I don't own Aqua Teen Hunger Force or any of its characters.
I sat in the principal's office, looking around and feeling nervous. This was the first time I've been in here, but I've visited other offices for different reasons. This one looked no different than those. There was a desk with lots of paper on it along with shelves that had rows and rows of books. The only difference I could tell was it looked even more boring and depressing somehow than the other offices, but I shrugged off that thought as the principal came through the door and walked to his desk; I was sitting in the seat in front of the big wooden desk. He pulled his chair out and as he sat down, he turned his attention to me.
"So, would you like to tell me what you were doing and why you weren't in class?" he asked with a serious look on his face.
I opened my mouth to speak, but just then I heard someone call to me from just outside the office. I already knew who it was before Frylock floated through the door entrance. For a moment I thought about glancing at him, but then the adult would want to know what I was looking at.
"Well?" the principal prompted, not taking his eyes off of me. "I'm waiting."
While I was thinking of an excuse that wouldn't make me sound completely insane, I noticed Frylock taking something out of his box. Then he floated toward the principal. The thing he had pulled out was a remote with a big red button, and as soon as he pressed it, the fries started glowing. At the same moment, Shake and Meatwad appeared at the entrance to the office, and they too were glowing.
When they were back to normal, Frylock put the remote back in his box and turned to the principal, who suddenly got wide eyed. It was then that I realized that he could also see the cartoons.
Apparently Frylock has a way for people to see them. That's probably how I can see them; he might have used that remote on me.
Before the adult could say anything, Frylock told him," Don't be mad at Candace. It's not her fault. It's our fault."
"Speak for yourself!" Shake walked to Frylock, sounding annoyed and angry. "It was your idea to come here in the first place!"
"Would you just drop that, man?" Frylock sounded equally as mad. "I already told you that I said before we left that you could have stayed there while Meatwad and I came here."
Shake didn't respond, but he still looked mad and upset. Then the milkshake glanced at me, but I just rolled my eyes and turned back to the principal as he started to speak.
"W-who ar-are you?" he stammered. It was obvious that he didn't watch the show since he asked that question.
"My name is Frylock," the box of fries told him, a little friendlier than when he was talking to Shake. Then he pointed to his friends. "And that's Meatwad and Shake."
"Hey." Meatwad smiled as he looked up at the principal.
But Shake didn't say anything. He drew his eyes away from me, looked down, and kept quiet which was strange for him. I expected a snappy comeback or something that would insult my principal. For a second I was starting to think something was wrong with him, but then I remembered I hated him and I shouldn't care about him.
"As I said it was our fault, not hers." Frylock glanced at Shake, probably daring the milkshake to say something. But Shake was still silent and didn't meet his friend's eyes. I started to wonder if he even heard Frylock. Surely if he did, he would have spoken out again? It was then that I realized that he didn't look like himself. There was sadness deep in his eyes and a frown on his face.
Then Shake turned around and left the room. I tried not to let my mind wander to the milkshake since I hated him and I kept telling myself that I didn't care what was wrong with him.
Silence filled the room. It began to get awkward, until finally the principal started talking, sounding calmer than before; but I could still see the disbelief in his eyes as if he thought he was imagining the cartoons in front of him, which probably was what he was doing, since a box of fries was talking to him.
"So, why was she out of class?" he asked Frylock with a hint of a challenge in his voice. I was impressed that he would want to stand up to the box of fries. But then I remembered that the principal didn't know just how dangerous Frylock could be when he was mad. He didn't know that the cartoon had lasers that came out of his eyes.
"We had to talk to her," Frylock explained. "We needed to go to a place where we wouldn't be interrupted, and since nobody could see us, we had to go somewhere private to talk."
"I can see you." Now the principal sounded annoyed. "I don't know if I'm imagining you or not, but clearly, I can see something." He tried to reach out and touch the fries, but Frylock gently nudged him away.
"Well, this remote— "Frylock pulled out the remote once again"—allows people in this world to see us. Without it, nobody would know we're here. We can choose who we want to see us."
"Are you going to tell him why we're here?" Meatwad asked Frylock.
"No," his friend replied. "That's only between us and Candace."
The principal suddenly looked interested, but he didn't say anything about what the meatball just said. "I'm probably imagining all this, but you said it wasn't her fault she was out of class, but yours?"
"Yes," Frylock replied, sounding relieved that he made the principal understand.
"Okay." The adult turned to me. "Can you see them?" he asked me, and I nodded. He took a deep breath and let it out. "Tell you what, I'd forget about all this, if you promise me that you'll never skip class again."
I felt joy run through my body. "I promise!" I exclaimed, but as soon as I said that, I realized that I sounded a little too eager. I made myself relax as the principal turned back to Frylock.
"You won't tell anyone about us, would you?" Frylock fretted. "I didn't want anyone but Candace to know that we were here."
"Nobody would believe me anyways, but yes, I'll keep your secret," the grown-up replied.
