El Tigre copyright Jorge Gutierrez and Sandra Equihua
The MASK copyright Dark Horse Comics/New Line Cinema
The MASK of Miracle City
Chapter 05: The Daily Maracka
{RIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!}
The Bell Rang, Signaling The End Of School For The Day.
Needless To Say, The Students Were "OVEREGAR" To Get Out.
As The Stampeed Of Kids Flooded The Schoolyard...
Manny, Frida, Zoe & Chris Soon Came Out Last.
"Man, I Thought Class Would Never End! Shouted Manny
"Tell Me About It, Dude. Said Frida
Manny Turned To Chris.
"So, Chris...
Me And Frida Are Gonna Hang At the Arcade, You Wanna Come With?
Chris Was Abbout To Answer, When His Phone Rang.
He Took It Out And Pressed The Talk Button.
"hello?
"JOHNSON! Yelled Out a Voice
The Voice Belonged To a Man Named: Tony Fracisco The Editor-And-Chief Of The Local Tabloid Newspaper Office: The Daily Maracka. Chris's Skills In Photography Had Earned Him a Part-Time Job With The Office
And Tony Fracisco Was His PART-TIME, ALWAYS-IN-A-BAD-MOOD BOSS.
"Hello, Mr. Francisco.
"DON'T GIVE ME ANY, HOLA!
I WANT YOU IN MY OFFICE, NOW!
Chris Smiled Meekly.
"SI, SENIOR... Said Chris Mockingly
He Hung Up.
"What Was That? Asked Zoe
"Mr. Francisco Of the Daily Maracka...
He Apparently Wants To See Me Right Now.
He Turned To Manny And Frida.
"I'm Sorry, Manny...
But, I'll Need To raincheck On Our QUALITY TIME.
Mr. Fracisco Seems Pretty Mad, And If I Don't Hurry, He Might Fire Me...again.
"Okay, Some Other Time, Then.
"Sure.
Chris Ran Off Zoe Followed Him.
Manny and Frida Watched Them Leave.
"How Many Time Has Mr. Francisco Fired Chris?
Frida Shrugged Her Shoulders.
"Dunno, Dude...
I Lost Count At Seventeen.
As Manny & Frida Left Chris Was Waiting AT the Bus Stop WIth Zoe.
"Remind Me Again Why Your Going With Me? Said Chris
"Because If Mr. Francisco Tries To Fire You Then SOMEBODY Has To "Convince" Him To Reconsider.
Chris Eyed The Ruby Eyed Girl.
"Your Not Gonna Throw Him Out The Window Of a TEN STORY BUILDING, Are You?
Zoe Grinned, Then Chuckled.
"Maybe...
"Z!
"Oh, Relax, Chris.
I Was Only Kidding...mostly. Whispered Zoe
"Huh?
"NOTHING.
The Bus Soon Arrived.
They Boarded It, Payed Ther Fare And Took There Seats.
"Say, Chris...
My Family Are Having Dinner, Tonight.
And, I Was Hoping You Could Join Us...
"I Guess, What's For Dinner?
"BBQ Steaks.
Chris Licked His Lips.
"I Can Taste It, Already.
"So, You'll Come?
"It's a Date.
Zoe Then Got a Lovesick Look In Her Eyes.
("he said DATE!)
"Z, Are You Okay?
Zoe Came Back To Her Senses.
"Y-Yeah, I'm F-Fine... Said Zoe, Blushing
The Bus Sooned Reached It's Destination: The Daily Maracka Building.
The Teens Walked In And Took The Express Elevator To The Main Office.
There, Secretary: Alicia DeVille Met With Them.
"Hey, There Chris.
"Hello, Mrs. DeVille...
Mr. Francisco Asked For Me.
"WHERE IS JOHNSON! Came a Loud Voice
"Yes, He Did...
And You Had Better Get Over There Before He Breaks Something.
"Don't Have To Tell Me Twice.
Chris Went Straight For The Door.
Where Phillip Peterson, Tony Francisco's (Nicer) Partner.
"Hey, Chris.
"Hey, Mr. Peterson.
"ENOUGH WITH THE HOLA'S, ALREADY! Said Tony
The Angry Man Looked At Zoe.
"And Who The Heck Is This!
"I'm Zoe Avez, I'm Chris's Best Friend!
"Yeah, Whatever...
Zoe Growled At Him.
"Did You Want Me For Something?
"Yeah, I Do...
I Want To Know WHY YOU HAVEN'T DONE YOUR JOB LIKE YOUR SUPPOSE TO!
"HEY!, THAT'S UNCALLED FOR! Said Zoe
"PIPE DOWN, ZETA.
"MY NAME IS ZOE!
Tony Ignored Her.
He Turned To Chris.
"Look, Johnson...
Your Our Number One Photographer When It Comes To COSTUME FREAKS.
All I Know, Is That GREEN FACED CLOWN, THE MASK Went On a JOYRIDE THROUGH THE CITY LAST NIGHT.
AND I DON'T HAVE ANY PICTURES!, WHAT WERE YOU DOING LAST NIGHT?, SLEEPING!
"Uhh-
"SHUT UP!
"DON'T TALK TO HIM THAT WAY, YOU STUPIDO! Said Zoe
Tony Glared At The Girl.
"One More WISECRACK Outta You, And Your Fired!
"I DON'T EVEN WORK HERE!
Tony Turned To Chris.
"Look, The Mask Caused Damage To the City, Made The Cops Look Like Idiots And STOLE A PRICELESS EMERALD!
The News Is ALL OVER TOWN, And I Don't Have Pictures To Go With It!
Chris Was ABout To Speak.
"SHUT UP!
YOUR FIRED!
Zoe's Finger Was Twitching On The Mini Laser In Her Pocket.
Just As Chris Was About To Leave, Alicia Walked In.
"Jefe, El Oso Just Escaped From Jail.
"Oh, Right.
JOHNSON, Your Unfired, Get Over Here!
Chris Did What He Was Told.
"Let Me Guess, You Want Pictures Of Oso.
"Better...Get Me Pictures Of One Of Those WINGED FREAKS: The FLOCK OF FURY And, I May Forget Your Laziness On Getting Pictures Of the Mask.
Zoe Was Fuming.
("WINGED...FREAKS!)
"Get Me Pictures, OR YOUR OUT, JOHNSON!
Chris Soon Left.
Zoe Followed Him.
"Oh, And...Here's a Personal Tip.
Take Your Girlfriend To a Barber, Her Hair Looks Like Football Helmet.
"VENDETTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! Shouted Zoe From Afar.