1X02 – Expansion time
It was a bright, quiet day at Third Street. At the back of the local elementary school, it was time for the regular forty-minute recess, during which the boys and girls forgot the stresses of their lessons and the anxieties of their questions with a variety of diversions.
And it was at this precise moment that a tough and combative girl, aided by a bespectacled boy of diminutive height, prepared to commit a terrorist attack with decomposing bio-organic mass.
«Ugh, that stinks!» Said Gus wrinkling his nose with his free hand, «Is it normal for this stuff to smell so bad?»
«It's perfect!» Spinelli replied to him, looking with ill-concealed satisfaction at his own chemical-biological weapon, «Leftovers from yesterday's cafeteria; mud from the back yard; wastewater from the plant pots and whatever I scraped out of the bin. This is the ultimate stink bomb, the ... Filthy-Fang-Bang!»
«It's the most foul-smelling thing I ever nuzzled» Gus was now holding on all of his willpower do not cry for the smell «and I once got to smell some very nasty military repellents that my father showed me.»
«Stay whelmed, Gus: in a few seconds, this amalgam of the most disgusting stenches of the playground will be launched right into the so-called fortress of snobbery…» She glared at the tire pile, a few meters from them, where the Ashleys hold their club. Their sacred temple of frivolity and snootiness was about to become...a little less chic.
«Spinelli, are you sure you want to do this? TJ and the others are waiting for us for the kickball game; if we're too late we can't play.»
«Of course I want to do it!» she retorted as she approached it «Miss Ashley Armbruster bribed the lunch ladies to serve me a kid's lunch? And I return to her the pleasures of playing with filth.»
«But Spinelli: Vicky, too, is probably inside with them. What if the bomb makes her dirty, too?»
For a moment, Spinelli paused. Vicky (or Ashley V., as the other Ashleys used to call her when they were alone with her) had only joined their school a few days ago, but already in her first recess, she had become both their friend (and therefore hers) and a member of the Ashleys, her personal archenemies. Thus, she was her friend, someone she cared about, but she was also her enemy, someone she had to be wary about and to defend herself or others from.
«Vicky is an official Ashley, Gus» Spinelli replied, after deciding her own stance «Thus, while we call her friend, I can legitimately hit her with dirt bombs and smelly bombs. I am sure she will forgive me, in time.»
Spinelli took the smelly package and approached the tires, preparing herself to drop her final weapon. Meanwhile, Gus took a little step back and moved his hands on the eyes, to avoid seeing the upcoming reaction that such an attack would cause.
«Hyper-stinky bomb release in three, two...»
However, before the countdown ended or Spinelli could get the bomb in position to release, a strange mechanic sound rang and a large turbine fan appeared in front of her.
«Oh n-»
In a fraction of a second, the fan activated, sending Spinelli tumbling to the floor as the stink bomb, suggestive of her grasp, fell beside her, some of its repulsive and disgusting liquid contaminating her dress.
«Gah!» Spinelli yelled, as she realized she had been affected by her own weapon.
«I am sorry Spinelli» Vicky said, appearing out of the tire pile «Despite our friendship, and the closeness of our desks, there are some things I can't allow going unnoticed. Specifically, your disreputable hobby of throwing filthy, stink bombs inside our club.»
«Vicky!» Spinelli said with anger «You're siding with them now?»
«Au contraire, my dear friend: I am not siding with anyone. I am perfectly neutral, as long as no one starts something too much aggressive on their side; I only act as the peacekeeper if needed, to keep both my fellow namesakes and you to cross the line that cannot be crossed.»
«Your "fellow namesake" Ashley Armbruster today tried to humiliate me by having the lunch ladies serve me a meal specifically designed for kindergarten children!»
«And I shared my own meal with you, to ensure that you had more than enough food to get through the day; and I later told Ashley A. that I did not approve such low-level actions…»
«You also stopped me from punching her snout out!»
