Martoons

Cast of characters

Fred

Hot Sauce

Caffeine – a friend of Hot Sauce

*

When Thomas and Hot Sauce entered, the restaurant appeared to be just opening and they were the first customers;

the owner told them it would be a few minutes.

Fred didn’t mind at all – it was good just to sit down and relax after the somewhat grueling walk from the church.

Turns out the air conditioner wasn’t working but the restaurant had a fan mounted up in the corner, which revolved back and forth and sent a strong wave of warm breeze down on them.

Sooner than expected the owner brought the soup.

Both Fred and Hot Sauce were quite hungry but something wasn’t right – the soup didn’t seem to be cooked enough and parts of the fish seemed raw.

It didn’t go down right and Fred’s stomach started doing flips when they got up to leave moments later.

* How badly will the soup affect him? *

“Did you notice anything about the soup?” he asked Hot Sauce outside as they stepped back into the wall of humidity.

Her face contorted.

“Yeah, it wasn’t very delicious.”

Fred slapped his grumbling gut.

“It feels like the soup is just sitting there in my stomach. But no need to worry. This last bit of walking should push it through. We’re almost back.”

The rumbles intensified as they walked.

Fred knew from personal experience that really hot weather impeded his digestion.

Off on the hazy horizon, Good Lucky Apartments towered into the sky and seemed quite near.  

Hot Sauce noticed that Fred looked nauseous.

“Maybe that fish – too spicy?”

He shrugged her off and was envisioning nothing more than bursting into the apartment and immediately ascending to the porcelain throne.

In the meantime, he walked stiff-legged, clenching his fists and gluteus maximus muscles simultaneously.

“I’ll be okay. We’re almost home.” 

* Will he be okay? *

“Oh,” Hot Sauce said, “wait a minute.”

She stopped at a storefront with large panel windows completely covered in giant decals.

Fred tilted his head back to read them:

Game Room Max

Coming from within they could hear computerized music, synthesized voices and a cacophony of sound effects like explosions and accelerating racecars.

Hot Sauce motioned toward the door.

“But…”

Fred had to get home now.

His excretory system was barking out orders.

Hot Sauce peered into the game room curiously.

A tensed-up Fred looked over her shoulder.

There were several aisles of arcade games but most were vacant.

Since it was a Sunday afternoon only a few students and teenagers – most smoking – were playing the games.

“I don’t know if we should go in there,” Fred said as the gurgling continued in his guts.

“I think we should just head back.”

“It won’t take long. Just a game or two. Oh – my friend!” 

She rushed in with Fred on her heels and called out to another teenage girl.

Fred hobbled over to them, careful not to move his mid to lower body too much.

He had to preserve the fine balance.

“Fred,” Hot Sauce said, “this is my friend. Her nickname is Caffeine. She too was very upset when Thomas left.”

Caffeine gave a truncated nod.

“So was my mother. Do you know her? Her name is Mrs Park.”

She put her hand up to her mouth and giggled and then mumbled something to Hot Sauce.

Then they both giggled.

Fred felt left out.

“What’s so funny?” he protested, getting impatient and irritable.

They both waved him off.

“Come on,” he pleaded lightheartedly.

“Let me in on your little secret.”

* What is their secret? *

Hot Sauce nudged Caffeine.

“Come on sister, tell him.”

Caffeine slapped her playfully.

“You tell him.”

“It’s your mom, you tell him.”

“Ayeesh!” Fred muttered.

Hot Sauce and Caffeine looked at each other and seemed to reach some kind of agreement between their glances.

“Her mother…” Hot Sauce explained, “…there was a rumour that she had – how you say – affair with Thomas.”

* Is this rumour true? *

*

Tomorrow: Fred gets bombarded.