Chapter 15: The ZNN Interview
Summertime will soon be here and the crowds are heading toward the beach. Stone Kole entertains the beach goers with a unique surfing trick much to the chagrin of Karen's boss, Mister Quill.
I think Stone would agree with the song "Let's go Surfing" by the Drums.
Mister Quill was feeling very pleased with himself. The portly porcupine had donned his best suit for a live interview with a reporter from ZNN about the upcoming summer season and he was looking forward to boasting about why his hotel was the best on The Strand. For now, he was contently observing the reporter and her cameramammal walking the beach while they tried to find the best location to film their report. He was hoping that they would include the well-manicured pool area with the new outside tiki bar during the broadcast. Suddenly, there was some excited shouting from the beach and he frowned when the news crew rushed across the sand to film a surfer. The hotel manager scowled because it wasn't just any surfer, it was that beach bumming fennec fox who he felt was always underpaw.
"Dude, he's gonna do it!" a guest standing by the pool cried out and almost everyone in the pool area were running to watch.
"This is going to be epic!" another guest exclaimed as he pointed toward the waves.
With growing interest, Mister Quill walked onto the beach so he could better see what was happening. The fox on his surfboard was skimming down the face of a huge wave, which was nothing new, but he had another smaller surfboard in his paws. Suddenly the surfer leapt off the board he was riding and onto the other surfboard. After doing a few more moves, what he figured the surfing rift raft called bottom turns, the fennec fox rode that board toward the beach. The porcupine gave an disappointed sigh, while he watched the reporter approaching the surfer as the fox waded ashore, because he realized that she had decided to interview the fox instead. His muzzle scrunched up in aggravation when he overheard some of the guests' comments.
"That was so sick!"
"Dude, what did I tell you? That was epic!"
"Totally Gnarly!"
Turning, he stormed through the lobby. "Are you feeling okay, Mister Quill?" a pretty sand cat in a blue blazer asked him from behind the reception desk.
"I'm just fine, Karen, get back to work!" he snapped as he began to brush past her toward his office. She had to jump aside to get away from his bristling spines. Just when he reached the door handle, he turned and added, "That boyfriend of yours, Stone Kole, has been showing off again."
"Oh, is that all?" she replied while trying not to grin.
"Humph!" the porcupine huffed out before he slammed closed his office door. Carefully he sat down in his chair, so as not to puncture the cushions with his quills, and dejectedly stared at his desk. After a few moments, he opened a drawer and removed a brochure showing an elegant hotel located a few miles up the coast in ritzy Sandy Cove. This particular hotel was the flagship of the company he worked for, and he gave a longing sigh as he perused the brochure. It was the type of establishment he felt he deserved to manage, one that catered to the rich and famous rather than families with their snotty-nosed, mangy kits. The brochure showcased a grand wraparound porch where white-jacketed waiters served high tea to the sound of a grand piano. This was a far cry from the overpriced, watered-down drinks served at his hotel during happy hour at the pool area's tiki bar while the stereo blared. He stared at a photo of a pristine private beach and daydreamed about not having to put up with any surfers or the annoying general public. The hotel's five-star restaurant serves gourmet meals on crisp white linens instead of a cheap free heat-and-eat breakfast buffet in a room off the lobby.
After setting down the brochure, Mister Quill noticed several invoices in his inbox. Karen had already reviewed them and prepared payment request forms for Accounting. Without even looking them over, he signed the requests and tossed them into his outbox. Karen was hardworking and dedicated, having been employed at the hotel since she was sixteen, and was now actually running the place. Although the feline was well-liked by the staff and the hotel's regular guests, he did not want to give her an outstanding review as it might draw the attention of upper management and lead to her promotion. There was no reason to upset the status quo, for if she left, he would have to hire an actual assistant manager for much more money and he would also have to work harder. So, he opened Karen's annual review and checked off several boxes, always selecting "Good" or "Very Good" but never "Excellent".
As Mister Quill logged onto his computer to play an online game of solitaire, he once again felt content with himself after returning the review to the drawer. However, his phone rang, and he wasn't happy to see it was the district manager. Instead of answering, he decided to let the call go to voicemail. He now regretted bragging earlier to the DM about doing the interview, as the reporter had only said maybe and hadn't committed to it completely. "Damn that fox!" he grumbled, referring to Stone Kole, who had stolen the interview opportunity due to his surfing antics. The porcupine disliked all surfers because he saw them as rowdy beach bums, but he despised Stone Kole the most because he was not only a surfer but also a no-good, despicable fox. He needed to speak with Karen again to confirm that her boyfriend wasn't stalking around the lobby or the pool area when he wasn't there.
As soon as Mister Quill slammed his door closed, Karen raced across the lobby toward a large window so she could see for herself what was going on and smiled when she saw the reporter interviewing Stone. Her boyfriend's paws were wildly gesturing as he spoke and she knew from experience he was laying it on big with his surfer slang.
"Old Sourpuss is unhappy," a familiar voice spoke from behind her.
"Mandy, Old Sourpuss is always unhappy and you shouldn't call Mister Quill that name," the sand cat scoffed after the taller white-tailed deer doe in a maid's uniform joined her by the window.
"Nope, he is both old and a sourpuss," the deer laughed. They stood there for a few moments watching the fox talking to the reporter. "Do you think Stoney knew that ZNN was doing a story today and that is why he was showing off?"
"No, I'm sure he had no idea the reporter was coming. He probably saw someone else perform the trick, thought it looked like fun, and so he decided to give it a try."
"What do you think Stoney is saying?"
"Awesome possum, Dude…the waves are like totally gnarly…just drop in and ride the barrel...get pitted, Brah, so...so...stoked!" Karen tried to mimic Stone's voice when she answered. "If he talked like that all the time it would drive me crazy," she giggled. "He only does that for the fans, they love it."
"That and he is so cute!'
"Yes, he is," the cat sighed as she watched Stone finish talking to the reporter. He then jogged over to another surfer to retrieve his other board. Stone had stripped off his wetsuit down to his waist and was standing there bare-chested. The fox stopped and shook some more of the water off, leaving his tan fur ruffled. She so wanted to run her paws along that lean physique and feel his body pressed against hers...
"Ahem, little Miss Kitty, your tail is twitching like you are ready to pounce," Mandy chuckled.
"Sorry!" Karen replied, trying her best not to blush at the thoughts running through her mind.
"So what are you going to do after work? Do you want to hang out at the Carnival or maybe have a drink?"
"No, I've got plans."
"Huh, earlier this morning I thought you said that you had nothing going on tonight?"
"I do now."
"Like what?"
"I'm going to hunt down and pounce on a certain fox!" Karen softly growled.
"Just remember that foxes also love to pounce," Mandy laughed.
The pretty sand cat didn't reply but merely gave her friend a very predatory feline grin.
The maneuver that Stone Kole did is actually possible and there is a video online of professional surfer and creative waterman Jamie O'Brien (J.O.B.) switching boards mid-wave.
Yeah, Quill is a bigoted jerk in addition to being one of those bosses who cares only about himself. He makes Karen manage the hotel without promoting her to or paying her as an assistant manager and to make matters even worse, he takes credit for her work. He will ultimately go too far and justice will be served to him in the story Zootopia: Stone Kole in Dark Paradise.