Chapter Text
You’re not gonna find THAT much to enjoy in Penske City. The city’s full of filth. My teachers barely care about education. There are so many disgusting, annoying people around. I literally saw two people doin’ it in the bathroom yesterday. (Sigh)… I’m sorry. I should’ve just ran away from the orphanage when I could… but, I live with my new dad and sister, now, so I guess that’s good… that’s all for now. End tape.
Heathcliff set down his camcorder, turning it off, and spinning it away from him. Looking out the window, he saw the clouds, and smiled. Heathcliff liked rainy weather. He always had, and always would. But, it was Sunday… it would be back to school tomorrow. Great. He rolled his chair over to his desk, picking up his old sketchbook. He used to love drawing, and he had gotten pretty good at it… before he stopped.
He wasn’t emo, like people theorized about him. He just didn’t like socializing. He was… different, as his dad said. He ran the toy store downstairs, and was well liked around town. Kids liked him because he was sweet and loving. Parents loved him because he was kind and sensible. Heathcliff loved him… because he was understanding. He never forced him into doing things he didn’t want to, he often brought him food when he forgot to eat, and he even soundproofed his room, so no one downstairs would disturb him.
Heathcliff opened the door to his room, and walked down the stairs, humming a random tune in his throat. He didn’t know what song it was, which was weird. He constantly listened to music. He knew every song he ever listened to. Rock, rap, R&B, and more. So why couldn’t he remember this song? He shrugged it off, and settled himself into his chair at the dining table. His sister sat next to him, coloring. She was very sophisticated with her art. She never colored outside of the lines, and somehow chose all the RIGHT colors. When Heathcliff colored, it always looked eye melting and crappy. He silently envied his little sister’s amazing art skills, though his weren’t bad, either.
”Poppy… where’s dad?”
”He’s coming, don’t worry… oh, right. That’s all you do.”
”Oh, shut the hell up.”
”Ooohh!!! I’m telling dad you swore!”
”Nah, you ain’t.”
The door suddenly opened, Heathcliff’s father walking in, a man by the name of Elliot Ludwig. He was the sweetest man you could ever meet in the world, Heathcliff thought. That became especially apparent when you saw how he treated his loved ones. Walking over to Poppy, he picked her up and hugged her, not too tightly as to not break her porcelain skin. “How’s my little Poppy?” He’d always say, before hugging Heathcliff, too.
”Hi, Dad.”
”Hey there, buddy! Your kinda weather today, huh? Shame, I was hoping we could go on a walk today. Oh well, I’ll get dinner!”
As Elliot walked over to the counter to pull out some bread, he turned back to his children, smiling. “What kinda sandwiches do you two want?” The response was always the same. “Grilled cheese!” Elliot laughed, a deep, hearty laugh, and began buttering up the bread, throwing some cheese onto each slice, and slapping them together. He ALWAYS slapped them. Just a strange quirk. One of many he had.
”You kids ready for school tomorrow?”
It was a typical dad question to ask. Still, Heathcliff answered. “Yeah, I am.” Poppy simply nodded her head, too focused on coloring in a house she drew. As Elliot laid the grilled cheeses down in front of them, Heathcliff began to tear into his. He constantly ate, but was always skinny. He just had a fast metabolism, Elliot said.
”Heathcliff, you forgot to pray with us.”
Heathcliff looked up, and with a mouth full of bread and melted cheese, mumbled “sorry”. Elliot laughed again, and Poppy snickered, finding her brother’s gluttony funny. Nevertheless, they all joined hands and bowed their heads. After praying, Heathcliff returned to savagely chomping his sandwich, as if it was his last meal. He had what his sister called “an endless stomach”. He didn’t care. Heathcliff LOVED food, even going as far as to constantly ask his friends for food at lunch. It might’ve been a bit annoying, but he still was friends with them, so who cared?
After eating (or in Heathcliff’s case, wolfing down) their dinner, Heathcliff and Poppy did their standard bedtime routine. As Poppy walked by, Heathcliff purposely ruffled her hair. “HEY!!! What was that for??!?” Heathcliff grinned at her. “Just being your average older brother.”
After Elliot came in to tuck Heathcliff in, he sat on the edge of the bed, looking at a small brown teddy bear with a green scarf. A scrapped toy idea he had made. Still, it was a bit foolish to let it go to waste, so Elliot gave the bear to Heathcliff. Throwing it up onto Heathcliff’s lap, he smiled.
