*Ring, ring!* *Ring, ring!*
"Oh boy, oh boy!" Beppi the Clown said as he quickly sat up and shut off his alarm. "It's my favorite time of the day! Morning time!" He giggled as he hopped out of his bed and quickly entered his closet. "Another day, another dollar! Or, like my dad used to say-" He started to say something, but he quickly forgot what it was his father used to say. Oh well. Brushing the thought off, he began skimming through a collection of identical red-and-blue clown suits, unsure of which one to wear. He finally settled on Suit #12, as he somehow found that it made him look much more presentable and-dare he say it-handsome compared to the other suits. He quickly changed into his suit, followed by walking out of his closet and back over to his bed, fixing his collar up along the way. He removed his nightcap and set it on the left bedpost, then retrieved his signature black top hat from the right post. He looked at himself in the mirror on the wall beside his bed, biting his tongue as he placed his hat on, ever so gently. Once the hat was in place, he gave himself a happy, goofy "Thumbs up!" before turning around and making his way into his kitchen. He wasted no time as he opened his freezer to reveal a collection of big, juicy fish. He retrieved a large, round, silver tray from a cabinet and began pulling the fish out, one by one, and placing them on the tray, counting them as he went.
"One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven!" He stopped there and closed the freezer. "Seven fishies for seven birdies!" He giggled as he opened his oven and placed the fish inside, then shut the oven and turned it on. While he waited for the fish to cook, he began working on breakfast for himself. He scrambled himself some eggs, toasted himself some bread, and brewed himself some coffee. By the time he was finished, so were the fish. He took them out of the oven-carefully, so as to not burn himself-and placed them in the center of the breakfast table. While the fish cooled off, the clown made his way outside of his tent and towards the smaller tent next door. He opened the flap in the front and peeked his head inside.
"Rise and shine, everyone!" He called out. "Breakfast time!"
Beppi looked around the tent to see his penguin employees, all seven of them sound asleep in their beds. Not a single one responded, and they all showed no sign of waking up. Beppi frowned as he noticed an alarm clock. It sat on the nightstand right beside Icy's bed.
"Well," he said, "it looks like somebody forgot to set the alarm clock! Again!" He grumbled as he pulled his head back outside. How am I going to wake them up? he thought. He tapped his chin as he pondered what to do for a few seconds, then suddenly snapped his fingers. He had an idea! He raced back to the kitchen and grabbed a fish off the tray, using a pair of tongs to avoid burning himself. He carefully place the fish on a small plate, then covered the remaining fish with a silver cloche. He then ran back outside, towards the penguins' tent, stopping just outside the entrance. He giggled as he stuck the fish inside the tent flap. Within seconds, an aroma sprouted from the fish and snaked its way towards Chilly, the lead penguin, who was still very much asleep. Growing a set of fingers, the aroma poked the bird several times on his cheek, eventually waking him up. He sat up and blink-blinked, smacking his lips-or rather, his beak-and looking around the tent to see what had awakened him. He jumped when he saw the aroma. It waved hello, then gestured for him to follow it as it retreated back to the fish from wence it came. Chilly's eyes followed the aroma, then became wide as pie tins when they finally saw the fish. Chilly watched as the arm holding the fish on a plate quickly pulled back outside. Licking his beak, the penguin wasted no time as he threw his blanket to the side, leapt out of bed, and called out to his fellow birds.
"Honk!" he said.
Immediately, the other birds sat up straight and stared in their leader's direction, wondering what it was he wanted. Using his wings and noises, Chilly told them about the fish he had seen, and about how it was time for breakfast. After he was finished, there was a moment of silence as the other birds processed what they had heard. Once the moment was over, they all simultaneously sprung from their beds and waddled over to their dresser, Chilly following suit. They opened the dresser up to retrieve their clown accessories. Once they had put them on, they all went over to their mirror to put on their makeup. Once they were finished, they all lined up at the exit, with Chilly in front. He made sure everybody was present, then turned around and pointed forward.
"Wack!" he shouted.
With that, the penguins all waddled out of their tent and towards Beppi's. They slipped inside, one by one, until they had all arrived in his kitchen. Beppi himself was already there, standing next to the table with a big grin on his face.
"Good morning, my fine, frozen, feathered friends!" the clown said with a wave. "Are you ready for another funtastical day at work!?"
"Wack! Wack! Wack!" the penguins cried out in excitement, reaching towards the breakfast table all at once. Beppi giggled, finding their response quite amusing.
"I know, I know, you're all hungry," he said. "Well don't worry, you'll get to eat in a minute. But first..." He pulled out a pencil and a clipboard, poking his tongue with the pencil's lead, "I need to make sure you're all here. Everyone, line up!"
The penguins did as they were told.
"Alrighty, then!" Beppi continued. "First up, Chilly!"
The first penguin let out a honk and saluted his wing. Beppi nodded and checked him off the list.
"Okay then," Beppi said. "Now, Willy!"
The second penguin honked and raised his wing. Beppi checked him off, as well.
"Icy!" said Beppi.
The third penguin let out a honk, then chattered his teeth. Beppi checked him off.
"Now Slushy, Breezy, and Wheezy!" Beppi added.
The fourth penguin put an ice cube in his mouth, then chewed it up. The fifth penguin flapped his wings and twirled around, lightly fanning his peers. Finally, the sixth penguin, after letting out two or three wheezes, let out a loud SNEEZE! Beppi checked each and every one of them off.
"And now..." Beppi said, almost finished, "...Frosty!"
There was no response.
"Frosty?" the clown repeated. "Frosty, where are you?" He looked around, as did the other penguins. Chilly counted his peers, noticing one was missing. He looked at Beppi and shrugged.
"Oh well! We'll find him later!" Beppi said as he sat down at the table, his eggs and toast in front of him. The penguins followed suit, sitting in their own seats. "Right now, let's all enjoy a delicious, nutritious breakfast!
"Wack! Wack! Wack!" the penguins cheered.
"Are ya ready?" Beppi said as he grabbed the knob on the cloche, ready to lift it.
"Wack! Wack! Wack!" the penguins repeated.
"Okay, boys," Beppi said, finally lifting the cloche after what seemed like forever, "Dig in!"
"Waaaack!?" the penguins said, their tone sounding more shocked than excited.
"Huh?" Beppi asked, raising an eyebrow. "What's wrong?" He looked at the uncovered tray, and let out a gasp.
In place of the fish was a penguin, picking his teeth with a toothpick and laying lazily on his back. He patted his belly, which was more bloated than normal, then let out a loud, disgusting belch, the stench of fish escaping from his beak. It was not at all hard to figure out what had happened.
"Frosty!" Beppi said, standing up from his seat. He glared at the penguin as he continued, "You bad, bad birdy! Those fish were supposed to be for everyone!" He wagged his finger at Frosty, which suddenly got the bird's attention. "What do you have to say for yourself!?" Beppi demanded. He waited for a response, but when he got one, it was not at all what he expected.
Chomp!
"Ye-OW-OW-ow-ow!" Beppi screamed as Frosty bit down on his finger. The clown grabbed the bird and pulled him away from the table as he tried to pull him off, to no avail. "Get him off! Get him off! Get! Him! Off!" Beppi panicked as he continued pulling, but Frosty wouldn't budge. As the two struggled, a wooden spoon on the counter caught Beppi's eye. He grabbed it and struck Frosty over the head with it, several time over. After a few seconds of this, Frosty finally let go, causing him and Beppi to fall backwards onto the floor. They sat themselves up to recover from their respective injuries. Beppi looked down at his finger, now throbbing with pain, while Frosty watched as stars spun around his head. He shook himself off, then stood back up and looked down at his belly. He patted it again, licking his beak with a satisfied grin, much to the other penguins' chagrin. Seeing this, Beppi narrowed his eyes as he stood up to confront the greedy penguin.
