Chapter 12 – Banned (Kowalski's Story)

Another day dawned on the Central Park Zoo, and Skipper was the first to wake up, just as he as always done. However, when he hopped out of his bed and prepared to wake the other penguins up, he found that one of the beds was empty, and it was the one that usually belonged to Kowalski.

Confused, he walked back over to the bed and shook Private awake. Once the young penguin hopped out of his bed and managed to focus his attention, Skipper spoke up.

"Private, have you seen Kowalski? He's not in his bed."

Private didn't answer immediately, as he quickly looked behind him and saw the empty bed. He turned back around to face Skipper, with a surprised look on his face as he replied.

"I don't know, Skippah. I do remember him coming to bed last night."

Unfortunately, that wasn't much help to Skipper, so he quickly racked his brain, trying to remember what happened last night. When he finally remembered, his face lit up in understanding.

"Of course! I had to pull him out of the lab last night so that we could go to bed. And I think I have a good idea of where he is now."

Unsure about what Skipper was talking about, Private decided to follow his commander as he made his way over to Kowalski's lab and opened the door.

When Skipper finally opened the door, Private's ear holes were met with a loud snoring sound coming from inside the lab, and even he could imagine who was making those sounds.

Both Skipper and Private walked in, and they found Kowalski fast asleep, collapsed over a table with different instruments scattered around him.

Annoyed, Skipper decided not to waste any time. He quickly rounded the table to face the sleeping analyst, putting his flippers on his hips.

"Kowalski!"

Kowalski immediately jerked awake, banging his head on a light fixture he was using to illuminate his work in the darkened lab. As he rubbed his head in pain, he finally noticed his commander staring at him with an angry look on his face.

"Uh…good morning, Skipper." he said, nervously chuckling.

Unexpectedly, rather than start to yell, Skipper began pacing in front of Kowalski with his flippers clasped behind his back.

"So tell me, Kowalski. Why did I end up finding you here when you were supposed to be in your bed asleep?"

Kowalski was slightly taken aback by the calm tone Skipper had, but he managed to collect his thoughts to explain himself.

"Listen Skipper, I've been trying to redo the experiment I was doing when you told me to join you on that walk yesterday morning. I was so close to a breakthrough then, and I almost got back to it last night before it was lights out! I couldn't just let it go again and end up having to redo it a third time! I had to finish it!"

Once Kowalski's explanation was finished, Skipper simply stared at him, trying to read what was going through his mind at the moment.

"I did manage to finish it, though." Kowalski said, grabbing a beaker full of a colorful liquid.

Before Kowalski could explain what the liquid was, Skipper held up a flipper, silencing him.

"While I do appreciate the work that you put in to help the rest of the team out, I think that you're starting to spend a little too much time cooped up in that lab. That is why I've decided that you need to spend some more time outside. You're banned from the lab until further notice."

Kowalski's beak dropped.

"B-but Skipper! You can't do that to me!"

"I can and I have. Believe me, Kowalski; it's for your own good."

As Skipper began to head towards the exit, Kowalski stood there for a moment, unable to register being banned from his lab. Just as Skipper reached the door, Kowalski suddenly spoke up.

"What am I gonna do with myself, Skipper?"

"I'm sure you'll find something. Besides, I'm betting Private and Rico will be very happy to be able to spend some more time with you."

Kowalski sighed, defeated. He slowly made his way over to the door, giving one last look at his lab before finally leaving.

By this point of time, Rico had already woken up, so as Kowalski walked into the main room of the HQ, he was met with the weapons expert's stupid grin, as well as Private. The young penguin gave Kowalski a smile, but since he was there when Kowalski was banned, it was a sympathetic smile.

"Don't worry too much about it, K'walski. I'm sure Skippah has a good reason for wanting you to stay out here."

Kowalski sighed.

"I don't know, Private. I suppose Skipper does have a point, though. I have been spending a majority of my time in the lab. Maybe spending some time outside will do some good for me."

As he sat down with Private at the table, Kowalski's expression noticeably brightened as he resolved not to let being banned from the lab get him down.