”Are you doing good at school, bud?”
”Yeah, yeah, I am.”
”You sure? I checked your notebook, and you were writing about a lot of gripes you have…”
”You looked through my notebooks?”
”I’m sorry to invade your privacy, it was wrong. But, I just saw the page, and felt bad… I know I’m not your real dad, Heath, but—“
”Elliot. Don’t worry. I’m just that kinda person. Y’know how you and Poppy are really energetic and sweet? Well… I’m not exactly that way…”
”…okay. I understand! Just… let me know when you wanna talk about something, okay?”
”You got it, dad.”
”Alright, then. Goodnight, Heathcliff!”
”Night, Elliot.”
As his dad walked out of the room, Heathcliff laid down, pulling the blankets over him. Like a lot of things in the house, they were made by Elliot. His talents didn’t just stop at toy-making. Heathcliff put on a pair of headphones, and pressed a button on the mixtape one of his friends made for him. He shut his eyes, listening to the soft thumping of drums, the steady strum of a guitar, and the soft hum of the vocalization. Before he knew it, he’d fallen asleep.
The sound of something tapping on his window forced Heathcliff to sit up, throwing off his headphones. He sat up, looking towards the window, and saw something hit it again, falling downwards. Suddenly, muffled arguing was heard outside, and what sounded like a punch reached his ears. Cautiously walking forward, Heathcliff grabbed a baseball bat he had found in the closet. It always intrigued him. He hadn’t played sports a day in his life, and Elliot didn’t like baseball from what he remembered. So, why did he have it in there? Shaking off that thought, he approached the window, ready to strike anything that dropped in front of him. Unlocking the latch, he looked out the window, and then…
”He ain’t gonna hear us any other way!!!”
”Shut up, you fucking shortass!!!”
”Hahaha! Look who’s talking, Miss “I’m gonna act like I’m depressed all the time”!
”I said shut the FUCK up!!!”
”Guys, come on, don’t argue!! We should be nice to each other, we’re friends—“
”You guys gonna argue all day, or are you gonna tell me what’s going on?”
Heathcliff smiled, looking down at his friends. The first to look up was his best friend, and funniest guy he knew, Giblet. A short, chihuahua-like creature, with dark brown fur and dark, friendly eyes, Giblet’s most distinctive feature was how short he was. It didn’t hinder his ability to be well liked, however. He was often regarded as the calmest guy in the whole school, and for good reason. He could be friends with anyone. Including Heathcliff. On the very first day, they met during Algebra, and had been inseparable ever since. He wore a small black coat, with a homemade button on it, and was carrying a stick to walk around with. Not because he needed it, just because he thought it looked cool. Giblet smiled back, showing slightly crooked teeth.
”Hey, Rapunzel! Let down your hair!!!”
”What’s in it for me?”
”I don’t know… maybe I can sneak a snake into your locker?”
”Screw you.”
”Ha! Get on down here, buddy, we’re waiting for you.”
”What do you mean? You didn’t text me about anything.”
”That’s what all good friends do. Wake their friend up at midnight to do stupid crap. We’ll explain what we’re doing when ya get down here.”
Heathcliff rolled his eyes, but still smiled. “Be down in 5 minutes.” Closing the window, he undressed from his pajamas and threw on a pair of jeans. As he pulled on a beige jacket, he tucked some pillows underneath his blankets, fluffing them up to make it look like a person was under them. Perfect. Looking in the mirror, he ran his hands through his hair and fluffed it up. He liked having messy hair. It added to his look. Jumping to the window, he leapt out, landing in some bushes. Giblet trotted over, fist bumping Heathcliff, and walking to the side of the house with him. They walked over and saw Heathcliff’s other two friends, Dogday and Baba. Dogday was by far the tallest out of the friend group, and really energetic. He was also the smartest one. Heathcliff wasn’t dumb, but nowhere near as good as Dogday.
”Hey, Heathcliff!! How’re you doing?”
”Just fine, D-Day.”
Giblet chuckled at the nickname, while Dogday’s ears drooped.
”Don’t call me that! You know that’s a serious event where a lot of people died!!! It’s not–“
”Oh, shut the hell up, Dogday. God, can’t you go one day without being a whiny little bitch?”
”Hey, be nice, Baba.”
