West theme.
Rory said as much to Kyle. “What’s he doing over here? Isn’t Daniel more of a Fairy Tale Land dude?” Not like it really mattered; Rory saw Happy Hamster all over the Park, so it stood to reason that they all just roamed through whatever land they were told to be in.
He looked behind him to see if Kyle had heard the question and found Kyle partially hidden by the corner of the merchandise store. The look on his face was not what Rory would call thrilled. “Maybe we should go the other way.”
Rory could feel his brow go up. “Seriously? Why? Because of that d--” He successfully cut himself off before the rest of the word “douchebag” could pass his lips. “Dork?” he finished.
“I don’t want to cause any more trouble.” Kyle nibbled on his bottom lip and glanced worriedly at Charlie. “There’s been enough.”
Rory leaned against the artificial logs that made up the side of the store and studied Kyle closely. “Your whole life has been about avoiding trouble, hasn’t it.” Rory didn’t phrase it as a question.
“What’s wrong with that?”
Rory shrugged, not caring if the movement made his white costume shirt rub against the wall. “Didn’t say anything was wrong with it. Just trying to get a better handle on you.”
Kyle looked startled. “Why?”
Rory wouldn’t mind knowing the answer to that, himself. Probably better to ignore the question. Instead, he pushed off of the wall and twirled his broom around a couple of times. “Come on. We’re just doing our jobs, right?”
“I… guess.” Kyle looked as if he’d rather slide into a crack between the logs, but he straightened up as well. “Yeah. Just doing our jobs.”
“Then let’s do it.” Without giving Kyle another chance to slink off in a different direction, Rory headed straight for the walkway where Charlie was signing autographs in his crowd of admirers.
The autograph thing was another one of those Happy World traditions that Rory didn’t understand. Every merchandise store sold little blank books for the bargain price of $6.95 -- Happy World truly believed there was a sucker born every minute -- and Rory had seen not only children carrying these things around, but adults as well.
Rory and Kyle hovered around the edge of the crowd, sweeping up the inevitable garbage the excited guests were dropping in their haste to get closer to Daniel and his breeches. “So, what’s the deal with the adults and the autograph books?” Rory asked, sweeping up some popcorn. “I get why the kids want one, but their parents too?”
“Collector’s item.” Kyle picked up a bit of paper with his claw, but kept his back to the crowd in what seemed to be an effort to stay anonymous in case Charlie looked up.
Rory frowned. “How is that considered a collector’s item? Every single freaking kid in this Park can get Daniel’s autograph. And their moms can, too.”
“Sure,” Kyle agreed. “Daniel makes an appearance at least once a day. But have you seen Henrietta Hamster?”
Henrietta was billed as Happy Hamster’s girlfriend, and she was easy enough to find in the television cartoons that Happy World produced on a mass basis. Rory had seen plenty of little girls wearing pink T-shirts imprinted with Henrietta’s fuzzy face. But he couldn’t recall ever seeing the hamster costume roaming the Park. “I guess not.”
“Right. She only comes out two or three times a year, usually at holiday time. Getting her autograph is a big deal.”
“But what do they do with it? Sell it online or something?” Rory couldn’t figure it out.
Kyle shrugged and picked up another piece of litter. “Some might, I guess. But most people keep them so they can brag about it on the message boards.”
“Message boards?”
“That’s what I hear,” Kyle mumbled. His cheeks were stained pink, and Rory watched him concentrate hard on making sure he got every kernel of spilled popcorn.
Rory stepped closer, a real grin creasing
Rory said as much to Kyle. “What’s he doing over here? Isn’t Daniel more of a Fairy Tale Land dude?” Not like it really mattered; Rory saw Happy Hamster all over the Park, so it stood to reason that they all just roamed through whatever land they were told to be in.
He looked behind him to see if Kyle had heard the question and found Kyle partially hidden by the corner of the merchandise store. The look on his face was not what Rory would call thrilled. “Maybe we should go the other way.”
Rory could feel his brow go up. “Seriously? Why? Because of that d--” He successfully cut himself off before the rest of the word “douchebag” could pass his lips. “Dork?” he finished.
“I don’t want to cause any more trouble.” Kyle nibbled on his bottom lip and glanced worriedly at Charlie. “There’s been enough.”
Rory leaned against the artificial logs that made up the side of the store and studied Kyle closely. “Your whole life has been about avoiding trouble, hasn’t it.” Rory didn’t phrase it as a question.
“What’s wrong with that?”
Rory shrugged, not caring if the movement made his white costume shirt rub against the wall. “Didn’t say anything was wrong with it. Just trying to get a better handle on you.”
Kyle looked startled. “Why?”
Rory wouldn’t mind knowing the answer to that, himself. Probably better to ignore the question. Instead, he pushed off of the wall and twirled his broom around a couple of times. “Come on. We’re just doing our jobs, right?”
“I… guess.” Kyle looked as if he’d rather slide into a crack between the logs, but he straightened up as well. “Yeah. Just doing our jobs.”
“Then let’s do it.” Without giving Kyle another chance to slink off in a different direction, Rory headed straight for the walkway where Charlie was signing autographs in his crowd of admirers.
The autograph thing was another one of those Happy World traditions that Rory didn’t understand. Every merchandise store sold little blank books for the bargain price of $6.95 -- Happy World truly believed there was a sucker born every minute -- and Rory had seen not only children carrying these things around, but adults as well.
Rory and Kyle hovered around the edge of the crowd, sweeping up the inevitable garbage the excited guests were dropping in their haste to get closer to Daniel and his breeches. “So, what’s the deal with the adults and the autograph books?” Rory asked, sweeping up some popcorn. “I get why the kids want one, but their parents too?”
“Collector’s item.” Kyle picked up a bit of paper with his claw, but kept his back to the crowd in what seemed to be an effort to stay anonymous in case Charlie looked up.
Rory frowned. “How is that considered a collector’s item? Every single freaking kid in this Park can get Daniel’s autograph. And their moms can, too.”
“Sure,” Kyle agreed. “Daniel makes an appearance at least once a day. But have you seen Henrietta Hamster?”
Henrietta was billed as Happy Hamster’s girlfriend, and she was easy enough to find in the television cartoons that Happy World produced on a mass basis. Rory had seen plenty of little girls wearing pink T-shirts imprinted with Henrietta’s fuzzy face. But he couldn’t recall ever seeing the hamster costume roaming the Park. “I guess not.”
“Right. She only comes out two or three times a year, usually at holiday time. Getting her autograph is a big deal.”
“But what do they do with it? Sell it online or something?” Rory couldn’t figure it out.
Kyle shrugged and picked up another piece of litter. “Some might, I guess. But most people keep them so they can brag about it on the message boards.”
“Message boards?”
“That’s what I hear,” Kyle mumbled. His cheeks were stained pink, and Rory watched him concentrate hard on making sure he got every kernel of spilled popcorn.
Rory stepped closer, a real grin creasing
Similar Books
