A Blissful Torture

Hoagie pushed Wally on the back as hard as he could towards the entrance.

"I'm serious! I 'm not going in there!" Wally yelled.

"You made the bet and lost it so you have to!" Hoagie pushed him even harder.

"Anything but in there!"

"Just think of this as a favor from me!"

"How is it a favor? You're sending me to a land of merciless torture!"

"Think about it this way," Hoagie whispered to his ear. "It's like a date with her"

Wally tried to turn to Hoagie, "What the-" But just like that, Hoagie shoved him through the entrance to the place he hated the most. He was in Rainbow Monkey Land. Everybody knew that Wally despised girly things. And Rainbow Monkeys were definitely among those.

"Hi Wally!" Kuki came up to him. Apparently she was waiting by the entrance.

"Kuki? What are you doing here?"

"You silly! You should've known better! You of all people know that I know and love Rainbow Monkey Land more than anyone else does! So Hoagie said it would be fun that you and I walked around and enjoyed the park together!"

And all of a sudden Hoagie's last sentence rang in Wally's ears. Just think of this as a favor from me. It's like a date with her. Wally shuddered at the very thought of Hoagie saying that.

"Are you okay, Wally?" Kuki asked.

"Huh? Yeah…I'm fine…" He lied.

"Okay then, let's start all the fun"

"More like torture"

"Oh, that reminds me…" Kuki took out something from the bag she was carrying. It was a headband with monkey ears and it matched the one on Kuki's head except it was orange instead of green. Kuki tried to put it on him but he fought back.

"No way" He said, "I'm not gonna wear that cruddy thing!"

"It's part of the bet!"

"No way!"

"Oh come on, you're adorable!"

"NO!"

"You know, if you do something against the bet, you're gonna be sentenced to an even more humiliating punishment"

"What's more humiliating than a stupid headband with monkey ears!"

"Being the special make over guest at the next slumber party I go to" Kuki smiled.

And so the afternoon moved on. As time passed, Wally had gotten used to the headband enough to forget that it was there. Also, he thought less and less of what Hoagie said because the mascots around him were too annoying for him. After a few hours of walking around, the two got tired and decided to sit for a while.

"This is so fun!" Kuki exclaimed as they sat on a bench, "Rainbow Monkey Land is the best place there is"

"You're kidding me right?" Wally muttered.

"I can't believe you don't like Rainbow Monkeys. They're so cute! Even Nigel and Hoagie like them and they're boys!"

"Let's just say that weird freakish colored monkeys annoy me"

Kuki didn't speak. When Wally turned to her, he stayed still as he saw the sincerity of her face. She was staring at him blankly. No smile and no frown either. It somehow scared Wally to see her like that. And he inwardly felt bad knowing that he was the one who caused her to do that face.

"I'm just kidding" He said. Kuki was still staring at him blankly. And so he had no choice but to cheer her up in a way that made him sick. He held up one of her favorite rainbow monkeys and covered his face with it.

"Don't be sad…" He said in a goofy voice that made Kuki smile a bit. That didn't satisfy Wally. He wanted to see her real smile. The one she always presented and made her look so cute and pretty. The smile that makes him feel happy.

Wally survived the whole day in Rainbow Monkey Land, and Kuki's presence somehow made him enjoy at least a bit. By nighttime they got back to Nigel's house where they were going to spend the night. Nigel was extremely rich and the four separate guest bedrooms in his house were turned into bedrooms for his friends.

"Night Wally!" Kuki bade him and she left for her room. Wally didn't talk back but he did watch her leave. Not feeling tired, he made his way to the kitchen where he met Hoagie, who was having a snack while reading a comic book.

"Hey Beatles!" Hoagie greeted his best buddy. Wally was making himself comfortable on the chair across the kitchen counter.

"How was your date?" Hoagie smiled.

Wally looked at him for a while, "That wasn't a date…"

Hoagie grinned at him in a 'yeah-right' way as he chewed on his peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Then he muttered, "Sure" and he returned to reading.

"What does that mean?"

"What does what mean?"

"That's look you just gave me!"

"What look?"

"That grin you gave me, smart ass!"

"I didn't give you any grin, stupid!" Hoagie laughed.

"Look!" Wally said furiously as he stood and leaned over to Hoagie, "The time I spent with Kuki today was nothing more but a punishment from a stupid bet with you. It wasn't a date"

"Sure, Wally. I agree with you" Hoagie said sensibly.

Wally didn't say another word and he walked away. And the moment he reached the doorway, Hoagie said to him, "You're blushing, you know" His eyes widened as he turned to Hoagie who was only concentrating on his comic book, with a grin on his face. Speechless, Wally had no choice but to leave.