Curiosity Cursed the Cat
"OF ALL THE RECKLESS, IDIOTIC, BULL-HEADED, IMBECILLIC AND IRRESPONSIBLE THINGS I HAVE DEALT WITH AS HEAD OF THIS HOUSEHOULD...WHAT YOU'VE DONE, YOUNG MAN IS BY FAR THE VERY WORST" Farquard roared while dragging Rocky behind him by the wrist, "it will take hours for the Helping Hands to get all of the shelves back up and even longer for them to re-alphabetize the master's books!" During the hunchback's whole rant, Rocky dared not to speak a single word; lest he risk getting into even more trouble. Of course, he tried to tell him and Octavia his mess was purely an accident beforehand but his pleas only fell on deaf ears.
Initially, the latter not only wanted Rocky to be fired; she practically volunteered to help (literally) kick him out of the house herself. Of course, Octavia chose to remain "dignified" in the face of such disaster and instead demanded that the boy pay for his mistake. This would later come down to two simple yet equally tragic choices for Rocky, either use some of his earnings to repay the damages...or spend the entire afternoon helping the Helping Hands in restocking the books on every shelf.
Of course, Farquard was more than on board with either one of these two ideas but he ultimately refused them both. Furthermore, he reminded Octavia (albeit begrudgingly) that the decision to fire Rocky was not theirs to make; it was Mr. Thorne's.
(Moments Earlier: After the mess in the Library)
"But Farquard...vhy bring ze master into this" questioned Octavia, "you are the one who employed the boy, ja...so, it should be you who decides his employment here!" Once more, the hunchbacked assistant was in full agreement with his associate's words; remembering that he was the one who initially created the Spokes boy's contract. But due to his position in the household and the fact that Rocky was only a part-time helper, Farquard realized there was little he could do in this situation.
The only remaining option, it seemed was to have Mr. Thorne speak with Rocky personally about what happened. "But you know zat cannot be done" Octavia retorted, "after Herr Spokes' most tardiness during his delivery sometime ago, ze Master had no choice but to retrieve his next set of ingredients himself!" This reveal came as a shock to not only Farquard but to Rocky as well.
Since he started working in this house, he had seen little to no sign of Mr. Thorne anywhere. This led him to wonder if he truly was a weird recluse like the stories said...while another part of him believed he may have died in his study and the house staff was covering it up. Given the tasks he had to accomplish and what he had seen in the house so far; Rocky started to think the "recluse" theory seemed even more plausible, now.
But before he could ponder on this idea any further, the young Spokes boy suddenly felt Farquard's twisted fingers gripping at his forearm tightly. Next, he was being dragged out of the Library and back out into the hall; leaving poor Octavia behind to clean up the mess herself. Of course, that would've been the case...until she decided to collect something from her bedroom first.
It was a large and rather fancy looking gold box, one that looked like it could contain a collection of precious jewelry. But upon opening it, there was only a collection of small yet equally fancy white gloves. Once the box was opened, Octavia rapped both her human hands and tentacles together in a sort of "golfer's clap;" which caused the gloves to fly up from the box like fluttering moths.
After a while, every pair inside the box gently landed atop the table before Octavia and saluted her in a most respectful manner. "I am deeply sorry to do this to you, little ones" the maid sighed regrettably, "but I'm afraid your services are all needed, once again for a job beyond even my capabilities." With that said, she pointed one of her tentacles slightly; causing every pair of gloves to turn around.
When they saw all of the toppled shelves, piles of books and scraps of paper raining down throughout the room; it all caused the sentient gloves to suddenly wave themselves in the air frantically (as if they were all screaming in alarm.) This display carried on for some time until, at last; every pair of gloves all fainted upon the table in shock. "I know...zis mess shocks even me" Octavia whispered sadly, "but ve have dealt vith far worse than zis before, have we not?"
In response, the gloves answered with either hesitant "nods" or by performing "so-so" hand gestures. This meant that while they may have helped Octavia in dealing with terrible messes in the house, in the past; none of them were quite as what had befallen the master's library.
