Chapter Seven: Cardboard Boxes
It only took me and Gibby a couple of minutes to walk over to Bushwell Plaza. I decided to wait in the lobby while Gibby retrieved his jacket, and the important item it held. Luckily, Lewbert was no where to be found, so I stretched out on the couch and waited.
I must have dozed off, because the next thing I remember, I was being beaten over the head with a a pillow. I could hear Gibby's voice between smacks.
"Spencer! Get up! Spencer!"
"Okay, I'm up!" I said, and jumped to my feet. Gibby stared at me with a 'What the heck?' look, then smacked me in the head again. I snatched the pillow from his hand and threw it back on the couch.
"Did you get your jacket?" I said, regaining my composure.
"Yeah, it's right here" Gibby answered, and held up a red blazer as proof. I looked at him quizzically, but he just stood there with a goofy grin.
"That's your jacket? Dude, what up?" Gibby's smile faded, and he promptly flipped the jacket on.
"What? It's stylin…" Gibby said, his smile returning. I stared a moment before a smile spread across my face as well.
"You are so right" I admitted. I made a mental note then and there; be sure to get a red blazer.
We headed out the door, when I remembered that I had forgot something. Or almost did. Wait, if I remembered it, how did I forget it? Or did I forget to remember? Anyway, I almost didn't remember to not forget, okay?
"You sure it's in there?" I asked Gibby.
"Right here" he replied, patting his chest pocket.
"Alright, let's go." We were back at the Groovy Smoothie in no time. Freddie was staring, jaw-dropped, at the massive pile of bagels T-Bo had laid before him.
"Can you at least put them in boxes?" Freddie asked. T-Bo turned slowly toward him.
"Well, excuse me for not putting them in little packages!" he said, and then went back to frying donuts.
"Well, can we have some boxes to put them in?" Freddie said, getting a little agitated.
"Oh, yeah, there's some in the back."
"I'll get 'em!" I chirped in, and ran for the back room. About half-way there my foot found something wet and slippery and practically flew out from under me. I landed on my back. Hard. T-Bo walked over and placed a wet floor sign by my head.
"Sorry. I would have done it earlier, but somebody" he looked at Freddie. "was in a hurry to get their order."
"Yeah, and I still am." Freddie said, obviously nervous and on the edge of panic. T-Bo rolled his eyes and went back to work, mumbling under his breath.
"No, no. I'm fine." I moaned, still laying prone on the floor. "I'll just…I'll just lie here for a while."
"Don't worry, I'll get the boxes." Gibby said, and I saw him step over me as he made his way to the back room. I managed to get up on my feet just as Gibby was coming back through with an armload of boxes. The resulting collision sent cubical cardboard skittering across the floor of the Groovy Smoothie, and me and Gibby tumbling down. Gibby jumped back up to his feet, shook his head, and gathered the boxes. I figured I'd just stay down for a while.
"Oh, man ,this isn't going to work." I heard Freddie say. By now he was pacing the floor, mumbling to and pulling at his hair, occasionally stopping to take a nervous sip of a smoothie. Something about that scene seemed familiar.
"This is crazy!" Freddie continued. "There's no way this will happen." That was it! I remembered now! I knew what was coming, so I just close my eyes and slipped into another flashback…