Chapter 63: Super Black Friday/Shucksgiving
Time had passed and it was a chilly day in Lakewood. Snow was falling and Nebula and Rad were the first ones into the store. After she and Rad hung up their coats in the break room, the couple went into the front to greet their other co workers. Nebula looked around and she found that she and Rad were the only ones there. "Ah, the first hour of work. No Gar, no Enid, no Ko" Rad said with a happy sigh as he took out his phone and leaned his side against a wall. "And no interruptions" Nebula said huskily as she wrapped her arms around Rad from behind. "That's right" Rad responded slyly as he put his phone back into his pocket. He then turned around and wrapped his arms around Nebula's waist as she wrapped her arms around his neck. They then slowly leaned into each other and they shared a loving kiss.
After a while, the couple was quick to pull away from eachother when they heard the doors open. They then saw Enid walking in with Ko and Gar. The day went by as usual. Some customers were doing their holiday shopping early. "Can you believe that it's almost Shucksgiving?" Ko asked happily as he handed Nebula some cans for her to put on the shelf. "I know right? And this year will be Rad and I's first Shucksgiving together" she said as she sighed dreamily. "Oh man, I'm so jealous! You get to spend it with Laserblast, Miss Bianca, and their soon to be child" Ko said. "I'm not so sure about that Ko. Mama Bi already has her hands full with getting ready for the baby and I don't wanna get in her way or ruin it" she responded as she continued to stock the shelves. "How would you ruin it?" Ko asked. Nebula paused and let out a heavy sigh. "Because. I'm not her real daughter. Yes I am her creation, but I'm not her blood daughter or anything" she said as she picked up the now empty box. "Thanks again for your help Ko" she said. She then walked away. Ko frowned at the thought of Nebula never knowing what it's like to have real parents. "Something wrong little buddy?" he heard Rad ask. "Hey Rad, what do you think Nebula's plans are for Shucksgiving?" Ko asked. "Not sure. I was planning on asking her to join my folks and I this year but when I ran into her just a moment ago she seemed upset. I tried to ask her why but she just rushed past me. I'll try to ask her again later after she's had her space" Rad explained.
"So do you know what you're getting her this year for Shucksmas?" Enid asked as she walked over. "M-maybe" Rad said slightly embarrassed. He then saw Nebula walk out of the break room. "Gotta go" Rad said quickly. He then dashed off and Ko and Enid followed. They saw him open up his bag to reveal a partially completed scarf with knitting needles. "No way" Enid said. Rad quickly closed his bag to hide the scarf. "Awh, that's really sweet of you Rad" Ko cooed. "Wh-what? I-I didn't make this" Rad said embarrassed. "Don't worry, we won't tell her. We know that you want it to be a surprise" Ko said.
The next day, it was five pm at Lakewood Plaza Turbo and our beloved heroes were preparing for the Super Black Friday Sale that was to be at six pm. Enid was wearing her usual black shorts with a red sweater with the bottom edges torn, while Ko was wearing his usual attire with a blue sweater that has a horizontal white zig-zag going across the chest in the middle. Next, Rad had his usual light pink pants and black heeled boots but he had an orange sweater with a horizontal red stripe across the chest and the bottom edges torn instead of his usual blue sleeveless blue crop. Instead of her usual black and blue attire and makeup, Nebula had a marching orange sweater with a horizontal red stripe across the chest and the bottom edges torn just like Rad. She also had red makeup, pants, and boots.
"Why do we have to work tonight?" Ko asked as Enid put up a poster on the window. "Right now I should be at home eating my mommy's delicious Shucksgiving pie! It's our tradition every year" Ko said sadly. "Well every year our tradition is to open the store for Super Black Friday at six pm- in ten minutes- so a bunch of shoppers can buy whatever dumb new toy is out for their kids" Enid explained dryly. "This year it's Blorby! He jiggles! It's his main feature" Rad said happily as he held out a small container with a blue blob in it and he began to make it jiggle. "I still don't see what all the fuss is about" Nebula said as she took the supposed toy from Rad and levitated it onto the shelf where it previously was. "That's cause you already have your own Blorby" Enid said as she motioned to Rad. "Hey!" Rad exclaimed as Ko let out a laugh. Nebula kissed Rad's cheek and she let out a laugh. "I still don't see why we have to open tonight! It's a holiday!" Ko complained. "Look, sometimes you just gotta work on a holiday" Enid said. "But why?!" he asked.
