Cleaning Duty
For what felt like ages, Rocky was scrubbing away at all kinds of surfaces within the main foyer of Mr. Thorne's estate. Of course, before that; he had also been given the task of assisting Octavia in dusting out the drawing room (even though the Cecaelian maid claimed she worked better alone.) Normally, Rocky felt...so-so about house cleaning duties; thinking stuff like dusting, vacuuming floors and/or sorting out stuff in the room would be easy to do.
But at home, some cleaning work often involved helping Rusty clear off any stains on suits their dad planned on selling. Tasks like that had always been a pain for Rocky but in his present situation, he would've given anything to go back to scrubbing coffee stains off of tuxes. But we're getting ahead of ourselves, let us turn back the clock to yesterday afternoon; sometime after Rocky finished collecting things off of Farquard's list.
(Earlier that day)
After spending several hours going all over town collecting stuff, Rocky had finally returned to Mr. Thorne's estate; eager to tell Farquard the good news. But when he opened the front door, the hunchbacked man-servant was already waiting for him in the main hall; arms crossed firmly and his face contorted into a bitter scowl. Initially, Rocky disregarded this look and just greeted him casually; all while wheeling in a wagon full of goods behind him.
"I got the stuff Mr. Thorne wanted, Mr. Farquard" he said happily, "I got the brine, the flowers, the berries even the...eww, owl poop that was on the list." While still looking rather dower, Farquard walked towards the boy's wagon and started taking a mental inventory of everything it carried. Surely enough, the young Spokes boy was telling the truth; every item on the list had been collected and nothing appeared out of place or missing.
"Hmm...Well, then; you've certainly done a more...adequate job than any of the previous helpers have" muttered the hunchback, "however, you are quite late and Mr. Thorne expects punctuality at all times, Master Spokes." Following this, Farquard "politely" urged for Rocky to be more prompt in the future; should Mr. Thorne require any further pick-ups from him. "I'll try to do my best next time, Sir" the boy stated while saluting, "now...would it be possible to receive just a little bit of payment for what I did today?"
As expected, Farquard not only stammered wildly with shock at this request but also came close to tripping over himself in alarm. When asked what was wrong, he gruffly responded in claiming that Rocky was being supposedly "greedy;" reminding him that full payment was only to be given by the end of the week. "I know, I remember that" murmured Rocky dejectedly, "I just...earlier on, when I went to get the briny water at Flip's; he asked me to give one of the gold coins I already had as payment for it."
Upon hearing mention of Flip's name, the expression on Farquard's face shifted slightly from a displeased scowl to an annoyed grimace. Once or twice, he had dealt with the shyster on the rare occasions he himself was asked to go into town on request from Mr. Thorne. On one of these previous occasions, Flip came close to outright refusing Farquard any service...all because the man-servant's eyes creeped him out too much.
But the moment Flip saw the gold coins in Farquard's satchel...well, he suddenly had a "change of heart" and decided to help him. Needless to say, that was the last time he would ever set foot in the Food n' Fuel ever again; regardless if some of Flip's "goods" held some sort of value to Mr. Thorne. After taking a moment to shake the memory out of his head, Farquard turned his attention back to Rocky and further denied his request for payment.
"For one thing, child; you were late and the master does not reward tardiness" he said firmly, "but...if you still wish for compensation before your service has run its course, you will have to earn it." With that said, Farquard decreed that as punishment for "running late" and "demanding" payment much too soon; Rocky's next task at the estate would involve a great deal of upkeep work. "I suggest you get a good night's rest, child...and bring plenty of cleaning supplies" he said with a soft chuckle, "you will need a great deal of both tomorrow."
(Line Break)
Back in the present, Rocky resumed his cleaning work in the main foyer; grumbling softly under his breath while rubbing away at an old lion statue. True to his word; because the young Spokes boy returned slightly late after performing yesterday's task, he would make up for it by cleaning whatever part of the house he was asked to. At first, this didn't seem too big of a deal to Rocky; who claimed he was used to cleaning house back home.
"Maybe so...but unlike your abode, every single thing here holds great value to both us und Meister Thorne" grumbled the housemaid, Octavia; "so, Herr Farquard and I expect you to be diligent yet careful in your cleaning duties; understood?" With a begrudging sigh, Rocky nodded his head obediently and resumed his work in cleaning the lion statue. After finally rubbing the dust off its paws, minutes later; he let out a tired sigh and did what he could to shake the feeling back into his hands.
