Ohmygosh! Where is she? Oh no! What am I going to tell Molloy?!
Frantically, qtpie235 looks up and down the rows adjacent to their seats for any sign of Mariko. "Why did I let her drink that entire slurpster? Why did I get her one so unbelievably huge? Why'd I even buy her one to begin with?"
Believing she has heard something much like the little girl's giggle further down the aisle, she races to the table seating section. A desperate notion occurs to her: perhaps Mariko is hiding beneath one of the tables. As inconspicuously as possible, qtpie235 lifts the edge of the silk tablecloth of the nearest table and looks underneath.
"May I help you?" demands unfriendly voice behind her.
"Uh, sorry," qtpie235 says, as she spins around. She is startled by who she sees.
Standing not more than two feet high and dressed, appropriately enough, in a monkey suit (ill-fitting tuxedo) is Yono the Destroyer.
"Yono the Destroyer?!" qtpie breaths in anxious shock.
"Yono the Busboy this evening," he mutters unpleasantly. "May I help you?"
"Well, uh ... have you by any chance seen a young girl, about yea high, black hair ..."
"No," the simian interrupts. "I try to avoid persons who match that description. And I have triumphed so far this evening."
"Oh yeah," qtpie235 nods with recognition, "I don't blame ya."
"Word," the simian says dismissively and waddles away underneath a table.
After shaking her head at the mystical dishwasher's exit, qtpie235 wonders aloud, "Where could she be?"
Meanwhile at the refreshment booth, Mariko and Rufus are trying to get more popcorn.
The naked mole rat had been on his way to the refreshment booth to get more nachos when he happened to walk by Mariko's seat. Partially due to her surprise at seeing him scamper by but mostly due to the syrup from the 164oz cherry-flavored slurpster still coursing through her veins, Mariko leapt up and chased after the hairless rodent. After catching up with him and chatting for a few moments, the little girl decided she might want more popcorn ... and another slurpster. They decided to make it a joint adventure.
However, once they arrived back in the lobby, they discovered that the refreshment counter was inexplicably closed. The candy case had been locked, the nacho booth emptied and cleaned, and the slurpster machine effectively drained of its icy sugary elixir. Fortunately, the popcorn bin was still full and, importantly, its door was unlocked and open.
"Are you sure about this, Rufus?" Mariko asks.
Rufus nods and produces a five dollar bill that he waves over his head as he points to the closed cash register.
"Oh, I see," Mariko nods. "You'll leave them money for the popcorn, so it won't be 'secret borrowing.'"
"Uh huh, uh huh," he chatters and smiles.
"Okay," Mariko says, "If you give them the money, I'll get the popcorn."
"Ok," Rufus nods and makes his way to the register.
Mariko clambers up onto the counter and walks across to the popcorn bin. Not seeing any bags, she decides that she could perhaps carry some of it in her dress. She leans into the bin to shovel up some of the fluffy yellow and white treat into her silk dress and, with her inherited "dump skills" from her dad, falls head over ruffles inside.
At this very moment, qtpie235 pokes her frantic head through the lobby door. Seeing no one, she worriedly turns back to the auditorium.
"Rufus," Mariko says with concern between mouthfuls, "I think this is more than five dollars worth of popcorn."
Rufus, who has joined her in the popcorn bin and has just finished doing an impression of Scrooge McDuck diving through his money, is too busy happily munching to hear.