«Violence is never the answer, Spinelli. And attacking a classmate in full view of the whole school would have led to both Principal Prickly and your parents being involved. »
Spinelli put herself back on feet, still noticing her smelly feeling, and glared at Vicky clenching their hands into fists. The fact that, somehow, a part of her brain agreed with Vicky's words did not make them less obnoxious to hear.
«To remove the stench off your dresses, now» Vicky continued, «I suggest you to pour some clean water with clove seeds and soap dissolved in it. The school's infirmary have both of them, so if you tell them that you got splashed by filthy liquid, they will help you; but you need to act fast, before that smell impregnates inside the clothes…»
«You…you…» Spinelli spoke up again, pointing at Vicky. Her plan backfired, her smelly bomb was neutralized before even hitting one Ashley, she had made a fool of herself, and she was infected by the same stinky smell that she was hoping to use against them. The only good thing is that no one (expect Gus, who would have kept his mouth shut) was watching her now.
«If you wait too long and the smell get inside your clothes, you will stink for the rest of the lessons, and in class it will be harder to hide it. Thought I am quite prepared to deal with unpleasant smells, I do not believe Miss Grotke will be equally prepared nor equipped.»
Spinelli's fists, famous in the whole playground for their blows and power, clinched more. Finally, she sent Vicky a last, cold glare.
«Next class test, I want twice solutions as the last time!»
«Agreed, if that's how you want to preserve the image of your pride.»
Spinelli huffed, hurrying toward the school to ask for something that could help her remove that disgusting smell, helped by Gus. Tough he had not intervened during the little faceoff (mostly because he did not want to choose between his two friends) he rushed forward to make sure that Spinelli's backfire would not be complete nor be public.
Vicky stood quietly, looking at both of them get away and afar from the club, until she could no more see them. Then, she started to go back down the hall, and back inside the club.
«She's gone.» Vicky meekly said, to the other four girls present.
«Ashley V.» Ashley T. smiled «I am quite pleased with all the upgrades you helped us with for our club's security system. Since then, the rate of dirty bombs and other unpleasant, unwanted gift in our club has drastically reduced up to 80%.»
«I seriously hope that you do not aim to use my presence in the club as well as my contribution to its security to provoke other people without fear of retaliation» Vicky replied «Like I said earlier, I am quite offended that you lowered yourself to petty acts like this, as well as your general behavior of superiority.»
«You didn't protest when Randall was trying to spy on us; in fact, you even called him a loser with us.»
Vicky grimaced, remembering herself distancing Randall and insulting him, just like the others Ashleys did «Randall works for our teachers and likes to expose our secrets and little misbehaving for his own gain, and thus he deserves all my scorn; Spinelli, on the other hand, did nothing before you pulled that move on her…»
«Well, she did come to steal our makeup kits…» Ashley Q said «I seriously feared I was gonna lose my Tropical Cuba red lipstick forever.»
Vicky grimaced, already thinking for her reply, when Ashley A. suddenly spoke up again «Either way, we are quite grateful for everything you brought into our club since you joined, and we would like to ask you if you have something else you would like to suggest.»
«Well, in truth I had some ideas» Vicky said, quite unsure if keep her mouth shout or trust her newfound friends enough to say something potentially drastic «I could not help but notice that, since our club is underground, there is no direct border than clearly defines its area…»
Ashley A's eyes, as well as Ashely Q's, suddenly sparkled in glitter's light «Go on. You have our attention.»
«I am just saying that,» Vicky continued, «Since we have no real border limiting our clubhouse interior space, there is nothing stopping us to expand our personal space and create more room for our needs and necessities. As long as we can dig ourselves some new living space, we are quite spoiled in choice for deciding what present to give ourselves: we could add high-class relax room with a sauna, or maybe a pool-size hydro-massage spa; alternatively, a proper, bigger and more decorated tearoom, with an indoor freshener and a stable supply of biscuits to go with the tea; maybe we could even have our own living room, where practice our favorite hobbies when…»
But Vicky's speech stopped short as she realized all the other four Ashleys were looking at her with big, enthusiast expressions.