Meanwhile, Octavia decided to take a moment from her own duties to examine the boy's handiwork...and she seemed rather pleased, after about a minute of silence. "Very good, Herr Spokes; perhaps you are a capable helper after all" she said with a slight tone of approval, "but you still have a great deal more to clean up within this room alone...so, get to it!" With that said, Octavia handed Rocky a rather shabby-looking feather duster and instructed him to clean off any grime from Mr. Thorne's collection of "exotic gewgaws."
When Rocky turned around to see the items for himself, not only did his jaw drop but his eyes almost popped out his skull in surprise. Within the cabinets of a nearby hutch were collections of the strangest knick-knacks, trinkets and collectables he had ever seen. There were odd-looking statues, jewelry, old books with pages that looked almost hundreds of years old, antique dishware and what looked like a collection of really old dolls.
"Boy...Mr. Thorne must really love his antiques" Rocky thought to himself, "I've got a feeling Zach and Clyde would love to see this kind of stuff." While admiring the collection, the young Spokes boy's curiosity suddenly kicked in; causing his hand to slightly ease its way towards one of the knick-knacks. But before even his pinkie finger could so much as graze the hutch's latch, a tentacle suddenly reached over Rocky's shoulder and slapped his hand.
The sting from said slap was bad enough but the slimy feel of the Cecaelian house maid's tentacle and the touch of the suction cups it had made it so much worse. After taking a moment to clean off the goop, Rocky turned his head slightly to find Octavia standing mere inches behind him; arms crossed and face bearing a most irritated scowl. "Nein, Herr Spokes; must I remind you of the value of these treasures" she asked bitterly, "unless you intend to clean them...keep your meaty stumps off, understood?!"
Although he felt understandably miffed about the unexpected slap, a part of Rocky knew that he couldn't afford giving any of Mr. Thorne's house staff lip while working in the house; lest he risk losing either his job or a fraction of his pay. "Yeah, I understand...Ma'am" Rocky groaned slightly, "where would you like me to clean next?" Rather than scold the boy for his tone towards her, Octavia let out a sigh and led him up the stairs to another level of the house.
As he followed her lead, Rocky couldn't help but marvel at how eerily beautiful the hall looked; even the paintings they passed seemed to have a...certain charm about them. But at one point, just as he passed by a portrait of an old man hanging on the wall; Rocky swore he caught sight of the eyes following him. "Nah, it couldn't be" Rocky thought while shaking his head, "must be seeing things after smelling too much of the cleaning stuff the octopus lady has me using."
With that thought brushed aside, the Spokes Boy continued to follow Octavia down the hall...until his nose suddenly started to itch. It tickled and irritated him for several seconds until finally, he sneezed; causing a slight echo to ring out through the hallway. At the same time, upon hearing said echo, Octavia turned around slightly and glared at Rocky in annoyance.
He chuckled sheepishly at her, gave a gentle wave of his hand in "greeting" and murmured a soft apology for what happened. Much to his surprise (or lack thereof,) Octavia simply shrugged it off and continued on walking; urging for Rocky to keep up with her. But before the boy left, he suddenly heard a gruff yet kindly voice murmur a soft "Gesundheit" from somewhere close by; prompting Rocky to let out a soft "thank you in response" while rubbing his nose.
Mere seconds after that, realization suddenly kicked him in the face like a dodgeball being thrown by Girl Jordan. Octavia had long since left the area, after Rocky had sneezed and the voice who responded to it sounded male...but there was no one else there but him. That's when he remembered the odd painting that was "seemingly" watching him walk by.
Could it have some form of hidden cameras stashed behind it or was the painting supposedly "supernatural," in some way? It would explain why Mr. Thorne would have such a "unique" collection of stuff, a hunchbacked man-servant and a house maid that has octopus legs. But then, Rocky's sense of reality clicked in and he started to realize just how ridiculous all his ideas sounded.
"Mr. Thorne's just probably one of those...extreme character actors that try to get real deep into the role they're playing" he thought with an outward chuckle, "kinda like that time Mrs. Bernardo auditioned for the part of Heidi Heifer last Summer." With this thought in mind, Rocky's earlier fears towards the house's décor started to fade...but only by a small degree. Then, all of a sudden; a shrill whistle rang out through the hall, causing Rocky to almost leap out of his shoes.
