Toddler
“So, Cynthia is going to marry Drake, who is secretly her brother-in-law because he is secretly married to her half sister-- who is secretly Cassie-- when their mother secretly had an affair with a Donald who is secretly Drake's supposedly dead father?” Verrill asked, a tad bit confused.
“Exactly!” Austeraud handed him a peppermint. Verrill had taken to the stuff when he got into Austeraud's stash of hard candies. Luckily the caramels survived. Suddenly, Xeneth came walking downstairs in his altogether to clean tennis shoes.
“Why do you let him watch that? It'll rot his brain.” Xeneth asked, holding his tennis racquet.
“Well your parents let you watch childrens' shows and look what happened.” Austerard responded with, during a commercial. “Moreover, you don't play tennis.”
“Well I thought I'd learn.” Xeneth responded. “I know a guy who said he'd give me free lessons if I'd let his daughter's biker gang beat me up and not press charges.”
“So that explains the medical bill.” Austerard replied matter-of-factly.
“Whatever, I'm going out, and I'm taking this little one with me.” Xeneth picked Verrill up by his neck like a stray cat and took him into the car.
After a dive which took twice as long as it had to because Xeneth couldn't read directions, they arrived at
Deathly Grimm Athlediporium. It was a tacky health club for the undead, a place Xeneth certainly didn't belong, and it was no place for a small child.
“Why'd you bring that?” a deep-voiced muscle-bound werewolf behind the reception counter asked, somewhat upset that some scrawny guy even walked in here, much less brought a little kid.
“I, I, I,...” Xeneth stuttered. He was intimidated by the were's large muscles. “He- He-... Here.” Xeneth handed the letter to the receptionist.
“Oh.” The musclebound wolf frowned. The owner wouldn't like this, but he was in no place to upset the head tennis coach. “Ah well, you came dressed, so that saves some time. Follow me.” The large wolfman lead Xeneth out to the courts. A tall, lean-muscled zombie was there.
“Hi there. I'm the head tennis coach here. Racquetball is my real passion, but what can you do?” He laughed. Xeneth laughed to be polite. In this short time the mass of fur and muscle had left to get back to his desk.
“And I see you brought a kid. He looks nothing like you, you might want to get a DNA test done. You don't even need blood anymo-” Xeneth cut him off.
“No, he's adopted.”
“Oh.” Well set him over there out of the way. We don't want our little tennis star to get hurt.” Xeneth put him down on the stands and Verrill would have none of this watching Xeneth look like an idoit.
The Tennis Coach served a ball, and Xeneth missed it.
“Don't worry! We'll try again.”
Xeneth hit the next one, or rather, it hit him. In the face.
“Ooh. Let's take a break for now.”
Verrill had, started to make his way around exploring and could could hear what happened when Xeneth got hit. Finding nothing but old gum and trash under the stands, he moved over and wandered back into the club.
He twisted his legs past a big bathtub (no bubbles though!) with a lot of people in it at once. He passed a room with weird robots that made people move back and forth and funny things that had women running in place. Due to all the movement, he noticed something the females he had encountered before didn't seem to have. Large Breasts. Large, flopping, unsupported, needs-a-better-sports-bra breasts. The kids teenage boys have wet dreams about. Well, it was bound to happen sometime.
He then arrived at strange room. A room with all kinds of weird T.V.s that showed nothing very interesting. Just places around the club. The women, the robots, Xeneth (now just trying to hold the racquet right). A man in brown with a plastic I.D. turned around. He was a similar shape to the receptionist, but a little rounder in the middle. He was also much less hairy and had a skin tone similar to Xeneth's.
“Huh. You're a weird lookin' kid.” The man said. “Well, Company's company.” He said, offering Verrill a seat. “Might as well watch these with me. Doughnut?”
Verrill took the doughnut and nibbled it. The icing was oddly sweet and the rest of it was dry. “They've been sitting here all day. Don't let anyone know I've got them, or they'll raid the place.” He winked at Verrill. The doughnut munching toddler got a kick out of seeing everywhere at once, he also got to see Xeneth finally realize he was missing.
“Are you his?” The man in brown asked Verrill, who nodded with the doughnut in his mouth. “I'll have to take you back to him.” The man said, and began to lead him back to Xeneth. Luckily, an unathletic fragile, pale vampire was not hard to pick out among a bunch of heath nuts. “Don't worry man, He's safe!” The brown man presented Verrill back to Xeneth.
Xeneth looked embarrassed, thanked the brown man and left the club, never to return, having significantly made a fool of himself.