"Well, Frosty," he began, trying his best not to lose his temper, "Since you ate everyone else's fish, I guess that means you're full now, huh?"
Frosty smiled as he nodded his head, "Mhm!"
"And if you're full, I guess that means you're all good to go, right?" Beppi continued, a sly look on his face.
"Mhm!" Frosty nodded again.
"Well, in that case," Beppi said as he suddenly reached towards the bird, "you can start on this morning's work!"
"Wack?" Frosty furrowed a brow in confusion. He let out a honk as the clown suddenly grabbed his collar and lifted him off the floor. The chubby penguin flailed his wings and yelped as Beppi turned around and marched towards the tent's front exit.
"I'll let you start on today's maintenance check. How does that sound?" Beppi said with a smirk.
"Wack wack!" Frosty screeched, shaking his wings like fists. "Wack wack! Wack wack! Wack wack wack wack! WACK!"
"Don't talk to me like that!" Beppi spat. "I am your boss, and you will do what I say!" He held Frosty outside the exit, then kicked him several feet forward. "Now get to work! Those rides aren't going to check themselves! And no goofing off! Understand!?"
Frosty let out a frustrated honk as he stood up and dusted himself off. He watched as his boss retreated into his tent, then quietly began wandering around the Carnival. He looked around, trying to see if anything was out of place, before catching sight of the ice cream cart. Forgetting his duties, the selfish bird made his move.
"Sorry about that, boys," Beppi said as he went back inside. He passed the penguins and went straight towards the fridge, where he opened up the freezer door. "I wanted you all to have a good breakfast, but that Frosty is such a little thief!" He continued as he removed six more fish from the freezer. "Luckily, I have more where that came from! I'll just have to pre-heat the oven again, and-Who-o-o-oa!"
The clown let out a yelp as the penguins suddenly rushed at him, grabbing at the fish with their beaks like the animals they were. One by one, they each took a fish, then swallowed it whole, completely raw. There was a brief silence after they finished, followed by a loud *BELCH!*
"Wow!" Beppi exclaimed, slapping his forehead. "You boys must have been hun-GRY!" He then looked at the clock on his counter and gasped. Seven-forty-five! "Oh, my gosh! It's almost time to open! I'd better hurry! I don't wanna late! Everyone, get outside, and get ready! We don't have much time!"
The penguins obediently left the tent while Beppi sat down and scarfed down his breakfast. He then ran outside, not even bothering to put his plate in the sink. Once he was outside, he looked around, making sure the penguins were all doing their respective tasks. And all of them were...except Frosty, who was helping himself to an ice-cream cone. Beppi growled, ready to yell at him, but was stopped by Chilly, who approached the clown without warning. Chilly raised a wing, making sure, he had his boss's attention. Then, without further ado, he clapped his wings together, then pulled them apart, revealing a baseball in his left wing. Beppi watched in awe as Chilly turned around and carefully took his aim, twirling his arm to build up more momentum, before finally flinging his wing and launching the ball forward. The ball flew a fair distance, before landing in Frosty's ice-cream cone.
*SPLAT!*
The Frosty's ice cream scoop exploded in his face, no thanks to the baseball that now replaced it. He wiped the sticky treat from his face, a look of anger in his beady, black eyes. The look only grew stronger as he watched his boss and co-worker laugh at his misfortune.
"Good one, Chilly! Good one!" Beppi said, his laughter fading. Once he regained control of himself, he noticed that Chilly had not. He tapped him on the shoulder, "Chilly?"
Chilly continued laughing, having a hard time keeping his breath. He covered his mouth, calmed down, then looked up at his boss, "Wack?"
"Get back to work," Beppi said, pointing towards the ticket booth, Chilly's designated station. The bird saluted his boss, then waddled over towards the booth. While he did that, Beppi pulled out his clipboard and walked around the Carnival. He looked at the rides, asked the penguins how everything was, then walked over to the ticket booth, where Chilly was getting the tickets ready.
"Well, everything seems to be in order!" Beppi said as he admired his clipboard, and all of the checked boxes on it. "How are you doing with those tickets, Chilly?" Chilly gave him a thumbs up. "Perfect! Everything is ready!" He put his clipboard away, then looked up and gasped, "And right on time!" He pointed forward at an oncoming crowd of people, ready for a day of fun! He turned around and ran back towards the other penguins, "Places, everyone! They're coming!" he shouted. The penguins obeyed and got ready, as did the clown. He straightened out his collar and ran back towards the entrance, the crowd already inches away from it. Excited, Beppi cleard his throat and put on his best act.
"Welcome, everyone!" He exclaimed, his arms spread apart. "Welcome to Beppi's Carnival! Where fun and games never end, and frowning is a big no-no!" He giggled and wagged his finger, then pointed to the ticket booth. "Now then! If you'll all just line up at the booth over here, Chilly the Penguin will be more than happy to sell you a ticket! Once you're done with him, everything here- in my Carnival -is yours to enjo- Who-o-o-oa!"
Beppi cried out as he was suddenly knocked to the ground by an oncoming group of people, mostly children. He squirmed and yelped as he was trampled over and over by shoes of every shape and size.
"Yowch! Oh! Ow! Watch the boots! Watch the boots! D'ow! Yipe! AIIIEEE! The heels! The pointy, pointy heels! Ouch! O-o-ow! C'mon, this is my favorite suit! Ouch! O-o-o-oh! Have fun, kids! Oh! Ow! O-o-o-ow..."
By the time the final child had run him over, Beppi had been reduced to a flattened, almost smeared form on the ground. His body twitched as he tried to get up, to no avail.
"Well, they were excited!" He commented aloud. "And they flattened me like a pancake, too!" He frowned at his current situation. "Ah, they might as well," he said, an unexpected smile appearing on his face. "After all, my acting always did need a little "rounding out!"" He laughed at his own joke. "Oh, I crack myself up!"
"Hey!" said a voice. "We don't use that word around here!"
"Huh?" Beppi furrowed a brow. "Who said that?"
"I did, Pinhead!" the voice replied.
Beppi looked to his left to see two familiar faces, standing right next to him. It was Cuphead and Mugman! The Heroes of Inkwell! At his Carnival!
"Never say "crack" around a cup!" Cuphead said. "Got it, balloon boy!?"
Beppi gasped, and grinned in excitement. "Cuphead! Mugman! What are you two doing here!?"
"Well, ya see, Elder Kettle sent us here," Mugman replied. "He said he wanted us to- "
"Have a great time at the Carnival!" Cuphead interrupted, his expression suddenly switching from angry to estatic. "Yeah, yeah that's what he said! That's exactly what he said! And can ya blame 'im? After all, Mugman and I are the ones who single-handedly busted Beelzebub's bubble, so it's only fair that we be rewarded with an entire day to our- Ha-ACK!"
Cuphead grunted as Mugman angrily yanked him back by his handle. A bit of liquid splashed from the red cup as he fell to the ground on his rump. He frowned at his big-nosed brother, his eyes narrow.
"No, Cuphead!" Mugman scolded. "That's not what Elder Kettle sent us here to do! He told us to come here so that we could help Mr. Beppi with his work! Isn't that right?"
Cuphead crossed his arms and rolled his eyes until they were looking at Beppi. He refused to speak.
"Well?" Mugman demanded, once more yanking on his brother's handle.
Cuphead gritted his teeth and unfolded his arms. He said, reluctantly, "Alright, it's true! Elder Kettle sent us here to help you, Mr. Beppi!" Mugman let go of Cuphead's handle, allowing the red cup to stand back up. He crossed his arms again. "So, what can we help you with?"