"If you are through making mischief, Herr Spokes; can we move along" Octavia called out in irritation, "ze library isn't going to clean itself." Not wanting to stir the maid's wrath than he already had, Rocky shook off his goosebumps and hurried off down the hall. But unbeknownst to him, the eyes of the odd wall portrait slowly eased themselves over towards that very same direction; as if it were keeping watch on the boy.
(Line Break)
Moments later, Rocky had finally reached his destination in the hall; Mr. Thorne's personal library. Upon entering the room; he suddenly found himself craning his head so far skyward, he almost fell over himself. All around were bookshelves that stood so tall that they were able to reach the ceiling, each one filled with rows upon rows of books both great and small. In spite of himself, Rocky couldn't help but giggle softly; thinking about how much of a possible "bookworm" Mr. Thorne must've been.
"I wonder what kind of stuff he likes to read about" he whispered softly, "from the looks of how big some of these books are, he must be into the same 'adult stuff' High Schoolers read." The moment this thought popped up in his head; Rocky's sense of curiosity soon got the better of him, once again. Ever so slowly, he reached his hand towards one of the medium-sized hardcover books on the shelf before him.
But then, just as his fingers were mere inches away from touching the spine of the book...he stopped himself. It was here that Rocky took a close look at his hand, which appeared to still have traces of slime residue left over from when Octavia grabbed it earlier. At the same time, Rocky also saw what looked like bruises on his hand; only to discover that they were actually suction cup marks.
Of course...he knew what they were after first seeing such marks left on his brother, Rusty's face; after their last visit to the beach. It happened after a wave suddenly appeared and slammed him back onto the shore like a drowned rat. Thankfully, Rusty didn't drown...but the wave left him a rather unexpected surprise; a small yet very strong octopus. In the end, Rocky and his dad were able to remove it from Rusty's head...but it left behind several dozen suction cup marks on his face, as a result.
Needless to say...when he happened to see the same kind of marks on his own hand, Rocky's body shivered slightly with disgust and immediately stuffed it deep into his shorts pocket. It was a good thing he did it too because seconds later, Octavia returned with a duster and a pair of rubber gloves in her hands. "It is time to begin your next cleaning task, Herr Spokes" she stated, "you shall dust every shelf within zis library...but be careful, these books are some of Master Thorne's prized possessions."
At first, Rocky was moments away from protesting against this task; especially after taking another look at just how tall the shelves were. Of course, part of the reasoning behind this was his own personal safety and he quickly brought up that very issue with Octavia. "I...suppose you are right to bring zis into my attention, Herr Spokes" she murmured softly, "und I think I have just the thing to help you."
No sooner had she said all this, Octavia quickly scuttled out through the library doors; leaving Rocky behind to ponder on what she had planned next. "Maybe she's gonna get me a set of wings to help me fly up to the higher shelves" he thought with an outward giggle, "that would be cool...but it probably won't happen." No sooner had this idea passed through his mind, Rocky gave a yelp as the library doors suddenly burst open and Octavia came walking/scuttling back towards him.
In her hands, she held what looked like a small shoe box; which led Rocky to believe she was planning on "rewarding him." He had been looking to buy some new shoes for school, especially since the dress shoes his dad gave him were...slightly too big for his small feet. When Octavia finally returned, she opened the box and revealed what was inside...a pair of open-toed sandals with what looked like wing décor on the sides.
But in spite of that small "cool looking detail" was, the fact that the footwear was a pair of sandals caused Rocky to cringe in disgust...as if he'd heard one of Rusty's cheesy pick-up lines. "Seriously...sandals went out of style in the 70's" he grumbled, "don't you got something more stylish?" On the inside, Octavia felt quite offended by the boy's tone and was prepared to discipline him for it.
But because of her position and the fact that he was a boy, she had no choice but to act in a...slightly calm manner. "These sandals aren't for looking stylish, Herr Spokes...they are to help you clean" she murmured stoically, "ze wings will help carry you up to the higher bookshelves, seeing as how you think the ladder is too 'unsafe' to use." Upon hearing the notion that the sandals would help him fly, Rocky's eyes suddenly sparkled with delight.
With winged footwear, he could fly all around the room like a bird...or even through the manor, if he wanted. But then, Octavia was quick to remind him to use the sandals only for reaching higher places; nothing more. "I shall return in precisely two hours to check on your progress" she stated, "so...make every moment count."