(Line Break)
Just as he was about to become even more lost in his own thoughts, Rocky found himself being flung into parlor...the place where his whole "adventure" first began. Despite Farquard's rather slender looking arms, she still possessed enough strength within them to not only toss Rocky into the room slightly but it was also enough to result in the boy landing atop the fainting couch with a light "thud." "You are to stay in this room until the master has returned" the hunchback ordered sternly, "afterwards, we shall all deliberate on what to do with you next!"
Despite however dizzy he felt from his earlier stumble and fall, Rocky's mind was still clear enough to help him respond as politely as he was able to Farquard's rant. After that, the man servant hobbled his way out of the room and gave the door a mighty slam; leaving Rocky behind all by his lonesome to contemplate on what had happened so far. Over the past few days he had been working here; he had to clean up foul-smelling owl poop, collect a list's worth of weird items, dust strange looking gewgaws and most recently, help clean up bookshelves.
"Those should've been relatively easy for you, Spokes...right" he asked himself, "but wait...you forgot that the owl talked smack to you while you cleaned his cage, that the list contained stuff even Flip wouldn't use for ingredients or the fact you knocked over the bookshelves while wearing flying sandals!"
After that tirade, the poor boy fell back against the fainting couch; panting heavily like he had just ran ten-thousand marathons. He could feel both his mind and his heart racing violently with anxiety, as we speak. But just as he came within seconds of passing out; Rocky closed his eyes, let out a deep breath and thought about the thing that made him the most happy...Lucy Loud.
Ironically, Rocky consistently thought about her during each and every one of the duties he was asked to perform. But while this helped keep him focused, it didn't exactly help make his jobs any easier. There was even one part of him that asked..."is she even worth all this stress?" "What the...get a grip on yourself, Spokes; what are you saying" Rocky snapped softly, "of course Lucy's worth it!"
One would think that such a thought would be enough to strengthen a person's resolve during a moment of exhaustion/doubt, right? Well...due to Rocky's current state, he was in the midst of having a rather serious debate/argument on the matter (even if it was against himself, in the end.) On the one hand, he liked Lucy more than anything; maybe even loved her.
Sure, a kid Rocky's age didn't quite have the proper levels of maturity yet to understand what being in love was. But what mattered was this; out of all the girls in school, Lucy was the only one who ever really caught his attention. Something about her personality, her "shy" nature and overall interest in all things weird just made him want to get closer to her.
On the other hand, Rocky hadn't been paid one red cent since he started working at Mr. Thorne's estate. He wasn't even given any real payment after finishing his pick-up job with Farquard's list way back when. "To be fair, dude...you were a few minutes late on the delivery" Rocky thought matter-of-factly, "it would make sense for Farquard to not pay you after that...but still."
After a while, the poor boy's sense of doubt slowly started to weasel it's way into his thoughts; making him think that his plan would ultimately be pointless, in the end. Lucy's birthday was just around the corner and Rocky had yet to earn even a single nickel from Farquard. By the time he would manage to earn enough money, the stores (both in town and online) would've sold out of every DVD boxset of the Vincent Van Ghoul Show.
In the end, Rocky's overall devotion to Lucy managed to win over his thoughts; which led to him believing everything he'd experienced so far was worth it. "It doesn't really make a difference now, though" he murmured softly in defeat, "once Mr. Farquard and Octavia are done cleaning up my mess, I'm gonna get fired!" With so many negative thoughts swirling about his head, the poor boy suddenly fell into a mad panic attack; causing him to pant and wheeze madly with fear.
Overtime; Rocky's forehead started dripping with sweat, his hands were quivering violently and his eyes looked as though they would probably pop right out of his head, they grew so wide. "AND WHAT ABOUT MY DAD" he cried in alarm, "ONCE FARQUARD TELLS HIM ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED, WHO KNOWS WHAT HE WILL DO TO ME!" For almost two minutes straight, Rocky ranted and raved about what might happen to him after the mistakes he made.
With every fault he listed, the poor boy's stress and anxieties soon became even stronger until finally...it happened. After focusing on so many fearful thoughts, Rocky's mind was pushed to the brink; causing him to fall on his knees and scream. Rocky's screams of anguish were so loud, they were able to echo their way through the outer hall and through almost every part of Mr. Thorne's home.
