Chapter Nine part two
Beatrice:
On the way downstairs, I missed a step and fell down. I bumped my head and my back on the wall after reached the bottom. Thankfully, none of the Toon Patrol members saw me and the apple in my pocket didn't roll out of my pocket.
Get a grip, Beatrice. I thought. Just stand up straight, have a blank but serious look on your face, show no fear, and don't get Smarty ticked. Stop being nervous and you'll be all right.
When I finally arrived at the hall on the first floor, I heard a sound of something squeaking for a brief second. I looked down and I saw a brown mouse scurrying down the hall like it was being chased by a cat that's not there.
If Smarty is trying to scare me, then he can do better than that. I thought. It takes more than a mouse and a snake to scare me.
I walked into the room where I entered last night and I turned to my right. I saw a room with an opened door and it looked like an office for the CEO. Smarty was sitting at one end of a table with his back on the turned to the wall behind him. He's tapping his fingers on the table and in front of him is three black glasses in a straight line. Smarty looks at something to his left while still tapping his fingers on the table and frowning in an irritated matter.
I took a deep breath and cracked my neck. After loosening up and putting a blank but serious look on my face, I walked to the room. Smarty doesn't notice me standing by the door frame and I had to clear my throat to get his attention.
"Is this where the meeting is taking place?" I asked.
"Yes, Birchwood. Sit right there." Smarty replied and pointed to a nearby chair on his right.
Cautiously, I walked to the chair and Smarty watches me sitting down on the chair. I noticed him and frowned a little bit.
"What are you staring at?" I asked.
"There's a spider on your shoulder." Smarty said.
I was really tempted to look but I knew better than to do that. Smarty is once again trying to scare me.
"I'm not falling for that, Smarty." I said. "You're trying to scare me and I don't want to be looking like a fool before the meeting."
"No, really, there is a spider on your shoulder." Smarty said.
I narrowed my eyes and shook my head.
"Still not falling for it." I said.
My attention was caught by a newspaper slapping my shoulder a couple of times. I turned my head and I saw Wheezy walking away to the chair in front of me with a rolled-up newspaper in his left hand. A brown spot was visible on it and I realized that Smarty wasn't kidding at all.
"I 'mourned' you." Smarty chuckled.
"It's 'warned'." I corrected. "And you better knock it off with the idea of trying to scaring me. It takes more than a mouse to scare me."
"YOU'RE NOT SCARED OF MICE?!" Wheezy and Smarty exclaimed in unison.
"Wheezy, you owe boss a soda." Greasy said as he walked in and sat next to me. "So what did I miss, muchacha?"
In my head, I gulped in fear. I was sitting next to the serial killer. But I calmly replied to Greasy, "Oh, Smarty and Wheezy just realized that I'm not afraid of mice and they are completely shocked by what I said to them…about not being afraid of mice, I mean."
"Really? You're not afraid of mice?" Greasy asked in surprise and awe.
"Nope and I'm not even afraid of snakes."
"Wow, you're good."
Then, Psycho and Stupid walked in and closed the door behind them. Psycho sat next to Wheezy while Stupid sat next to Greasy. We all looked at Smarty and he makes the meeting official.
"All right, boys...and Birchwood, the meeting is now in 'section'. Boys, you already know that Birchwood is taking her little cousin's place in the challenge." Smarty said.
Every weasel looks at me and I gave them my blank but serious look on my face. I didn't even blink.
"Birchwood, are you willing to accept the challenge that's written on a piece on a piece of paper and is 'chillin' in one of these glasses?" Smarty asked, not using the word 'hidden'.
You don't have to do this! Person Number One shouted in my head. Try to reason with the weasels! They'll probably let Lexi go!
No, accept the stinkin' challenge! Person Number Two also shouted in my head. Lexi's life depends on you!
"I am willing to accept the challenge, Smarty." I said.
Katniss Everdeen shouts an alternate response in my head, I VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE!
"All right." Smarty said. Then, he begins to shuffle the glasses around.
I watched the glasses carefully and I began to think about which glass that the slip of paper was hidden in. After three more rounds of shuffling, Smarty stops and takes his hands off the glasses.
"Pick a glass." Smarty said.
I carefully looked at the three glasses as the weasels watch me.
"The glass in the middle." I said.
"Say that again." Smarty said back to me.
"I pick the glass in the middle."
Smarty lifts the glass off the table and a crumbled up ball of paper was exposed. After moving the glasses out of the way, Smarty flicks the paper at me and I catch it like a pencil rolling off a school desk. I opened up the paper and read it.
It said,
"The challenge you're participating in is known as the Game of Death."
"Are you scared?" Stupid asked.
