Chapter 4: Couple of discussions and a relevation
May 25, 2012
Velma was seated at her usual spot in the chemistry lab in attendance of the science club meeting as usual during lunch period, though she wasn't exactly paying attention fully as Marcie was explaining a thesis to the club.
Instead, her eyes were mostly on the nearby window and she sighed as she looked outside.
It was cloudy outside as usual, and even though the clouds weren't as dark as it was this past Monday, when they dealt with the destructive rampage of the tampered Robot Hound, the dark clouds still reminded her of the close calls they had.
With her chin on her hand, Velma sighed, and she blinked briefly as one of the clouds formed into a particular shape.
The cloud in question looked disturbingly like the Robot Hound, and Velma could've sworn that had it been a bush at the school's front yard, who knows how would've she reacted as the horrific memories from this past Monday come flooding back.
Even so, Velma came close to jumping out of her seat in shock, though the sudden movements from her briefly moving her chair caught the attention of Marcie and the others.
"Velma?" Marcie paused from her explanations. "You okay?"
"Huh?" Velma turned around and saw that all eyes were on her. "I'm...okay."
"You sure?" Marcie asked.
"Of course I'm sure." Velma replied. "Just an itch, that's all."
Marcie glanced at the others and shrugged. "Okay, if you say so."
She then resumed her explanations, and Velma turned back towards the window briefly, during which she saw that the Robot Hound-shaped cloud had disappeared.
When lunch period was over, everyone in the club were on their way to their third period classes when Marcie pulled Velma aside.
"What?" Velma asked.
Marcie checked to make sure they were alone in the lab, then she turned towards Velma in concern.
"Are you really sure you're okay, Velma?" Marcie asked.
Velma glanced around before she replied, "Of course I am, Marcie. Why?"
"You don't look okay to me, Velms." Marcie said. "In fact, you haven't been yourself lately, not since you and your friends dealt with that tampered Robot Hound's destructive rampage on Monday and the close calls that came with it."
Velma sighed. "Honestly, Marcie, I'm fine. Really, I am!"
"You really sure?" Marcie asked skeptically. "Because I don't consider getting easily wondered off as fine, especially when you've always contributed to the discussions of our thesis for the club, and-"
"Maybe you need to learn to mind yourself, Marcie!" Velma snapped, visibly annoyed by what she perceived to be an intrusion.
Marcie only stared at Velma, then she sighed and turned her way towards the door.
"Okay, if you say so." Marcie shrugged as she took off.
Left alone in the chemistry lab, Velma sighed as she held her notebooks and pencil case and glanced outside the window once more, only to find that the Robot Hound-shaped cloud from earlier had disappeared.
Later after school, Velma was at her locker as usual getting her belongings and preparing to head home for the weekend.
Her routine was interrupted when a shriek can be heard down the hallway, and she paused and turned around, as did several nearby students.
The source of the shriek came from none other than Fred, who had his right foot lifted up in fright.
It was then that Velma shifted her view, where she got a good look of the source of Fred's shriek.
Turns out the dog standing right beside Fred had its left hing leg lifted up, and Fred didn't realize until too late that he had stepped into the puddle that marks the spot the dog was relieving itself at.
Velma sighed at the sight, and she promptly grabbed her school bag and closed her locker before walking towards Fred.
"Hey." Velma said softly as she approached the blonde.
Fred turned around and sighed. "Hey."
"You okay?" Velma asked.
Gesturing towards the wet spot on the leggings of his jeans, Fred replied, "Other than wetting my pants, courtesy of a dog, I haven't been finer."
"You sure?" Velma arched her eyebrows.
"Sure." Fred shrugged, and for a brief moment, there was some awkward silence between the duo.
Both of them knew what exactly was in each others' minds, though neither of them knew how to bring that up respectfully.
Unable to think of something to say, Velma said, "I suppose I'll see you around."
Fred nodded. "Of course."
He then patted Velma in the back before he took his leave, and Velma turned around and watched him go.
Fred certainly looked okay, but Velma could tell that he probably needed to get something off his chest, the same way she does herself, which then reminded her of what Marcie had said earlier.
It instantly made her regret snapping at Marcie the way she did, and Velma scoffed and shook her head before she thought of something.
"Uh...Freddie?" Velma called out.
Fred stopped and turned around, and Velma rushed over to him. "You don't happen to be free after school, are you?"
The blonde paused briefly before he nodded.
"I've got nothing planned for the rest of the day, so...I suppose I could use a deviation from the usual routine..." Fred trailed off.
"As do I." Velma nodded. "Perhaps...we could go someplace to chill and...maybe talk about stuff, I suppose."
Fred thought briefly before he nodded again. "Sounds like a swell idea."
Velma smiled. "Of course, that is, after you head home to get your jeans changed."
