The nice thing about having late shifts at the zoo was you could do things under cover of night and (relatively) get away with them, but especially since Splash Zone had just opened and hadn't yet gotten around to installing security cameras the opportunities seemed endless, which is exactly how Harvey sold the idea to Robin. So, that night, they both opted to take the late shift - relieving Fletcher, albeit not happily - and, once they were certain everyone else was clear of the premises, they headed over to the Splash Zone. Turned out, Harvey had been doing reconnaissance for a while, so he knew where they stored the spoiled krill. He and Robin gathered up what they could onto a tarp, then loaded that tarp into a cart and drove it back to Kazoo's stage show. Once there, they unloaded it and dumped it into the water for the whale to "enjoy". After this, they headed back to the main zoo and awaited the results.
The results, as they would discover two days later, would only lead to further rifts between the zoo proper and Splash Zone, but it was the smallest victory they afford. Nelly, however, felt differently.
***
"Okay," Nelly said, "a lot of things around here I can let slide. I didn't hold anyone accountable for when Casper promoted Kangaroo Boxing Day, but this sort of thing, because it didn't technically take place on our property, I cannot ignore. So now either someone comes forward and takes responsibility for making Kazoo sick or-"
"Or what?" Fletcher asked, "we're all gonna fail the class?"
"...OR...I'm going to make every single one of you swim in the tank with the mess you created," Nelly said sternly, "because you know what happened right? The whale didn't just vomit. It vomited during the show. ON its trainer. Poor young girl just absolutely covered in whale vomit. You have any idea how traumatizing that had to be? She had to be escorted off the property and has since undergone a whole day of work appointed therapy to deal with what occurred to her. Are you guys proud of yourselves?"
"It wasn't me, but if it were, I'd say yes, I am," Fletcher replied, high fiving Robin who was seated next to him before she stared at his hand, her eyes wide.
"...uh...there's a lizard attached to you," she said quietly.
"Oh, yeah, I know," Fletcher said, "happened during a show earlier, can't get him off."
"Isn't that...uncomfortable?" Robin asked.
"Not really, I kinda forgot he was there," Fletcher said, shrugging, "he's my little guide guest now."
"You aren't seriously giving tours like that are you?" Nelly asked, her attention now turned solely to this new issue, "because that is remarkably unprofessional."
"More unprofessional than just not doing my job? Jesus, can't win with you," Fletcher said, rolling his eyes.
"I...I genuinely don't know, actually," Nelly said, "my point is, guys, someone is going to be held accountable for what happened to the whale, and to its trainer, because I will take the blame for a lot of your shenanigans, but this is one I cannot bear the brunt of. So either someone comes forward, or everyone takes a pay dock. And as for you-" she said, turning her attention to Fletcher, "get. that lizard. off. your hand."
"Don't talk about Gregory like that in front of him, you'll hurt his feelings," Fletcher whispered.
"Don't name it, you'll get attached to it," Harvey said.
"I'm already attached to it," Fletcher said, "that's the crux of the issue."
With that, Nelly, frustrated and ready for a break, turned and exited the break room, leaving everyone to themselves. Fletcher posted his elbow up on the table and held his hand out flat in the air, the lizard dangling from his index finger. Robin leaned forward, somewhat fascinated, staring at it.
"So it doesn't hurt?" she asked.
"Nah," Fletcher said, "he's not biting hard, he's just stuck on me."
"Have you tried just shaking him off?" Harvey asked.
"I'm not shaking him, he's not a human baby," Fletcher said.
The thing was, there was one person who knew how to deal with this, but...Fletcher didn't want to call her.
***
Sophie was standing with Robin out by the churro concession stand by the Zebras, just chewing and watching. This had become somewhat of a morning routine for them. They would find a snack, generally a sweet snack, Robin would get some coffee, and the two would just animal watch before the zoo got really busy. But today in particular, now that Nelly was somewhat on the war path for accountability, it was definitely needed. Robin had to clear her head. She didn't know that her and Harvey's little joke would result in this sort of reaction, putting everyones financial standing in jeopardy, not that Sophie was that concerned, seeing as she lived with her parents. Robin took another big bite of her churro, washed it down with coffee, and sighed.