«Our newest member is quite a wonder, don't you agree Ashley T.?» Ashley Q. said.
«Indeed; we could really use more space for ourselves…» Ashley T. nodded, grinning with pleasure.
«Our clubhouse will become a private haven, a true fortress of luxury and top-class sophistication where nothing will ever be unavailable for us,» Ashley B. added, hugging herself out of excitement.
«And we'll be the only ones to benefit from it…» Ashley A. grinned, like a queen contemplating her kingdom's upcoming expansions.
«Uh, girls?» Vicky said «Mine was just an idea; I am not quite sure even how we could pull this forward. I mean, we cannot dig ourselves, and if we try to enroll the Diggers or someone else to do this, we will be stopped even before we can start for real. Moreover,…»
«We'll need no one to dig for us» Ashley B. replied «Now that I think about it, my father has a quite useful tool that could make this dream a reality.»
«And we can supply the furniture as well as the upholstery» Ashley Q. and Ashley T. came forward «if you dig the space we need, we can furnish it!»
«And I know where we can find the newest and best equipment for our use. And my leadership skills will make our efforts faster and better, so no one will realize what are we doing until it will be too late.»
The four Ashleys turned their faces on Vicky, the newest addiction to the club, and now, the only unheard voice.
«Are you with us?»
At first Vicky, did not know what to say: she still considered her idea just a throwaway one, and had doubts about its practicability; moreover, the expansion phase would have quite taken a good part of their own recess time, seriously hindering her free playing time as well the time to spend with Ashley Spinelli and her friends. But then, an image worthy of a dream appeared in front of her eyes: a private resort-like club where she and her Ashley-friends could relax whenever they wanted it, and where no one could enter unless they would have given the permission from them; somewhere where she could relax and take care of herself, free from the fear of bad people close to her.
And she saw herself. Free from fear, free from doubts, free from sadness. Happy.
Vicky looked at the four girls in front of her, and she smiles, in a way that she herself had learned only since she was a member of the Ashley club.
«Let's do it.»
«Scandalous!» The Ashley's catchphrase, yelled by five different mouth, echoed once more.
The day after that, Vicky was in class with her fellow classmates. On her side, there was Spinelli, alias Ashley S., one of the first person she befriended since she arrived in this school, and scattered all over the class, there were TJ, Vince, Mickey, Gretchen and Gus, her close companions and friends. While a little back, far away from the first rows, there were the desks that belonged to the Ashleys, her name-sister and social friends. Currently the class was quietly listening to Miss Grotke's lessons about the railway development that connected the East and West side of the nation, but in their minds, the kids were giving attention to the same thing: the classroom's clock, that in less than 30 minutes would ring and announce the beginning of the great-expected recess.
«…and thus, both railways met and connected at Promontory Summit, in the Utah Territory, in the May of…»
Some kids were so eager for the clock that they almost jumped when they heard some hard-thumped knocks on the door.
«Come in!» Miss Grotke said, turning toward the door.
The door opened, revealing behind a grown-up man in a dark dress, with visible mustaches and glasses. Someone that, while still quite unknown to Vicky, was very familiar and known to all the other students.
«Principal Prickly, what brings you here?»
«Miss Grotke» Prickly said, his voice full of irritation "I did not want to come here, considering all the work I was doing, but apparently, there are some students who are quite showing less respect than usual to their esteem Principal…»
On his desk, TJ started to smile. He didn't assume that Prickly would find so soon about his latest prank, but it always amused him to see his nemesis's reactions to his awesome stunts that made him the prank master of the playground.
That is, until Prickly entered the class and immediately ignored him, instead focusing on the least probable persons as responsible for pranks:
«Miss Ashley Armbruster, Ashley Boulet, Ashley Quinlan, Ashley Tomassian and Ashley Victoria» prickly said, in a stern but firm voice «Thought there is no school rule about what you did, it is highly questionable about treating your esteem principal as a mere delivery boy…»
What? TJ asked himself mentally, confused by what was happening. He was not the only one: in her own desk, Spinelli look dumb folded to Vicky, who simply stood quietly looking at prickly nonplussed.