"Hmmm..." the clown said as he pondered an answer. While he was pondering, he struggled to raise one of his flattened arms off the ground. After a few seconds of pulling and grunting, he finally managed to pull one up. He wasted no time in sticking his thumb in his mouth, then blowing in order to inflate the rest of his body like a balloon, allowing him to finally stand up on his feet, his body quivering from its balloon state. He snapped his fingers, and instantly his body returned to its normal, fleshy state. He tapped his chin, still pondering, when suddenly, a lightbulb appeared over his head.
"I know!" he said. "Why don't you boys help me with the snacks today?"
"Snacks? Really?" the brothers asked, not sure if they heard that right.
"Yeah, yeah!" Beppi replied. He then motioned for them to follow him. "C'mon, I'll show ya! It'll be fun! You'll see!" The brothers obeyed and followed the clown as he giddily pranced his way towards the snack cart. As the three approached, they noticed two familiar faces, standing just beside it. A tall flower with orange petals and dimples, and a big green dragon, with a kindly smile on his face.
"Good morning, fellas!" Beppi said with a tip of his hat. "What brings you here, on this fine day?"
"Morning, Beppi!" said the flower, whose name was Cagney. "Grim and I came here since he has some time off! And I figured I'd get my gal, Rumor, something while I'm here!"
"Awww, that's nice of you!" Beppi replied as he made his way behind the snack cart. "Watch and learn, boys!" He said to the two cups. He then asked, "So, what's your little jar of honey gonna have today?"
"W-w-well ya see," said Grim, the dragon, his smile suddenly vanishing, "Cagney says that Rumor has been down in the d-d-dumps, lately."
Beppi frowned, "She has? Why?"
Grim raised his hand to speak, then lowered it in disappointment, "I d-d-don't know."
"That's because she doesn't want me to tell anybody," Cagney answered, a hint of annoyance in his voice. He continued, "Anyways, I figured that the least I could do is to help my little honeysuckle cheer up! And what better way to do that than with a tasty treat, fresh off the cart!?"
"Can't argue with that!" Beppi agreed, his smile returning. "So, what'll it be?"
"What else?" Cagney replied. "A honeybun! A sweet, sweet little honeybun, for my sweet, sweet little honeybun! If ya ask me, it's the perfect gift for a honey queen!" He smiled, his leaves folded.
Beppi giggled in awe and amusement. "Okey-dokey, Cags!" he said as he browsed the contents of his cart. "One honeybun, for the Queen of Honey, coming right- " He paused in disbelief, then started to look around frantically.
"Say, what's the matter?" Cagney asked, furrowing his brows. "Where's my honeybun?"
Beppi panicked as he continued searching. One by one, he looked in the snack containers, sometimes checking the same container twice. He repeated his search two more times, eventually stopping to calm down. A look of disappointment formed on his face as he reluctantly faced the flower. "I'm sorry, Cagney, but I'm afraid I don't have any honeybuns."
Cagney widened his eyes in disbelief. He frowned, "What? Why not!?"
Beppi replied, "Well ya see, Cagney, it's not that I never sold any honeybuns. I just don't sell them anymore. I only ever sold them once, and the reason for that is that I couldn't find any honey to make more with. I'm terribly sorry."
Cagney's eye twitched, as did his petals. Did he hear that right? Before anything else could happen, he shook himself off, then asked, "What!? Whaddaya mean you couldn't find any honey!?"
"Well, I tried to get more!" Beppi explained. "But none of the people I called had any. So I couldn't make more honeybuns." He bowed his head.
"They didn't have any honey?" Cagney said, almost sounding angry. "What about Rumor? Did Rumor have any honey for ya!?"
"Rumor?" Beppi raised his head. "Oh, I didn't call Rumor. I don't know what she does for a living."
That was all Cagney needed. Without warning, the flower started to grunt and growl, his face contorting in a mixture of anger and annoyance.
"Uh oh!" Grim said as he took a few steps back. "Looks like Cagney is about to get a little th-th-thorny!" He covered his eyes with his ears.
Cagney bore his teeth as his dimple disappeared. His petals grew pointier, and his nose grew longer. Finally, multiple yellow popped out around his stem. He leaned over the clown, causing the latter to shrink back in fear.
"Honey!" the flower growled. "Rumor sells honey for a living! How can you not know that!? She's a bee!"
"I know she's a bee," Beppi replied, straightening himself out. "But my mama always said that I shouldn't make assumptions about people."
Cagney grimaced. He yanked on his petals in frustration. He gnashed his teeth. He opened his mouth to speak, but quickly changed his mind, deciding Beppi wasn't worth his time. He instead turned around and walked away. "C'mon, Grim! Let's go find someone whose head isn't full of air!" Grim followed, a worried look on his face.
"Well, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed!" Cuphead said, having witnessed the ordeal along with his brother.
"Ah, don't worry about him, boys!" Beppi said, stepping away from the cart. "My customers are usually nicer than that!" He fixed his collar. "Well, I'll leave you two with the cart now! Let me know how many snacks ya sell!" He started to walk away, but Cuphead spoke up.
"Oh, I don't wanna!" the red cup whined. "Selling snacks is borin'! I wanna do something fun!"
"Cuphead, I don't wanna do it either," said Mugman, "but Elder Kettle will know if we don't do any work. C'mon! How hard can selling snacks be?" He walked over to the cart. "All we gotta do is stand around, wait for someone to come over, and give 'em what they want! Easy!"
Cuphead frowned at his brother, his arms crossed. He really didn't want to do this. Then again, Mugman had a point. There were far harder jobs than this. And he really could get in trouble for not being helpful. The red cup sighed, then walked over to the cart to join his brother. "Oh, alright," he said.
"There, see?" said Beppi. "Nothin' to it! Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a job of my own to do! See ya later, boys!" He waved his hat and walked away.
...
"That no good, cross-eyed moron!" Cagney grumbled as he and Grim walked. "What else would a bee do for a living!? Make pancakes!?"
"I think you're being a little t-t-too harsh on him, Cagney," Grim commented. "Everyone makes m-m-mistakes."
"I know!" Cagney replied. "But it takes a special kind of stupid to not ask a bee for honey!"
"Ya know, C-C-Cagney," Grim began, "I'm not so sure a honeyb-b-bun is what Rumor n-n-needs. Maybe you should get her something that'll last a little l-l-longer."
Cagney stopped in his tracks, as did Grim. His angry expression faded, shifting to a more neutral look. "Ya know what, Grim?" He asked. "You are absolutely right! Rumor's in a bad mood, so that means she needs something special! Something meaningful! Something that'll fill her heart with warmth! But what can I get her?" He crossed his arms and grabbed his chin, pondering what to do.
While he was thinking, Grim suddenly caught sight of something in the distance. He grinned, knowing it was just what Cagney needed. "Ooh, ooh!" He said. "I know what you can g-g-get her!"
But Cagney wasn't listening. "Hmmm...maybe I could get her a...A tea set!? No, she already has one of those..." He kept thinking.
"I know!" said Grim. "How about you get her a-a-a-"
"I know!" Cagney interrupted. "I'll get her a honeycomb!" He then frowned. "No, she doesn't need one of those. She doesn't even have any hair."
Grim was starting to get impatient, "Well, maybe, if you would b-b-be quiet for a second, I could-"
"Quiet, Grim!" Cagney said, raising his hand in front of the dragon. "I'm trying to think!"
Now Grim was mad. As Cagney continued rambling- never once coming up with any good ideas -the dragon looked up at the sky, making sure there were no birds around. With that, he took a deep breath, then let out a blast of fire, making sure to aim towards the sky, so that no one would get hurt. The loud and sudden ROAR he produced startled Cagney so much that he almost fell to the ground.
"Whillikers, Grim!" the flower scolded. "What was that for!?"
