The Glow-in-the-Dark Dinosaur
When we had passed through the hallway during the New Year's event, I hadn't noticed, but there were actually many people besides Mary who crafted support items. A man brushed past us, carrying a massive box on his back, a cheerful smile playing on his lips. Many others passed by as well. Watching them, I looked up at Amy and asked.
"Amy."
"Yes?"
"Is this entire floor dedicated to making support items?"
"Pretty much. Most of the items we use come from here."
"Most of them?"
"Sometimes we get items shipped in from other branches, you see."
I nodded at Amy's answer. The smell of iron and oil wafting from all directions made my nose tingle. These weren't ordinary people. Every single one of them had undoubtedly studied immensely to amass a mountain of knowledge. They were the kind of elite personnel rarely seen even in state-run organizations. And they were all gathered here in one place. According to Amy, there were other branches besides this one, so their numbers had to be far greater than I imagined.
Suddenly, my vision blurred. I raised both hands and rubbed my eyes. My surroundings felt overwhelmingly massive. Spurred by that strange, alien sensation, I reached out and tightly grasped Amy's and Shine's hands. We walked like that for quite a while. Retracing the path we had taken with Rain, we eventually arrived in front of the tall stairs. No matter how many times I saw them, those pillars were incredibly towering.
"Should I carry you?" Amy asked, looking down at Shine and me as we stopped in front of the stairs.
Of course, climbing the stairs was a daunting task for me right now. Rather than frantically moving my short legs to climb, being carried in Amy's arms would be much faster. But still. I couldn't rely on being carried in Amy's arms forever, could I?
"I can go by myself."
In fact, I did occasionally climb the stairs on my own. Though I would be out of breath and need a quick break by the time I reached the top of the floor, the same went for Shine.
"Is that so?"
Shine and I looked at each other and nodded. We couldn't show a pathetic side of ourselves in front of Amy. I took a forceful step forward. One, two. We began our arduous ascent up the stairs.
"Are you tired?" As my breathing grew ragged, Rain, who had scrambled up ahead, turned around and asked. A mischievous smirk was plastered across her face.
"Aren't you tired, Rain?"
"Of course not!" At my question, Rain nodded with a smug, confident expression. Her bright yellow hair fluttered before my eyes. As if she possessed infinite stamina, Rain hopped up and down the stairs, circling around us.
How could she move so tirelessly with such a tiny body?
"Don't tease the kids too much. You're more than ten years older than them, is this really what you want to do?"
Hop, hop. Rain, who had been bouncing around like a little chick in front of us, instantly hung her head at Amy's words. Her light, frivolous movements vanished, and she quietly trudged up the stairs. From behind, I could see the tips of her ears burning bright red.
"We made it!" Shine and I cried out as we finally reached the top of the stairs. Our small chests heaved up and down rapidly. Rough, hot breaths escaped our lips. My legs ached a bit, but it wasn't to the point where I had to collapse and rest. Shine seemed to be in the same boat, standing still as she caught her breath.
"Excuse me, coming through~" Just then, an unfamiliar voice called out from behind. Shine and I hurriedly spun around.
A massive, rectangular object. The cold texture of metal. After a brief moment of bewilderment at the giant object, I spotted the person underneath it. A burly man was carrying that massive block of metal on his back.
"Pardon me, just passing through~" As if it weighed nothing at all, he climbed the stairs with a good-natured smile, politely asking people to make way.
"A vending machine?" I muttered blankly.
Indeed, the object the man was carrying was a vending machine. The common kind where you insert money and a drink pops out. Shine and I stepped aside to avoid him. But he wasn't the only one moving a vending machine. A continuous line followed. Huge vending machines, POS terminals, and various mechanical devices were being carried by a bustling queue of people. Amidst the clattering of toolboxes, Amy muttered in confusion.
"What's going on all of a sudden?"
"Maybe they're expanding another department?" Rain also muttered, watching the line of people.
My body stiffened as I slowly turned to look at Shine. Sensing my gaze, she looked back at me and nodded. That's right. I knew exactly why they were moving those things. I fidgeted with my fingers, hiding my hands behind my back.
"Uh... Amy... Let's go back quickly." I said to Amy, forcing my stiffened body to move. My voice trembled with anxiety, prompting Amy to ask in confusion.
"Jeff? What's wrong all of a sudden?"
I mumbled, then shook my head. If we got caught this time, Amy would definitely give us a massive scolding.
"Shine?"
Shine, also desperate to avoid a scolding, was acting just like me. At any rate, both of us wanted to get out of here as fast as possible. Only when we stepped into the wide hallway did I finally breathe a sigh of relief.
The moment my worries evaporated, I remembered something I wanted to show Amy. If it was Amy, she would surely look at my stone dinosaur and tell me how cool it was. I immediately bolted toward our room. At my sudden outburst, Shine and Rain quickly gave chase.
"Jeff~! You're going to fall~!" Leaving Amy's voice behind, I dashed straight into the room.
Once inside, I ran straight to the dinosaur. It was very colorful, freshly painted. I carefully picked it up. Perhaps because it hadn't been long since I painted it, the surface still felt damp. I adjusted my grip, making sure to avoid the wet spots.
"Is that why you ran all the way here?"
"Yeah. Amy will definitely appreciate how cool this dinosaur is."
"I don't know about that..." Rain turned her head with a subtle, skeptical smile. Glaring at her, I thrust the dinosaur toward Amy as she finally opened the door and stepped into the room.