But to the likes of Farquard and Octavia; it all sounded like muffled screeching, due to the library doors being closed shut. Thus, they chose to disregard it all and resume cleaning up the mound of scattered books. Rocky's cries lasted for almost a minute until finally, he fell to the floor with an exhausted whimper. Poor Rocky was so tired from all the screams he created, he could barely keep his eyes open for much longer.
The last thing he saw before his eyelids fluttered shut was what looked like a bird (possibly Ibid) landing atop the sill of a nearby window, one that seemed to be eyeing him very strongly.
(Line Break)
The moment Rocky opened his eyes, he found himself in yet another room; one that was bigger and much fancier looking than the parlor. More importantly, he soon discovered that he was also lying in a large bed. But while he did feel rather comfortable at the moment, Rocky had no idea how he ended up in said bed in the first place.
"The last thing I remember was passing out from screaming in the parlor earlier on" he thought while rubbing his eyes slightly, "did somebody find me and bring me in..." The instant this particular thought crossed his weary mind, realization hit Rocky like a blow to the head; causing him to snap out of his sleepy state almost instantly. If someone did find him passed out in the parlor earlier, it must've been either Farquard or Octavia...or maybe even Mr. Thorne himself.
Truth be told, it didn't matter to Rocky who it was that found him; his current situation was a sign that he only put his fate on hold for the moment. Just then, he looked over at the nightstand on the left side of his bed and caught sight of a note lying there. With a worried gulp; Rocky scooted himself over, picked up the note and began to read it in silence.
Dear Master Spokes,
If you have found and are currently reading this note, it must mean you have awoken from your rest. It also means that you are still with us here at the estate...but only because Mr. Thorne told me not to "send you packing yet," as you children would say. You heard me correctly, young man; the Master has finished collecting what he needed (no thanks to you I might add) and has returned home.
Of course, this transpired four hours ago; after Mr. Thorne found you passed out in the parlor and insisted you rest in the guest room for a moment. According to him, we have been "working you ragged" and he insisted that you recover from what happened in the library. But make no mistake, he is not happy with what happened there and intends on speaking with you personally about it.
Until then, there is a platter atop the nightstand beside you; which contains tea and a pair of cookies our chef had recently prepared. Rest, eat well and once you have recovered...you must leave here without delay...no exceptions!
Begrudgingly yours,
Farquard
After reading over the note four times over; Rocky couldn't decide if he should feel relieved, worried, scared or...some combination of the three. As he suspected, his fate as Mr. Thorne's "Go'fer Boy" had been put on hold due to his fainting spell earlier. But in spite of that, there was still the possibility that he could get fired later on. Then, there was the apparent time lapse that happened while he was out.
He glanced to the side slightly and saw that the sun was slowly going down outside. To Rocky's shock, this meant that he must've passed out for most of the afternoon. "If Dad doesn't ground me for what happened here; he'll definitely make that happen, if I end up missing curfew" the poor boy thought worriedly, "I've gotta talk to somebody here, see if they'll give me a lift back home!"
With this in mind, Rocky pushed himself up out of the bed and was about to leave the room...but not before he took a moment to sample the tea and cookies that were left behind for him. This, however would end up being a decision the Spokes boy would soon come to regret. With a hungry smile on his lips, he plucked up one of the cookies from the platter and took a rather large bite out of it.
Then, after only three chews; his smile slowly shifted into a rather confused and bitter grimace. It was the sort of expression that said "something is seriously wrong here" but he couldn't figure out exactly what it was. "These cookies taste a little weird" he thought, "I wonder the cook put in 'em?"
Just as he was about to examine the half-eaten cookie in his hand, Rocky suddenly heard a soft yet noticeable crunch inside of his mouth. This little discovery left him feeling rather concerned, to say the least. Aside from a few exceptions (snickerdoodles, chocolate chip cookies and others;) cookies weren't supposed to be quite this crunchy or chewy.