«Uh, Mister Principal» Vicky replied once Prickly stopped talking for a second «May I venture to violate common class etiquette and ask what kind of event may have occurred that you are talking about?»
«I am talking about him!» Prickly said, pointing toward the still open door. It was then that TJ (as well as every other kid in the class) realized that a pale young man, dressed in a postal worker uniform, stood quietly in the corridor, a giant brown crate with the word "HIGH CLASS SHIPMENTS" in big letters on the side.
«Uh, excuse me» the man quietly said «I have a Premium high-service package for Miss Ashley Boulet and her friends and associates, and I need a signature on the confirmation form»
«It's here!» Ashley B. said, almost jumping out of her chair «Finally!»
«Girls, you ordered it?» Miss Grotke, quite shocked by the sudden development.
«Indeed» Vicky said, smiling «Let's just say that is something we need for our upcoming…expansion time plan…»
«Scandalous!» The five Ashley erupted.
Spinelli stood silent, looking at the quite anonymous giant package. Something in her guts told her that the playground…was in danger…
Later the same day, when the bell rang once more and recess officially started, the Ashleys (plus Vicky) quickly brought their unknown giant package inside their own club, away from the eyes of the other kids. Since it was time for playing, most of the other kids quickly forgot about the mid-class surprise and the mysterious package that the Ashley had shipped to their own school.
However, most of them do not mean everyone.
«I wonder what the Ashleys had inside that huge box» Gus wondered, «It was too big for being a shipment of makeup or dresses. What could that be?»
«No idea» Vince admitted «I would have liked to ask Vicky, but she went with them inside their own club, and she had not resurfaced yet…»
«Whatever it might be, it surely had to be quite important for her as well for them, if they brought it inside so fast. Maybe…»
«Boys, knock it off!» Spinelli replied, an angsty expression on her face «Whatever it could be, it does not matter to us. And Vicky is too busy being an Ashley to tell us for now…»
«Oh, come on Spinelli» Gretchen intervened «Just because she is stopping your attempt on their club, it does not mean that…»
But their words suddenly stopped as they heard a distinct tremor under their feet for a few seconds.
«What was that?» Vince jumped up, alarmed «Did the kindergarten kids built a giant drum again?»
«No, that was not it. That…»
Another stronger tremor shook the land under their feet, making them uneasy at stay on feet. Then, just as suddenly, the door opened up under them.
«Ahh!» The six kids yelled, falling together. Luckily, the fall was not very long: the hole they had fallen into was not very deep.
«W-what happened?» TJ asked, trying to put himself back on his feet. All around him, his friends too tried to orientate themselves.
Almost to answer him, a couple of kids dressed as miners emerged from their right. Sam and Dave, the Diggers.
«You!» TJ exclaimed «Are you the ones behind this?»
«What? NO!» Sam said, looking hurt «We were pacifically digging our holes when we suddenly found that someone else is violating our underground!»
«Yes, this is too much work for us!» Dave joined him « We are just trying to find who's stealing our job!»
«But then» Gus said «If you are not the responsible for this hole, who is?»
«We are!» Five female voices said, behind them.
TJ and his friends turned around, and saw a big, shiny-looking machine, with a big drill in her front part, and many techno-gizmos all over its body, mounted on tracks. And near it, in their usual dresses but wearing yellow miners hats (similar to the Digger's, but with more lights and some added features), stood the Ashley, Vicky on their left, while Ashley B. held some unknown remote on her hands.
«Vicky!» Spinelli said, recognizing her desk-neighbor «What is happening?»
«Ashley S.» Vicky said, in a tone Spinelli knew while she was more "Ashley" that "her friend" «We are sorry for the temporary disturbance. See, we were digging some space to expand our club and being able to add some new features on it.»
