" To Private's Eyes"
Thank you for reviewing, now please brace yourselves for this next chapter as Kowalski and Rico try to talk to Private about Skipper. Thank-you.
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Chapter 3
" Now why would he hate you," Kowalski put his flippers on his hips. " It's awful to hate anyone. Now as far
as the word dislike goes. That's fine. But hate? That is just asking for trouble and it is completely wrong to
say or think about to others."
" Okay. He dislikes me then," Private covered his eyes, trying to wipe tears off of his face.
Rico and Kowalski exchanged looks of concern. Kowalski laid one of his flippers on one of Private's shoulders.
" Private, what happened between you two, exactly? That, and, what did Skipper say to you?"
" Well," Private sniffled, uncovering his eyes. Kowalski and Rico stood close by, ready to take in every detail
he uttered out. Kowalski removed his flipper from Private's shoulder, pulled out his clipboard and pencil from
behind his back, and waited patiently to take notes. Private began speaking quietly, worrying that Skipper
might hear him and come back up to yell at him even more. Kowalski listened carefully to the young penguin's
story and wrote down every single word that he had heard. Private explained the whole thing from the time
he saw Skipper writing in his diary, all the way to the time that his argument with Skipper had ended.
Once he was finished explaining, the other two penguins starred at him for a moment. They were still taking
in what he had just told them. Soon, Kowalski spoke up. " Okay," his eyebrows rose. He had already known
about Skipper's crush on Marlene for weeks now, but he needed proof of it first, and the letter from the diary
Private had told him about had pretty much settled that theory. " I can see why Skipper is angry with you
and he has every right to be up to this point."
" Why," Private asked curiously. " What gives him the right?"
" Uh," Kowalski pondered, putting his flipper to his chin. " It goes likeā¦" He paused for a moment, and then
began to speak, again, but in a softer tone. " How should I explain this to you? Skipper has a soft spot for
Marlene and by revealing that soft spot, you've made him feel vulnerable and insecure."
Private raised an eyebrow. " I'm afraid I still don't understand, Kowalski."
" Do you remember Lola, Skipper's ex-wife, the bobble head, hula doll," Kowalski asked, hoping this would
help Private understand.
"Yes," Private responded. " But why are you bringing her into this? The fight between her and Skipper at the
hotel back in Monte Carlo made us all lose a whole week's worth of sleep. That, and Skipper's loud crying
afterwards. What were they arguing over that made Skipper upset and divorce her anyway?"
" I'd rather not go into that," Kowalski stated, recalling that Skipper had told him that he had caught Lola
cheating on him with a Capuchin monkey. " Besides, you wouldn't really understand it if I told you. Anyways.
Do you remember how Skipper was acting around Lola before they even got married?"
" Well, he always wrote her letters," Private responded, trying to remember the past. " That, and he kept
looking at her funny, almost like he saw her step in something."
" Okay. Let's compare that with how he acts around Marlene," Kowalski stated. " Did you notice anything
familiar between the time he was with Lola and now?"
Private pondered until he got a splitting headache. " He did give both of them funny looks and he did
write both of them letters. Only this time, he didn't send any of his letters to Marlene."
" Probably because he was afraid of the same thing happening to him all over again," Kowalski concluded. "
He divorced Lola shortly before we came back here. Remember? So it's going to take him a little more time
before he's even ready for a love life, again."
" Oh," Private finally said. He paused and scratched his head. " Could you repeat that, please? I'm still
confused about all of this." Rico snarled impatiently, ran inside the headquarters, and came back out with his
girlfriend, the Barbie doll. He danced with her, dipped her in his arms, and let out a slight growl. Private
watched in silence. He was now completely lost. Suddenly, Rico coughed up a fake, plastic arrow, poked
himself gently in the bottom with it, and made goofy, smiley faces afterwards.
" Oh," Private squealed with joy. " I get it now. He's twitterpated."
" Twitterpated," Kowalski asked in confusion. " Where in the shrimp did you get that word from?"
" The Fox and the Hound," Private stated. Kowalski and Rico both raised their eyebrows at him and frowned.
"What? It's my favorite movie."
" And you couldn't have told us that earlier," Kowalski growled, putting his clipboard and pencil away. " Okay.
Now that you understand part of what's going on with Skipper. It's time that you set things right with him
and get that letter back from Marlene. You can get it back from her, right?"
Private pondered, rubbed the back of his head, and looked over at Marlene's habitat. " Maybe," he
responded with hesitation in his voice." If I can get to it before she does."
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For the record, I give full credit to the creators of the POM for their characters and scenery. I also give full credit for the word " Twitterpated" to the writers of the movie " The Fox and the Hound".Coming up next in chapter 4. Catch all of the action when Private tries to retrieve the letter back. Please stay tuned for more.