His curiosity kicking in and his cheeks still filled with food stuff, Rocky narrowed his eyes slightly in an attempt to see what was baked into his cookie. That's when Rocky saw something that almost caused his hair to stand on end. It was a leg, albeit a rather small one and it looked one of those grasping forelegs of a praying mantis.
With a quivering hand, he stuck his fingers into his mouth and started fishing them about; hoping he wouldn't find anything. That's when he felt his index finger lightly brush up against something pointy. Upon taking another close look at the cookie, he saw the tell tale signs of insect spines. The instant he caught sight of this, poor Rocky's stomach started gurgling violently with displeasure and the color of his face suddenly turned a sickly green.
Without any further delay, he raced out into the hallway and made a beeline towards the nearest bathroom.
(Line Break)
Ten agonizing minutes later, the door opened slowly and Rocky came stumbling sluggishly out of the bathroom with a tired look on his face. He hadn't felt this bad since Rusty dared him to eat some of the "discount" hot dogs from Flip's a few weeks back. Scratch that, after what he discovered in the cookies Farquard gave him; Rocky felt Flip's food tasted like 5 star cooking by comparison.
"Man...I feel like I just threw up every meal I ate this week" Rocky thought with an outward groan, "I don't know if I'll feel up to getting back home later, let alone working on anymore chores." As best as he could, Rocky slinked his way back down the hall to the guest room; wanting nothing more than to take a long nap after what happened. Just as he was a mere two feet away from reaching the guest room, a loud crash suddenly echoed through the hall; causing Rocky to almost leap out of his skin in alarm.
"GAH! What the heck was that" he cried while looking all around fearfully, "whatever it was that broke...I didn't do it, I swear!" After shifting his head around every which way, Rocky realized there was no one else in the hall but himself and heaved out a sigh of relief. However, Rocky couldn't help but wonder what caused the crash since he was the only one in the hallway.
His first idea was that Ibid had, somehow got loose from his cage and found himself locked in one of the rooms. "If that's the case, I better go let him out" Rocky thought, "I don't want to get blamed for anything else that brakes around here." With this in mind, the young Spokes boy made his way down the hall towards the room where the "mysterious" crash had come from.
But when he arrived, there was no sign of Ibid to be found; not even the smallest feather. Come to think of it; Rocky couldn't see much of anything within the room, it was so dark. "There's gotta be a light switch around here someplace" he whispered while feeling his hand against the wall, "just make sure you don't touch or break anything fragile here, Spokes."
For a moment or so, Rocky stayed as close to the wall as he could; patting and smoothing his hands along the surface in a near futile attempt to find a light switch somewhere. Eventually, his hand did come into contact with something; which (ironically) also started to glow a few seconds later. But much to the young Spokes boy's surprise, it looked like some sort of a glass ball.
Although it was faint, the light that emanated from this strange bauble was quite lovely. Of course, Rocky's first thought was assuming that this was one of those plasma orb devices he once saw at the science museum. But instead of electrical sparks, it looked like there was some sort of strange plume of smoke inside the ball.
"Okay...now I've seen just about everything" he whispered, "I wonder how much weirder things can get from here?" The instant he said all of this, the crystal ball suddenly started to shine even brighter; creating a glow strong enough for Rocky to notice something on the floor. At first glance, it looked like typical pieces of shattered glass or something else that was equally fragile.
But even with the odd glow coming off the crystal ball helping him, Rocky still had no idea what he was looking at. "At least I should be able to find a light switch somewhere, now" he stated, "it should be right around...AHA, I found it!" Much to the boy's delight, he finally found the room's light switch; which was actually a chain for a rather odd-looking lamp that hung on the up on the wall.
Regardless, a light switch was a light switch to Rocky and he was desperate to get some light on his situation; both figuratively and literally speaking. With the greatest of care, he stood up as high as he could on his tippy-toes until he felt his hand grip at the bottom end of the chain. Then, he gave it a light tug; making sure not to break it off or pull down the lamp.
Once the light was turned on, things looked much brighter and Rocky was finally able to take a proper look at his surroundings. Much to his surprise; this place was like a weird hodgepodge of a library, work station and there was even a king-sized bed on the far side of the room (indicating someone must've been sleeping here.) The bookshelf wasn't quite as high as the ones from the library but it still held the same kind of unusual looking books.
