Well, that was a hard-won Time Piece! – a thought spurred through the mind of Hat Kid, as she dropped another one into a stack. Count of Time Pieces went up one, showing the change on the screen.
“Well, I sure deserve a good naaaaaaa…” – sentence went unfinished, as her eyes followed Rumbi, still rolling on the floor, but for some reason, choking on something. A piece of paper that Hat Kid never seen before. Does this ship even have any paper anywhere? Well, except for the letter room… wait, letter?
Shocked, she immediately jumped to Rumbi, trying to grab a stuck piece and pull it off. But he persisted – even if he had to stop, he started to pull his own side, realizing there’s something out of place, now trying to suck in whatever got into his grasp! Hat Kid would have none of that. Holding the paper with one hand, she changed her hat with another, and as soon as she did, the alchemical concoction appeared, only to immediately being thrown at small robot! With beeping “Ouch” he let go of his side, dropped the pom mid-air, and then safely landed in a short distance.
“Bad, bad Rumbi! You can’t have my letters! Now go and do a clean-up somewhere else! Shoo!” – a little angry, Hat Kid waved her hands, shooing poor rumbi away. Finally, she got a chance to carefully inspect her catch. Giving it a little shake, Hat Kid took a closer look on a parchment.
Her eyes instantly filled with fear and awe. It wasn’t a letter. It was actually a bill on the whole damage she did while traversing Dead Bird Studio in an attempt to reach her Time Piece! It was hers, and now this is the price she has to pay for having it? What’s with DJ Grooves deal then?!
Eyes were jumping between beginning and ending of a list, trying to understand. It can’t be, it must be a mistake! Well, if it’s not a mistake, then maybe… She looked on a screen, showing her pom deposits. Barely a hundred poms. She didn’t even get any new badges for her hat yet! Or well… maybe one. Or two. But those were needed! And now… now she needs the same amount and several extra zeroes at the end to pay for the damage.
With a defeated look, kid fell down at her back, right on the floor, looking at a blue ceiling tiles. This amount would take FOREVER to save up from, and she has needs too! And so does her ship! She would be dying from starvation and lack of entertainment if she’s to pay for it. Unless… A dark thought sparked in her mind.
“Rob… the mafia?” – she whispered to herself.
No, that sounds far too grim, she thought. Sure, they aren’t good guys, but they are not that bad either. But… they already have so many riches. They won’t become any poor if I just get a little to pay off to birds… right?
These thoughts were burrowing in her head, not stopping even if she tried to wear a foil hat. If she just happened to have one, at least. It was a struggle… and one that was hard to win. Still somewhat unsure if what she does is right, Hat Kid sneakily went to the transportation room, to make a travel to Mafia Town…
By the time she returned, her spaceship already made several turns around a planet she was stuck around. Exhausted, almost out of breath, she walked to her TV and fell on a pillow lying there. She was running all over the town, kicking mafia guys and saving citizens, and then kicking Mafia again. Solving sneaky puzzles, breaking crates… even finding vault codes! That sure should have made a lot of poms. Through sheer strength of will, she turned her head to ship data screens, to see her pom count. Just a little over one thousand. It was sure much more than before…
Next moment, a loud desperate cry shook up the walls of spaceship, as Hat Kid’s eyes quickly welled up and she burst into tears.
“Nooooo! They gonna take my ship, and sell it for poms, and then I’ll be paying off debts, doing odd jobs for birds! Whyyyyyyyyyy??? I don’t wanna!…”
Through her crying, the phone started to ring in a distance. She didn’t hear it right away – her screams of sadness were pretty loud even for an old ringing device. With a loud sniff, Hat Kid tried to calm down. She washed away her tears, and then hurried her way to the phone. Well, as much of a hurry can make a dehydrated, tired kid after having hard shift and existential crisis. She did, however, manage to pick up the phone before it went silent.
“Y-yes?”
“Oh, darling, it is nice to hear your voice again!” – Grooves seemed in a good, even if a slightly worried, mood. – “I was afraid if anything happened to you, and you wouldn’t hold your part of bargain! Which I, of course, want you to hold, as I have done everything for you to do so! Speaking of which, it came to my attention that our studio mistakenly sent you the bill that I tore apart when we met. Please, darling, don’t worry about it. it’s just a piece of paper, and your debt is absolutely void! Consider it a payment for shining in my new movie as our main star! Besides, we don’t want our idol to have any dark stains in her past, aren’t we? Well, I’ll see you on stage, my darling!”
A phone call hung up, followed by long beeps were going through speaker. She had a bit of a predicament processing all this information now… peck, this day is sure full of weird events, from the start to this very moment. Let’s just hope that’s the last surprise to hear for now…
Nik Synaly 