"Look!" Grim said, using his tail to point towards something. Cagney looked in its direction, then gasped at the sight.
Several yards away, there was a game booth, with prizes hanging up inside of it. Among the prizes, there was one in particular that caught the men's eyes. It was a large, stuffed flower, with pretty pink petals and the most adorable smile plastered on its face. It did not resemble Cagney, but it definitely looked like something Rumor would like.
Cagney gasped as he stared at the flower in awe. "It's perfect!" he gushed. Without even thinking, he ran forward, towards the booth, with Grim following behind. Luckily, there was no line at the booth, so neither of them had to wait.
"I would like to win that," Cagney said, pointing to the stuffed flower, "for my sweetheart, Rumor, please!"
The penguin at the booth pointed over to a group of bottles. There were nine bottles in total, separated into three groups of three, each group stacked into a pyramid shape. The penguin held up a baseball, then made a gesture with his empty wing. It was clear what he wanted.
"All I gotta do is knock over some bottles?" Cagney asked, grinning. "Easy as pie!" He reached into his pocket, pulled out a coin, then gave it to the penguin, who in turn handed him three baseballs. He grabbed one, aimed carefully, then threw it forward. It struck a stack of bottles in its center, knocking all three down. "Bullseye!" Cagney beamed, raising his fist in triumph. He then threw the second ball, and it successfully knocked over the next stack of bottles! "That flower is as good as mine!" He said as he grabbed the third and final ball. Biting his tongue, he concentrated as hard as he could on the final stack of bottles. With another twirl of his arm, he launched the ball forward and watched...
...as the ball struck the top bottle, leaving the bottom two still standing.
"What!?" Cagney's smile melted. He couldn't believe what he had just seen. "But I...I was gonna...No!" He banged his fists on the counter, unable to accept his loss. "Let me try again!" he said, handing the penguin another coin.
"C-c-careful, Cagney," Grim warned, "You don't wanna spend all your m-m-money at once."
"Don't worry, Grim!" Cagney assured him as he received three more balls. "My aim was just a little off on that last throw! This time, I know I'm going to win!" He grabbed a ball and threw it, only to completely miss and not hit anything, causing him to yank on his petals and growl in frustration.
...
"C'mon, c'mon!" Rumor said as she glanced down at her pocket watch. Where is she!?"
She was standing outside the entrance to the Carnival, waiting for her friend to finally arrive. They were supposed to meet here at precisely eight-o-clock, but the bee's watch said it was eight-o-seven.
Rumor groaned. "C'mon! She's never been late before! What's keeping her?" She looked up from her watch and glanced around, a look of annoyance on her face. After a few seconds of not seeing anything, she was starting to think about maybe going in by herself. Before she could decide, however, a familiar voice called out to her.
"Rumor!"
"Huh?" She turned around to see who it was. She gasped and smiled upon seeing that it was Bon Bon, happily waving to her while carrying a parasol. Rumor was so excited to finally see her friend, that she almost didn't notice the woman in red walking beside her.
"Howdy, Bon Bon!" Rumor waved as her friend approached. Bon Bon stopped about two feet away, and once she did, Rumor asked, in a concerned tone, "Where have you been? It's passed eight! Ya'll were supposed to be here seven minutes ago!"
"Apologies, Rumor," Bon Bon replied. "I was on my way here, when I suddenly bumped into...Well...Henrietta, why don't you introduce yourself?" She looked at the woman beside, presumably Henrietta.
"Henrietta?" Rumor raised an eyebrow. "Who's Henrietta?"
"I am!" said the woman in red. She suddenly walked over to Rumor and extended her hand, "And I are Rumor Honeybottoms, I presume?"
"Um...Yes," Rumor said, sheepishly shaking Henrietta's hand. "Yes I am. And what brings you here with Bon Bon? Are you two old friends?"
"No, we just met," Bon Bon explained. "She was on her way to the Carnival as well, so I let her tag along."
"Oh," Rumor said, in an odd tone of voice. She then saidto Henrietta, "Would you excuse us for just a minute?"
"Of course!" Henrietta said as Rumor let go of her hand and went over to Bon Bon, making sure they were both facing away from the woman in red. However, as soon as they had their backs turned, Henrietta quickly looked around, making sure there was nobody watching. Once she knew the coast was clear, she transformed herself into a dark, shadow-like being. She flattened herself against the ground, then slowly slithered over near Bon Bon and Rumor, allowing her to hear what they were saying.
"Bon Bon, this was supposed to be between you and me!" She said, whispering. "Why'd ya have to bring a complete stranger here!?"
"I wasn't going to!" Bon Bon said. "I politely explained everything to her, and I was going to leave, but then she started talking about how she didn't have any friends. I know she was just trying to make me feel bad, but my conscience got the better of me!"
"Well, tell your conscience to take a vacation!" Rumor demanded. "Neither of us knows this lady! She could be bad news!"
"Well, you don't know that!" said Bon Bon.
"She guilt-tripped you into bringing her with you!" Rumor responded. "You just said so yourself!"
Bon Bon said, "Well yes, but that doesn't mean she's a monster! She's very friendly, otherwise!"
"Well, how do you know it's not an act!?" asked Rumor.
"I-I don't," Bon Bon admitted. "But how do you know it is an act?"
Rumor raised a finger to speak, but stopped upon processing her friend's question. "I...I don't know, either," she admitted.
"Right then," said Bon Bon. "Now Rumor, as I said before, I did not want to bring her here, either, but it felt like the right thing to do. And look on the bright side: this might be an opportunity for us to make a new friend!"
Rumor crossed her arms. She wasn't very sure.
"Look, Rumor," Bon Bon continued, "You and I can still have fun together! At the very least, we won't let her get involved in anything personal. And if anything bad happens, we can both just tell her off. So, come on! It's Friday, and we've been waiting for this day! What do you say?"
Rumor still wasn't sure. She really wanted today to only be between the two of them. Then again, there wasn't necessarily any harm in letting someone else join in. And who knows? Maybe Bon Bon was right. Maybe they could make a new friend! After a minute or so of thinking, she finally spoke.
"Well...Alright, why not?"
Upon hearing this, Henrietta quickly slipped back over to where she was before, stood herself up off the ground, and changed back to her normal form, trying as hard as she could to appear as if she had been minding her own business. Just in time, too, as Rumor and Bon Bon were turning around now.
"Okay, Henrietta," Rumor began as she and her friend approached the lady in red. "Bon Bon and I have decided to let you join us today."
"Really!?" Henrietta asked, folding her hands and grinning in excitement.
"On one condition," Rumor continued, raising a finger. "You don't get involved in any of our personal business!"
Henrietta crossed her heart and raised her hand, "Say no more!"
"Thank you," said Rumor. "C'mon, Bonnie!" She motioned for Bon Bon to follow her.
The three women made their way into the Carnival. After a few feet, they approached the ticket booth. The penguin running politely held out his wing, asking for payment.
"Oh dear," Rumor said, glancing down at her purse. She looked over at Bon Bon, "Bonnie, hun, do you think you could pay for the tickets today? I'm a little short on cash."
"Sure," Bon Bon replied. She was about to reach for her pocket, when suddenly, Henrietta stopped her.
"Nonsense!" she said. "I'll pay for them!"
"Hm?" Bon Bon said. "Oh no, Henrietta. You don't have to-"
"I insist!" Henrietta interrupted. She turned around, then walked up to the penguin in the booth. She reached inside her purse, and after some fiddling around, pulled out not a coin, but a diamond. A small, red diamond.
Upon seeing the diamond, Rumor and Bon Bon gasped and widened their eyes. Rumor, in particular, immediately took a great interest in the gem upon seeing it. I could use that kinda money, she thought.