When the principal dismissed me, the final bell ranged, so the two remaining Aqua Teens followed me to where my brother would be waiting for me in his car.
I was glad school was over, but more happy that the principal didn't give me ISS or anything worse. He had also promised that he wouldn't call my parents or tell anyone else he works with that I got in trouble, so it was like I never skipped class, except that my teachers knew I wasn't in the last two periods. I had asked the principal what he'd tell them, and he said that he'd explain to them that I was with him the whole time. But other than that, it was like he never found out about the cartoons.
I was wondering where Shake had gone when suddenly the milkshake walked around a corner, almost running into his friends and I, but he stopped when he saw us and looked around as if avoiding our eyes. I was confused when I noticed he looked frightened about something. There was nobody else in the hallway, and if there were, only I could see him. For a few more seconds there was fear and sadness mingled in his eyes, but as soon as he blinked, it vanished.
Frylock lifted an eyebrow. "Where have you been?" He looked at Shake, and studied him up and down.
"No-nowhere!" Shake sounded defensive, but his voice shook a little. He swallowed hard, probably hoping none of us would ask again. Frylock just turned away from the milkshake and started floating down the hallway, Meatwad right behind him.
But I stayed where I was, staring at Shake. He noticed that I was looking at him and a hard expression formed on his face. "What the hell are you looking at?" he demanded, but he walked away before I could reply.
I sighed and followed him through the doors and into the courtyard.
The Aqua Teens knew what my brother's car looked like, so they got there before I did.
On the way home, I asked my brother if we could go to the gas station. He sounded like he didn't want to, but he pulled into the parking space of a local gas station. I knew I had a dollar from a few days ago in my bookbag.
After getting the money out, I went inside the store, the Aqua Tees following me like a lost puppy.
I was slightly aware that Shake went straight to the beer, while Frylock and Meatwad stayed with me. I knew the people who worked at the store couldn't see the food people, and it made me feel special. I always liked being different, and now I felt more different than ever before, although nobody could know about it.
Suddenly I felt lonely, until I remembered about my best friend. I started to wonder if Frylock would let her see them and talk to them. We told each other everything; there was no way I wanted to hide something as big as this from her.
Taking out my phone, I went through my contacts till I found her name. I typed into the phone," Hey, what's up?", but I held it in my hand instead of putting it back in my pocket as I made my way to where the drinks were.
As I opened the freezer door, the cold air hit me and I felt my body start to shiver uncontrollably. I heard Meatwad laugh a little from behind me.
Ignoring the meat ball, I reached for a can of soda before closing the door.
Then my phone went off and I lifted it up.
"Not much, you?" the text read.
I answered back with," Heading home from school. Want to come over?"
It was then that I noticed the fries floating over my shoulder and reading my messages. Acting like I wasn't up to anything, I walked around a corner and was glad to see nobody around.
As soon as we were out of sight, Frylock asked me," What are you doing? Who are you talking to?"
"My friend," I replied. "I wanted to know if you can–"
He interrupted me by lifting one of his fries. "No," he answered without me finishing my question. He must have saw the disappointment in my eyes before he added," I'm sorry, Candace, but like I told the principal, I only wanted you to see us. You have to tell your friend that she can't come over."
I opened my mouth to object when suddenly the text notification sounded. I looked down at my phone. "Sure, can you pick me up?" she asked me.
"Please," I begged Frylock as I looked back up at him. "I do not want to hide this from her." I gave him the best sad look I could manage.
"Aw, come on, man," Meatwad spoke up. "What harm can happen if one more person sees us?"
I nodded in agreement but stayed silent when I realized that the box of fries was thinking it over. Then he sighed and gave in. "Fine," he agreed.
Excitement surged through me as I told her that I'd pick her up.
Afterward, I walked to the check out with Frylock and Meatwad following me. When we got there, Shake walked up to us with two beer boxes in his hands. I sighed softly as I put my soda can on the counter.
The person on the other side of the table smiled at me and asked," Would that be all for you?"
I nodded but said nothing.
He scanned the can and then said," That'd be 75 cents."
I gave him the dollar, and he handed me back the change. I started walking to the door; Frylock and Meatwad followed me. Shake tried to follow, but Frylock stopped him and asked," Aren't you going to pay for those?" He pointed to the beer boxes.
"They can't see us, so I don't know how I'd pay for them, even if I did have money." Shake sounded a lot calmer than he did earlier.
Frylock sighed but said nothing else.
That's stealing! I thought, before I realized that the milkshake stole even in his world. When I got outside, a cold breeze blew in my face and suddenly felt like someone was watching me. I looked around, thinking it was only the Aqua Teens, but they were at my brother's car. I slightly heard my brother call me, so I began to walk to the car. When I opened the door, the strange feeling got stronger.
I got in the car and closed the door. But the feeling never went away. Then I knew what was happening. This was the same feeling I felt last night when I was in Church and when the Aqua Teens arrived. Another cartoon is watching me! I suddenly got confused. But who?
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