Unfortunately, it turned out to be much tougher than Kowalski thought. As time passed, the analyst's brain was beginning to go into overdrive, ideas swimming through it.

With each idea that he came up with, he initially planned to go to the lab to test it out, before remembering soon after that he wasn't allowed to use it. He then sighs to himself before returning to what he was originally doing, his expression darkening each time.

Eventually, the amount of ideas in his head was starting to get to him. Every so often, he would glance nervously at the door to the lab, wishing that he would still be able to go inside. It even ended up getting to the point that he debated whether or not to sneak in there.

Desperate, Kowalski walked over to where Skipper was enjoying his cup of coffee. The analyst nervously glanced around the room before finally speaking up.

"Um, Skipper?"

Skipper gave Kowalski a flat stare.

"Do you need something, Kowalski? I'm kind of in the middle of something."

Kowalski didn't immediately reply, unsure if asking him about lifting the restriction on the lab wouldn't just lead to something worse. Finally, he was unable to take it anymore, as all of his pent-up feelings about his predicament spewed out of his beak.

"I can't take it, Skipper! I'm a man of science, and not being able to use all these ideas in my head is starting to drive me mad! Please, I really need to use the lab!"

Skipper stared at Kowalski for a moment before shaking his head.

"Sorry, Kowalski, no can do. You haven't shown me that you can live without being cooped up in that lab for hours on end."

Kowalski's expression deflated after hearing Skipper's refusal. But before he could open his beak to argue, Skipper spoke up once more.

"Why don't you and Private go out for a walk somewhere and clear your head? It seems like you could use it."

Kowalski wasn't really all that interested in taking up Skipper's suggestion, but unfortunately Private was in the area, and he heard Skipper's suggestion quite clearly. The analyst knew he would only end up disappointing Private if he decided not to go, so reluctantly he made his way over to the young penguin, clearing his throat before speaking.

"Um…would you be interested in joining me for a walk around the park, Private?"

"I'd love to, K'walski! Let's go!"

Kowalski couldn't help but smile a bit at Private's relentless enthusiasm. As the two of them made their way up the ladder, the analyst couldn't help but hope that Skipper's suggestion would work out for him despite his initial reservations.

As Kowalski and Private began their relaxing walk through the park, Kowalski initially didn't feel any different. Frankly, the quiet was starting to depress him a bit, considering most of his time was spent listening to either the sounds that his experiments make or the near constant chatter of the rest of his team. The calmness felt a little constricting to him.

Luckily, Private noticed the look on Kowalski's face, and he decided to voice his concerns.

"Are you alright, K'walski?"

Kowalski jumped a bit, having been roughly jerked out of his thoughts.

"Oh, uh…I'm fine, Private. I was just thinking, that's all."

"Oh? What about?"

Kowalski admittedly didn't want to talk about it, but unfortunately Private didn't catch his subtle hint, so he decided just to go ahead and do it, figuring that trying to drop the subject wasn't worth it.

"I'm just not used to spending so much time outside the lab. I know I've done so before, but that was really only whenever you guys are around. I've never really done this kind of thing myself."

Private paused for a moment as he thought about Kowalski's confession.

"I can understand what you're going through, K'walski. I mean, before you guys found me; I wasn't entirely the most social penguin in the world. Well, it was for a different reason than you, but I'm sure you know what I mean."

"I'm sorry, Private, I'm actually not sure what you mean."

Private paused, not expecting someone like Kowalski to misunderstand his explanation. Still, he didn't let that get to him, and he quickly thought of a way to explain himself a little better.

"Really, all you need to do is get out more often. I'm pretty sure the rest of the animals would love to hang out with you. All you have to do is go to them."

Kowalski admittedly could see Private's point. He was making the whole socializing thing more difficult than he needed it to be. However, he didn't feel like he was ready to try that out yet, so he faced Private, intending to make a suggestion of his own.

"Hey Private, how would you feel about taking a ride in the car?"

Rather than immediately agree, Private gave Kowalski a suspicious look.