"Oh, silly me!" Henrietta said, examining the diamond. "How did this get in there? I did not mean to pack it this morning! And it's far too much for tickets!" She put the diamond away, then pulled out three coins. "Three tickets, for my friends and myself, please," she said as she handed them to the penguin. He took them, then happily handed the women their tickets. He then suddenly grabbed a pencil and some paper, wrote something down, then showed it to them:
"Enjoy the Carnival, Your Majesties!"
"Well, thank you, Mr. Penguin!" Rumor said, cheerfully. "But Bonnie and I are the only 'majesties' here! Henrietta here ain't royalty!"
Henrietta furrowed her brows, almost as if to say "I beg your pardon". She said, "Yes I am!"
"Huh?" Rumor raised her own eyebrows. "No you ain't!"
"Yes I am!" Henrietta repeated. "I am a countess! The Countess of Inkwell Isle One! I am royalty!" She grinned, a hint of pride in her smile.
"What?" Bon Bon and Rumor asked, in unison.
"You heard me!" Henrietta replied. She then began to walk forward. "Now come along! It's time to enjoy ourselves!"
Bon Bon and Rumor followed her, and as the three of them entered the Carnival, Bon Bon spoke up.
"You're a countess?" she asked. "I don't recall there being a countess in Isle One!"
"Yeah!" said Rumor. "Come to think of it, I don't recall Isle One havin' any royals at all!"
"I can't say I blame you!" Henrietta replied. "I am no that well known, and neither is my county!"
"What's the name of your county?" Bon Bon asked.
"Huh?" Henrietta gasped. She stopped in place, as did the others. "Oh, um...Well, the name of my county is..." She tried to think of a response, to no avail. She looked around, then caught sight of something peculiar. She pointed and said, "Oh, who is that over there!?"
Bon Bon and Rumor looked where she was pointing to see a small prize booth with two familiar figures; an orange flower, and a big green reptile, both of them facing away from the girls.
"Oh, that?" said Bon Bon. "Oh, that's just Cagney and Grim. They appear to be hanging out as well. Now, about your county..."
"Cagney?" Rumor said, her eyes suddenly lighting up with hearts. ""scuse me, girls! Rumor's gotta go catch herself a whiff o' pollen!" She quickly made her way towards the booth as her colleagues watched.
"What's with her?" asked Henrietta.
"Cagney is her boyfriend," Bon Bon explained.
"Rumor has a boyfriend?" Henrietta asked.
"Yes," Bon Bon answered. "Is there a problem with that?"
"What!?" Henrietta jumped. "No! Of course not! I just...didn't expect her to have one, is all."
Whilst the two of them conversed, Rumor continued on towards her flower boy. She was about halfway there when she called out to him, "Yoo hoo! Cagney!"
"Huh?" Cagney and Grim said as they turned around. The Cagney's dismay, they both saw Rumor.
"Come give your little honeybee some sugar!" She called.
"Oh, no!" Cagney said, his face turning a deep shade of red. "She's here!? I can't let her see what I'm doing! I want it to be a surprise!"
"Well, what are you going to d-d-do?" asked Grim.
"I don't know!" said Cagney. After a few seconds of chewing on his leaves in fear, he suddenly got an idea. "I know! Grim, why don't you go and stall her?"
"S-s-stall her?" Grim asked.
"Yeah!" said Cagney. "Tell her I'm busy, and that I can't speak to her right now! Just for a few minutes. Please?"
Grim thought it over, not sure if what Cagney wanted him to do was dishonest or not. After a few seconds, he said, "Well, alright. But I can't p-p-promise it'll work." He then turned around and made his way towards the bee.
"Thanks, Grim!" Cagney said as he continued throwing baseballs.
Rumor continued her way towards the booth, humming herself a merry tune, only for Grim to stop her in her tracks.
"Oh," she said. "Good mornin', Grim!"
"Good m-m-mornin' to you too, Your M-m-majesty!" the dragon replied, bowing his head.
"Could you excuse me for a minute, darlin'?" Rumor asked. "I wanna say hi to Cagney!"
Grim frowned, "Oh, uhhh...Maybe you should w-w-wait, Your Highness. Cagney can't really talk right n-n-now."
Rumor frowned as well, "What? Why not?"
"Because he's b-b-busy!" Grim explained. "He's very, very b-b-busy!"
Rumor leaned to the side to look past Grim and see what Cagney was up to. "Busy?" She leaned back. "Grim, he's knockin' bottles over with baseballs! How could that be more important than me!? Or anybody else, for that matter!?"
Now Grim was nervous. His ears sagged. He would have started sweating, if reptiles could sweat.
"I think I'll pay my little flower a visit now, thank you very much!" Rumor said. She tried to walk past Grim, but he blocked her path with his tail.
"Cagney doesn't wanna t-t-talk!" Grim said, without thinking.
Rumor turned around, a look of shock on her face. "W-What?" she asked.
"I said, Cagney doesn't wanna t-t-talk! To anyone! At all!"
"He doesn't wanna talk?" Rumor asked, a look of worry on her face. "Not even with li'l ol' me?"
"Especially not li'l ol' y-y-you!" Grim replied. As soon as those words escaped his mouth, however, he immediately regretted them. He watched in horror as the Queen Bee's lip began to tremble. She bowed her head and let out a sniffle. This was definitely not good. Ashamed of what he had said, the dragon tried to cheer her up. "Did I say he d-d-didn't wanna talk to you? That was a m-m-mistake! What I mean to say was...Okay, he k-k-kinda really doesn't wanna talk, but it's only because...Well, I c-c-can't say...But I-"
Rumor looked away and raised her hand, halting his response. "No, I understand," she said, trying to hide the tears leaking from her eyes. "I understand plenty." She turned around and walked back towards her friend, staring at the ground the whole walk. Grim watched, a look of guilt on his face.
"Oh, dear," he said. "I sure hope Cagney can c-c-clear things up with her. Poor thing." He then walked away. Not back towards Cagney, but off to somewhere he wouldn't cause any trouble.
Rumor approached Bon Bon and Henrietta once more, her eyes looking down at her folded hands.
"Are you alright, Rumor?" Bon Bon asked.
"Hm?" Rumor glanced back up. She tried to put on a fake smile. "Oh no, I'm fine, honey, just fine!"
"Are you sure?" Bon Bon asked, approaching the bee by a foot or two. "You look a little flushed."
"Flushed?" the bee replied. "I'm not flushed! I just got some sunburn, is all!"
Bon Bon pointed at Rumor's face, "Is that a tear?"
"Huh?" Rumor asked, wiping her face and staring at the bitter liquid on her finger. "No, it's not! I jus' got somethin' in my eye, is all! Hehehe!"
Bon Bon frowned. Rumor was acting suspicious.
"C'mon, Bon!" The bee shouted out. "Let's go do somethin' fun together! The three of us!"
But Bon Bon didn't buy it. "Rumor, you can tell me if something is wrong. I'm your friend."
"But I just told you! Nothing is wrong!" Rumor shot back.
"Rumor..." Bon Bon said, a sudden look of disapprovement on her face, "until you tell me what's bothering you, we are not doing a single thing together! Understand?"
Rumor tried to keep up the act, but it was no use. She let out a heavy sigh. "Alright, fine..." She cleared her throat, "Do you remember how..." She suddenly saw Henrietta out of the corner of her eye. She turned to face her, "Oh Henrietta, sweetie! Do you think you can plug your ears? This is kinda between me and Bon Bon."
"Hm?" Henrietta replied. "Oh, of course, of course, darling! You go right ahead with your little conversation! I won't listen to a peep of it!" With that, she turned around, walked a few feet away, and obediently plugged her fingers in her ears, then hummed a happy tune to drown out the others' words. With that, Rumor resumed with her explaination. However, as soon as she did, Henrietta glanced back at them, and once she saw they were distracted, unplugged one of her ears and cupped her hand around it, allowing her to eavesdrop.