"Well you see Ko, although this season is marketed as a joyful time for families. The compulsory merriment, hyper commercialism, and certouitious spending end up making it do more harm than good" Rad explained as he held out a hand throughout his small speech for emphasis. Notining his open hand, Nebula -unknowing to Rad- put her hand on top of his open one. At one point during his speech, Rad clenched his fist and brought it to his chest, still not knowing that he was holding Nebula's hand. "That was beautiful" Nebula mused. "Thanks babe" he said. He then noticed her hand in his and he looked at her in confusion. She smiled widely at him. "Basically, there's no real good reason for it" Rad finished. "Ahem" they heard Mr. Gar say behind Rad. "You're absolutely correct Radicles. Super Black Friday is a silly thing. We should shut down the store tonight and instead take this precious time to be around people we love" he said. "Welp, see you at Carol's Ko" he said. With that, he rushed out the doors. "Well that's nice" Enid said. "Yeah! I gotta call my mom and dad and tell them that Nebula and I are coming home for dinner" Rad said as he took out his phone. He then turned to Nebula. "You are still coming for dinner right?" Rad asked. Nebula happily nodded and kissed his cheek. "I'll go get my coat" she said. She then happily ran off. "I should text Red Action and see what's up" Enid said as she took out her phone. "And I can go home and have Shucksgiving pie with mommy!" Ko said happily. "It's gonna be so nice having a normal, traditional holiday" Rad said. "It sure will" Enid agreed. While Nebula was gone and his friends were preoccupied, Rad looked into his pocket at the almost completed scarf. Nebula then came back wearing brown gloves and holding a red coat with grey, fluffy trim on the neck and bottom. Rad gently took the coat from her and he held it for her while she put her arms through the sleeves. Once it was on her, Rad went around to her front and buttoned the coat. "Thanks you Rad~" Nebula said happily. Rad nodded and kissed her forehead. "See you guys on Monday" Enid called as she made her way to the doors
Once they opened the doors, they were surprised to see an extremely long line of people. "I don't think they took the hint when we turned the lights off" Ko said. "Well too bad" Enid said. "Sale's off weirdos!" Enid shouted. "Go home to your families!" Rad shouted. "Why aren't they leaving?" Rad asked. "Whatever, let's just go" Enid said as she walked towards the crowd. "Um… Excuse me. Hello?" Enid said trying to get the crows attention so she could pass. "Let us through!" Rad said as he tried to push past the crowd. "Guys" Nebula called as the trio tried to get past the crowd. "Guys" she tried calling to them again. "Guys!" she yelled louder. The trio turned to her. "I don't think we'll be leaving anytime soon. Maybe we should just reopen and get it done and over with" she said. "I don't get it! Why do people want to waste their holiday standing in line?" Ko asked.
"This is no ordinary line Ko" they heard a voice say. They turned to see Principal Claus. "Why, it's the most wonderful line of the year!" he exclaimed. "Principal Claus" they all said happily. "Lakewood's most beloved principal of all time" Rad said happily. "We never see you outside of school" Enid pointed out. "Shouldn't you be grading papers and telling kids not to run in the hall? Don't you celebrate Shucksgiving?" Ko asked. "I do. By going out shopping! The Super Black Friday sale is my tradition!" Principal Claus said. They all looked at him in shock. "You mean every year you choose to stand in line and in the cold just to have to deal with a lot of people rushing into the store and fighting over whatever it is that they want? You actually look forward to the carnage?" Nebula asked. Principal Claus only nodded. "But why?" Ko asked. "I'm glad you asked" Principal Claus said as he touched Ko's nose. "Come along children" he said as he touched his own nose. He then surprisingly flew up into the air. Ko then floated up after him. "Let me show you the true meaning of the Super Black Friday sale line" Principal Claus exclaimed. He then touched Rad, Nebula, and Enid's noses. "I'm not sure how or why but who cares!" Nebula said as she floated into the air after Rad and Enid. "Woah! Check out the size of the line!" Ko said in awe. "Aw man, it wraps around the plaza like four times!" Rad exclaimed. "Yikes" Enid and Nebula said. "Go home! Don't you people have lives?!" Enid yelled down to the large crowd. "They do have lives Enid. Right here in this very line" Principal Claus explained. "Let's take a closer look shall we?" he suggested as he descended in the sky with the heroes following him.
