Pizza, Plans, and Piggybacks
Jeff wanted to work. Rain and Victor returned just before dinner. Setting down the crayons in my hand, I stared up at the massive pizza box Victor was carrying. The mouthwatering aroma wafted over even from a distance, making my saliva pool. "I'm back!" Rain called out with a bright greeting. But my eyes didn't even flicker toward her. My entire soul was focused solely on the pizza. Ever since Amy declared she was managing Shine's and my diet, we hadn't been allowed a single slice. Shine must have been craving it just as much, because she sat right next to me, swallowing hard.
"What's this? You bought pizza?" "Just picked it up on the way." Amy spoke as if she disapproved of Victor's impulse buy, but Victor merely shrugged it off with his usual indifference. He walked over with slow, heavy steps and set the boxes down on the table. Judging by the height of the stack, we were going to eat until our stomachs burst tonight. I fidgeted in my seat, anxiously reading Amy's expression. Sensing my desperate gaze, Amy let out a soft sigh. "Fine. Let's have pizza for dinner." "Yay!" At Amy's blessing, I sprang up from my seat, throwing my arms wide in celebration. Any lingering disappointment about not being allowed outside like Victor and Rain vanished in an instant.
"Go wash your hands first." "Okay!" Just as I was about to bolt toward the table, Amy's firm voice stopped me. I nodded obediently and headed to the bathroom. My hands were covered in colorful crayon smudges, which definitely wouldn't pair well with greasy pizza. By the time I finished scrubbing them clean and stepped back out, the table was already fully set.
"Come here, Jeff." I eagerly scurried over at Shine's beckoning and slid into the seat next to her. Placed right between Rain and Shine was a pretty little chair that looked like it had been prepared specifically for me. It was a sparkling pink, which I found highly appealing. The pizza boxes were flipped open, and a massive, loaded slice was deposited onto each of our plates. Licking my lips, I lifted a slice. Steaming hot cheese stretched out in a glorious, gooey string. My tongue practically danced in anticipation of the bliss to come. This looks amazing!
"How did it go today?" "Nothing special." "Even though it was a backup request?" Amy and Victor began to converse. Keeping one eye on them, I took a massive bite of my pizza and began whispering questions to Rain.
"Hey, Rain." "Hmm?" "What did you guys do out there today?" "We went to back up another team." "What kind of backup?" "We had to shake off some bad guys who were tailing them." "Do bad guys always chase you when you go outside?" "Yeah. They're really nasty jerks who keep trying to get in our way."
I nodded, chewing thoughtfully. My mind drifted back to that day—the day I had gone out with Rain, Amy, and Shine. After having such a wonderful time at the theme park, those bad guys had suddenly swarmed us. The other team must have run into a similar crowd.
"Did you teach them a good lesson?" "Yep. I drenched them all in water." Rain puffed out her chest proudly. I wasn't entirely sure what "drenching them all" entailed in a combat scenario, but hey, a win is a win. I stuffed the rest of my slice into my mouth and showered Rain with praise. "Good job, good job." "Mmh..." Pat, pat. As I reached over and patted Rain's head with my small hand, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
"Hey, Rain. I want to help out too. Can I tag along next time?" "Me too. I'm going too." "Yeah, with Shine as well." "Hmm... I don't know about that." At our eager requests, Rain knit her brows and crossed her arms. I grabbed another slice of pizza and took a bite. The rich flavor of cheese spreading across my palate brought an involuntary smile to my face.
"Mmh." Shine pulled her slice away, stretching a long strand of cheese from her mouth. It refused to snap, dangling precariously before dripping onto the table. "I don't get to decide who gets dispatched," Rain explained. "You'd probably have to talk to Amy or Jin about that."
At Rain's answer, I glanced over at Amy. Watching her deep in conversation with Victor, I silently shook my head. There was absolutely no way Amy would give us permission. That meant our only other option was Jin. But I disliked Jin. It was almost an instinctual, physical aversion. We had only met a few times, but he had left such a bizarre impression on me that I naturally shrank away from him.