"Do you remember all that money you sold your soul for?" Rumor asked.
"Yes," said Bon Bon.
"And do you remember how it disappeared after the Cup Brothers burned your contract?" Rumor continued.
"Yes, yes I do," Bon Bon replied.
"And do you remember how I gave you the money you needed after that?" asked Rumor.
"Yes, yes I remember," Bon Bon said. "Why?"
Rumor twiddled her thumbs, "Well...The may be a teency weency little chance that giving you all that money made my company go...bankrupt." That last word came out very quickly, to the point that Bon Bon barely heard it.
"Hm?" Bon Bon leaned her head to hear better. "Made you go what?"
Rumor bit her lip. She really didn't want to say it, but she knew she had to. So she said, as quickly as possible, "Bankrupt! I'm bankrupt, okay!?" She turned her head away in shame.
"What!?" Bon Bon gasped, covering her mouth. "Rumor, that's terrible!"
Bankrupt? Oh, the poor thing! Henrietta thought, mockingly.
"I know," Rumor said, turning her head forward again. "I didn't wanna tell you, 'cause I didn't want you to worry 'bout me."
"Worry about you?" Bon Bon asked, her voice raised. "Rumor, this is serious! If giving me money did something to you, I should know!"
"I'm sorry!" Rumor replied. "I really am!"
Bon Bon quickly calmed down. Taking a deep breath, she said, "I wish there was something I could do."
"Well, I'm sorry Bon, but there ain't," the bee explained. She looked down at her hands. "I wanted to go see Cagney for a few minutes. Figured if we talked a little bit- and maybe kissed -then I could feel a li'l better. But he doesn't have time for me, right now."
How unfortunate! Henrietta thought, again mockingly.
"Rumor, why don't you go home?" Bon Bon said, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder. "We can come back here some other time."
"But I can't go home!" Rumor replied.
"Sure you can!" Bon Bon insisted. "I don't mind at all!"
"No, I mean, I really can't go home!" Rumor explained, pulling away. "I live in my building, and today, it's shuttin' down! All I can do is pack up my things and scram!" She crossed her arms haughtily, failing to acknowledge that she was starting to tear up again.
Bon Bon let out a loud gasp. She grabbed Rumor's shoulder again. "I'm so sorry to hear that!
Rumor sniffled, not wanting to admit how down she was feeling.
"Why don't you stay in my castle?" Bon Bon offered.
Rumor widened her eyes, "R-r-really?"
"Of course!" said Bon Bon. "Just until we can find an answer to this problem of yours!"
Without warning, Bon Bon suddenly found herself attacked by a big hug from the striped queen.
"Thank you! Thank you so much!"
A few seconds later, Bon Bon returned the hug. "You're welcome," she said.
With that, the girls parted from each other. Before they could say anything else, Henrietta approached them and spoke up, her mouth grinning very widely.
"You know, Rumor, I've been thinking about what you said earlier, and I've decided that you're right! I shouldn't be intruding on your personal fun together!"
"What!?" Bon Bon asked, raising her eyebrows. "Henrietta, you don't have to leave!"
"I'm not!" Henrietta explained, her grin never disappearing. "I am simply telling the two of you to go off on your own for now! Have some fun on your own! As friends! I will catch up later!"
Bon Bon and Rumor exchanged puzzled glances. Henrietta had seemed so eager to join them earlier, and now all of a sudden, she had changed her mind? Nonetheless, they both shrugged, then waved goodbye as they walked away.
"Ya know, Bon," Rumor began, "I'm startin' to think that I misjudged Henrietta earlier! She really does seem nice and thoughtful!"
"See, Rumor?" Bon Bon replied. "I told you she wasn't a monster!"
While the two of them conversed, Henrietta watched as they left. She waved like they had, and then, once they were out of earshot, whispered something to herself:
"Yes, run along now. Have your little fun. Meanwhile, I shall have some fun of my own!"
With that, she turned around and spotted Cagney at the booth. She made her way over to him, making sure she didn't look suspicious. She stopped about two or three feet away from him. He did not notice her, as he was still too busy trying to win that flower. Without warning, she loudly said, "Good morning, Mr. Flower!"
"Yaaahhh!" Cagney jumped in surprise, causing him to lose focus. He threw the ball to the ground, not hitting a single bottle. Shaking himself off, he frowned at the ball, then looked over to see Henrietta.
"How are you doing?" she asked, a smug grin on her face.
"Do I know you?" the flower asked, annoyed.
"You should," Henrietta replied. "I am a very good friend of Rumor's."
Cagney raised an eyebrow, "What? No you're not!"
Henrietta pretended to be offended, "Yes I am!"
"No you're not!" Cagney repeated. "If you were, I would have heard of you before!"
"Really?" the vampire asked. "Do you really think it's impossible for somebody to have two friends who don't know each other? Do you really think that?"
Cagney raised his finger to speak, but then paused. He had to admit, she had a point. So instead, he said, "Well alright then, miss...Miss..."
"Henrietta," she answered. "My name is Henrietta Globen."
"Right then, Miss Henrietta," Cagney continued, "if you're really Rumor's friend, then prove it! Prove to me what you know about Rumor!"
"Very well then!" Henrietta grinned.
With that, Cagney began the test, "Alright then, first question: what is Rumor's favorite color?"
"Green," Henrietta answered, without a second thought.
Cagney sneered, "Aha! Nice try, lady! But that is..." His smile faded. "...completely true. Rumor's favorite color really is green!"
"Well I am her friend!" Henrietta replied.
"Well, that could just be a lucky guess," Cagney continued, "Next question: when is Rumor's birthday?"
"September twenty-nine," the vampire answered, crossing her arms in confidence.
Cagney widened his eyes, "That...That's right, too!" He was starting to feel anxious. But then he got an idea. There was no way she could answer this next question. "Alright then, missy! Last question: what did Rumor sell her soul for, and why?"
"Magic," Henrietta answered, casually examining the back of her hand. "She wanted to have magic powers so that she could make honey faster and easier."
Cagney's jaw hit the ground. Literally. He couldn't believe it. That was true. That was completely true. He picked up his jaw, and then said, reluctantly, "Well, ma'am, you passed the test. I guess you really are Rumor's friend."
"As if that needed clarifying," Henrietta responded.
"Well anyways, why are you here?" the flower asked. "I'm kinda busy here."
"Busy?" Henrietta asked. "Too busy for Rumor?"
"What?" Cagney asked, taken aback by her words. "No I'm not!"
"Well, she certainly seems to think so!" Henrietta explained. "She just told me and Bon Bon about how you were too busy playing your pathetic little game to speak with her for even just one minute! Some boyfriend you are!"
Cagney widened his eyes in panic. Quickly, he explained, "Now wait just a minute, miss! First of all, I didn't say that to Rumor myself, I told Grim to! Second of all, I only did that because I didn't want to ruin the surprise!"
"What surprise!?" Henrietta demanded.
"That!" Cagney pointed over to the giant flower plush. "Ya see that flower? I'm tryin' to win it for Rumor! She's been really sad lately, so I figured I could cheer her up by winning her a prize!"
"What!?" Henrietta scowled. "That is just pathetic!"
Cagney frowned, "What!? How!?" He brought his face closer to hers. They both stared at each other, very angrily.
"Do you really think a puny, sack of cotton is going to make Rumor feel better about going bankrupt!?" Henrietta asked. "Do you really think she's going to instantly forget her troubles for something so useless!?"
Cagney pulled his face away, raising an eyebrow, "Well...No! I mean...The thought I would win it for her should make her happy, at least for a few minutes!"