Baba rolled her eyes, and messed with her beanie, itching her wool. Compared to Dogday, she was a complete opposite. An angry goth girl, typically the target of a lot of name calling and gossip. She never cared, and was more focused on writing poems about death, or whatever goth people liked. She was always pretty edgy, but Heathcliff still liked her, even if he thought she was a bit cheesy sometimes. Finally, he turned to Giblet.
”Kay, what’s up? What’re you guys coming here for?”
”I’ll explain on the way… for now, follow us.”
The teens walked on the sidewalk, and Dogday immediately launched into a conversation with the others on his new favorite movie. He seemed to change it every week, finding a new movie to hyper fixate over, and it was always a joy seeing him talk so animatedly and happy. Finally, after what seemed like an hour (but was probably only 10 minutes), they arrived at a group of bushes. Inside laid Dogday’s bike, rusting at the handlebars, and with semi-deflated tires. It sat next to Baba’s motorcycle, which was polished and covered in edgy stickers along the lines of: “I like guns. And maybe like 3 people.” She picked it up, and immediately kicked the engine on, letting it roar out.
”Remember, Baba. A nice even pace, right?”
”Yeah, yeah, I heard you the last 20 times, dammit.”
Dogday hopped onto his bike, Heathcliff sitting on the backseat that Elliot had added himself when first meeting Dogday, and Giblet sitting in the basket on the front of the handlebars, also added by Elliot. Baba rode off, with Dogday pedaling after her, tail wagging. They rode out onto the street, weaving in and out of the light traffic littering the street. However, Baba wasn’t going at the “nice, even pace” Dogday asked for, instead speeding up to get.. wherever they wanted to go. Giblet was the one to speak up.
”Hey, baa-baa black sheep! Slow down a bit, will ya? We ain’t in a rush!”
His callout was met with a grumble from her, and a venomous glare. If looks could kill, all three boys would be dead. Giblet. carefree as always, giggled to himself as he leaned back in the basket, crossing his legs lazily. “Quite the ladies man I am, eh?” Dogday stood up, pedaling harder to catch up with his friend, and Heathcliff wrapped his arm around the taller boy, not wanting to fall off into the street. His friend group was weird, sure, but then again… so was HE. His entire life was weird, honestly. In the 3 months that he’d lived with Elliot and Poppy, he’d been seen by a lot as a “freak” or a “loser”. Typical cliche high school insults. But, even if he was unpopular around town, at least he had friends and family… he couldn’t remember much of his REAL family, though. The most he remembered was his mother having the same hair as him… but when he specifically tried to see anymore details, everything went fuzzy. Before he knew what was happening, though, the sound of Baba’s engine cut off, and Dogday’s frantic pedaling stopped. Giblet hopped out of the basket, and walked forward.
”Here it is, lady and gentlemen. Owen’s Eatery. Nice ass place, huh? Just opened a week ago. I figured we should have a late night snack for our next adventure.”
“Adventure” was definitely a strange word to describe this experience, but Heathcliff appreciated his friend’s thoughtfulness nonetheless. The four walked in, ordering some waffles, eggs, a cup of tea (for Giblet), and of course, plenty of syrup. They dug into their meal, absolutely drenching their waffles in syrup. Especially Heathcliff, who even grabbed the syrup dispenser to drink out of it. However, a grumpy, muscly chef took it away after doing this, grumbling at him, and looking right at him from under heavy eyebrows. After he walked off, Heathcliff spun around to Giblet, who was salting his eggs an extraordinary amount.
”Alright, why’d you three bring me here, Gib? Do I gotta pay you back for this or something?”
”Ha! Don’t worry, H. You don’t have any debt. I was just kinda bored, and decided to hang out with you before school tomorrow.”
”Just couldn’t wait till 7:50, huh?”
”Sorry for trying to treat my best buddy, then.”
Heathcliff playfully flicked Giblet’s forehead, who stuck his tongue out at him, before going back to his eggs. After finishing their meal, the teens sat in a booth with vinyl orange seats. Baba read her book, while Dogday talked with Giblet about some new video game he got. Heathcliff stared out the window, seeing how the clouds persisted through the night. As he turned back to his friends, however, the door to the diner slammed open. In walked Simon Smoke, the richest kid in school, and also the brattiest. He was a dragon, and wore PLENTY of jewelry to flaunt his wealth. Earrings. Rings. Chains. Everything he could get his greedy red claws on. So, what was he doing at a normal diner like this? It didn’t matter, as Simon saw Heathcliff, strolling over cockily.