"Hey, Rain... couldn't you ask Jin for us?" "Me?" "Yeah. I really want to go out on the next mission with you guys." I pleaded, grabbing Rain's tiny hand. My fingers were still sticky with pizza sauce and melted cheese. Rain gasped in horror at the sudden contact, quickly pulling a wet wipe from the dispenser on the table to scrub my hand clean.
"I'm not exactly comfortable talking to Jin either..." "Do you dislike him too, Rain?" "It's not that I dislike him, it's just... hard to face him directly." "I see." Well, that was that, then. We would just have to wait until an opportunity to go out naturally presented itself. Whether Amy would ever allow it remained a mystery, but we were powerless for the time being.
"Jeff." "Yeah?" "I'll help you." "You will, Shine?" Just then, Shine, who had been wrestling with a particularly stubborn strand of cheese, chimed in. She had somehow managed to get cheese smeared all over her face and fingers. She looked adorable—and kind of delicious. "Yeah. It'll be fine if I'm the one who asks." "But you hate Jin too, Shine." "Yeah, I hate him. But it's fine." "Really?" "Mmh."
Well, if she said so. Keeping a wary eye on Amy, I gestured for Shine and Rain to huddle closer. We ducked our heads, gathering in the cramped space beneath the table. Amy wouldn't be able to hear our whispers down here. She was still deep in conversation with Victor, so she wasn't likely to pay us any mind. Judging by her incredibly serious expression—the kind she only wore when discussing important work matters—their talk wasn't going to end anytime soon.
"Hey, Rain. Where does Jin usually stay?" "He's usually holed up in his office." "And where is his office?" "Hmm..." Rain fell into deep thought, her tiny fingers twitching. One, two, three... Her fingers curled and uncurled repeatedly as if she were counting. "You have to take the stairs up from the model park." "How far up?" "Five floors?" "Five floors, got it." I nodded. With my current physical stamina, climbing five flights of stairs wouldn't even make me break a sweat.
"Perfect. Thanks, Rain." "Are you really going to see Jin?" "Yeah. I want to go on missions with you guys." "It would be nice, but Amy is going to hate it." "Amy will hate it?" "Yeah." That was a problem. I bit my nails anxiously. If Amy hated it, then I didn't want to do it either. But I really wanted to help...
"Then Amy can just come with us." Just then, Shine proposed a stroke of absolute genius. Of course! If Amy came along—if we all went out together—there wouldn't be any issues at all. "Shine, you're a genius!" I threw my arms around Shine, squeezing her tight in praise.
"Alright. Tonight, when Amy steps out for a bit, we'll gather in front of our room." "Me too?" Rain blinked, looking utterly bewildered. Well, obviously! Since Rain was the only one who knew the exact path to Jin's office, she absolutely had to tag along. "Yeah. I want you there with us, Rain." "W-well, if you put it that way..." Rain's cheeks flushed pink as she nodded shyly. Perfect. The plan was flawless. Amy always stepped out for a brief moment late at night before bed, so we could make our move then. As for decoy measures, I could just tuck my teddy bear, Baek-si, and my dinosaur plushie, Croco, under the covers to make it look like we were sleeping.
"What are you three doing down there?" "Ack!" I flinched violently at the sudden sound of Amy's voice, jumping up in surprise. Crack! A sharp, agonizing impact rattled the crown of my skull. Of course, jumping straight up while plotting under a low table was a recipe for disaster. I clutched my head, my face screwing up as tears welled in my eyes. "Ow..."
Startled by my sudden injury, Amy quickly reached under and pulled me into her arms. Dragged out into the open and cradled in her warm embrace, I squeezed my eyes shut against the stinging pain, keeping my mouth tightly shut. "Are you alright?" "Yes..." Fortunately, Amy didn't seem to have overheard our little conspiracy. Her large, gentle hand softly stroked my throbbing head. "What were you even doing down there?" "Uh... I thought a piece of pizza fell." "You weren't trying to eat off the floor, were you?" "No, of course not!" "Good." Giving my head one last comforting pat, Amy set me back down in my chair. Shine and Rain had already scrambled out from under the table and were sitting primly in their respective seats.
