionist typed more stuff on the computer, then calculated, "Lessee...there was that dry rot issue...oh and that lumberjack strike...and with closing fees and taxes included, it all comes down to...1,295 dollars and 31 cents."

NiGHTS' expression didn't change. "Ok." But she didn't do anything, only waited.

The receptionist looked back at them. "...Aren't you going to pay?"

"Pay what?"

"The money?"

NiGHTS gave her friends a confused look. Reala and Jackle just shrugged, also looking confused. NiGHTS turned back to the receptionist and asked, "What's money?"

After being instantly kicked out (literally!), Jackle yelled, "Now what are we gonna do?! We don't even know what money is!"

"If only there was a way to find out what it is." NiGHTS wondered.

"Hey, look over there!" Reala pointed at a building (bank) that was called, "Money Mine, Not Yours". He said, "I bet that's where we can get money!"

"Let's go!" said Jackle, who was already running towards it.

Once inside, the trio waited in line. They watched what other people were doing and soon, they saw what money looked like: pieces of green, red, or blue paper, as well as different types of coins. Then it was their turn.

"I'll do the talking." Reala told his companions.

"Why you?" Jackle and NiGHTS complained.

"Because you guys would mess up." the red jester said sternly. He confindently walked up to the desk, with the others right behind him. To the old teller, he said, "We'd like to make a withdrawl."

The teller then responded, "Ok. Do you have your bank card?"

"Ooh! Ooh! It's right here!" Jackle handed Reala a playing card.

Reala held out the card to the teller.

But the teller looked at it awkwardly and said, "Um, that's not a bank card..."

"Jackle, you nincompoop!" Reala threw the card at him.

"Ow!"

Then the teller went on, "That's ok if you didn't bring it. What is your bank account number?"

At this, Reala was stumped. "Uhhhhhhmmmmmmm... 7?" he guessed.

The teller blinked. "...7?"

NiGHTS whispered to Reala, "Try 8."

Reala did. "8?"

After they got kicked out (literally!) for the second time, Reala snapped, "I told you not to interfere!"

"What do you mean?" Jackle retorted. "You were the one listening to our advice!"

Reala fumed. "Why you little--" He started to strangle Jackle, now that he had a neck to strangle.

NiGHTS encouraged, "Don't give up yet. There's got to be an easier way to get money."

Reala scoffed. "Yeah, right. Come on, NiGHTS. It's not like money grows on trees, or anything."

Then Jackle suggested, "Why don't we just ask people for money?" He went up to the nearest person who was walking by and asked, "Hey, can I have some money?"

The person gave him a dirty look and kept on walking.

Jackle shouted after him, "Someday you're gonna be begging for money too, bub!"

Reala pulled him back. "Jackle, do not anger the humans."

NiGHTS pondered for a moment, then she snapped her fingers. "I know! Why don't we try selling stuff?"

"That's actually a great idea, NiGHTS." Reala agreed. "But what can we sell?"

Later...

"Step right up! Buy Jackle for the day! He'll fill up your fun, and empty your pockets! He's the gambling maniac that won't shut up!" Reala was really getting into his sales pitch. "Come on, people! Only $1295.31!"

Jackle stood on a pedestle and waved at the passer-byers, grinning.

NiGHTS, meanwhile, was showing him off like a prize in one of those game shows.

But after a few minutes, they figured that selling Jackle wasn't working.

"Hmm...maybe we should sell something else." Reala decided. He pushed Jackle off the pedestle--

"Aah--oof!"

--and lifted NiGHTS on top of it.

"Huh?" NiGHTS said, befuddled.

Reala spoke enthusiastically again, "Hurry! Hurry! Buy NiGHTS for a day! If the air in her head won't fill up your tires, nothing will! Only for this limited-time offer of $1295.31!"

"Hey!" NiGHTS put her hands on her hips and scowled at Reala. "I'm not an airhead!"

Reala continued, "Batteries not included because her talking keeps going and going..."

"It does not!" shouted NiGHTS. She jumped down from the pedestle and announced, "Come buy your very own Reala and make your life a living nightmare! Guaranteed to scare away mailmen, crows, your in-laws, and to perminantly haunt you in your dreams!"

"Hey!"

Soon, Reala and NiGHTS were competing against each other with sales pitches for each other. Their bickering only stopped when Jackle spoke up, "Guys, I just realized something!"

"What?" NiGHTS and Reala said sharply to Jackle.

"THIS ISN'T WORKING!"

All three of them groaned and sat down.

Then Jackle lit up. "Wait! WAIT! I've got it! I've got an idea that's sure to work!"

Later still...

After several get-rich-quick scemes, the tired and pennyless trio of has-been Nightmarens sank onto a bench facing a shop.

"Now what?" Reala muttered.

Jackle started flinging cards lazily. "Dunno."

NiGHTS, however, decided to remain optimistic. "Oh well." she said lightly. "Might as well pass the time with a little music." She took out her flute, which was now visible. "Oh, so that's what it looks like!" she remarked in awe. Then she put it to her lips and began to play the only tune she knew.

A few seconds after she started playing, a man walking by dropped a quarter in front of NiGHTS' feet.

NiGHTS stopped playing when she noticed this. "Huh?" She bent over and picked up the coin. Walking over to the man, she called, "Excuse me, sir, you dropped this!"

"NiGHTS, what are you doing?" Reala pulled her back quickly and snatched the quarter. "This is money! I'm sure he dropped in on purpose. Maybe he likes your flute playing."

NiGHTS beamed. "Really? You think so?"

"Well? What are you waiting for? Keep playing!" Reala urged.

NiGHTS sat back down on the bench and continued her song. And soon, almost everyone that walked by threw down money.

Reala took off his hat and held it out so that people could toss their coins and bills into it. Every time someone would donate money, he would say, "Thank you. Into the hat, please. Yes, good. In the hat, everyone. Single file."

By the 10th time NiGHTS played Dreams Dreams, Reala figured they had enough money for a hotel room.

"Yes! I did it!" Reala saw the scowls on NiGHTS and Jackle's faces, and quickly corrected, "I mean, we did it. Well actually Jackle didn't help at all."

"Neither did you, Reala." NiGHTS pointed out, out of breath.

"Hey," Reala held up his hat full of money and jingled it, "who was the one collecting all the money?"

"Who was the one playing the same song on the flute 10 times over? Nonstop?"

Before Reala could protest, Jackle spoke up loudly, "Jackle wants to get some food now!"

Reala stood up and dumped all the money into one of his vest pockets. He put his hat back on and said, "Well, let's get back to that hotel."

"What?!" Jackle crossed his arms and shook his head firmly. "I don't wanna go back there. The lady hurt my feelings."

"We'll find some other hotel." NiGHTS assured him.

And sure enough, they found a different hotel.

As they were strutting up to the reception desk, the receptionist (a sophisticated, pompous gentleman with a thin moustache and expensive suit) thought they were going to try to rob the hotel or something. But since they looked like clowns and were slightly dirty and sweaty, he didn't think they would be capable. So he pretended to be scared by mockingly smirking, "Oh no. Oh no. Oh no."

But Reala grinned slyly and held up several bills.

The receptionist returned the grin and his previous thoughts were gone. "Oh yes." he purred once he saw the money.

They went in the elevator to the floor of the room they were offered. But once they opened the room and went inside, they noticed there was a slight problem.

There was only one bed.

Uh oh! How are they gonna deal with that problem? If you have any ideas, let me know in your reviews!

PS: I had to cut this chapter short. Shut up, I know it's still long, but it would be longer if I didn't cut it.