Chapter two: Benson, Safe Foods

Benson did not like surprises. He likes his routine to stay on schedule, his things to stay in their places, and for his food to be pre-planned. Everyone and everything had it's place in his life, just how he liked it. Every night before bed, he wrote out the schedule for tomorrow, and the job assignments for each member of the park. And in the morning, after double checking that everything on his schedule was still acceptable, he packed his lunch for the day. Other than the routine checking, this was one of his most important parts of his day.

Benson didn't like anything chunky, like spaghetti sauce. Nothing lumpy, like mashed potatoes. Nothing too creamy, like ranch. Nothing that had an inconsistent texture, like most fruits. And if it was liquid, it couldn't have anything floating in it, like pulpy orange juice, or lemonades with fresh fruit.

With his palate being so limited, it could be hard to find foods he would eat. But, he had a few safe foods. Things that he liked and COULD eat. Hot wings, buttered noodles, crackers, chicken and a few other things. Things that didn't disturb his sensitivities, and had unexpected textures or tastes. Hot Wings could be a pretty wild card sometimes, he would admit. But that was why he ONLY either ever ate the ones he made himself, or the ones from Wing Kingdom.

When he made them himself, he could control what went into them, how hot they were, and if he didn't like them, he could throw them away and start over. He had perfected the wings that lived up to his own standards, and he knew he would be able to eat them, even when nothing else sounded appealing. Hot wings were his safest food, and he didn't know what he would do if he couldn't eat them...

Benson's stomach began to growl around noon. Good thing too. Lunch was 12:45 on the dot and ended at 1:25. His body seemed to run a schedule, even without him thinking about it. Benson checked the clock on the wall. 12:38. Just enough time for him to clear off his desk and get his lunch. Benson smiled and began to put his papers together, before sticking them into one of his filing boxes. He placed his pens in his desk drawers, and then made a quick trip to the bathroom to wash his hands. All on schedule, following the routine~

This morning, Benson had placed a box of his home made wings into the fridge for lunch. Now, he could microwave them, and enjoy his lunch~ He was quite excited! He hadn't eaten this morning, as he ran out of bread for his toast and milk for his cereal. So, he was much more hungry then usual this time around!

"You've earned this Benson," he said to himself with a satisfied sigh. "Today's been a long one so far, but you've really earned this lunch~"

Once his hands had been dried, he head down the stairs, more than ready to eat.

But, when he heard two all too familiar chortles, he stopped. Furrowing his brow, he listened a bit closer. Mordecai and Rigby, he should have known. What were they doing in the house? He remembered them talking to Muscle Man this morning about going out for lunch today? Well, there went his plans for a peaceful, quiet lunch. But, it was what it was he supposed... He would just grab his wings and take them up to his office instead.

But of course, that wasn't going to happen...

Benson froze in the doorway of the kitchen when he saw what he saw. Mordecai and Rigby, fingers messy with win sauce, and lips coated in the stuff. His box of wings sat open on the table, being devoured by his two employees. And all the while, they laughed away...

"You sure this is fine?" Mordecai asked his friend, wiping his beak with his wing.

"Yeah man! There wasn't any name on the box, so as far as I see it, it's up for grabs~" Rigby grinned. "Free lunch man!"

"What are you two doing with my wings?!" Benson demanded, the glass on his face glowing a bright shade of red.

"Wha- Your wings?" Mordecai asked. "Dude!" he scolded his friend.

"Hold on dude, I've got this," Rigby said easily. "Your wings? I don't see your name on them."

"That doesn't matter! You shouldn't be eating my things! Now what am I supposed to eat?!" Benson scold. Looking at the clock, he could feel his frustration bubbling. One minute past his lunch time...

"Chill man! There's still lots of stuff to eat!" Rigby assured him, scampering over to the fridge and opening it up wide. "Look, we've got uh, sandwich stuff. Pizza Pockets. Soda. What else...?"

"I don't want those thing! I can't eat those things!" Benson scolded, feeling his face getting hotter and hotter. That was HIS food. He brought it because he knew there wasn't anything else he could eat in the house, and now it was ruined! He knew he could probably order something and go pick it up. But, it was his lunch time now, and he was supposed to eat now! Not later! He was going to be off schedule, and not have enough time to eat by the time he got back! If he pushed back his lunch, he would have to push back his whole schedule! And then everything was going to be thrown off, and he just couldn't do it!

He placed his hands against the sides of his head as he tried to take a deep breath and calm down. But no matter how hard his chest retracted, he felt like he couldn't get in enough air. "You two are idiots! I ought to fire you!" he managed to say, pressing his hands tighter and tighter against the sides of the glass. "What am I supposed to do now?!"

"Dude, he's totally freaking out.." Rigby whispered to his friend.

"Yeah I know. We should get outta here..." Mordecai whispered back. "Uh...Benson dude, we should go. Our lunch break is over so, maybe we should get back to work, or something?"

"Get out!" Benson scolded, shaking his head, the gumballs inside rattling around. And quickly, the two of them left, leaving Benson to stew in his anger.

"Idiots, those idiots!" Benson shout, the glass hot against his hands. He couldn't calm down, he felt himself working up more and more every second. He was stirring himself up into a meltdown, and those were never pretty. He would scream, hit, break things, and the worst part of it, was that he didn't have any control over any of it...
But he didn't know what else to do. His schedule was off, he didn't have his safe food, and suddenly, everything was just turning into too much. He was supposed to have lunch, and now he wasn't, and soon, he'd have to go back to work!

He has 25 minutes left, which was practically 20 minutes, which was barely more then 10 minutes! What was he supposed to do?!

As he bowed his head, breathing hard to try and calm down, he didn't realize that the door had opened. He didn't hear the pair of feet that skipped into the room. He didn't hear the sink turn on or the drawer open. He was only taken out of this heated state, when he felt the sudden chill of the cold cloth on the back of his neck. It was a very sobering feeling, and it brought him out of his worked up state.

"H-Huh? What-?" He said, lifting his head, and holding the cloth in place. Oh. "Skips..."

"I thought you could use a little cooling off," Skips said easily. Having worked in the park the longest, he (and Pops) had seen the most of Benson's meltdowns. Skips knew best how to calm him down. Cool him off, talk him through, get things back on track. Benson had the tendency to get stuck on things, and if they didn't act fast, he could become so stuck, that he would spiral into a meltdown, and after that, all they could do was wait it out.

Skips glanced at the box on the table, and then back at Benson. "Let me guess. Mordecai and Rigby?"

"Who else would be this selfish?" Benson growled. "They ate everything Skips!"

"I can see that," Skips nodded. "Take a couple deep breaths. You're getting too worked up.."

"How can I not!?" Benson asked, his face heating up once again. "They know better, and they ignored it! They ignored everything I told them NOT to do, but I really shouldn't have been surprised!

"Benson..." Skips warned.

"Argh!...No, no, you're right..." Benson said through his grit teeth. Then, he cautiously took one breath, and then another. "This still...doesn't fix the problem...'

And Skips knew he was right. Even when he had calmed down, he was going to work himself right back up, thinking about the wings issue if they didn't fix it now. "Listen Benson. Why don't I make you some buttered noodles? I know it's not what you planned, but at least you'll have something. Then tomorrow, you can bring some wings and keep them in MY fridge. How does that sound?"

Benson took a moment to collect himself as he thought about it. But, he finally nodded. "Yeah, that should be fine, thanks Skips."

"And next time, just make sure you write your name on the box.."