With that, Octavia gave a slight bow and stepped out the door; leaving Rocky behind to take note of his surroundings. Now, much like his older brother; Rocky was never really all that drawn to libraries and chapter books. The only ones he ever felt drawn to were comics...and the occasional graphic novel he heard his classmates talk about from time to time.
But he couldn't help but marvel at the vast number of books set up on every shelf and table around him. Some of them were thin, filled with no more than twenty to thirty pages of text inside. Others were not only much thicker, they also varied in different sizes. But as surprising as the amount of books was, Rocky thought the shelves themselves were extremely high up.
"I swear, it looks like a couple of these could reach all the way up to the ceiling" murmured Rocky, "does that mean Miss Octavia wants me to clean those as well as the smaller ones?" The moment this thought popped into his head; another, more shocking one followed after it...how could Octavia expect anybody to clean so many high places and areas in just one hour? To this kind of work; he would need a super high-tech vacuum, a team of magical brushes...or maybe a pair of magical shoes!
The moment this idea popped into his brain, Rocky cast a glance down at his winged sandals and smiled slightly. "If these beauties can do what Miss Octavia told me, I'll get this cleaning job quicker than ever" he chuckled happily, "now...how do I make these things work?" For a minute or two, Rocky thought of every possible way he could make the sandals' wings help him fly.
The first idea that came to mind was the possibility of a button of some sort, like the kind that makes air pump shoes inflate. Sadly, the only "button" Rocky found were the buckles that helped keep his toe-straps tied. The next possibility was some sort of voice command; if they were magical sandals, a magic word should be able to make them go.
But much to his disappointment; after trying words like "alakazam," "hocus pocus," "Bibbity Bobbity Boo," "Presto" and even using the word "please"...nothing seemed to work. "Okay...this next idea just has to work" he thought with an outward growl of frustration, "maybe...maybe if I click the heels together, that will make the wings carry me." Admittedly, a part of Rocky felt the idea was too big of a long-shot to actually work.
But with all the other magic commands and methods he knew having been failures, he felt like this was his only shot left. Furthermore, Rocky thought if clicking heels together worked for the girl in the Wizard of Oz; it should work of him too. "Well, I've gotta try something out" he muttered to himself, "I've only got about 52 minutes before Octavia gets back to do this job."
Mere seconds after these words passed the boy's lips, panic soon got the better of him and in no time at all; he started clicking the heels of his sandals together like crazy. Then, he was suddenly sent flying straight up into the air like a rocket; which (understandably) caused poor Rocky to scream in slight terror. "OH, MY GOD! OH, MY GOD...IT ACTUALLY WORKED" he shouted in both excitement and shock, "BUT HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO STO-O-O-OP?!"
As if on cue; the moment he said this, the sandals' wings started to glow and suddenly stopped fluttering. As a result, Rocky had also stopped soaring up in the air...just mere seconds before he ended up crashing into the ceiling. What really astonished the Spokes Boy, however was the fact that even though the sandals' wings weren't flapping; he was still hovering/floating safely in the air.
But while all of this was amazing, Rocky still felt rather miffed that the sandals only started answering to him just now. Yet that did very little to bring down his overall excitement over what was happening. "I can't believe these actually work" he said with a laugh, "I can't wait to try these babies out!"
No sooner had this idea came to mind, Rocky wanted nothing more than to race a few laps around the library with the sandals. But...reality quickly reared its ugly head, forcing him to glance slightly at his cellphone for the time; which now read "1:53." This meant that he now had an hour and fifty-three minutes left to get his job done before Octavia returns.
"I better get started cleaning, then" he grumbled softly, "I don't wanna be in any more hot water with Mr. Thorne's house staff than I already am." With that said, Rocky took his cleaning tools in hand and went about cleaning every shelf and surface in the room...the safe way.
(Line Break)
In a far off corner of the room, a cuckoo bird sounded off its mechanical chirp; which signaled off the top of the hour. Unfortunately, Rocky did not hear this due to him still being deep into his dusting work in the library. With the aid of his flying sandals, he had just finished cleaning off another bookshelf; which made him think he was almost home free.