"Last night," Robin said, "I got home and all I wanted was to have you there."
Sophie blushed and looked at her shoes, mumbling, "It'd be nice to go home with you sometime."
They each wanted it, but Sophie knew Robin had a "roommate". A roommate. That's what she had begun to refer to Kyle as, and it made her sad to be lying to them both. Robin exhaled and tossed her coffee cup in the empty nearby bin before holding onto Sophie's hand and squeezing it gently, before lifting it to her lips and kissing softly, making Sophie blush even more.
"It just feels so...lonely there, even with them around, you know? I want you there, in my arms, on my bed, just...holding and protecting you."
Sophie giggled. How had she gotten so lucky? Suddenly an arm grabbed Robin's other arm and tugged her away, causing her to yelp in surprise as she saw Harvey pulling her from Sophie and a bit aways, shouting back at Sophie that he was sorry but he needed to borrow her for a minute. As they got a bit aways, now standing near the Rhinos, Harvey lowered his voice, his eyes darting every which way, clearly anxious.
"We committed such a crime," he whispered.
"We got a whale sick, we didn't commit vehicular homicide," Robin said snidely.
"We got a young woman covered in vomit by animal 4 times her size," Harvey said, making Robin smirk and start giggling.
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," she said, "Oh well, it's puke, right? It's not like she was trapped in a well."
"Okay first of all, what a wild comparison, like, who gets stuck in wells?" Harvey asked, making Robin shrug.
"It happens."
"No, it doesn't, this isn't 1870, there's no wells!" Harvey said, "and secondly-"
"I'm sure there's wells somewhere," Robin muttered, interrupting him.
"-and secondly," he continued, repeating himself through gritted teeth, "we got everyone in trouble. We need to come forward."
"...yeah, that part does kinda suck," Robin said, sounding a little defeated, "but what happens to us if we do?"
"I don't know, Robin, but I know Nelly well, and...and I'm sure I can get our punishments to be less severe, you leave that part to me, but by the end of the day, whether you do or not, I'm coming clean. I can't take the guilt, and...and it's the right thing to do."
With that, Harvey turned on his heel and started to head back to his post, leaving Robin there. She knew he was right. She knew that, morally and ethically, he was right. But the outcome...the result of such actions...that terrified her. All she'd wanted to do was play a prank. Now they'd seemingly traumatized a woman as well as made an animal very ill. Kazoo didn't deserve that. If anything, Kazoo was a victim of circumstance, a monkey (well, a whale, actually) in a cage forced to perform. And if Robin knew anything about the entertainment industry, it was that being forced to do something that once was your lifeblood eventually wore you down to nothing.
***
Fletcher was standing at the Alligator exhibit, leaning on the railing, watching. He saw some kids across from him on the opposite of the exhibit tossing in some small hunks of meat, a little treat the zoo offered the kids to do, and that a few of the smaller, younger alligators had gathered to enjoy their gifts, the kids overjoyed at the experience. Fletcher couldn't help but crack a smile.
"Reptiles are cool cause dinosaurs were cool," a voice said, and Fletcher looked to his side to see a woman standing there in a leather jacket, leather pants and a button down white collar shirt with a thin black tie. She had small oval glasses and shoulder length hair with bangs. She smiled at him, then added, "you're a sight for sore eyes."
"Stacy Keebler," Fletcher said, grinning wife, "how's the hand?"
"Still gone," Stacy said, raising her arm and showing off a well built prosthetic, wiggling her mechanical fingers at him.
"That's so cool, you're like a Terminator," Fletcher whispered, making her crack up before asking, "wait...what are you doing here?"
"Well, I was informed that you have a lizard stuck to you," Stacy said.
"Nelly called you?" Fletcher asked, and she nodded.
