Chapter 2-3: What I'm Afraid Of
Soon, Deuce says, "Listen, enough about me," Then turns to his mom, "Mom, are you okay being away from the White Rabbit Deliveries stall this long?"
"Don't worry, I'm on a break," Dylla reassures.
"What's White Rabbit Deliveries?" Silver asks.
"Oh, that's the company my mom works for," Deuce says.
"It's a delivery company, known for the distinctive White Rabbit logo on the trucks. A famous chain here in the Queendom," Dylla says, "The White Rabbit that served the Queen of Hearts was always dashing about from place to place. Which makes him the perfect mascot for a delivery service, don't you think? I've been one of their drivers for years."
"Wow, that's so cool!" Epel says.
"Yeah. It must be cool to travel to different places," Jasper says.
"How sweet of you to say! I love being behind the wheel of a big truck," Dylla says, "Anyway, let's head home."
"Home, like, our home? Why?" Deuce asks, confused.
"So you can change into the White Rabbit costumes I got for you," Dylla says.
Everyone replies, confused, "Huh?"
Dylla then explains, "Every year the barkers at our stall wear White Rabbit costumes. But we've got more than we need, so I stashed some back home. If you're gonna enjoy White Rabbit Fest to its fullest, I figured that included dressing up!"
This makes Deuce embarrassed, "...Mom. I don't suppose that once we're in those costumes, you're going to make us help out at your stall?"
"Oh, you saw right through me," Dylla says with a smile.
"I knew it!" Deuce cries out, "They came here to have fun. You can't make them WORK!"
"Not even for a single measly hour? Just during the peak?" Dylla replies, "You know what, it's fine. Just wear the costumes and hang around the stall a bit—that'll liven things up plenty."
"I don't wanna wear it in the first place!" Deuce cries out.
"Huh? Why not? You did it all the time when you were little. I can just picture you now as a baby, all swaddled up with rabbit ears on…" Dylla says.
This makes Deuce embarrassed, "That was YEARS ago, Mom."
Dylla continues, "Then once you could walk, you had that fluffy rabbit jacket...
After you started elementary school, I remember you had these tiny little rabbit ears and tail."
"I don't remember any of that!" Deuce cries out, and his cheeks are practically burning red, "I'm not a kid anymore. I'm not dressing up."
But Dylla says, "Aw, c'mon. I already borrowed the costumes. They're all super cute, I promise."
"That's what I'm afraid of!" Deuce says.
Epel isn't so sure, "Y-yeah, I don't know. I might be convinced to dress up as a tiger or a dragon or something, but a rabbit...?"
"I don't want to dress like a rabbit either," Jasper says.
"It does seem silly to wear floppy ears," Tanzanite says.
Deuce turns to Silver, "You wouldn't want to either, would you, Silver?"
"I don't mind," Silver says.
The boys react in shock, "Huh?"
"All we have to do is wear a costume and help drum up customers, right? I see no reason to refuse," Silver says.
"Yeah, I'm okay with it too," Ortho says.
Grim happily says, "I love dressin' up!"
"I'd love to wear one!" Sereia says.
Trinket nods and tinks with a glee.
"Me too! I sometimes like to wear bunny ears and bunny accessories back at home during Easter," Briar says.
Even Deuce is shocked, "You too, Briar?!"
"Maybe we're the weird ones?" Epel says.
"Yeah. Sounds like we're out voted," Jasper says.
"Seems so," Tanzanite replies with a sheepish smile.
Deuce sighs, "Okay, Mom. You win. We'll wear them."
"Now we're talking! Let's go get changed!" Dylla says, excited.
Then Deuce points out, "But our place is pretty far from the park. How are we getting there?"
But Dylla reassures, "Not to worry—I've got a company minivan for us. I'll drive, naturally."
"She looks like a bit of a lead foot to me…" Grim says.
Dylla turns to Grim, "I'll have you know I follow all the rules of the road. Besides, don't you know the White Rabbit Deliveries slogan? 'Delivering your cargo swift and safe by any important date!'
"...We're not cargo," Deuce says.
Dylla laughs, "Haha, of course not, sweetie. Okay, let's go!"
The group then begin to head to the van.
Ortho turns to Briar and asks, "By the way, Briar, what is this Easter you've mentioned anyway?"
"It's a really fun holiday. I mean, the main origin is different, but so far, Easter is about having fun dressing in rabbit ears, accessories, having parties, decorating hard boiled eggs in a lot of colors, and getting to hunt them along with some candy and goodies. And many of us have parties," Briar says.
"Sounds like my kind of holiday," Grim says.
"We also play games too. One time my friends and I played with special eggs that were filled in confetti and flour, and we tried to splatter each other with it," Briar says.
Epel laughs and says, "Sounds like a really fun game, and it's really messy."
"It is," Briar says. Then crosses her arms with a frown, "Except when some of the boys thought it would be funny to splatter real eggs on our heads."
"Yuck!" The twins reply.
"They used real eggs on you?" Deuce asks.
"They did. It was gross. One of them got three eggs splattered on my head. I had to wash my hair three times to make sure the yolk was off," Briar says. Then sticks her tongue out in disgust, "Blech!"
"That does sound gross," Silver says.
"And messy," Sereia says.
"Well, it's a good thing you don't need to worry about egg splattering here," Deuce says.