«So THAT'S what was in that package!» Gus said, looking at the machine with bad-disguised amazement «That's a Deluxe Reinforced Automatic Excavator Model C.3-4000 with upgraded track, leftover stone compactor and internal automatic pilot. These are machines that only the military or larger construction companies can afford!»
«It's wonderful what you can find if you pay enough the right people» Ashley T. said «This little baby has also some very useful gadgets including anti-spill system, debris compressor, and yogurt maker» he said as she pressed a button on the machine, which brought out a small cup full of green, minty yogurt «Delicious!»
«You guys are digging to enlarge your club?» Gretchen said, «For what purpose?»
«It was Ashley V's idea.» Ashley A. said, nodding to Vicky «She told us that, if we had more space, we could add more room to our club, to outfit something nice like a proper tea room, a new living room, a relax room…»
Vicky noticed then that Spinelli and TJ, as well as their friends (plus Dave and Sam) were glaring at her, making her suddenly feel nervous.
«You are expanding your club under our playground?» TJ said, looking quite serious.
«It was just an idea!» Vicky started to say, as to defend herself «And besides, we are just expanding our club under the playground, not on it. There will be no difference, so…»
«You don't understand!» Dave of the Diggers said, marching in front of them «The playground's subsurface ground is not strong enough to withstand the power of machine-driven digging. Sam and I's manned digging present no threat to its integrity and ability to withstand surface weight, but the vibration made by such a machine could seriously threaten the soil's stability. And if such a thing were to happen, the whole playground will…»
Vicky, as well as TJ and his friends, stood silently as the cold, horrible reality dawned in front of them. Surely, there was no proof that the Diggers were saying the truth, but if they were…
«Oh, come on, that's' ridiculous!» Ashley A. said, snottily rejecting the idea «There is no way a little, meaningless, machine-driven excavation can ruin the playground. However, you do not need to worry: once we'll have more than enough space for our needs, we'll stop.»
«You don't realize: we know this school's subsoil more than we know ourselves.» Sam added, looking quite scared «Every vibration you generate could be the fatal one. You need to deactivate this thing before…»
«Deactivate it? No way! In fact, I believe it is time to…speed up our progresses…»
Ashley B. pressed a new button on the remote, and the excavator started to work again, its big drill starting to rotate on itself, before moving on its left and starting to dig a new hole on the ground in front of it
«We are going to make ourselves a new dolls room too!»
«Scandalous!» The other Ashley exclaimed, quickly following the machine trough its path.
Except one.
«Vicky,» Spinelli said, looking at her «You are not blind as them you know that there is a concrete risk in the Diggers warning. Please push the question, convince them that what you are doing is too much dangerous, and that you have to stop.»
Vicky hesitated. In her mind, she knew that there could be real reasons to be way of what they were currently doing, but she did not wanted to spoke that aloud and be the "fun-ruining buzz-kill". Moreover, it was she that proposed this idea, and she feared that, if she went and stop it, it would have been like admitting that herself was wrong. And so far, nothing proved that the suggestion was wrong, no?
«I'm sorry, Spinelli» Vicky said, without realizing she was again now switching to "Ashley" voice «But there is no guarantee that this would end bad…»
She then walked away, quietly following the path where the other Ashley already went, a little ago. TJ and his friends, as well as the Diggers, looked at her for a few seconds before teaming up to reach out the surface once more.
Nevertheless, before following her friends as well, Spinelli glared at the new-empty tunnel and murmured something who was equally sad, and angry.
«I was wrong, Vicky: you are just like them…»
«Ashley V. how are we with the excavation?» Ashley B. said, pushing the button to make the machine stop, at least for now.
Vicky raised the paper where currently, she and the other Ashleys held the blueprints for the club's underground expansion «I think we are good. We have dug more than enough space for everything we had planned so far: I say we can now shut down the excavator now, reinforce the ceiling as well as our new walls, and start with the redecorations.»