"Are you trying to get out of talking to everyone else? You're not gonna get any better at it if you don't try."

Kowalski immediately held up his flippers defensively.

"Of course not, Private! I could just use a little fresh air, and the city would be perfect."

Kowalski was lying through his teeth, but he was somehow able to hide it from Private, who simply nodded, satisfied with the analyst's explanation.

As the two of them headed for the car, Kowalski sighed. He didn't want to have to lie to Private, but he didn't know if he would be able to carry on a conversation with someone without having someone like Skipper to go off of.

The car ride into the city was completely silent, as neither of the penguins could say anything. Kowalski was staring into space, lost in thought, while Private was trying to concentrate on driving. He was sneaking peeks over at Kowalski any chance he could get, though, trying to read what the analyst had on his mind. However, just like with his original excuse, Kowalski was pretty good at keeping his expression neutral to avoid Private catching on.

Eventually, even Kowalski's resolve was starting to fail him, as the analyst's regret at having to lie to Private was beginning to eat away at him. His expression faltered, and Private noticed pretty easily.

"Is something the matter, K'walski?"

Kowalski didn't speak, as he tried to readopt his neutral expression, but the young penguin saw right through it, and he pulled off into an alley to avoid drawing suspicion from any humans.

When he finally brought the car to a halt, Private immediately wheeled around to face Kowalski, who looked at his teammate worriedly, wondering if he was caught in his lie.

"Come on, K'walski! I'm not as naïve as you think I am! I can tell that something's on your mind."

Private paused to stare at Kowalski for a moment before continuing.

"Now, I don't want to hear any excuses. We're gonna stay right here until you tell me what's going on with you."

Private pulled the keys out of the ignition, holding them tightly in his flipper as he crossed the two of them over his chest, leaning back in his seat as he waited for Kowalski's explanation.

Kowalski was having a very difficult time trying to keep his beak shut. His thoughts swam as he debated whether or not to admit his true feelings to Private.

Minutes passed as the two penguins sat in the alleyway. Kowalski still was unable to decide what to do, and as much as it went against his character, Private was beginning to get a little annoyed at having to wait this long. He decided that drastic measures needed to be taken if he wanted to get the answer he was looking for, so he sighed as he looked over at Kowalski.

"I didn't want to have to do this, K'walski, but you've left me no choice."

Kowalski was suddenly hit full blast with Private's hypercute, and the analyst immediately broke, bursting into tears.

"I'm sorry, Private! I'm sorry for lying to you!"

Although Private had an idea that Kowalski wasn't entirely truthful with his reasoning when he wanted to take the ride into the city, he was still slightly taken aback.

"K'walski, why? Why would you do something like this?"

The analyst finally managed to calm down, and he explained himself through sniffles.

"I don't know if I'll be able to handle talking with the rest of the animals. Usually when I'm talking to them, you, Skipper and Rico are with me."

Private's heart melted as he listened to Kowalski's confession. The young penguin leaned over in his seat and wrapped his flippers around the analyst, giving him a big hug.

"You'll be alright, K'walski. You'll be alright."

Finally, after a few more minutes, Kowalski's sobs dried up. As he sat up in his seat, Kowalski wiped his eyes and Private gave him a warm smile.

"Are you ready to give this a shot?"

Surprisingly, Kowalski shook his head.

"I don't know if I am."

Private thought for a moment as he tried to figure out a way to get around this predicament. Soon enough, his eyes lit up as he managed to get an idea.

"I'll help you, K'walski!"

Kowalski looked at his teammate, confused.

"Are you sure that'll work?"

"Of course it will! I'll be there in case you need help figuring out what you want to say. We'll work our way towards you being able to carry on a conversation on your own!"

Kowalski smiled, realizing that Private's plan had a good chance of working perfectly.

"Thank you, Private. Thanks for not giving up on me."

Private simply beamed as he turned the car back on and drove off, heading back towards the zoo.

When the car finally came to a stop back at the zoo, Private immediately hopped out and walked off. Confused, Kowalski attempted to follow him.

"Private, where are you going?"