”Awww… how touching. The poor little orphan is hanging out with his friends. I guess your family is that shitty, huh? Oh, right. Not actually your family. I forgot.”
Giblet looked up at Simon, and chuckled. The latter turned to him, grimacing.
”You got something to say, freakass?”
”Never thought I’d see someone like you in a place like this, Smoke. Why’re you here? Mommy and daddy didn’t give you enough money?”
”I have more money than your family ever will.”
”Money can’t buy happiness.”
”It apparently can’t buy looks, either… eugh.”
Baba snapped her book shut, standing up to see Simon eye to eye. While tall for his age, she was a small bit taller. He didn’t seem phased, however. “Hey, look. It’s the greasy emo. What, gonna stand up for your little boyfriend?” Baba grit her teeth. “Shut your mouth, Smoke.” Simon grinned even wider, showing his perfectly aligned teeth. At first glance, it seemed that he just had good genes, being a dragon and all. But if you really thought about it, he probably had EXTENSIVE dental work done.
”Ohhh, I guess you wanna suck his little orphan dick, huh? I wouldn’t expect any less than a loser like you. At LEAST have the dignity to do it in a barn. It’s probably where HE was born anyway—“
Simon didn’t get another word out before Baba swung. The punch sounded like a bullet, and sent him skidding across the floor, hitting his head on the counter. Dogday gasped loudly, but Giblet and Heathcliff smiled. As Simon stood up, he suddenly put a hand to his mouth. And two words came out that made everyone turn, if they hadn’t already from the sound of the argument OR punch.
”My tooth!!!”
He touched an empty spot in his mouth, an inch wide gap where a tooth had been sent flying out, simply from the force of Baba’s punch. Blood dripped down his mouth, onto his expensive designer shirt and jeans. He glared at Baba, who crossed her arms. Simon covered his mouth, and ran out of the diner, yelling some unintelligible threats at Baba. Heathcliff could barely make out the words “Stupid whore” and “Gonna sue your ass”, before Baba turned to the others.
”We should go…”
The other three nodded, and Giblet threw their payment onto the counter, waving to the employees. They all got back to their rides, Baba looking off into the distance. “See you guys tomorrow”, she said, before riding off into the darkness. Dogday hopped into his bike, pedaling the other two back to Heathcliff’s house. As they rode up to the wall, Heathcliff hopped off of the bike, fist bumping his friends.
”Sleep well, Heathcliff!! See you at school tomorrow!”
”See ya, Heath!”
”Night, you guys.”
Using a bush to climb up to his window, Heathcliff crept back into his bedroom, and prepared to lay down into his bed without even changing. But before he could relax, he heard talking downstairs. It was Elliot and… someone else. So, with all the curiosity he’d always had, Heath slowly crept down the stairs, looking around the corner. The scene he saw was… strange, to say the least.
Elliot was standing with his back to the wall, talking to a man with a LOT of yellow on. He had a bright yellow suit, a dark yellow undershirt, an even darker yellow tie, and even had yellow hair. Not blonde, just straight up yellow. He looked very young, too, almost mid 20’s. Behind him stood another man, who had a very sour expression on his face. He was thin and gaunt, with long graying hair falling to his waist, and a wispy beard on his chin. He also wore a lab coat and tie, and seemingly had an intense look of anger in his eyes.
”Alright, Mr. Ludwig, I’m gonna explain this again, so pay attention, okay?”
”I’ll try.”
Elliot sounded rather unenthusiastic, which made Heathcliff feel slightly bad. Still, he listened in.
”I know that you’re real popular with this city.”
”Yes, I am.”
”And you make all kinda toys… they sell great, don’t they?”
”They sure do, Mr. Pierre.”
”So, this is our plan. You sell us the rights to your toy store, and we make a ton of money for ourselves. We give you your fair share, and the deal is official from then on.”
”I’m sorry, Mr. Pierre, but I must decline.”
”I knew you’d— wait, huh?”
”I won’t sell my toy store. It’s my pride and joy, besides my kids, after all.”
Mr. Pierre looked quite annoyed, but chuckled, his face going a bit red. He stared right at Elliot, his eyes a dark shade of green. Heathcliff had learned about the demon who represented Greed; Mammon, a few days ago from his reading teacher. He always imagined him as having green eyes, too. Now that Heathcliff stared at him, actually, he imagined Mammon looked exactly like this man.
”I’m sorry, Mr. Ludwig, I must’ve misheard you… I could’ve sworn that you said—“
”That I won’t sell my toy store, Leith. I’m sorry.”