Mentally, Vicky was breathing a quite significant sight of relief, because thought the excavator's vibrations had seriously risked to collapse the playground's underground terrain, they had actually finished their task with no serious damage to account for. Right now, she could feel her own fears dissipating as the excavation phase ended.
That is, until Ashley T suddenly said something unexpected.
«I saw we should continue» she exclaimed «After all, we can no more expand once we reinforce the walls, no? I suggest we keep digging for a while…»
«But that's useless!» Vicky said, hearing her inner fear return as fast as she left her an instant ago «WE already have more than enough space for the relaxing spa, the tearoom, the new dress room, as well as everything else we added on the list. We do not need to dig more than this!»
«Well, I was thinking that maybe there is one thing we have not thought of yet, but surely that would be a quite nice addiction: how about a ballroom?» she replied with sweet but ignorant innocence.
Vicky froze: she knew enough about ballrooms to know that even the smaller one were quite large, enough to accommodate dozens of dancing couples, and with ceilings that higher than any other room type existent so far. And a quick glance on the blueprints paper confirmed that there was no more free space to dig under.
«I think that's quite an amazing idea!» Ashley B. said, smiling.
«We could even host our own private ball!» Ashley Q. smiled in turn.
«Scandalous idea!» Ashley A. nodded, quickly leaving Vicky alone.
«But…there is no more empty space. If we even plan to do such a thing, we'll have to directly dig it under the area where all the major playgrounds features are…»
«And so?» Ashley B. challenged her «The aboveground kids will just have to deal with some vibrations for a while, big loss…»
«But what if the vibrations ends up making the whole playground collapse?»
«Oh, come on! We have dug almost non-stop, and the playground is still here. Clearly, the Diggers were overestimating the danger.»
«Or more probably, we just were lucky enough that so far our vibrations did not manage to compromise too much the stability of the ground, for now. However, if we keep digging and challenge our karma, we risk…»
«Let's get over it!» Ashley B. said, pressing the button again on her remote.
However, probably there was something true in Vicky's words, especially the parts about "pushing the luck too much" and "karma" because, as soon as the machine roared again, a medium-sized chunk of raw dirt (which until then was handing unstably just a few feet above their heads) under the effect of the new vibrations, felt right in Ashley B. hands while she was using the remote.
«Gah!» Ashley B, recoiled, taking a few steps back «It's dirty, my hands are dirty! I need to wash them before…»
«Horror!» Vicky yelled in turn, quickly moving to the now-fallen chunk of dirt «The remote! The remote!»
«What is it?» Ashley Q. asked, puzzled.
«It's broken! The remote is broken!» Vicky yelled, pushing the now-destroyed remote in front of everyone eyes.
The words of Vicky quickly sunk in the minds of the other Ashleys, bringing all the cold, terrible realization of the situation upon them: with the remote broken and no chance to repair it, there was no way to control the excavator.
«Oh no!» Ashley B. said, trying to put the remote back together in a desperate effort «We need to repair it before…»
The excavator roared, slowly turning toward the Ashley, with a big lamp red light starting to illuminate. The Ashley knew, from having witnessed the machine's behavior before, that it meant that it was going to go full speed of digging.
«RUN!» The Ashley yelled at the same time, running for safety as the machine they controlled, until a few seconds before, turned against them and followed in a way older and more educated students would have found similar to Frankenstein's creature…
Meanwhile, a few feet above the underground digging project of the Ashleys, in a small area of the playground TJ and his friends were currently having a small game of marbles. But the mind of someone of them, was elsewhere:
«Uh, Spinelli?» Gretchen said, noting the odd behavior of her classmate «I believe you are playing less than focused than you usually do: also, considering you are quite silent while you usually give snarks on the people you play against, I do believe you are thinking something else…»
«I'm fine Gretchen!» Spinelli said, before catching herself «It's just…Vicky is behaving more and more like a member of their snotty little club. How long it will be before she starts the spoiled talk too?»