The work station consisted of a large wooden desk with several drawers, there was an ink well with a long quill pen resting inside of it, some small notebooks, yet another crystal ball and (much to Rocky's surprise) what looked like an actual human skull. On the walls, there was a portrait or two of odd yet strange scenery on display along with some flags and banners that showed emblems for places he'd never heard of before.
"WHOA! I know Mr. Thorne likes to collect weird stuff...but this is just pushing it" Rocky thought with mild discomfort, "what countries are some of these flags from anyway?" As he slowly started to approach one of the flags, the young Spokes boy's ears suddenly twitched at the sound of muffled footfalls coming from outside the door. With a frightened yelp, he scurried about the floor for a few seconds while his eyes darted around every which way; desperately seeking a hiding spot.
Much to his relief, Rocky found one in a large hope chest on the left side of the room; its lid wide open and the inside filled with only a few blankets. With little time to think of any other ideas, Rocky leapt towards the chest and threw himself under the blankets for cover. Afterwards, he did his absolute best to keep as quiet and still as possible; even going as far as to hold his breath.
Mere seconds later, Rocky suddenly heard the sound of the room's door being kicked in. This caused the poor boy to become even more terrified than he already was but he still kept as quiet as a church mouse. That's when he heard the all too familiar voices of Farquard and Octavia talking angrily to each other, which meant they must've been upset about something.
But all too quickly, their disagreement went from the matter at hand and shifted into them simply bickering with each other. But through it all, Rocky was able to understand one thing; Mr. Thorne was on his way home. "If we don't find that boy, the Master will have our heads" Farquard's voice muttered worriedly, "or perhaps...he may consider doing something worse!" Soon after that, Rocky could hear Octavia spitting softly in defiance at her co-worker's words; which was then followed by the sounds of scrubbing.
This meant that she might have been busy cleaning off something in the room; perhaps a footprint left on the door, after Farquard kicked it in. "Zat boy has already made enough of a mess in zis house" Octavia grumbled, "ze last thing I need is for you to make things worse, you humpbacked fool!" As expected, such an insult caused the duo to fly into a rather heated argument; which actually filled Rocky with a small sense of relief.
If those two spent enough time fighting each other, they'll forget they were even searching for him and eventually leave. Unfortunately for Rocky, that was the key word in the situation; "eventually."
(Line Break)
For almost twenty minutes now, Rocky remained hidden inside the hope chest under the heavy layer of blankets. He dared not to move, speak or even make the slightest attempt to stretch his legs (which were currently feeling very stiff.) Meanwhile, Farquard and Octavia's bickering swiftly became a tad more heated than it was before.
This time, however; their conversation seemed to be less focused on where Rocky was and more on tidying up their master's study. Ever the stickler for cleanliness, Octavia spent a great deal of time cleaning the items within the room nearly three times over. This was something Farquard found a bit annoying and he insisted that the housekeeper save the cleaning for a later time.
"The master will be home at any moment, now" he stressed worriedly, "need I remind you what's at stake if he were to find us here, if not that boy?!" While she knew that her colleague's words were true, Octavia proclaimed that Mr. Thorne would have far greater things to worry about than Rocky's presence here; such as the state of the library. Before long, the duo soon fell into yet another heated "discussion" of their views and all Rocky could do nothing to stop them.
Heaven would only know just how long Farquard and Octavia would bicker with each other. With Rocky's luck; it'll probably be sunset, when they'd finally stop and he'll end up missing his curfew. "I dunno which will be worse" Rocky thought worriedly, "either those two will kill me for my shenanigans or dad will kill me for coming home too late!"
Just as all hope seemed lost for the Spokes boy, a sudden noise occurred that knocked him back to reality. It was the sound of something knocking hard against a wooden surface, almost like that of a door knocker. This meant that someone must be at the front door and were trying to get everyone's attention.