Leith paused again, looking away with a hint of annoyance, but masked it with a VERY forced looking smile. But before he could speak up again, the old man stepped forward. His voice sounded so cold, so rude, so… evil, that Heathcliff wouldn’t be surprised if he was the devil himself.
”Mr. Ludwig… you realize what selling your store entails, correct? Me and my team of scientists—“
Mr. Pierre cleared his throat, and the old man looked back, before turning around again.
”Me and Mr. Pierre’s team of scientists… could use your basement for our project. The university would NEVER search for us here. The project we’re working on could’ve been set in motion already, but we need a base of operations.”
”I’m sure that this project of yours is very important to you, Harley… but my answer is still no. I apologize.”
”You listen to me RIGHT NOW!!!!!”
Heathcliff nearly yelled out from the sudden voice change. The man’s voice had suddenly changed from cold and calculating to loud, angry, and full of malice. He looked around the corner a bit more, and saw everyone’s faces. Mr. Pierre looked startled, Elliot looked a bit taken back, and the old man… he had the most hateful face Heath had ever seen. He had hit his head on a doorframe once while running late to class, and it made his face go incredibly red… but it was nothing compared to Harley. His face had went from a dark hazel brown to a burning hot red.
”Mr. Ludwig, do you realize who you’re talking to? I am the smartest man in this city.”
Leith Pierre scoffed to himself, muttering.
”Not THAT impressive considering this place…”
”And I’m not going to let an idiot like you destroy my research. You’re nearly as smart as me, Ludwig. You could’ve been my associate and helped with this project, but you threw EVERYTHING you learnt at the university away to make toys. TOYS!!! What kind of a disappointment to the world ARE you?”
Elliot paused for a few moments. But Heathcliff didn’t have to see his face to know that his father was smiling. Not a cruel, mocking smile… a genuine smile.
“Science wasn’t the only thing I learnt at university, Harley… I learned how to invent as well. And it’s helped me wonders… don’t you remember what I told you on our first day? Progress should never be made for the sake of progress, but HELPING mankind.”
”How dense are you?”
”I guess a lot, if I asked you.”
”You’re making a mistake…”
”I’m sure that if I wanted advice from you, Harley, I’d ask the “before” version of you.”
Mr. Pierre and Harley looked at Elliot, and then at each other. Harley was quite angry, while Leith looked more annoyed. Leith cleared his throat, and forced another smile.
”Well… we’ll try again soon, Mr. Ludwig. I’m sure you’ll see reason.”
”I’m sure I will, Leith.”
”…come on, Sawyer. We’re don’t here.”
Leith Pierre turned away, walking out of the store, still trying to keep a gentlemanly air about him. However, Dr. Sawyer looked at Elliot one more time, and turned to leave… before grabbing a shelf with both hands. He yelled out, throwing the shelf across the floor, breaking off a part of it, and scattering toys everywhere. Elliot said nothing, but Dr. Sawyer looked at him one more time.
”This, Ludwig… this isn’t over. I ALWAYS have the final word…”
And with that, Dr. Sawyer stormed out, slamming the door shut. Elliot sighed, picking up the broken shelf, and starting picking up the toys, too. Heathcliff turned to go back upstairs, before…
”Sorry you had to witness that, buddy.”
This time, Heathcliff did yell out. He slapped a hand to his mouth, but figured it was too late to lie. He walked down the stairs, and saw Elliot standing there, smiling up at him.
”How’d… you know I was gone?”
”You never sleep under the blankets like that. When I came in to check on you… well, I was definitely a bit suspicious. Plus, I heard you and your friends talking earlier. I didn’t want to interrupt.”
”Oh… my bad. Sorry for sneaking out, dad…”
”Oh, I’m not upset… come here, buddy.”
Heathcliff walked down the stairs, and Elliot wrapped an arm around him, smiling wider. He was a big man. Tall, and with a strong physique that came from years of workshopping and inventing. And for someone in his 30’s, Elliot didn’t look a day over 20. In fact, if he wore jeans, a hoodie and sneakers, Heath wouldn’t be surprised if anyone mistook him for a teenager. Instead, he always wore brightly colored shirts that went well with the various ties he wore every day to day.
”…you’re not?”
”Nah. As long as you aren’t hurt, I’m not mad. I used to sneak out all the time as a kid. Believe it or not, I was your age, too!”