Meanwhile, Shaggy and Scooby were at home and watching movies as per their usual Friday routine after returning home from school.
As usual, Shaggy's parents were at work, and the duo were relaxed in the living room.
At present, the channel was broadcasting an old black and white gangster movie, and the scene depicts a man seated behind the desk with a magnifying glass.
The man's silence was broken when someone knocked on the door, and the man looked towards the door before asking, "Who is it?"
The door opened and in came another man wearing a fedora, who said, "It's me, Snakes. I got the stuff."
Shaggy and Scooby glanced at each other as the man behind the desk instructed, "Leave it on the doorstep and get the h*ll outta here."
"All right, Johnny." The man at the door said as he held a cigarette before asking, "But what about my money?"
"What money?" The man behind the desk asked, looking annoyed.
"Acey said you had some dough for me." The man at the door explained.
Putting down the magnifying glass, the man at the desk asked, "That a fact? How much do I owe ya?"
"Acey said ten percent." The man at the door replied.
"As in ten percent of the cut for whatever job they've finished?" Shaggy remarked.
"Rounds like it." Scooby replied as the man at the desk smirked and said, "Too bad Acey ain't in charge no more."
The man at the door paused. "What do ya mean?"
"He's upstairs takin' a bath." The man at the desk explained, though both Shaggy and Scooby know what exactly that gangster meant. "He'll call you when he gets out."
"More like this 'Acey' guy is not coming out from his 'bath' after what Johnny did to him, Scoob." Shaggy mused.
"Rith friends like rem, who reeds enemies?" Scooby agreed as the man at the desk continued, "Hey, I tell ya what I'm gonna give you, Snakes."
Shaggy and Scooby once again glanced at each other as the man at the desk pulls out a machine gun from his desk, stood up, aims it towards the door and continued, "I'm gonna give you to the count of 10, to get your ugly, yella, no-good keister off my property..."
The man then raised his voice as he said, "...before I pump yer guts full of lead!"
At the sight of the machine gun, the man at the door widened his eyes.
"All right, Johnny." The man said, the calmness in his voice betraying the horror and disbelief building inside him. "I'm sorry. I'm goin'!"
The man then proceeded to open the office door while the man with the machine gun began to count.
"1...2..." The man at the desk began to count.
"Oh boy, this is it, Scoob." Shaggy whispered.
Without warning, the man at the desk suddenly barked, "10!"
At the count of ten, the man began to unload bullets right into the other man, during which he began laughing maniacally, and Shaggy and Scooby both resisted the temptation to cover their eyes at the gruesome sight unfolding in front of them on television.
By that point, the man at the door had collapsed onto the floor, and the man at the desk stopped his shooting rampage before he surveyed the scene in front of him.
Seeing that the man at the door was slumped on the floor, the man at the desk continued to hold his weapon as he said, "Keep the change, ya filthy animal!"
Watching the gangster at the desk putting down the machine gun and snapping his fingers, Shaggy turned towards Scooby.
"As you've said, Scoob." Shaggy said. "With friends like those, who needs enemies?"
"Rou said rit, Raggy." Scooby nodded in agreement.
(What movie (Or more to the point, what fictional movie) are Shaggy and Scooby watching here?)
It was then that the doorbell rang, and Shaggy muted the television before he and Scooby got up from the sofa and went over to the front door.
When he opened the door, Daphne was standing at the other side.
"Hey Daph." Shaggy said as he opened the door fully and moved out of the way. "What's up?"
"I was still thinking about what happened last night." Daphne replied as she got in. "Where do you guys think she went?"
Shaggy glanced towards Scooby, who shrugged.
"Beats me." Shaggy replied. "I mean, there's got to be someplace she had disappeared into, though there's no way a place would still be open by that time of the night when we lost her."
"I agree." Daphne nodded. "Though on our way home, I caught a glimpse of the lights turning on at the Botanical Gardens."
Shaggy and Scooby shared glances with each other, then the latter said, "Rand?"
"Why do you think someone will be checking on the plants at the Botanical Gardens after closing time?" Daphne frowned.
"Like, perhaps security was patrolling." Shaggy offered. "Though then again, why would they turn on the lights if they've got flashlights?"
"Exactly." Daphne nodded again. "I didn't think too much about the lights on at the Botanical Gardens, though it has occurred to me that the place may be where my Mom was heading towards last night."
"What makes you say that, Daph?" Shaggy and Scooby both arched their eyebrows.
"My Mom had mentioned having had taken up caring for rare plants as a hobby, though she never exactly specified whatever for, since she wasn't even much of a flower-type person." Daphne said.
Shaggy and Scooby glanced at each other once more, then the former said, "Then, I suppose we're gonna be checking out the Botanical Gardens, eh?"
Daphne nodded. "Tonight."
At that revelation, both Shaggy and Scooby swallowed.
To all of my readers out there, Merry Christmas!