«Oh, come Spinelli» Mickey said, his calm voice again trying to disarm any conflict «Vicky would never do that; she's just a little taken by their project, but…»
«Taken?» Vince spoke too «The Ashley's digging work has broken the Diggers!» he said, pointing to a small table where the two digging partners, Sam and Dave, were weeping over the Ashley taking over their own job and playground niche.
«Guys, please, calm down» TJ interfered «Sure the Ashley's digging work is annoying, and Vicky may be a little too involved on it, but there is no way this can create problem for the play-»
A powerful machine-made roar, strong as the thunder of the rain, echoed all over the playground, and immediately, every kid who until then was busy playing or having fun stopped cold. And then, another roar, quickly followed by a massive tremor (so strong, that some thought of it being an earth shake) hit the playground, and many kids who had currently been of feet felt down.
«What-what was that?» Gus asked, puzzled by the event.
«It's happening!» one of the Diggers, Dave, said with his eyes full of fear «They went to far!»
Another loud roar rumbled and the kids saw a huge section of the playground's floor collapse. And then, the Ashley came out, their dressed dirty, their faces scared, running as their own life was in danger.
«Ashleys!» King Bob exclaimed «I demand to know what…»
«RUN!» Ashley A. simply screamed as they passed a few meters from King Bob, not stopping one second for courtesy.
King Bob, as well as many other kids, immediately wondered what could make the Ashleys act so un-Ashley. And then, another roar and a new figure emerging from the underground made them understand why.
The Deluxe Reinforced Automatic Excavator Model C.3-4000 was not as cool as first Gus saw it, because it was lees shiny and dirtier with spare dirt. However, the red glowing light that moved it and the fact that it looked not controlled made him look rampaging, and scary.
«They lost control of it!» Gus exclaimed, realizing what was happening «It's rampaging of its own!»
«Run!» TJ yelled, his friends behind him.
The same thought had probably come to every other kid of the playground, because when they saw the metal monster approaching them, many just ran, hoping to put themselves to safety.
«You majesty!» King Bob's subordinates said «We have to move. The metal monster is coming here! We must put you to safety; and us too!»
«I'm the King of the playground, not a simple coward. I'm not leaving that monster feeding on my throne!»
The machine roared again, while it started to move right…toward the playground facility that hosted the King Throne.
«On second thought, maybe is better to be safe than sorry. Run!» King Bob yelled, as he and his subordinates vacated the structure just in time to avoid being destroyed with it.
«If we do not manage to stop it, it will destroy the whole playground!» Spinelli yelled, realizing the horror that was unleashed on them.
«I suppose the teachers will not intervene?» this time was Randall, who looked quite panicked.
Meanwhile, inside the school's walls, Miss Finster, as well as every other faculty member, was hiding under her own desk, waiting for the rampage to end of its own!
«Keep mind calm…keep mind calm…Ah, I can't do it!» Miss Grotke said, for the first time unable to calm her own mind with new age thinking and self-meditation.
«Oh, why I didn't buy that tank-proof wall-shielding when that shady businessman offered it?» Principal Prickly muttered, covering his own ears with his hands, hoping to wake up from the nightmare.
The rampaging machine was keeping on moving, with no hints of stopping yet, and after devouring King Bob's throne, it had by now destroyed every other recess facility.
Except one.
«Oh, no!» Mickey screamed in shock, as he saw the driller making another change of course «It's moving toward New Rusty!»
A shout of horror escaped the mouth of every kid of the playground.
«Spinelli!» a female voice called for her friend.
«Vicky, what are you…»
«No time to explain. We have to stop it before it destroy New Rusty and ruin the playground forever. Digger, can you hit the machine on its flanks with your shovels, to neutralize the mechanism the time we need to permanently disable it?»
«We can, indeed. But to do that…»
«…we'll need to come too close to that thing to be comfortable.»