"Yeah, she knew you wouldn't take the initiative," Stacy said, "frankly I admire your tenacity. And your stubbornness."
"The two are interchangeable," Fletcher said, pointing at her while winking before looking at the lizard still hanging off his hand, "...it's hard to do finger guns with a reptile attached to you. So what's your big plan on how to dislodge this little guy? Cause he's stuck to me like a child you didn't want to have."
"You're gonna make a great, neglectful father someday," Stacy remarked, "come with me. We're gonna go use the only tool capable of prying him off without hurting him. We need... The Dislocator."
The name, Fletcher had to admit, made him somewhat nervous.
***
Robin was standing outside the Splash Zone, chewing her lip, mulling over what Harvey had told her.
Sophie had gone on to do her duties for the day, and Robin had done her few tours, and was now thinking about the consequences of coming clean for her actions. Their actions. She knew it was the right thing to do, she knew Harvey was right, and yet...and yet she just simply couldn't do it. As she stood there, lost in thought, she suddenly felt a hand on her arm and looked to see Catfish standing beside her in her wetsuit, drinking a smoothie.
"Oh, hi," Robin said meekly, "how are you?"
"All things considered I couldn't be better, seeing as how I wasn't the one covered in whale vomit," Catfish said.
"Fair enough," Robin replied, smirking slightly, "...but...I guess I feel really bad about the situation, it sounded like it was fairly horrendous for her. I hope she's doing okay?"
"She's hanging in there," Catfish nodded, sipping on her straw, "but an apology probably wouldn't hurt."
Robin looked at Catfish and squinted, raising an eyebrow, causing Catfish to smirk.
"What?" Catfish asked.
"How come you're so....calm about it all?" Robin asked.
"Cause it's one of the risks of doing this job," Catfish said, shrugging, "listen, I wanted to work with whales ever since I was a little girl. I used to get books about whales out of the library, I slept with a whale plush that I still sleep with, and I watched every nature documentary about whales that I could get my tiny hands on. I love listening to CDs of whale songs. If you come into this job not expecting things like that, then you're just...no offense, but you kinda deserve to be barfed on," she said, shrugging again, causing Robin to crack up.
Say what you want about the Splash Zone, she enjoyed Catfish, and it was nice to have at least one friend on the inside of this rivalry. After laughing a bit, Robin exhaled and put her hands on her hips, nodding.
"Alright," she said, "I know what has to be done about this."
***
Sitting in the tiny medical office, Fletcher seated on a table as Stacy searched for something in a nearby cabinet. Fletcher raised his hand to his face and looked at the lizard, before looking past at Stacy, who was still searching, shifting things around in the cabinet. After a few minutes, Fletcher grinned and rolled his eyes.
"So," he started, "what's it like losing a limb?"
"Technically didn't lose the whole limb, just lost the hand," Stacy said, "but it's...it's definitely an experience."
"It's kind of cool to be part robot, right?" Fletcher asked.
"In technical terms I'm more of a cyborg, but sure," Stacy said, finally grabbing something and turning around to face him, grinning, holding a plastic bottle as she took a seat on the spinning stool in front of him, Fletcher lowering his eyelids in annoyance.
"That's The Dislocator? It's Amonia," he said.
"Yeah but The Dislocator sounds so much cooler doesn't it?" Stacy asked, laughing, pouring just a small amount on the tip of a Q-Tip and and then, taking Fletcher's hand in her other hand, waving the Q-Tip soaked in Amonia in front of the lizard. After a few moments, Fletcher, much to his surprise, felt the lizards grasp on his finger begin to soften until he dropped completely into a small jar Stacy had placed beneath them. She quickly gathered it up and screwed the lid on top, then held it in front of her, smiling at it.
"Wow," Fletcher said, wiggling his now free digit, "that...that was really cool."
"Yeah, well, I'm pretty cool, so," Stacy said.
Fletcher scratched the back of his head nervously and sighed, shutting his eyes and lowering his head.