But then, he soon discovered that there were still several other tall shelves left to clean; to make matters worse, the clock on his phone now forty-two minutes. "IT TOOK ME ALMOST AN HOUR TO GET JUST ONE OF THESE SHELVES CLEANED OFF" Rocky cried in dismay, "HOW WILL I EVER GET THE REST OF THEM DONE BEFORE OCTAVIA COMES BACK!?" With these troubling thoughts in mind, the poor boy suddenly slipped into a nervous frenzy; all while pacing about in worry...or rather, floating about.
Then, after making another quick turn-around in the air, an idea suddenly struck the Spokes Boy. If the sandals could help him fly up to taller heights, maybe they could help him move faster while in the air as well. But while the idea sounded good (if not plausible,) he suddenly remembered how Octavia strictly instructed him to only use the sandals for reaching greater heights.
"C'mon, Spokes; now's the time to really give these bad boys a test flight" Rocky's brain chided slightly, "you know you wanna." The instant this idea/thought appeared, Rocky's child instincts were all telling him to go for it; adding that he would be making his clean-up chore go by so much quicker, as a result. But he quickly tried to push down that urge as best as he could.
"Dude...seriously, you need to do something" the boy's brain grumbled again, "and you'd better do it quick; otherwise, Miss Octavia might use those tentacles on you again!"
(Rocky's mind suddenly imagines Miss Octavia holding him upside-down by his ankles with her tentacle legs for so long, the blood starts rushing to the boy's head)
"OKAY, YOU KNOW WHAT...tentacles or no tentacles, I've gotta get this job done and I gotta do it quick" exclaimed Rocky, "besides, what's the worse that could happen if I fly around with these on?" With that said; Rocky positioned himself in the right direction as best as he could, held on to his cleaning tools tightly and took in a deep breath for good luck. Then, he looked out towards a bookshelf in the far corner of the room and gave his sandals a click while murmuring "please...fly forward?"
What happened next was so shocking, it felt as though he was having a waking nightmare. The instant he gave his sandals a third click, Rocky went flying forward like a rocket; screaming in terror. Then, just as he was mere inches away from crashing; he turned himself towards the right as best as he could.
Miraculously, this seemed to work and not only did his miss the shelf entirely but he seemed to be flying much more steadily now. Once he finally got the hang of things; Rocky's terror slowly edged up towards joy, then happiness and finally...full-on raving mad with delight. "THIS IS THE SINGLE MOST AWESOME MOMENT OF MY LIIIIFE" he shouted gleefully, "wonder how much quicker I can clean the shelves while flying?!"
(Line Break)
Out in the halls, Octavia could be seen walking about and dusting several wall fixtures; all while humming a melody under her breath. Traveling alongside her was Farquard, asked to accompany her on checking the progress their "helper" was making in the library. "I still think you should have given him more time, Via" the hunchback murmured, "even with the aid of those winged sandals, there is no chance he would be able to clean every surface in the span of only two hours."
On the outside, Octavia put on her best "Business Face" and tried to assure her colleague that she had full faith in Rocky's abilities. But on the inside; she hoped that dusting the library would leave the boy feeling so exhausted, he'd quit and leave the estate forever. Then, all of a sudden; the duo could hear the loud sounds of crashing and screaming coming from the distance.
At first, they believed that another one of Mr. Thorne's "pets" had gotten loose and was terrorizing another one of the house staff. But that's when Octavia realized the exact direction the noises were coming from...the library. This caused an icy chill of dread to run through her body that ran all the way down to the tips of her tentacles.
Without any further hesitation, she smoothed out her maid outfit and scurried off into the distance as fast as she could; a mixed look of fear and annoyance plastered on her face. Mildly alarmed by this, Farquard gave chase after her; even though his stride was hindered by his weak knees and heavy hunch. As they went further down the hall, the noises suddenly became much louder and Octavia could hear the screaming much more vividly now.
"Ach du lieber...vhat is going on with that boy in there" she said frantically, "if he has damaged any of ze Master's books, I'M GOING TO..." Just as this thought came to mind, both Octavia and Farquard had finally reached the library and burst through the doors like a pair of mad bulls. Afterwards, they glanced upwards to find Rocky whizzing about the air like a rocket; all while cleaning the highest shelves and laughing like a fool.
Now, to the eyes of Farquard (however crazed they looked;) it looked as though the boy was doing rather well and having a jolly time while doing it all. But to Octavia, it all looked like pure horseplay and she was going to put a stop to it posthaste. "HERR SPOKES" she exclaimed at the top of her lungs, "CEASE THIS NONSENSE AND COME DOWN HERE!" Naturally, this rather loud command took Rocky completely by surprise; which in turn caused him to suddenly lose control of his flying balance.