"Well if it isn't Brandon and Barista Pup! Two of Lakewood's finest alumni" Principal Claus said as he motioned to a light pink humanoid pup with a black nose and an anthropomorphic bear with light brown fur and a lavender-gray nose. "Principal Claus!" they both exclaimed happily. "Dude! You made it!" Brandon said as he hugged Principal Claus. "My boy, I wouldn't miss tonight for all the cookies and milk in the world!" the principal responded. "Oh come on. You two go shopping on Super Black Friday?" Rad asked annoyed. "You betray your fellow retail brethren" Enid said. "Magic's gonna be so stoked that I got him a Blorby! He'll forget all about covering the Super Black Friday shift alone at the frame store" Brandon said. "Hey, does anyone want a cup of coffee?" Barista Pup asked as she motioned to the tray of cups she was holding. "Yes please! It's freezing out here" Rad said excitedly as he took two cups from the tray. He grabbed a coffee for himself and a hot chocolate for Nebula."Thank you" Nebula said as he then handed her a cup. As he sipped his, Nebula blew on hers to cool it off a bit. The trio sighed in relief as the warm liquid warmed them from the inside. Nebula then sniffed hers and she took a sip."I guess this is kinda nice" Enid said. "Yeah and look everyone is sharing hot drinks and keeping warm together. It just like how my mom and I get cozy with hot coco every Shucksgiving" Ko said with a dreamy sigh as he clutched his hot chocolate. Nebula smiled at the thought of her and Rad cuddled up on his couch with a blanket over them as they drank hot chocolate and watched what was on tv. "It was nice of you to bring coffee for everyone Barista Pup" Rad said. "Oh this stuff didn't come from the cafe. It came from that guy" she explained as she motioned to a guy that was using his large coffee cup for a head to pour drinks for everyone. "There you go" he said as he handed a beige dog with long brown hair and small floppy ears a cup. "If you like that there's a late more where that came from! Literally! You want a late?" the guy asked enthusiastically.
Ko, Enid, and Rad immediately dropped their cups and flew into the air. "Hey Carla" Nebula said with a wave. "Hey Nebs! Happy Shucksgiving" she responded. Nebula went over to her friend and pulled her in for a picture. Noticing that Nebula was not with them, Rad flew back down and took Nebula's hand in his before they both flew off. "I'll text you later" Nebula called down to her friend. Carla waved at her and walked off to a different part of the crowd. "Hey! No using the holiday flying powers to escape" Principal Claus said as he cut them off. "Can Nebula and I use our normal flying powers then?" Rad asked. "Ho ho ho ho! No" Principal Claus responded. He then wrapped an arm around Enid's shoulders and another around Rad's shoulders as Ko held onto Enid's hand and Nebula held onto Rad's hand. "I'm not done showing you the true meaning of the Super Black Friday Sale line" he said.
"Hey look! It's the pests! And their playing kicky ball with Crinkly Wrinkly" Ko pointed out. "Huh, I didn't know they were friends" Enid said. Rad felt Nebula's grip tighten and he looked to her. "Babe, don't even think about it. Our principal is literally right here" Rad said. "Fine! Because I wasn't certainly thinking about forming a giant flyswatter out of ice and whacking the pests into oblivion" Nebula responded slightly angry. "Babe" Rad warned. "Fine" she said with a huff. Rad lightly squeezed her hand and smiled gently at her. Nebula took a deep breath and smiled back at him. "Neither did they! Unil someone brought a kicky ball! Sometimes all you need to make friends is a game to play and a line to stand in" Principal Claus said as they gazed upon some members of the crowd playing with a small ball. "I guess that's kinda fun. Mom and me always play games together after Shucksgiving dinner" Ko said. His stomach then growled. "Getting hungry are we? Then I know just the place in line for you" Principal Claus said. He then took them to a food truck with a sign that read 'Burrito Beardo' and of course manning it was the owner himself, everyone's favorite goblin, Beardo.