"Listen," he said, "Stacy, uh...I need to apologize. When you lost your hand, I...I kind of made a big joke about it. That's just what I tend to do, I make jokes about horrific things so they seem less horiffic, it's a coping mechanism, and not a great one I admit, but it's...it's how I manage. Regardless, it wasn't...it wasn't fair to you, and I am sorry for that, because what you went through had to be traumatic and-"
"Fletcher shut up," Stacy said, surprising him; she smiled, setting the jar on the counter and looking back at him, "actually I'm glad you did. I'm glad you did it cause it forced me to look at it in a humorous light, so in a way, you didn't pity me, you made me laugh at it, and that...that really helped. Now I'm a cyborg, and that's awesome. I know people tell you you're a jerk, but you're not. Just because others believe something about you doesn't make it true, okay? You're not a jerk Fletcher. You're an ass. But the two aren't the same."
Fletcher smiled and nodded as Stacy walked back over and they hugged.
"Thanks for getting him unattached," Fletcher said as she patted him on the back.
"My pleasure," she said. Just then they looked towards the door and saw Sophie standing there.
"What?" Fletcher asked.
"You're gonna wanna see this," she said.
***
The workers from both the Splash Zone, as well as Wild Kingdom proper, had all gathered around the large tank Kazoo performed in, and were awaiting anxiously. As Fletcher, Sophie and Stacy pulled up in the cart, they climbed out and approached Casper and Nelly, both of whom were standing by Catfish. Fletcher stopped by Nelly and lowered his voice.
"What's goin' on?" he asked.
"You're about to witness a spectacle," Nelly said, arms folded, seeming smug.
"Lady, I had a lizard stuck to me all day, I was a spectacle," Fletcher remarked, making her laugh.
Suddenly the doors to the trainer area opened and Robin and Harvey, both in wetsuits, exited and walked towards the tank. Fletcher's eyes widened and he grinned. That's when he knew what exactly it was he was about to see. Robin and Harvey approached the diving spot by the tank and Harvey removed his glasses setting them down on the edge. He looked at Robin, who smiled at him.
"We're doing the right thing," she said, and he nodded.
"Doesn't make it any less disgusting," Harvey said as Robin laughed and grabbed his hand. They each looked in the direction of those watching. Harveys eyes met Nellys and she smiled at him, shaking her head, making him smile back. Robins eyes landed on Sophies, and she waved playfully, blowing her a kiss, making Robin blush and giggle. After a moment, the trainer who had been vomited on, Alissa, also approached the tank, standing by Catfish, who put her arm around her in a caring manner and pointed at the two by the tank. Robin and Harvey looked at one another, took a deep breath each and lunged forward into the vomit soaked water.
After the show had ended and they'd exited, Robin, Sophie and Fletcher were standing by the tank as Robin tried to clean herself off with one of the hoses, Sophie helping her clean vomit out of her hair as Fletcher leaned against the wall, arms folded, laughing.
"That was pretty badass, I gotta admit," Fletcher said.
"It was vile but it was the right thing to do," Robin said.
"I'm gonna say, I'm surprised it wasn't you who made the whale barf," Sophie said, glancing at Fletcher.
"Me too, honestly," Fletcher said, "primo prank and I didn't lay claim to it."
Suddenly they heard two people walking up to them and turned to see Catfish with Alissa.
"Um..." Alissa said, meekly, looking at her feet, "...th...thank you. Thank you for doing that. I'm still upset it happened, but...thank you."
Robin smiled and nodded before watching them walk away and looking back at Sophie and Fletcher.
"Who wants diner food? Cause I need something comforting after swimming in vomit," Robin said.
Meanwhile, out in the parking lot, Harvey was unlocking his car, ready to head home and shower himself. Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned his head to see Nelly standing by him. He smiled and adjusted his small glasses, as Nelly stood by him.
"Hi there," he said.
"...you're amazing, you know that?" she asked.