”Really? Who’d you hang out with?”
”A whole group of people, really. I can hardly remember all of them… I just know that we did dumb things. But hey, it was the 80’s. Kids did a LOT more back then, I guess.”
”…dad, who were those two guys you were talking to?”
”Oh… just some old colleagues of mine. They wanted me to sell the store, saying they’d make more profit for me… I don’t buy it, though. Mr. Pierre’s a businessman, sure, but not a noble one… and Dr. Sawyer…? Well, he’s incredibly smart, but not the kindest man you’ll ever meet, is he?”
”He seemed really mad.”
”He’s always been that way… hey, don’t worry bout it, buddy. It’s nothing I can’t handle.”
Heathcliff nodded, and then looked at the toys all thrown around. “And don’t worry about this mess, either. I’ll handle it. Just head to sleep, okay?” Another nod. With a hug and a final “Love you, buddy!”, Heathcliff walked up to his room, thankful he could sleep again. Once again, his head barely hit the pillow before he fell asleep.
Heath woke up feeling the same way he always felt. Tired. No matter how much he slept, he never felt rested enough. Hopping out of bed, he stretched as he walked downstairs, grabbing a cup of yogurt. He ate his breakfast as he picked out his outfit, a black jacket with jeans and a red shirt. It wasn’t the most attractive thing, but he didn’t care. After slipping on his shoes, he grabbed his bag, finished his yogurt, and brushed his teeth. The entire ordeal happened in less than 15 minutes, and as he walked downstairs, he saw his sister STILL in the process of eating her cereal. Elliot stood by the front door, drinking a cup of tea.
”Let’s hit the road!”
The family got into a red and yellow van with a logo on the side. It read; ‘Playtime Toy Store: A child shouldn’t be left without a smile!’ Driving through the town, Heathcliff did what he always did on the ride, stare out the window. Every day he noticed something new on the ride to school. Before he knew it, Elliot pulled up to the middle school. Poppy hopped out, holding her bag and smoothing her red, curly hair down. As she walked towards the doors, Heath saw her boyfriend, a tall red fuzzy monster by the name of Chum Chompkins. Chum didn’t talk, and seemingly did nothing but coddle her like a princess. As soon as he saw her, he ran over and picked her up, letting her kiss him in between the eyes.
As Elliot drove off, Heathcliff turned to his father. “I really don’t like Chum.” He said it blatantly and without hesitation. Elliot simply chuckled.
“I think they’re kinda cute, though!”
”He doesn’t TALK.”
”Strong silent type, buddy. Girls love it.”
”And I HATE it…”
Elliot drove to the front of Penske City High School. Heathcliff hopped out of his seat, and immediately ran up to Giblet, who was sitting with Dogday and Baba. They all looked up at him, and Giblet was the first to stand.
”You see what happened to sissy smokestack?”
”I mean, we were all right there yesterday night in the diner, G. How could I not?”
”Not just that, dumbass. Look!”
Heathcliff turned to the left, seeing Simon Smoke. He was talking to one of his cronies, a tall, fuzzy, blue jock by the name of Huggy Wuggy. He was the definition of a puppy dog, constantly following Simon around, hanging on his every word, and essentially acting as his bodyguard. His girlfriend, Kissy Missy stood next to him. Heathcliff didn’t understand how they ended up together. She was so nice and friendly… how’d she end up with a pig like Huggy? Simon muttered something to him, and he barked out a laugh EVERYONE could hear.
”What a dog…”
”Hey!” Dogday shouted out at Baba.
“What’re you trying to show me, Giblet, it’s just Simon and—“
Giblet pointed at Simon’s face specifically, smirking. Heathcliff looked again, and saw what his friends were talking about. Simon’s missing tooth was replaced by a metal nugget he must’ve got at a dentist. Heathcliff started laughing, and turned to Baba. She cracked a rare smile. Dogday seemed a bit sympathetic, but still smiled in a bit of joy, and Giblet walked over to Baba, slapping a hand onto her back.
”Let’s all give her a hand, folks! The strongest right hook I’ve ever seen in my life, and the coolest gal I’ve ever known, Baba Chops!!!”
Dogday, Giblet, and Heathcliff all clapped for Baba, who simply nodded her head. Suddenly, the bell rang. They all stood up, and walked into the school. Baba walked off to her English class, while Dogday went to art. Giblet and Heathcliff walked into Algebra, sitting next to each other, and prepared for another day of school…