"Beardo comes at this time each year" Principal Claus explained as they landed. Nebula picked up Ko and put him on Rad's head. "Uh I hate to break it to you PC but Beardo's here like everyday" Rad said. Nebula then remembered the last time she was at Burrito Beardo. "Good think Enid was able to find a spell to turn Rad back to normal" Nebula thought to herself. "Yes, but today is the only day you can get one of his special seasonal burritos" Principal Claus said. "Is it covered in ice and called a Burr-ito?" she asked jokingly. Rad let out a small chuckle at her joke. "At least someone laughed" she mumbled. "No. Each one contains a complete Shucksgiving dinner" Principal Claus responded. "Sounds like he's just capitalizing on foot traffic" Rad said. "You can taste the pure holiday love in every bite" Principal Claus said. "I'll be the judge of that" Ko said as he got down from Rad's head. They then watched as Beardo prepared the burrito and served it to Ko. "Merry holidays scrub" Beardo said. "Thanks Beardo. Moment of truth" Ko said happily as he took it. "It tastes just like being home for the holidays" Ko said after he bit into it. "That will be six technos" Beardo said. Ko then handed the burrito back to Beardo. Nebula reached into her pocket and pulled out some money and handed it to Beardo. "Sorry about that" she said. Beardo disposed of the burrito and shook his head. "What about your family Principal Claus? Don't you miss spending Shucksgiving with them?" Ko asked. "But Ko, I'm spending it with them right now" he responded. "We're related?! Daddy?!" Ko asked in awe. "Ho ho ho! No Ko" Principal Claus said once again. "You see, Super Black Friday shoppers are my family! We may not be related but every year we stand together as one. Celebrating the season with rich traditions all our own" he said as he threw an arm around an old woman and the guy with the coffee mug for a head. Nebula spotted Carla and she took out her phone and sent a text. Carla checked her phone and looked over at Nebula. She shook her head with a laugh at her friend's silly antics. "Oh well gosh, I guess I was so excited about getting home to my holiday traditions that I couldn't even see that your s mean just as much to you" Ko said. "Oh I get it" Rad said. "I'm not sure I do" Enid said. She, Rad and Ko then rushed to Principal Claus and hugged him. "Oh what they hay. I can never turn down a free hug" Nebula said with a shrug. She then auntered over and moved Rad's arm so she could hug Principal Claus and be hugged by him. "Principal Claus, you really taught us a lesson" Ko said. "And it's not even a school day" Rad said. "Ho ho! What can I say, a principal may get holidays off but he never stops teaching his students" Principal Claus replied warmly. "You smell like peppermint and freshly baked cookies" Nebula mumbled happily.
Just then, they heard what sounded like sleigh bells. "That sound" Rad started. "Could it be?" Enid wondered. A bright purple light emanated from the sky and a large light purple box that was wrapped in a dark purple ribbon fell from the sky. Nebula narrowed her eyes at the tag. "Boxmore" she muttered. The box opened to reveal Darrell and Shannon. "Darrell? Shannon? I can't believe you would attack the plaza on a holiday" Ko chided. "Oh you silly, why ever would we need to attack you guys?" Shannon asked. "When you're already victims to the idea of buying stuff!" Darrell said. "We're just here to laugh at how ridiculously dumb you all are" the robots said in unison as Shannon spun Darrell around on her shoulder and they began to laugh.