"I always had a suspicion," Harvey said, chuckling, as Nelly put her arms around his shoulders and leaned in to kiss him. To kiss Nelly...that was more than worth swimming whale vomit for. After the kiss, she pulled back and looked at him.
"You smell terrible," she said.
"Well, I'm covered in puke, it's not an aphrodisiac...typically," Harvey said, the both of them laughing and continuing to kiss. A shower could wait. This was far more worth his time.
The results, as they would discover two days later, would only lead to further rifts between the zoo proper and Splash Zone, but it was the smallest victory they afford. Nelly, however, felt differently.
***
"Okay," Nelly said, "a lot of things around here I can let slide. I didn't hold anyone accountable for when Casper promoted Kangaroo Boxing Day, but this sort of thing, because it didn't technically take place on our property, I cannot ignore. So now either someone comes forward and takes responsibility for making Kazoo sick or-"
"Or what?" Fletcher asked, "we're all gonna fail the class?"
"...OR...I'm going to make every single one of you swim in the tank with the mess you created," Nelly said sternly, "because you know what happened right? The whale didn't just vomit. It vomited during the show. ON its trainer. Poor young girl just absolutely covered in whale vomit. You have any idea how traumatizing that had to be? She had to be escorted off the property and has since undergone a whole day of work appointed therapy to deal with what occurred to her. Are you guys proud of yourselves?"
"It wasn't me, but if it were, I'd say yes, I am," Fletcher replied, high fiving Robin who was seated next to him before she stared at his hand, her eyes wide.
"...uh...there's a lizard attached to you," she said quietly.
"Oh, yeah, I know," Fletcher said, "happened during a show earlier, can't get him off."
"Isn't that...uncomfortable?" Robin asked.
"Not really, I kinda forgot he was there," Fletcher said, shrugging, "he's my little guide guest now."
"You aren't seriously giving tours like that are you?" Nelly asked, her attention now turned solely to this new issue, "because that is remarkably unprofessional."
"More unprofessional than just not doing my job? Jesus, can't win with you," Fletcher said, rolling his eyes.
"I...I genuinely don't know, actually," Nelly said, "my point is, guys, someone is going to be held accountable for what happened to the whale, and to its trainer, because I will take the blame for a lot of your shenanigans, but this is one I cannot bear the brunt of. So either someone comes forward, or everyone takes a pay dock. And as for you-" she said, turning her attention to Fletcher, "get. that lizard. off. your hand."
"Don't talk about Gregory like that in front of him, you'll hurt his feelings," Fletcher whispered.
"Don't name it, you'll get attached to it," Harvey said.
"I'm already attached to it," Fletcher said, "that's the crux of the issue."
With that, Nelly, frustrated and ready for a break, turned and exited the break room, leaving everyone to themselves. Fletcher posted his elbow up on the table and held his hand out flat in the air, the lizard dangling from his index finger. Robin leaned forward, somewhat fascinated, staring at it.
"So it doesn't hurt?" she asked.
"Nah," Fletcher said, "he's not biting hard, he's just stuck on me."
"Have you tried just shaking him off?" Harvey asked.
"I'm not shaking him, he's not a human baby," Fletcher said.
The thing was, there was one person who knew how to deal with this, but...Fletcher didn't want to call her.
***
Sophie was standing with Robin out by the churro concession stand by the Zebras, just chewing and watching. This had become somewhat of a morning routine for them. They would find a snack, generally a sweet snack, Robin would get some coffee, and the two would just animal watch before the zoo got really busy. But today in particular, now that Nelly was somewhat on the war path for accountability, it was definitely needed. Robin had to clear her head. She didn't know that her and Harvey's little joke would result in this sort of reaction, putting everyones financial standing in jeopardy, not that Sophie was that concerned, seeing as she lived with her parents. Robin took another big bite of her churro, washed it down with coffee, and sighed.
"Last night," Robin said, "I got home and all I wanted was to have you there."
Sophie blushed and looked at her shoes, mumbling, "It'd be nice to go home with you sometime."
