Curly Kitty
Zoro curled up in a ball taking a nap… in beautiful lighting
…Time for this week’s story…
Boxed Up
“Ricky, wake up! Dude, wake up!”
The voice is far away until Ricky’s body shakes and the volume rises quickly. An awakened Ricky shudders and examines his surroundings. There is a dim light above but he is otherwise trapped in a dark, confined space with his friend.
“John, what’s going on? Where are we?”
“I don’t know. I woke up just before you.”
Ricky elbows the walls, then John follows suit. With barely enough space for both of them to stand up, there’s not enough room to bust through the heavily padded walls. They try anyway, over and over, but it gets them nowhere.
“Okay what’s going on? This is starting to freak me out,” Ricky says.
“Starting? I freaked out the second I woke up here. How did we get here? Because, I don’t remember falling asleep.”
“Did someone put something in our drinks?”
“Probably! Oh man, where are they taking us? Why us? I mean, you I understand, but I’m ugly. Why didn’t they just take you and leave me behind?”
“Hey, what the hell? First of all, you don’t give yourself enough credit, you’re a good looking guy.” Ricky pats John’s shoulders reassuringly.
“No, dude. I’m fat and that’s why I can’t get a girlfriend. I guess now I’m going to be someone’s girlfriend.”
“Okay, you’ve got a bit of a gut, but you’re a great guy with a great sense of humor. We’re going to get out of this and we’re going to get you a girlfriend, okay?”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I’ll see if I know anyone who might know a good match. I just need you to keep it together right now, okay?”
“Okay, thanks Ricky.”
“Of course. Now, let’s break this box open together. Let’s kick our feet against the back wall, like this.” Ricky lifts his leg and rests his foot against the opposite wall, by John’s ribs. John does the same. They press and kick as hard as they can. Again, their lack of space prevents leverage or force. They put their legs down and reevaluate.
“So, any theories on who drugged us?” Ricky asks.
“Yeah, I think it was that group of cute asian girls at the last casino.”
“Why do you think it was them?”
“Because they were the last people I remember hanging out with,” John says.
“You mean the girls who couldn’t get away from you fast enough because you were hanging all over them?”
“They were interested until the drinks came, then they wanted to leave. I wasn’t hanging all over them.”
“You were pretty sloppy, but you do have a point. They could've just wanted some free drinks.” Ricky tries to recall further, but that is when things get fuzzy for him too.
“Did you pay for those or did I?”
“I don’t remember. Oh, our stuff!” Ricky reaches into his pockets but finds them empty, as does John.
“That figures. Okay, I’ve got an idea. Move over here.” John moves Ricky aside and scoots him down.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m going to headbutt through the wall.”
“Don’t be an idiot.”
“It’s padded. It won’t hurt my head.”
“The impact can still cause brain damage,” Ricky points out, giving John a moment of pause.
“Do you have a better plan?”
Without a better plan, Ricky shrugs and waves for John to continue.
John smashes his head against the padded wall to no avail. He tries again, and again, and after the third time the wall panel flies off and he is thrust against his back. Water rushes into the box. Ricky and John struggle to put the wall panel back on, but it won’t latch.
“What did you do?”
“I just headbutted this thing and it came off!”
“We’re going to die! You killed us, man!”
“You didn’t have a better plan!”
The pressure shoves them back and the water reaches their waists. Panicked, they block the water with the wall panel, but it gushes around the sides.
“Wait! Maybe we can get out through here!” Ricky pulls the panel back and searches through the gushing water for a way out.
There is nothing.
The water now reaches their necks. Struggling to keep their heads above water as it pours in, they panic. They try beating on the walls and shout for help as they devolve into tears. They continue to pound the walls even as they poke their noses above the water to breathe.
Then, there is a whoosh. The floor goes out under them and they fall down a small water slide before they know what is happening. They tumble onto each other and fall into a kiddie pool. Gasping for air, they roar and cry, the sweet release of fear leaving their bodies.
“OHAYO! Good Morning friends! Say hi to the camera!”
Soaking wet and confused, Ricky and John hold onto each other as they examine their surroundings. They are inside an empty warehouse. A sparkling mustard-colored suit catches their eye first. A thin, handsome Japanese man with an ear-to-ear grin holds a microphone and stares at them. With a wave, he points to a man holding a film camera.
“We got you!” says the host.
The group of Japanese girls from the night before are nearby in a small group, cheering. Another cameraman pans over them while Ricky and John process everything.
“You mean this was all a prank?” John shouts, his voice both booming and cracking.
“Oh, yeah! So funny! Your face.” The host points to John. “Haha! So funny!”
“This isn’t funny! This is illegal! You can’t do this to people!” John shouts.
“Sorry, no English.” The host makes a quick hand gesture and a team arrives with towels to lead Ricky and John away.
“Thank you for joining us on, We Got You! The best Japanese prank show is now touring America! We hope you enjoyed today's episode. Please tune in next week for more… We Got You!”
“He speaks English just fine!” John shouts in the background.