"Oh yeah? We'll see who's laughing when I have my foot so far up their-" Nebula started to say. "Nebula!" Rad scolded as he interrupted her. "What?" she asked innocently. "Now is not the time to be hostile" Rad scolded. "Fine" she huffed. "Coffee is for nerds" Shannon said as she slapped Cuppa Joe's head, this caused his coffee to spill out. "Kicky ball is lame" Darrell said as he kicked what appeared to be a small child kicking a ball. "Burritos are gross!" they said together as they took someone's burrito and dropped it on the ground and they continued to laugh. "Their ruining Super Black Friday!" Enid said in alarm. "Someone's gotta stop them before they break this family!" Rad said. "Time to show our guests some holiday cheer" Ko said as fist began to glow as he readied his power punch. Just then, Principal Claus zoomed past him and grabbed Darrell by the arm. He then flipped him onto his back and it broke the robot in half. He then grabbed Shannon by her face and threw her and Darrell into the air. After he flew into the air, he took ahold of Shannon and rammed her into the ground. "Coolest. Principal. Ever!That was incredible!" Nebula complimented. "Wow! Principal Claus, I had no idea that you could fight like that" Ko said in awe. "It's a shame I have to fight at all Ko. Every year I have to protect the line from interlopers like Darrell and Shannon. We here would be happy to accept them into our family if they wanted. But some people will just never respect our traditions" he said sadly.
Enid checked her watch and Nebula looked at her phone to see that the time was five fifty-nine pm. "It's almost six. What should we do?" Enid asked. "I dunno. At first I thought these people were just victims of mindless buying, but waiting for the store to open like this is their tradition. It's how they bond" Rad said. "Then maybe we shouldn't sell Blorbies, we should give them away! Cause isn't giving more in the holiday spirit?" Ko suggested. "I don't know about that idea Ko. Wouldn't Gar be super mad if we didn't make a profit on them like we're supposed to?" Nebula asked. It then began to snow. "Hey look" Enid pointed out.
The heroes then began to marvel at the falling snow. "That's right. This is my first snowfall ever" she thought as she glanced at her friends. "The snow is so beautiful! This is so amazing to be able to be here with my friends" Nebula thought to herself as she smiled at her friends.
"Come on guys, let's open the store!" Ko said. "Attention all line-goers! Gar's Bodega is open for business!" Ko announced as he, Nebula, Rad, and Enid opened the store. "Let's make this the best Super Black Friday yet!" he said as the clock officially turned six o'clock. Nebula put her coat in the back and she got a broom.
All of the customers started to stampede in and take all the Blorbies. Among the chaos, Nebula spotted a small child holding Rad's arm. "Daddy, I want this Blorby" she said "Just cause I'm blue that doesn't mean that I'm a Blorby" Rad said as he tried to break free of the small girl's surprisingly strong grip. Nebula ended up being separated from her friends and she struggled to clean up after the customers. "Get in your box!" the girl said as she pushed Rad into a tiny container for a Blorby. "I'm not a Blorby!" Rad cried. Nebula then heard Rad scream. "Rad!" she cried in worry. "Hang on baby, I'm coming!" she said as she fought through the crowd. She eventually reached Rad and she levitated the young girl away from him.
The clock turned from 6:00 to 6:01. All the customers froze and left the store. "Thank you" they all said as they left. Enid was hunched over the counter while Rad and Ko were on the floor. Nebula noticed one of the displays that was on fire so she went to retrieve a fire extinguisher. "I hope I don't have to worry about a little girl trying to steal my boyfriend every year" she said to herself as she got the fire extinguisher and put out the fire. She then walked over to Rad and removed the small container that the young girl was trying to shove him into.
The doors then opened and Carol and Mr. Gar appeared. "Did somebody say pie?" they said in unison as Carol held out a pie and Mr. Gar held out some plates. "Mommy" Ko cried happily. "Mr. Gar?" Rad, Nebula, and Enid said in confusion. "This was all my fault for asking you four to work Black Friday in the first place" he said as Carol cut out pieces of the pie and put them on plates that he was holding. "So instead, let's follow our tradition of eating pie in the bodega" he said as he handed out the plates. "But we've never done this before" Enid said. "Enid, you're lucky that it's a holiday or I'd be telling you to can it and eat your pie" Nebula threatened as Gar handed her a plate. "How is this a tradition?" Enid asked. "Well the thing about traditions is that they're all made up. So let's make up our own tradition here and now" he responded as Carol handed Ko a plate. "I'm so happy to finally spend some time with my friends and family" Ko said sweetly. They all then began to laugh as the snow fell. Nebula stopped laughing and she looked at her friends and smiled widely. She then turned to Rad.
"What's so funny?"
I know this is really late but I've been super busy. I should be posting like usual from now on