"And what happens when those minutes are up!?" the vampire demanded.
Cagney tried to reply, but he couldn't think of anything to say. He just stammered.
"And don't you think it might seem a tad vain for you to give her a flower plush!?" Henrietta added. ""Oh Rumor, look how sad you are! Here is something that looks like me!", Bleh!"
After his stammering finished, Cagney finally managed to say, "Rumor likes flowers!"
"Oh, really?" Henrietta asked. "Is that why she's been seeing so many other flowers behind your back?"
Cagney gasped. If he had a heart, it would have skipped a bit. That wasn't true. There's no way that was true. Having had enough of this stranger's words, he said to her, "Get out!"
"What?" Henrietta tilted her head.
"Get out of here!" Cagney demanded, pointing away. "Go away! Leave me alone! I do not wish to speak to you anymore!"
"Now now, Cagney," Henrietta began in a scolding tone of voice, "is that any way to speak to one of Rumor's friends?" That sly grin of hers returned, infuriating Cagney.
"Go...Away...Now!" he said through gritted teeth.
Henrietta raised her hand to speak, but nothing came out. So instead, she simply said, "Rude," and walked away as he had requested. Once she was far away enough, she grumbled to herself:
"Men!"
Meanwhile, Cagney breathed a sigh of relief, knowing he could return to his game. As he paid the penguin for another set of baseballs, however, he thought a bit about what Henrietta had said. How giving Rumor a stuffed flower would seem a bit vain. They were dating, so Rumor could always see a flower if she wanted. Looking up, he stared at the stuffed flower, not even realizing the penguin had brought him his baseballs. After what felt like forever, he glanced over and caught sight of another plush. It didn't look like a flower, but it certainly looked like something Rumor would like...
...
"So, what should we do first?" Rumor asked as she and Bon Bon continued walking.
"I'm not sure," Bon Bon replied. "Hmmm. Perhaps we could go on the merry-go-round?"
"Nah," Rumor answered. "Merry-go-rounds are for for little kids n' lovers. Ooh, I know! How about the roller coaster!?
"No, let's save that for later," said Bon Bon. Just up ahead, something caught her eye. "Oh, look!" She pointed to another prize booth, this one having a toy gun and moving targets to shoot.
"Target practice?" Rumor asked, uncertain. "I dunno, Bon. That seems a bit more like your thing."
"Oh, come now, Rumor," Bon Bon replied. "I'm sure it will be fun!"
Reluctantly, Rumor followed her friend to the booth. Once they reached it, Bon Bon spoke to the penguin running it.
"Excuse me, sir, but how much for the target game?"
The penguin took one look at the two friends and laughed. He then held up a sign- that he inexplicably had with him -that read, "Aren't you two a little delicate for a man's game?"
"Man's game!?" Rumor retorted, suddenly sounding more interested than before. She stepped up in front of Bon Bon, then gave the penguin a coin. He shrugged, took the coin, then got to work on starting the game up. Rumor grabbed the toy gun, readying herself up, "I'll show him!" she said.
With that, the targets in the booth began to move about. Rumor took aim, then pulled the trigger.
Pop! She hit one!
"Hey! Look at that!" she cheered. She fired again.
Pop!
"Bravo, Rumor! Good shot!" Bon Bon cheered, clapping.
Rumor fired again. This time, however, she missed. It didn't bother her though, since she had plenty more shots left. She took another shot, then missed again. She tried again, then missed again. And again. And again. And again. With each miss, she grew more and more frustrated, which certainly didn't help with her aim. After several misses, she tried as best as she could to keep focus. She aimed at another target, bit her tongue, and was about to pull the trigger, when all of a sudden...
Ding! The bell rang! Her time was up!
"D'OOOOHHH!" the bee shouted in frustration as she threw the gun to the ground, crossing her arms as she walked away from the booth. She stood next to Bon Bon as they were both forced to listen to the penguin's annoying laughter. Rumor growled, wanting nothing more than to punch the smug little bird in the face. Bon Bon noticed her friend's frustration, so she spoke to her.
"Do you mind if I give it a shot?" she asked.
"I don't care," Rumor replied.
"Well, thank you," Bon Bon said. She walked over to the booth, picked up the gun, then handed it back to the penguin. After paying him with a coin, she then took her parasol and transformed it into its cotton-candy gun form. "May I use my own gun?" she asked.
The penguin looked back and forth at both guns for a few seconds, then shrugged. With that, he activated the targets once more. Bon Bon wasted no time as she made quick work of them. While, obviously, she didn't hit every target, she never missed a single shot. By the time the bell rang, not only had she hit ten targets, but the booth now smelled heavily of cotton candy. This left the penguin utterly shocked. He gaped his jaw, unable to comprehend what he had seen. Bon Bon made a sly grin at him as she took a bow, then walked back over to Rumor.
"Well, I think he gets the picture now," she said as she turned her gun back into a parasol. "Why don't we go find something else to do?"
"Fine," Rumor grumbled as the two of them began walking again. As they walked, she said, "I wish I could shoot as good as you, Bon."
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, Rumor," Bon Bon began, "I didn't become such a good shot overnight. I had to learn from my father."
Rumor did not respond.
"Tell you what, Rumor," Bon Bon began, "would you like me to teach you how to shoot better?"
Rumor turned her head, "Really?"
"Sure!" Bon Bon replied. "We can start sometime next week!"
Rumor smiled, her arms uncrossing, "Ya know what? Sure! I'd love to!"
Just then, both friends' stomachs growled.
"Why don't we go catch us somethin' to eat?" Rumor suggested.
...
"That will be two scoops, please," Henrietta explained to the penguin as he prepared her ice-cream cone. Once he had met her request, he handed it over to her and she walked off. As she examined it, her mouth absolutely watered. Two scoops of strawberry ice cream! Her favorite! She started to lick the creamy confection, but then she noticed that there was a cherry on top. She did not ask for one of those, and for good reason. She pulled the cherry off, made a disgusted face at it, then threw it away. "Bleck! Cherries! Disgusting!" She then began to happily lick her frozen treat, having no need to worry about brain freeze.
Whilst the vampire enjoyed her treat, a penguin many yards away waddled around the park, a big camera in his flippers. He was looking around for potential customers, when suddenly he felt somebody tap him on the shoulder. He turned around to see a woman in a blue dress with blond hair, staring down at him.
"Excuse me good sir. Would you kindly take a picture of my family and me?" She gestured over to her husband and children. The penguin nodded eagerly, and with that, she paid him with a coin and thanked him before going over to get in the picture with her family. "Alright kids," she said. "Say cheese!"
"Cheeeeese!" the family all said at once.
FLASH!
The penguin snapped the photo, which then slid out of the camera. He pulled it out and waited for it to develop. Once it did, he smiled at it, but that smile quickly disappeared once something weird caught his eye.
In the background of the photo, to the left of the family, was what appeared to be an ice-cream cone. That wasn't the weird part, though. The weird part is that, despite showing signs of being licked, there wasn't anybody holding the ice-cream cone. It was just floating in mid-air! How!? The penguin glanced up at the family and looked past them to see a strange woman in a red dress, happily eating an ice-cream cone of her own. The penguin looked back at the photo, then back at the woman.
That's the same ice-cream cone as in the photo! he thought.
The penguin was, of course, flabbergasted. Nonetheless, he handed the woman in blue the photo she had asked for, then waved as she and her family walked off. After that, he looked down at his camera, then back at the woman in red.
I should probably get this thing checked. he thought.
While Henrietta continued eating her ice cream, a certain green dragon walked by her and ordered a cone of his own. Two scoops- one choclate, one vanilla -with a cherry on top. The dragon thanked the penguin then walked off with his treat. As he licked the chilly treat, he noticed Henrietta just a few feet away. Having nobody else at the moment to talk to, he figured he might strike a friendly conversation with her. Who knows? He might even make a new friend! He approached her slowly, then spoke, "Good m-m-morning, ma'am!"