"Amy! Look at this!"
"Hmm?" Amy gently reached out and took the dinosaur. "Is it a dinosaur?"
"Yes!" As expected! She recognized it at a single glance.
"Wow~ How cute~" She grinned, rolling the dinosaur around on her palm. Watching the dinosaur roll around so cutely, I was deeply shocked. "Cute" was not a word that suited dinosaurs. Dinosaurs were meant to be cool.
"It's... it's supposed to be cool..." I muttered blankly, clutching the dinosaur as Amy handed it back to me and walked further into the room.
Once back in the room, Amy immediately began to tidy up. At first glance, nothing seemed messy, but wherever her hands touched, the room returned to its pristine, spotless state.
"Alright, shall we start studying?" Sitting in the corner and fidgeting with my stone dinosaur, I turned my head away at Amy's words. For some reason, today was a day I really didn't want to study.
"Jeff?"
"Yes~" I answered, burrowing myself among the plushies. The fluffy teddy bears served as an excellent shield to hide me from view.
"You need to study."
"Can't I do it later?"
"When is later?"
"Um... I'll do it before bed." Poking only my head out from between the plushies, I checked the clock. It wouldn't be long before dinner.
Shine was already sitting down, working through her workbook. Rain was also sitting nearby, staring at her workbook and grumbling. "Why is the stuff we're learning lately so hard?" Rain scratched her head with her pen and let out a deep sigh. "I'm not doing this~"
Sitting among the plushies, I placed the dinosaur on the floor and stroked its head. Would Victor appreciate how cool this guy was?
"Jeff~" Just then, Amy's voice rang out suddenly. Startled, I sprang up from among the plushies. With a poof, teddy bears flew in all directions.
"Yes?" Amy, who had been sitting at the desk, had approached me before I even realized it.
"Why are you so low on energy?" she asked, stroking my head.
"Me?"
"Yes. You seem less energetic than usual." Amy smiled gently, running her fingers through my hair. Closing my eyes at her tender touch, I replied.
"Mmm... Did I look like that?"
"Of course. Did something happen?" Amy's hand moved gently. The hand that had been softly stroking my hair slowly slid down to cup my cheek. I glanced down at the stone dinosaur on the floor, then shook my head.
"It's nothing." I took Amy's hand and stood up. I didn't want to worry her over something so trivial.
I obediently let her lead me to the desk, sat down, and began to study. Workbooks were no longer something to be feared. My hand moved without hesitation, writing down the correct answers every time. Amy was delighted, praising how quickly Shine and I were learning.
After finishing our studies, we had dinner with Rain. It was just like any other day. However, Amy, who was still busy, had to leave immediately afterward. Rain, who had been watching TV after brushing her teeth, also went back to her room. We were left alone in our room. The faint sound of the television slowly drifted away.
"Shine, aren't you going to sleep?"
"What about you, Jeff?" I asked Shine as I lay in bed. She turned from the TV and asked back, seemingly having no intention of sleeping yet.
"I don't know." I couldn't fall asleep. Since I had used up all of my computer time for the day, I couldn't use it anymore. What about the TV? Most of the late-night anime was boring. They were probably pushed to this late hour precisely because they weren't popular.
"I'm going to stay up until Amy gets back."
"Me too." I wrapped myself tightly in the blanket.
It was past one in the morning when Amy finally returned. Stepping into the room with a tired face, she said, "You two aren't asleep yet?"
"No."
"We were waiting for you, Amy."
"Mmm..." Amy rubbed her tired eyes, a small shopping bag dangling from her hand.
"What's that?"
"This?" At my question, Amy flashed a playful smile. "Tada!" Amy immediately satisfied my curiosity. Reaching into the shopping bag, she pulled out a garment wrapped in transparent plastic.
"Hurry up and try it on." Amy handed the clothes to me. The clear plastic packaging rustled noisily. When I gave her a puzzled look, she gestured for me to open it quickly. Following her cue, I tore the packaging open. The plastic ripped apart with a sharp crinkling sound.
"Gasp...!" I hadn't realized it while it was folded, but once unpacked, the clothes were far from ordinary. It had a deep green hue, looking as if the hide of a giant dinosaur had been peeled off and stitched together. And what about the fluffy spikes lining the back? Or the long tail dangling below the waist? This was a dinosaur onesie.
Overjoyed, I immediately changed into the dinosaur onesie. A loose fit, breezy ventilation—it was a perfect item that even boasted functionality. Buttoning up the pajamas, I pulled the hood attached to the collar over my head. The hood was shaped like a dinosaur's head.
Shine had also received the same dinosaur onesie. With a dazed expression, she sat on the bed, pulling the dinosaur hood low over her head.
"Amy...!" I looked at Amy, my eyes trembling with deep emotion. Exhausted as she was, Amy beamed brightly at my reaction and replied.
"That's not all."
"Huh?"
"Now, if we turn off the lights like this..." Click. Amy walked over to the wall and flipped the switch, turning off the room's fluorescent lights. Instantly, darkness enveloped us, with only the bright television screen illuminating the dim room.
"Gasp...!" In that moment, I couldn't help but gasp in shock. The second the lights went out, Shine caught my eye, emitting a soft, gentle glow. Shine the dinosaur was glowing from head to toe like a firefly. Her long dinosaur tail swayed side to side. The tail was glow-in-the-dark too! This wasn't just any ordinary dinosaur onesie. It was a glow-in-the-dark dinosaur onesie!
"Whoaaaaa!"