"You made the gloves yet? Your weights need to be 400 grams per 5cm of space," Blowhole said as he looked across the table at Kowalski.
Kowalski nodded.
"I know. I have the outlines I just need to fix them together."
It wasn't much long later when Kowalski had his boots back on along with a new stylish pair of gloves. He had to cut it to the dolphin. He felt very evenly balanced.
"On lift off keep your flippers to your mid. Once you reach optimal height put them above your head for the boots to adjust then you can move them where ever you like," Blowhole said.
He smiled awkwardly to Blowhole who stared with his flippers crossed waiting for the test to commence.
After a moment of preparation, where Kowalski got down to the floor he nervously breathed out and willed his heart to slow down. There was no need for marker any longer, since Blowhole had worked that out of the design and function. The boots should sense the ground below and reach a calculated height above giving the appearance of hovering.
"Test 2 of the hover boots 1.1. Now with added stability gloves."
Kowalski pressed the boots power button and kept his flippers where previously calculated. He rose slowly, felt a little wobbly but kept his balance.
The boots rose 5 feet above and stopped as Kowalski adjusted his weight. Then he stopped. He was floating perfectly in the air. He felt like a bird. Well... a bird that could fly. He looked down to the floor and took his fist step. It was like he was walking on thin air. He couldn't believe it. It worked.
Blowhole raised a brow and smirked. The look of knowing when he felt he was superior to the bird and wanted Kowalski to know it. But Kowalski was almost eye level with Blowhole and he bet if the boots would let him jump, he could kick that egotistical maniac right in the nose. He didn't though, the dolphin had done him a solid.
"It's working! I'm walking on air," Kowalski exclaimed.
Blowhole smirked at the bird and nodded his head.
"It's working because I helped you."
"Yeah, alright." Kowalski rolled his eyes.
The test finished and Kowalski landed safely on the ground with the biggest grin on his face. He was on such a high that he couldn't stop to give himself a break. Instead he hopped back onto the table and started looking through the notes again.
"I cant believe it worked. Perhaps now I can revisit the Chromatic Fathometer. Or the Love-U-Lator 3000 with this new distance calculator built into these boots."
Blowhole snickered and covered his mouth to hide it.
"Love-u-lator?"
Kowalski blushed and nodded.
"Yes."
"What's lator about it? Is it the 3000 time you've rebuilt it?"
Kowalski shook his head and growled under his breath.
"No! And its nothing you need to worry about."
Blowhole rolled his eye and crossed his flippers.
"Anyway, it's not like I need it anymore," Kowalski said with a smirk.
"Why not?"
"It finds your true love. I've found mine. She's your sister!" Kowalski laughed in the dolphins face.
Blowhole whacked Kowalski in the back of the head making the bird lose balance and fall off the table to the ground below with a thud. He pushed himself up again with a scowl.
"Oops. Muscle spasm."
Rubbing his head and sitting on the floor his mind drifted back to Doris for a moment. Kowalski hadn't seen her in a while. He'd gone out and found her to apologise for missing their date back when Blowhole had snatched him the first time. But Kowalski had been too busy worrying for his life to go on many more dates with her.
When he looked back up Blowhole was already back at organising his desk, taking the notes for the boots and doing what looked like photocopying them. Kowalski supposed it was just as well, the notes where half of Blowhole's work too.
"Blowhole, does Doris know about this?" Kowalski asked.
Blowhole spun back around from the compact copy machine.
"Know about what?"
"The treaty."
Blowhole shook his head and turned back to the machine, gathering the papers and putting them back on the table once they had all been scanned into his computer.
"No, and I'd prefer it stay that way. Our relationship has been damaged enough, thanks to you."
Kowalski tried to ignore that jab. If Blowhole was a good guy then they would have no reason to hate each other and Doris could have her brother and her boyfriend and enjoy them both without probably having the mental battle of choosing between them.
Kowalski could have given a comment back or even fired a few questions he had looming around in his mind but he knew better than to agitate the beast so he stayed quiet.
A moment passed where Blowhole seemed to slip out of reality for a moment and almost yawn before he caught himself and slammed his flippers on the table.
"I need coffee," he said before travelling the room to turn to the stereo off.
Kowalski hopped back onto the table and carefully removed the shoes and gloves and packing them neatly into his drawstring bag. Blowhole noticed the bird packing his things away like a school boy eager to leave class and glanced at the clock. It was only mid afternoon, perhaps there was still fun to have.
"We can start on those reading lessons after a break. How do you feel about that?" Blowhole asked riding back to the table.
Kowalski gave a look of pain before he slipped a few pieces of paper into Blowhole's flippers. The dolphin was confused for a moment as he looked over the papers. They were some sort of checklist type thing with little drawings of things and a number beside it. One looked like a lamp, at least he though it was a lamp, or it could have been literally anything else in the world.
"What is this?" He asked.
"It's the inventory list," Kowalski informed. "This page is household items, the next is luxury items, the next is inventions-"
Kowalski was about to continue until Blowhole began to wave his flipper and press it to the birds beak, shutting him up.
"How in the 7 seas am I meant to know what these picasso scribbles are meant to be?"
Kowalski rolled his eyes and sighed. Of course nothing he could do was good enough for the dolphin.
"Nuh uh, I'm going to teach you to read so you can write this up in a language I'll understand."
Kowalski smirked in turn this time and crossed his flippers after snatching back the inventory list.
"I guess you just don't understand fine art."
Blowhole gave a chuckle back before grabbing the list off Kowalski again and shoving the pictures back in the birds face in their game.
"Kowalski, these are drawings a baby would do. It's baby art. It's worthless."
"You're an art critic as well as an evil aquatic mastermind?" Kowalski asked sarcastically.
Blowhole gave a smug look and nodded, putting the papers down on the table and heading for the door.
"I have many professions. Some you may get the once in a lifetime chance to see me perform."
Kowalski hopped off the table and followed the dolphin to the door where they both exited and headed to the elevator. Kowalski had no idea where a dolphin would go to make coffee. Perhaps he had a personal kitchen or a food court where he and his workers would share space to prepare food and beverages. He would soon find out.
"We'll see how good you are at teaching first before I request to see more of your professions," Kowalski said in air quotes.
This gained a chuckle from the dolphin. They were all laughter and banter now and Kowalski had to admit this was a charming act the dolphin was putting on but he still couldn't forget the looming feeling of darkness in the back of his mind to not forget that this was all fake. Given the chance, Blowhole wouldn't hesitate to put a bullet through his skull and Kowalski tried to push back the thought that it would disappoint him. Perhaps in an alternate universe where Blowhole was on the good side, they were pals, but unfortunately he wasn't and they weren't pals. But that didn't mean Kowalski wouldn't wring the dolphin dry of help and scientific advice. When life gives you lemons you take advantage of them and use them until there's nothing left.