"You want some more, right?" "Yes!" There was still plenty of pizza left. Watching another massive slice slide onto my plate, I eagerly dug in once more. The rich, savory aroma of cheese filling my mouth was pure heaven. The five of us stuffed ourselves to our hearts' content before finally preparing to pack up for the day. We turned off the office lights and powered down all the equipment.
We really got a lot of work done today. I felt a deep sense of accomplishment as I thought of the pages upon pages of drawings filling my sketchbook. How long had it been since I worked this hard? "Brush your teeth the moment we get back, alright?" Amy warned. "Yes, ma'am." After locking up the office, Amy turned to Rain, seemingly having some business to attend to.
"Rain, I'm leaving the kids in your hands. Can you walk them back to their room?" "I can, but where are you going?" "I have a quick errand. I need to drop by Mary's lab." "Okay. I'll make sure they're well taken care of, so take your time." "How reliable of you." With a warm smile, Amy turned and walked away.
"See you tomorrow," Victor grunted, turning on his heel. "See you tomorrow!" we called out. With the door locked and the adults gone, only three pint-sized girls remained in the corridor. The other teams must have gone home already, as the distant office windows were completely dark.
"Rain!" "Hmm?" "Let's go see Jin!" "Are we really doing this?" "Of course we are!" At my enthusiastic response, Rain shook her head reluctantly. I puffed out my cheeks in a pout. "Rain, you promised earlier that you'd take us to him." "I did, but..." Rain rubbed the top of her head, grimacing as if recalling a phantom pain. "Sigh... fine. Let's go." Unable to withstand my puppy-dog eyes, Rain finally relented with a nod. And so, the three of us began marching back down the wide, empty corridor.
"Rain, do you have any money on you?" "Why? What for?" "Buy me a Coke." A large vending machine stood against the wall of the long hallway. Under the sheer pressure of my pleading gaze, Rain sighed and pulled a card from her pocket. "Alright, alright... but this is a secret from Amy." "Yay!" The three of us scurried over to the vending machine. But we immediately hit a snag. The buttons were positioned way too high for us.
"Maybe if we jump..." "We need to combine." While we were brainstorming a solution, Rain opened her mouth to suggest something, only for Shine's voice to cut her off. "Combine...?" "Yes. We combine." Rain and I nodded blankly. For some reason, combining felt like a much more logical solution than jumping.
"Jeff, climb on." Hurry up, her eyes seemed to command. Though I tilted my head in confusion, I complied. Shine bent down and crouched. I slung my legs over her shoulders, settling into a piggyback ride. Shine's hands firmly gripped my thighs. Her movements were oddly slow and deliberate, but she managed to stand up with me on her shoulders. With our powers combined, we were incredibly tall! Now, pressing the buttons would be a piece of cake.
"Alright, Rain. Hand over the card." "O-okay..." Rain looked up at us with a worried expression as she handed me the card. I let out a little giggle as I took it. From this height, Rain looked absolutely tiny. Ah, so this is the fresh air that tall people get to breathe. "Do you want a Coke too, Shine?" "Mmh." "You too, Rain?" "Yeah." Naturally, my choice was Coke as well. I slid Rain's card into the slot and repeatedly mashed the button for Coke. *Beep, beep, beep!* After a series of electronic chirps, the machine rumbled, and cans of Coke came tumbling down into the dispenser. One each probably wouldn't be enough, right? My finger moved again. *Beep, beep, beep!* *Clunk, clunk!* Another round of cans rolled out.
"Eek!" Suddenly, a strange, ticklish sensation flared up on my inner thigh. Something warm, damp, and soft had brushed against my skin. "W-what was that?" I looked down, trying to peer at my inner thigh. "I think my mouth brushed against you for a second," Shine said softly. "Oh, really...?" Just as she said, my inner thigh was glistening with a wet patch of saliva. I quickly wiped the wet spot with the back of my hand and scrambled down from Shine's shoulders.