As a result, he rolled helplessly in the air and was unable to slow down even a little; let alone stop flying altogether. To make matters worse, he was heading straight for one of the tall bookshelves on the eastern side of the library. The poor lad could only whimper helplessly and close his eyes tight, as he zoomed towards the shelf and...CRASH!
Farquard and Octavia both winced painfully, after the collision; wondering which one suffered the most damage from it. As for Rocky, the crash came on so quickly and he hit the shelf so hard that he ended up wedging himself between several thick hardcover books. Needless to say, this was not one of his proudest moments in life.
"Well...at least my brother didn't see me fail" he murmured softly, "and it's not like things can't get anymore worse for me now." No sooner had these words passed the boy's lips, his ears suddenly heard the faint sound of wood creaking. It was like the sort of sound a rocker makes when an old person tilts on it back and forth.
Ironically enough; just as Rocky was about to pull himself free from the bookshelf, not only had the creaking sound...but it felt as though he truly was tilting slightly. After swallowing a nervous lump down his throat, he took a nervous glance over the edge of the shelf and noticed the base at the bottom was moving sideways. Before long, the whole thing started slanting and creaking until it soon crashed up against the next shelf beside it.
This lead to that shelf crashing into the next one, which ended up hitting the one after that until everything was toppling over like a set of giant dominos. Octavia could only look on in horror at the chaos transpiring before her while Farquard's jaw fell so low in shock, one could swear it might slam through the floor. When the last of the bookshelves had finally fallen over, silence fell over the room; the only thing that broke it was the sound of papers fluttering in the air.
Poor Octavia was beside herself; the entire library, something she considered to be the most orderly room in the estate, was now a complete mess. When she finally came back to her senses, the maid's mind was soon overwhelmed by a wave of pure outrage. Her teeth gnashed together tightly in anger, her usual pale face shined a deep red and her grip on the handle of her feather duster grew so strong that it finally snapped in two.
Meanwhile, after the dust had settled; Rocky's head finally popped out from a pile of spilled books and papers. He coughed and sputtered loudly in disgust due to being trapped under so much paper. "Oh, man...now I know how a bookworm must feel" he grumbled slightly, "at least I didn't get hurt after I crashed into..." Just as he was about to finish his statement, Rocky heard the unmistakable sound of someone clearing their throat in annoyance.
With a terrified whimper, the poor lad looked over his shoulder ever so slightly to find Octavia and Farquard standing behind him; both of whom appeared to have their arms crossed firmly and giving Rocky the most intense of glares. This sight caused poor Rocky to feel such fear, he secretly wished one of the shelves had squished him; instead of almost burying him alive with paper and books.
But he quickly pushed this thought aside, pulled himself out of the pile he was in as best as he was able and dusted himself off slightly; not wishing to appear anymore unsightly than he already was to his employers. Then, after taking note of Octavia's glaring eyes (which had grown even more intense now) the best thing he could think to say were five simple words; "sorry...I can fix this."
(First AN: Everybody's got their bad work days, right...and it looks like Rocky has just experienced his. What will happen to him now; will Farquard fire him, will he lose all the pay he got to replace everything and more importantly...what will Mr. Thorne think/do, when he finds out?
Tune in next time, to see what happens next)
(Second AN: When he first started, Rocky's assumption of Mr. Thorne's home was that he was a die-hard fan of all things creepy. Now, he's got a few minor glimpses of all the supernatural hoo-hah that are hidden away here. The winged sandals, for example were inspired by the same sort of footwear Hermes of Greek Mythology is known to have. As for the talking house items, I wanted to give this chapter a smidgen of Looney Tunes-esque comedy.
Lastly, I won't give away too much...but I'll just say Rocky wasn't too far off about the house painting he saw in the hallway "watching him." The question is...who was watching him and why?)
(Third AN: Rocky clicking the sandals' heels together was the best method I can think of to have them fly, I'm sorry if it's not very original)
(Final AN: I know a lot of you must be wondering..."where's Mr. Thorne, when will we get to see him in this story?" Rest assured, he will show up in person in this story...but for the moment, I'm keeping his identity under wraps and plan on having the likes of Rocky *and possibly others who happen to drop by* hear his voice from...the strangest of places.
I'd explain what these places will be but that would be spoiler territory)