They each wanted it, but Sophie knew Robin had a "roommate". A roommate. That's what she had begun to refer to Kyle as, and it made her sad to be lying to them both. Robin exhaled and tossed her coffee cup in the empty nearby bin before holding onto Sophie's hand and squeezing it gently, before lifting it to her lips and kissing softly, making Sophie blush even more.
"It just feels so...lonely there, even with them around, you know? I want you there, in my arms, on my bed, just...holding and protecting you."
Sophie giggled. How had she gotten so lucky? Suddenly an arm grabbed Robin's other arm and tugged her away, causing her to yelp in surprise as she saw Harvey pulling her from Sophie and a bit aways, shouting back at Sophie that he was sorry but he needed to borrow her for a minute. As they got a bit aways, now standing near the Rhinos, Harvey lowered his voice, his eyes darting every which way, clearly anxious.
"We committed such a crime," he whispered.
"We got a whale sick, we didn't commit vehicular homicide," Robin said snidely.
"We got a young woman covered in vomit by animal 4 times her size," Harvey said, making Robin smirk and start giggling.
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," she said, "Oh well, it's puke, right? It's not like she was trapped in a well."
"Okay first of all, what a wild comparison, like, who gets stuck in wells?" Harvey asked, making Robin shrug.
"It happens."
"No, it doesn't, this isn't 1870, there's no wells!" Harvey said, "and secondly-"
"I'm sure there's wells somewhere," Robin muttered, interrupting him.
"-and secondly," he continued, repeating himself through gritted teeth, "we got everyone in trouble. We need to come forward."
"...yeah, that part does kinda suck," Robin said, sounding a little defeated, "but what happens to us if we do?"
"I don't know, Robin, but I know Nelly well, and...and I'm sure I can get our punishments to be less severe, you leave that part to me, but by the end of the day, whether you do or not, I'm coming clean. I can't take the guilt, and...and it's the right thing to do."
With that, Harvey turned on his heel and started to head back to his post, leaving Robin there. She knew he was right. She knew that, morally and ethically, he was right. But the outcome...the result of such actions...that terrified her. All she'd wanted to do was play a prank. Now they'd seemingly traumatized a woman as well as made an animal very ill. Kazoo didn't deserve that. If anything, Kazoo was a victim of circumstance, a monkey (well, a whale, actually) in a cage forced to perform. And if Robin knew anything about the entertainment industry, it was that being forced to do something that once was your lifeblood eventually wore you down to nothing.
***
Fletcher was standing at the Alligator exhibit, leaning on the railing, watching. He saw some kids across from him on the opposite of the exhibit tossing in some small hunks of meat, a little treat the zoo offered the kids to do, and that a few of the smaller, younger alligators had gathered to enjoy their gifts, the kids overjoyed at the experience. Fletcher couldn't help but crack a smile.
"Reptiles are cool cause dinosaurs were cool," a voice said, and Fletcher looked to his side to see a woman standing there in a leather jacket, leather pants and a button down white collar shirt with a thin black tie. She had small oval glasses and shoulder length hair with bangs. She smiled at him, then added, "you're a sight for sore eyes."
"Stacy Keebler," Fletcher said, grinning wife, "how's the hand?"
"Still gone," Stacy said, raising her arm and showing off a well built prosthetic, wiggling her mechanical fingers at him.
"That's so cool, you're like a Terminator," Fletcher whispered, making her crack up before asking, "wait...what are you doing here?"
"Well, I was informed that you have a lizard stuck to you," Stacy said.
"Nelly called you?" Fletcher asked, and she nodded.
"Yeah, she knew you wouldn't take the initiative," Stacy said, "frankly I admire your tenacity. And your stubbornness."
"The two are interchangeable," Fletcher said, pointing at her while winking before looking at the lizard still hanging off his hand, "...it's hard to do finger guns with a reptile attached to you. So what's your big plan on how to dislodge this little guy? Cause he's stuck to me like a child you didn't want to have."