Rocky, at first believed it might've been a mailperson making a delivery...until he remembered the countless stories about such people running away in terror at a mere glimpse of Mr. Thorne's estate. "So, if it's not a delivery person at the door" he thought, "that must mean...MR. THORNE IS HOME!" As Rocky suddenly found himself quivering with fear at this turn of events, he was also overcome with another equally powerful emotion...curiosity.
Throwing caution to the wind, he opened up the chest a smidge so that he might see what was happening. Through this slight crack, he saw Farquard pacing about the room anxiously while he wrung his twisted hands together in worry. As for Octavia, she used every ounce of self-control and courage she had left within her to remain calm.
But at one point, Rocky swore she heard the octopus woman pleadingly mention the words "don't ink yourself" under her breath. "The master, he's arrived sooner than I expected" the hunchback murmured worriedly, "forget the boy, I'll go see to him at the door...you, my dear must leave this room and go about your earlier business like normal!" Although another part of her mind wanted to remain in the study for "important" cleaning purposes, Octavia knew her colleague had the right idea and immediately left the room.
Once the door had slammed shut, Rocky was left alone in his hiding place; safe, unharmed...and extremely spookled. Now, he had the right opportunity to make his escape and leave the house before anyone else would notice him. "Just sneak out the door, find one of the other bedrooms, climb out the window and leave; that's the plan" he whispered, "I just hope there's a bush down below to help break my fall."
With that in mind, Rocky climbed out of the hope chest as quietly and cautiously as he could before making his way towards the door. After pressing his ear to the door and (thankfully) not hearing anymore footsteps outside, the coast seemed all-clear and Rocky was free to leave. But as he reached up for the knob, the door suddenly flew wide open; revealing a tall, hooded stranger on the other side.
Although the aforementioned hood had completely covered up their face; the moment Rocky looked up at them, he could see a glow in the figure's eyes that was so fierce that it shook him to his tiny core. But just when things couldn't feel anymore terrifying, the figure glanced down at Rocky and spoke in a voice that was soft yet still very intimidating. "Who are you, child; what are you doing here" the figure demanded, "who granted you permission to come to my study?!"
Despite the fear welling up inside of him, Rocky did his darndest to speak his case towards the hooded stranger. But every time he opened his mouth or attempted to say something, all that came out were strained squeaks of terror. Once more, the figure demanded to know Rocky's reason for being in the study; going as far as to proclaim that his patience was wearing thin.
"I shall ask you one final time while I still have my temper in check, boy" the figure warned sternly, "who are you and what are you doing lingering in my private study?!" Upon hearing the figure proclaim that the room was his, Rocky felt a sense of realization wash over him; which only seemed to make his fear even stronger. Standing before him was none other than the master of the house and his mysterious benefactor, Mr. Vincent Thorne.
At least, that's who he assumed it was standing over him; due to the hood the man wore, it was difficult for Rocky to see his face. The only thing he could see were two small sparks glowing an intense greenish color, as if they were on fire. Initially, Rocky believed these lights were Mr. Thorne's eyes and assumed they just had a strong greenish sheen.
But the more he looked at them, the more intimidated he started to feel. It was as if the figure was peering deep into his very soul. With all the courage he could muster, Rocky took in a deep yet shaky breath through his nose and did his absolute best to speak to the figure. Alas, the poor boy was but a moment's away from a nervous breakdown and thus could only utter one simple word; "I...I...I..."
Just when things couldn't seem to get any more awkward or terrifying, both Farquard and Octavia joined their master at the doorway. As terrified as he was by the figure's glaring eyes, the other intense looks he saw brought poor Rocky on the verge of wetting himself. "Well, young man...we don't have all day" grumbled Farquard, "have you anything to say for yourself about all this?"
That was it; after that simple yet stern request, Rocky could feel the icy chill of fear drain away the last bit of courage he had left. With a terrified shriek, he ran off down the hall and the stairs while shouting "IMSORRYITWONTHAPPENAGAINBECAUSEIQUITBYE!" Upon reaching the bottom of the steps, Rocky bolted right out the door and continued running fearfully down the sidewalk for home.