"Stay here, K'walski! I have someone that I need to talk to!"

Kowalski looked on, still confused, as Private disappeared around the corner. After a few minutes of awkward silence, Private finally returned with Marlene in tow. Kowalski easily noticed the look of apprehension on her face, which didn't make him feel any better.

"I guess I'd better get this over with." he said to himself.

Sighing heavily, he walked over to join Private and Marlene.

"Uh…hi, Marlene. How are you?" he said, nervously waving.

"Great, Kowalski…how about you?"

"Fine."

Kowalski nervously looked around, hoping to find something he could use to start a conversation.

"Would you like to sit down for a moment and chat?" he asked, pointing towards a patch of grass near them.

Although Marlene initially wasn't sure how much help she would be trying to get Kowalski to open up more, the look on Private's face when he asked her to help made him think that there might be a possibility, especially with the young penguin's help.

"Sure, that'd be great."

Both Kowalski and Marlene sat down on the grass, while Private found a different place to sit which was close enough to them that Kowalski could get help if he needed it, but far enough that he wouldn't get in the way of their conversation.

"So, um…beautiful day, isn't it?"

Marlene was slightly taken aback, not expecting someone like Kowalski to start a conversation with something non science-related. She soon realized, though, that it was actually kind of nice to be able to get to talk with someone normal for a change.

"Yeah, it's pretty nice out. I'm kind of surprised that there weren't that many humans in the zoo today."

"Well, it is a little cold out today. I suppose they must have wanted to stay inside."

The two of them fell silent for a moment before Kowalski suddenly realized that carrying on a normal conversation was actually pretty simple when he thought about it. His eyes lit up for a moment, smiling as he spoke up once more.

"I'll admit, with how busy I'd been on missions with the guys, I haven't really had a whole lot of time to spend with anyone else. To be honest, I'd really like to make the time to do so."

Marlene was pleasantly surprised.

"Even someone like Julien?"

"Well…maybe not so much Julien, but I'd love to spend some time with any of the others."

Marlene giggled at Kowalski's dry attempt at humor.

As Marlene and Kowalski continued to chat, Private kept an eye on them from his seat across the pathway, both pleasantly surprised at how quickly the analyst was catching on, as well as happy that Kowalski was finally opening up. Hopefully this means that he might be able to do these kinds of things more often.

"What's going on with those two, Private?"

Private jumped, almost yelping in fright before he quickly closed his beak. He turned around and found Skipper looking at Marlene and Kowalski talking.

"Skippah! You almost gave me a heart attack!"

Skipper quickly turned to face Private.

"Sorry, Private. That was entirely my fault."

Private gave him a look before answering his original question.

"Oh, I was just helping K'walski break out of his shell."

Skipper looked at him, confused.

"Penguins don't have shells. Do they?"

Private chose not to answer that question, instead deciding to explain what he said.

"Well, I'm sure you're aware of the fact that K'walski wasn't exactly a social butterfly. All I really needed to do was to get him to have a normal conversation with someone without talking about science, and he's passed with flying colors!"

Skipper smiled.

"I'm impressed, Private. I was worried that I was gonna have to tie him up to prevent him from getting into his lab."

"So, does that mean he's allowed in again?"

"Yeah, I think he's learned his lesson. I'll go let him know."

Skipper walked over to where Kowalski and Marlene were sitting and cleared his throat, catching his comrade's attention.

"Oh…I didn't expect to see you here, Skipper."

"Well, personally I'm glad I was here. I was watching for a little bit while you two were chatting it up."

Kowalski and Marlene traded glances before Skipper continued on.

"Anyway, I've decided to lift the ban on your access to the lab, so if you'd like to do some catching up, that would be fine."

Kowalski paused for a moment to think.

"Thank you, Skipper. I think I'm gonna wait on going back for a little while, though, if it's alright with you."

Skipper smiled, happy that he was finally able to get through to Kowalski.

"Fair enough. Don't take too long out here."

Kowalski smiled before returning to his conversation with Marlene, happy that he finally had a reason to go outside more often.