"Huh?" Henrietta stopped licking her ice cream, then glanced over at the big green reptile, a stupid, punchable grin spread over his face. She paid him no mind, then continued with her eating. This made Grim feel a tad upset, his ears drooping. Nonetheless, he persisted.
"How are you d-d-doing, on this fine m-m-morning?" he asked.
Again, Henrietta stopped her licking, then looked over to Grim, this time glaring. She resisted the urge to ball her fists- knowing she would have crushed her cone -and instead answered "I'm fine" in a quick, deadpan tone, before resuming her licking.
"Well that's g-g-good," Grim replied. He took a lick of his own ice cream, using his tail to carry it. He continued, "Ya know, I saw you earlier with Rumor H-h-honeybottoms and Baroness Von B-b-bon Bon. Are the three of you friends?"
Henrietta stopped licking again, her eye twitching. What is with that stutter? she thought. Every time I hear it, it's like a flick on the head. How does he have any friends? Finishing her thoughts, she said to Grim, quickly and as calmly as she could, "Yes. We are friends. We are best friends! Now go away!" She then went back to her licking.
Grim was taken aback by her response. Gasping, he asked her, "G-g-go away? But why? Was it something I s-s-said?"
No, it was everything you said, she thought.
"I'm t-t-terribly sorry, miss!" Grim continued, licking his ice cream again. "I didn't m-m-mean to offend you! All I wanted was to say hel-" He paused as he started wheezing. Uh oh, he thought. He was about to sneeze! As his wheezing continued, he glanced up at the sky, once again making sure there were no birds around. With that, he kept his gaze on the clouds, let out several more wheezes, before finally opening fire- literally!
"Aaaah-CHOOOOO!"
And with that, a burst a fire erupted from his mouth. While the fire itself didn't hit anything, the loudness and suddenness of the sneeze itself took Henrietta by surprise. She jumped in shock, accidentally dropping her ice cream in the process. She watched as it splattered on the ground, completely ruined. She stared at it for a short while, her teeth grinding as she tried to conjure up something to say to Grim.
Grim sniffled and lowered his head. "P-p-pardon me," he said. He then noticed the ice cream on the ground. "Oh my! D-d-did I do that!? I am so, so s-s-sorry, miss! Would you like me to b-b-buy you another one? I can get you one with three s-s-scoops if you'd like, or I-"
"Shut up!" Henrietta interrupted.
"What?" Grim asked, frowning.
"I said," Henrietta began as she turned around to face Grim, her hands balled in fists, "Shut. Up!"
Grim was surprised at her words. He asked, "What? B-b-but why?"
"Why? I'll tell you why!" Henrietta replied, stepping forward and pointing at him. "Because you're a big, stupid, ugly lizard!"
Grim let out a loud gasp, his ears standing up. "What!? N-n-no I'm not!"
"Yes you are!" the vampire spat. "The sky is blue. The grass is green. And you're ugly!"
"I am not ugly!" Grim whimpered. "I'm not s-s-stupid, either!"
"Stop talking like that!" Henrietta hissed.
"Like what?" Grim asked, his ears drooping.
Henrietta hunched over, let her hands fall to her sides, and spoke in a mocking, simpleton voice, ""Like th-, uh th-, uh th, uh th-, uh this!" She then stood back upright and continued speaking normally, "How does anybody put up with that!?"
Grim sniffled, trying as hard as he could not to cry. "My...my m-m-mama put up with it!"
"Well, then your mother was an idiot!" Henrietta shot back. "She was a big, ugly idiot, and so are you!"
Grim's jaw gaped. He couldn't take it anymore. His eyes started to well up as he struggled to say something. "Th-th-that's...that's not a very nice thing to say!"
The sight of Grim's tears brought a smile to Henrietta's face. She wasted no time in trying to pull more out. "You are ugly!" She repeated. "You are stupid! You are annoying! You. Are. Worthless!"
That was the final straw. Grim fell to the ground as he exploded into a fit of tears and curled himself up in shame. Henrietta covered her mouth as she snickered at this sight.
"I j-j-just wanted to say hello!" he cried.
"And I just wanted to eat my ice cream in peace!" Henrietta replied, her hand over her heart. "So I suppose we are both even! Good day to you, sir!" She blew him a mocking kiss, then walked away, leaving the dragon alone with his tears. He sniffled, unable to to comprehend how someone could be so carelessly cruel. After a few more minutes of sobbing, the dragon stood, shook himself off, and slowly walked off, presumably to somewhere away from the Carnival.
...
"So, what are you going to order?" Bon Bon asked as she looked at her menu.
"I think I'll have me a nice li'l slice o' pizza!" Rumor answered.
The two friends were sitting at a table, just outside the Carnival Cafe. They were waiting for a penguin waiter to arrive.
"I think I'll just have a sandwich and a glass of lemonade," Bon Bon said.
"Hello, friends!" a voice called. Both women turned to see that it was Henrietta, approaching their table. Both were a bit surprised, as they hadn't been away from her for very long.
"Oh, Henrietta, hello," Bon Bon replied. "I-I didn't expect to see you so soon."
"Well, I was hungry," Henrietta began, "so I came over here! It was just a coincidence that you two happened to be here as well! Do you mind if I sit here?" she asked, pointing to the chair to Bon Bon's left. Rumor was sitting on Bon Bon's right, so it's not like Henrietta would be separating them. So Bon Bon gave Henrietta her permission, and the vampire cheerfully sat down and picked up her menu.
"So, Henrietta," Rumor began, "how was everything?"
"Very fine!" Henrietta answered, her eyes still glued to her menu. "I spoke to a few people, had some ice cream, those sorts of things!"
"Well, that's good to hear!" said Rumor. "So who did you talk to? What did they say?"
"Hm?" Henrietta kept looking at her menu. She didn't like to hear that question.
"Henrietta?" Rumor asked. "Is somethin' wrong? Were they rude?"
"No, no they were not!" Henrietta blurted out. "They were just...uninteresting."
"Oh," Rumor replied. She then remembered something, and said, "Wait a second...I thought you said everything went good!"
"I said everything went very fine!" Henrietta said, finally putting her menu down. ""Fine" as in "alright" and not "excellent"! Alright?"
Rumor furrowed a brow and crossed her arms. Henrietta didn't need to be so defensive about it.
Henrietta started to look at her menu again, when all of a sudden, Bon Bon spoke up.
"You know, Henrietta, I just remembered something. Your county."
Henrietta jumped. Her eyes went so wide, they were almost visible from behind her sunglasses. "My county?" she asked.
"Yes," Bon Bon replied. "You told us earlier that you were the Countess of Isle One. But you never told us about the county you rule. Not even the name."
"Yeah, Henrietta!" Rumor said, still a bit grouchy from how Henrietta spoke earlier. "Go ahead! Tell us all about your land and your rule!"
Henrietta gulped. She twiddled her thumbs, glancing around for something, anything, to help her stay on their good side. If she weren't undead, she would have been sweating like crazy by now.
"Is something the matter?" Bon Bon asked, a hint of concern in her voice.
"No!" Henrietta retorted. "I just...Well...It's not easy to put into words, you know?"
"But it's your daily life," Bon Bon replied. "You want to know how to make friends, right? Well, you can start by telling us about yourself. And when you're finished, we'll tell you about ourselves. Alright then?"
Henrietta stared at Bon Bon for a moment, then at Rumor. The bee glared at her, and made a gesture with her body that clearly said, "Well, go on!"
This is not going to be easy, the vampire thought to herself.