I took my eyes off the paper and shook my head without even blinking.
"No, I'm not scared." I replied.
The truth is that I'm scared…I'm scared that I'm going to fail and not see Lexi again. When it comes to something like this, getting challenged by the people that I don't like very much, my main rule is to not show fear and I manage to make it out of a situation.
"Are you sure?" Wheezy asked and coughed after smoking five cigarettes.
"I'm sure." I replied with solemn.
"Are you not afraid of this?" Smarty asked.
He pulls out a Southern Leopard Frog and it hopped towards me. Greasy scoots away, Psycho watches the frog in shock, Wheezy doesn't even show a sign of interest, Stupid stares at the frog, and Smarty waits for me to jump out of my chair and scream like a wimp. Once again, I show Smarty that I'm not scared of frogs by gently picking up the frog and covered my left hand with my right.
"I don't understand this!" Smarty exclaimed. "How can you not be afraid of 'flogs'?!"
"I'm a country girl and I have frogs at my house all the time." I replied and uncovered my left hand. The frog was sitting still and I took the opportunity to scare Smarty a little bit. "And besides, frogs are just really adorable." I gently rubbed the tip of my forefinger down the frog's back and it leaped off my hand and it kind of glided through the air and lands inside Smarty's pink zoot suit.
Smarty exclaimed in surprise and he falls back with his chair. He begins to stammer in shock and even making random noises while he struggles to get the little frog. Greasy, Psycho, Wheezy, and Stupid laughed really hard and I just smiled and shook my head.
This kind of went on for a while and Smarty finally gets rid of the frog (he didn't kill it) and fixes his suit. The other weasels try not to laugh or smile while I just went back to looking serious.
"That was a very 'notting' thing to do, Birchwood." Smarty said. "But I'm going to let that slide for now."
"And I believe that we got off of the subject for a while. Are there any other details that I need to know about the Game of Death?" I asked in a mildly serious voice.
"Despite of the name *cough! cough!*," Wheezy said, "this isn't a life and death challenge but a test of knowledge and survival with toon physics involved."
"Read the instructions before starting the game." Greasy said.
"You have to participate in five games in the challenge and after doing two or three games, then you can have a break. During the challenge, you're given three chances in each game and if you lose all three chances, then your cousin can go home and you come to Toon Town with us."
"That's really all that you need to know, Birchwood." Smarty said. "If you still would like to say any last words to your cousin, I'll give you a few 'millets'. Then, the challenge begins."
"I would like to talk to my cousin, Smarty." I said.
"Then, Greasy will 'export' you to your cousin."
Don't leave me alone with a serial killer! I thought.
"All right, muchacha, let's go to your cousin." Greasy said.
With caution, I followed Greasy and we both left the room. As we walked out of Gallagher's house, Greasy began to laugh.
"I wish that I saw Boss's face when he got scared of that frog again!" He exclaimed. "It was just too funny!"
"I never thought that Smarty was really scared of frogs." I said. "I know many boys that aren't afraid of frogs."
"You're not afraid of frogs, either. That's what I like about you. You don't get scared by anything that usually scares girls."
We barely walked halfway through the lawn when Greasy told me to walk to the circus bear cage, which was straight ahead, and that he can't take one more step off the lawn with regret in his voice. He says that it was an order from Smarty for some reason that he doesn't fully know.
As I walked to the bear cage, I saw Lexi curled up in a ball with the burlap sack blanket wrapped around her. She sees me and runs up to me.
Are you doing all right? I asked.
Not really. I'm scared that you're not going to win. Lexi replied.
I promise you, Lexi. I am going to win the game and I'll bring us back home. I won't let the Toon Patrol hurt us or even bother us.
I'm counting on you, Beatrice. You have to win.
Lexi wraps her arms around me and we hugged. I even heard Lexi cry, not a loud cry…but a cry that sounds like a combination of moaning and whimpering. When I let Lexi go, I saw that tiny but fat teardrops running down her face.
With sympathy, I said to Lexi,
Don't cry, Lexi. I promise that everything is going to be all right.
Are you sure? Lexi asked.
Yes, Lexi. I'm sure.
Then, Lexi looks at something and the look on her face goes from sad to shock.
"What, Lexi?" I asked.
I turned around and I saw all of the members of the Toon Patrol bunched together. Smarty, with an evil sadistic smile on his face, grabs me by the collar of my hoodie with his right hand, and pins me to the bars of the cage. With his left hand, Smarty pulls out a white cloth and presses it on my nose.
"B-Beatrice!" I heard Lexi exclaim.
LEXI? DID YOU JUST-? I thought.
Everything goes black after Smarty dropped me in a pile of leaves like a rag doll.