Breakfast with Bloo was not something John wanted to subject himself to again in the near future. Three orders of pancakes for him were wolfed down in seconds, and he wound up tapping the orange juice dry as well. It was interesting to see the other customers' reactions when he wore one as a hat.
Oh well. No harm, no foul, he thought to himself. The trio had made it to the courthouse and were now waiting in the lobby when Bloo suddenly piped up, "I thought I saw something in that tree."
"Can you say that again, Bloo?" Frankie asked.
"I was out on the porch earlier when you two were getting dressed and stuff, and I thought I saw something shiny in a tree. That's why I fell on your head."
"Did you see anything?"
"No, I didn't...at least nothing I could make out on my way down." The corner of Frankie's mouth curled into a slight grin as she continued to read the latest issue of Metal Edge when the courthouse clerk approached the intercom.
"Mr. Stiles? Ms. Foster?" the clerk asked.
"Yes?"
"Judge Theilman is ready to hear your case."
"Okay." Frankie and John gathered their evidence and prepared to tell the judge what had happened, but not before John gave Bloo a stern warning of "Stay here and don't touch anything." Bloo rolled his eyes and answered, "Come on--this is me you're talking to!"
"Exactly."
As the courtroom door shut, Bloo sank into his chair and began whipping his paddleball around, not really paying attention to anything but his toy. While he tried to get two consecutive paddle whacks in, he noticed a figure standing near the exit that wasn't there before. His face, his build, his clothing--he knew he'd seen them somewhere, but he couldn't quite place it...and then the figure walked underneath a light.
It was Dylan Lee.
Bloo's jaw dropped in terror as Dylan stared him down. The imaginary friend broke into a cold sweat as his enemy just stood there, chewing gum and smiling wickedly at him. Bloo anticipated the worst, but all Dylan did afterwards was salute him goodbye and exit the courthouse. No sooner did his Eclipse pull out of the parking lot than Frankie and John come out of the courtroom smiling broadly.
"Well, it's official," Frankie boasted. "Now Dylan can't come within 500 feet of me, anyone at Foster's, or Foster's itself!" Bloo didn't answer, as his eyes were still rooted to the spot where Dylan once stood.
"Hey, short stack, you okay?" John asked. All Bloo could say was a barely audible "I saw him."
Frankie and John immediately knew who 'him' was and raced to comfort Bloo and see what happened. "He didn't do anything," Bloo said. "He just stood there and was gone about ten seconds before you guys came out."
"Christ, he doesn't know when to quit...and how the fuck does he always seem to know where we are?" Frankie wondered.
"I don't know, hon," John replied. "But with this, he can't come close to any of us without being thrown in jail. Let's get home."