"You're gonna make a great, neglectful father someday," Stacy remarked, "come with me. We're gonna go use the only tool capable of prying him off without hurting him. We need... The Dislocator."
The name, Fletcher had to admit, made him somewhat nervous.
***
Robin was standing outside the Splash Zone, chewing her lip, mulling over what Harvey had told her.
Sophie had gone on to do her duties for the day, and Robin had done her few tours, and was now thinking about the consequences of coming clean for her actions. Their actions. She knew it was the right thing to do, she knew Harvey was right, and yet...and yet she just simply couldn't do it. As she stood there, lost in thought, she suddenly felt a hand on her arm and looked to see Catfish standing beside her in her wetsuit, drinking a smoothie.
"Oh, hi," Robin said meekly, "how are you?"
"All things considered I couldn't be better, seeing as how I wasn't the one covered in whale vomit," Catfish said.
"Fair enough," Robin replied, smirking slightly, "...but...I guess I feel really bad about the situation, it sounded like it was fairly horrendous for her. I hope she's doing okay?"
"She's hanging in there," Catfish nodded, sipping on her straw, "but an apology probably wouldn't hurt."
Robin looked at Catfish and squinted, raising an eyebrow, causing Catfish to smirk.
"What?" Catfish asked.
"How come you're so....calm about it all?" Robin asked.
"Cause it's one of the risks of doing this job," Catfish said, shrugging, "listen, I wanted to work with whales ever since I was a little girl. I used to get books about whales out of the library, I slept with a whale plush that I still sleep with, and I watched every nature documentary about whales that I could get my tiny hands on. I love listening to CDs of whale songs. If you come into this job not expecting things like that, then you're just...no offense, but you kinda deserve to be barfed on," she said, shrugging again, causing Robin to crack up.
Say what you want about the Splash Zone, she enjoyed Catfish, and it was nice to have at least one friend on the inside of this rivalry. After laughing a bit, Robin exhaled and put her hands on her hips, nodding.
"Alright," she said, "I know what has to be done about this."
***
Sitting in the tiny medical office, Fletcher seated on a table as Stacy searched for something in a nearby cabinet. Fletcher raised his hand to his face and looked at the lizard, before looking past at Stacy, who was still searching, shifting things around in the cabinet. After a few minutes, Fletcher grinned and rolled his eyes.
"So," he started, "what's it like losing a limb?"
"Technically didn't lose the whole limb, just lost the hand," Stacy said, "but it's...it's definitely an experience."
"It's kind of cool to be part robot, right?" Fletcher asked.
"In technical terms I'm more of a cyborg, but sure," Stacy said, finally grabbing something and turning around to face him, grinning, holding a plastic bottle as she took a seat on the spinning stool in front of him, Fletcher lowering his eyelids in annoyance.
"That's The Dislocator? It's Amonia," he said.
"Yeah but The Dislocator sounds so much cooler doesn't it?" Stacy asked, laughing, pouring just a small amount on the tip of a Q-Tip and and then, taking Fletcher's hand in her other hand, waving the Q-Tip soaked in Amonia in front of the lizard. After a few moments, Fletcher, much to his surprise, felt the lizards grasp on his finger begin to soften until he dropped completely into a small jar Stacy had placed beneath them. She quickly gathered it up and screwed the lid on top, then held it in front of her, smiling at it.
"Wow," Fletcher said, wiggling his now free digit, "that...that was really cool."
"Yeah, well, I'm pretty cool, so," Stacy said.
Fletcher scratched the back of his head nervously and sighed, shutting his eyes and lowering his head.