Meanwhile, Farquard and Octavia were already busily cleaning up the study; fixing and clearing away any messes their "former helper" had left behind. At the same time, they were also extending apology after apology towards Mr. Thorne for everything that transpired. "I should have known it was a mistake hiring that boy" grumbled the hunchback, "he has been nothing but trouble since then!"
Not long after this, Octavia wasted no time in voicing her own grievances towards Rocky's presence here; all while cleaning up the bits of a shattered object off the floor. "It's one thing to almost destroy ze library" she stated, "but to intrude upon your private quarters, Herr Thorne is utterly unentschuldbar!" The whole time this was going on, Mr. Thorne had not said a word about anything; save for a displeased grunt or two.
(Line Break)
A day or so had passed since Rocky left Mr. Thorne's home and he could still feel his body shivering with fear. He also remembered how tired he felt when he finally stopped running and took a seat at a nearby bus stop to rest. While there, he sent a text to his dad asking him to pick him up; receiving a "Thumb's Up" emoji as a reply seconds later.
Of course, Rocky didn't dare speak of what happened or what he saw at the house with his dad the whole drive home. Alarmed by this, Rodney Spokes urged his son to not go back to Mr. Thorne's estate; stressing that no amount of money was worth what he experienced. "But Dad...I still haven't got my gift for Lucy yet" Rocky cried, "I don't want to go to her party empty-handed!"
While he truly empathized with his son's ordeal, Rodney's mind was made up and forbade him from ever setting foot at the estate again. In response, Rocky's eyes watered up slightly and he lowered his head in defeat; finally submitting to his father's wishes. "Hey...kiddo, don't look so down in the mouth like that" Rodney said with a kind smile, "if it's money ya need, you can always try and earn a few bucks down at my place."
While he felt the idea sounded sweet on paper; deep down, Rocky knew that Dudes n' Duds wasn't the place for him. Not only was it boring to watch old guys and teens try on suits all day but Mr. Spokes was one of the few adults in town who actually respected Child Labor Laws (unlike others, such as Flip.) As such, he knew Rocky wasn't quite at the right age yet to work alongside him or Rusty.
With all this in mind, Rocky gave his dad a soft smile and politely declined his offer; assuring him he'd try and find another way to buy Lucy's birthday gift. After that, the Spokes Gents spent the rest of the drive in calm silence; eager to return home. But unbeknownst to both of them; on a nearby light post, there was a small critter watching over them.
As the camera zooms in, the faint glow of the light reveals that the creature is actually Mr. Thorne's owl; Ibid. Silent and still, he stands atop the light post like a watchful guardian; staring intently at the Spokes' car as it disappears into the distance. The moment it is gone from view, Ibid lets out a soft "hoot" and blinks its eyes slightly.
Upon re-opening them, a split-second later; Ibid's eyes suddenly give off a bright green glow...the same glow Rocky saw in the hooded stranger's "eyes" back at Mr. Thorne's home. Then, a voice suddenly speaks within Ibid's head; asking him if "the boy" is safe. The owl responds with a series of soft chirps and squeaks, which seem to be an acceptable response to the strange speaker.
"Excellent, my friend...the first bit of good news I've heard all day" the voice stated, "now, return to the manor...there is much to be done."
(First AN: Oh, man...looks like Rocky met another unhappy resident of Mr. Thorne's home. Now that he's decided to call it quits on working with the estate, what will happen next? How will Rocky be able to buy a gift for Lucy now, who was the hooded stranger he saw at the house and if it was Mr. Thorne like Farquard and Octavia assumed, will he be angry about all the messes our little hero accidentally created? Tune in next time, to find out)
(Second AN: To answer everyone's question...no, this story is not dead; it just takes me a while to get a chapter fully done. Not to mention that I have another fanfic in the works, as well as other tasks that need my attention IRL. But the point is, I plan on finishing this story all the way through.
A good writer never leaves a creation incomplete, after all...no offense to my fellow writers out there)
(Final AN: The idea for bugs being baked into the cookies Rocky sampled came from an old episode of Billy & Mandy, where the Person Scouts used a cookie recipe from Grim's Aunt Callie. If you've seen the episode for yourselves; then, you might know exactly what was in those cookies)