«Don't worry. I'll give it something else to hunt…»
«Vicky, are you crazy?» the gang said, and the Ashleys did too.
«We'll have a chance if I give that something to run behind to.»
Vicky started to move, but she felt something blocking her. She turned, and saw Spinelli holding her arms, her eyes full of pride.
«Then I can double the chances!»
Vicky understood, and smiled, now facing the giant machine monster.
«Here, you metal-dented jerk!»
«Oh, no! HERE, you womper duper!»
The machine could not understand human language, nor see the two girls figure running and taunting her. But it stopped, and then turned around, moving toward them, as somehow they were a more interesting objective than the rusty playground facility that it was going to destroy a few seconds ago.
«It's working, he's following us!»
«Then lure it into a trap!»
The girls ran, and the machine followed them, moving right into a small section of the camp where the Digger and some other kids were hiding. As soon as the machine was in the right place, the Diggers thrusted their shovels in the machine's flanks, just behind the drill; the machine, even if unstopped, was now slowed, allowing Micky to push Gus on the back of the digger.
Gus was quick and ready, and in a few seconds, located the machine's "emergency definitive stop" button (that the instruction manuals clearly showed and explained in the next-to-last page) and activated it. The machine let out a little groan, and then it stopped, forever, unable to restart again of its own.
«We did it! We did it!»
«The metal monster is down. The playground is saved!»
Many kids started to thank Gus, some others went to Vicky and Spinelli, who helped neutralize it. Even the Ashleys, from afar, send Spinelli a warm "thank you" smile.
«I'm…I'm amazed that…»
«I am sorry for saying that before.» Spinelli said «The good thing is, now we have nothing to fear anymore.»
«Kids!» The authoritarian voice of Principal Prickly echoed from behind them «Please come inside. TJ, you and your friends come into my office. As well as the Ashleys, King Bob and our newest addiction.»
«You had to jinx us, didn't you?»
«So, in summary» Prickly said, reading the new playground agreement between the faculty members, King Bob, the Ashleys and TJ's gang «The Ashley accept to have all the recently dug and unfurnished underground rooms and corridors abandoned and filled with fresh dirt to reintegrate the playground's solidity; as well as to never again excavate new space from what they have so far. In addiction, they accept this school's new ban on mechanized digging.»
«We do. Besides, after everything that happened, I believe no one of us will ever want to dig again, nor by own or by hiring someone.»
«In exchange, King Bob of the playground, as well as the faculty member of the school promise to don't push accusation of the incident. By tomorrow, the ruined playground facilities will be rebuilt and fixed, so there will be no proof of what happened today. Moreover, all sides promises to not tell anyone else, and to forget about today.»
«We do.» King Bob, the faculty teachers and the Ashleys repeated, almost at the same time. Only Vicky staid silent.
«Miss Ashley Victoria» Prickly focused on her «You don't say anything?»
«I…accept the agreement, and promise to never again suggest ideas that involves the whole playground-»
«Well, at least next time propose something that cannot be blamed on me!»
«Yes sir…»
After some more chatting, the agreement was signed and the boys went off their own road, King Bob to return to his duties as the playground monarch, the Ashleys to their clubhouse, once again its normal self.
At least on the surface.
They did not tell Principal Prickly or anyone else, but before the digging machine went rogue, the Ashleys managed to decorate and furnish one room for their planned club expansion. And since the room was still in perfect conditions and already finished, there was no need to remove it.
Besides, the Principal told to remove all the unfurnished playground rooms, didn't he?
Vicky made sure no one was close enough to see her, and then she activated the hidden button behind the Ashley's portrait. Immediately, a hidden door opened, and Vicky quickly entered, the door closing again behind her to protect the secret.
Inside the room, immersed to the shoulders in warm, fragrant hydro-massage water, the four original Ashleys were enjoying tasteful milkshakes in perfect relax.
"This is scandalous!» Ashley A. nodded, quickly imitated by other others.
Vicky smiled.