"Listen," he said, "Stacy, uh...I need to apologize. When you lost your hand, I...I kind of made a big joke about it. That's just what I tend to do, I make jokes about horrific things so they seem less horiffic, it's a coping mechanism, and not a great one I admit, but it's...it's how I manage. Regardless, it wasn't...it wasn't fair to you, and I am sorry for that, because what you went through had to be traumatic and-"
"Fletcher shut up," Stacy said, surprising him; she smiled, setting the jar on the counter and looking back at him, "actually I'm glad you did. I'm glad you did it cause it forced me to look at it in a humorous light, so in a way, you didn't pity me, you made me laugh at it, and that...that really helped. Now I'm a cyborg, and that's awesome. I know people tell you you're a jerk, but you're not. Just because others believe something about you doesn't make it true, okay? You're not a jerk Fletcher. You're an ass. But the two aren't the same."
Fletcher smiled and nodded as Stacy walked back over and they hugged.
"Thanks for getting him unattached," Fletcher said as she patted him on the back.
"My pleasure," she said. Just then they looked towards the door and saw Sophie standing there.
"What?" Fletcher asked.
"You're gonna wanna see this," she said.
***
The workers from both the Splash Zone, as well as Wild Kingdom proper, had all gathered around the large tank Kazoo performed in, and were awaiting anxiously. As Fletcher, Sophie and Stacy pulled up in the cart, they climbed out and approached Casper and Nelly, both of whom were standing by Catfish. Fletcher stopped by Nelly and lowered his voice.
"What's goin' on?" he asked.
"You're about to witness a spectacle," Nelly said, arms folded, seeming smug.
"Lady, I had a lizard stuck to me all day, I was a spectacle," Fletcher remarked, making her laugh.
Suddenly the doors to the trainer area opened and Robin and Harvey, both in wetsuits, exited and walked towards the tank. Fletcher's eyes widened and he grinned. That's when he knew what exactly it was he was about to see. Robin and Harvey approached the diving spot by the tank and Harvey removed his glasses setting them down on the edge. He looked at Robin, who smiled at him.
"We're doing the right thing," she said, and he nodded.
"Doesn't make it any less disgusting," Harvey said as Robin laughed and grabbed his hand. They each looked in the direction of those watching. Harveys eyes met Nellys and she smiled at him, shaking her head, making him smile back. Robins eyes landed on Sophies, and she waved playfully, blowing her a kiss, making Robin blush and giggle. After a moment, the trainer who had been vomited on, Alissa, also approached the tank, standing by Catfish, who put her arm around her in a caring manner and pointed at the two by the tank. Robin and Harvey looked at one another, took a deep breath each and lunged forward into the vomit soaked water.
After the show had ended and they'd exited, Robin, Sophie and Fletcher were standing by the tank as Robin tried to clean herself off with one of the hoses, Sophie helping her clean vomit out of her hair as Fletcher leaned against the wall, arms folded, laughing.
"That was pretty badass, I gotta admit," Fletcher said.
"It was vile but it was the right thing to do," Robin said.
"I'm gonna say, I'm surprised it wasn't you who made the whale barf," Sophie said, glancing at Fletcher.
"Me too, honestly," Fletcher said, "primo prank and I didn't lay claim to it."
Suddenly they heard two people walking up to them and turned to see Catfish with Alissa.
"Um..." Alissa said, meekly, looking at her feet, "...th...thank you. Thank you for doing that. I'm still upset it happened, but...thank you."
Robin smiled and nodded before watching them walk away and looking back at Sophie and Fletcher.
"Who wants diner food? Cause I need something comforting after swimming in vomit," Robin said.
Meanwhile, out in the parking lot, Harvey was unlocking his car, ready to head home and shower himself. Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned his head to see Nelly standing by him. He smiled and adjusted his small glasses, as Nelly stood by him.
"Hi there," he said.
"...you're amazing, you know that?" she asked.
"I always had a suspicion," Harvey said, chuckling, as Nelly put her arms around his shoulders and leaned in to kiss him. To kiss Nelly...that was more than worth swimming whale vomit for. After the kiss, she pulled back and looked at him.
"You smell terrible," she said.
"Well, I'm covered in puke, it's not an aphrodisiac...typically," Harvey said, the both of them laughing and continuing to kiss. A shower could wait. This was far more worth his time.