ExFic 9: Working it in Tekton

“Not exactly the Hilton, isn’t it?” Rion noted as he entered the apartment. It was nice, for the money, which meant not being in a state of total disrepair was just about the only thing the hovel had going for it. The line between the kitchen and the living room was indistinct at best, and the whole thing couldn’t have been much larger than a couple square meters. There was a second door across from the entrance, right next to a couch, conveniently located by the refrigerator and opposite an electric stove. The apartment’s only window displayed a breathtaking view of a brick wall.

“What is a ‘Hilton’?” Wearwolf inquired as he and Katrina followed Rion into the room.

“A lot preferable to this,” Katrina replied. She had bought a newspaper on the way to the apartment and was keeping it under her arm. “Then again, just about any lot is preferable to this.”

“It has to be better than sleeping in the woods,” Jaime said, bringing up the rear. “At least there’s a roof over our heads.”

“Yeah, but there was a lot more space in the woods, and we didn’t have to pay rent,” Katrina argued. The three of them set their backpacks down, effectively cutting the open floor space in half.

“I see what you mean,” Jaime conceded. “But it’ll only be a couple months. You can handle that, right?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Katrina said. She opened the second door to find a half bathroom. Not, however, the half with the sink, which currently resided under the apartment‘s only window. “Well, here’s the bathroom, but no sign of a bedroom.”

“Maybe the couch folds out,” Rion suggested as he opened the refrigerator. “Looks like we’ll need to buy food, too. There’s nothing in here but baking soda, and it’s half empty.”

“Looks like the couch is just a couch,” Jaime reported, having pulled the cushions off the couch. “Doesn’t look like there’d be room for a bed, anyway.”

“Maybe it’s got one of those beds that folds up into the wall,” Katrina said as she examined the fourth, and so far unaddressed, wall. “Those are always cool.”

“Wilson probably just uses this place when he’s too tired to go home,” Rion surmised. “All he’d need is the couch.”

“No, there’s a groove here, see?” Katrina said, pointing to the wall. She slid the newspaper into her back pocket and started groping at the groove. “I think I can slip my fingers in and give it a good tug…”

“I still think this apartment’s too small for one,” Jaime warned.

“Well, if I were writing this story, I’d at least put in one of those wall-beds,” Katrina said. Putting a foot on the wall for leverage, Katrina gave the wall a mighty yank and managed rip out a chunk of the wall.

“Holy crap, Katrina!” Rion exclaimed. “You just broke the fourth wall!”

“Aw, geez,” Katrina said. She immediately tried to fit the chunk back into the hole she tore it from. “I can fix it, I can fix it.”

Seconds after Katrina slid the chunk into place, it fell into the space behind the wall. She reached in to try and pull it back out, but it had fallen too far.

“Well, there’s no fixing it now,” Jaime said with a sigh. “All we can do now is pretend it never happened and hope Professor Dark doesn’t find out.”

“That said,” Katrina began as she spread the newspaper on the floor, “Since Wilson Dark will be paying you in robot parts, your brother and I will have to get jobs to pay for such luxuries as food and utilities. Of course, that’s assuming Rion can get a job without a MultiPet.”

“Stupid child labor laws,” Rion remarked. “Speaking of laws, you might want to get a leash for Wearwolf. There might be leash laws in effect in this town.”

“A leash?” Wearwolf inquired.

“It’s sort of a tether, to make sure you don’t get too far from me,” Katrina explained.

“I know what a leash is, Katrina,” Wearwolf said. “I am expressing incredulousness. I am not some excitable pup that would dart off into the street without warning. I am a mature individual, and I should not have to suffer the indignity of having my neck tied to a post to keep me from hurting myself.”

“It’s not a big deal, all right?” Katrina argued. “It’s just to keep John Law from making our lives harder.”

“He doesn’t like it, does he?” Rion noted.

“Huh? Oh, right,” Katrina replied, just now remembering her friends didn’t understand wolf-speak. “Yeah. It’s sort of a matter of pride, like how you’d rather not have to wear a diaper.”

“Boy, do I remember the fuss you put up last time,” Jaime reminisced.

“I didn’t want to be Baby New Year again, okay?” Rion argued.

“Yeah, that stopped being cute once you hit twelve,” Katrina agreed. “Although,” she added, turning to Jaime with a smirk, “You, on the other hand, were absolutely adorable.”

Jaime blushed, covering herself uncomfortably with her arms, and said, “Can we change the subject? Wearwolf still needs a leash.”

“I’ll just use some rope,” Katrina said dismissively. “No problem.”

“There is a problem, because you’re not going to make me wear a leash,” Wearwolf argued.

“Fine, I’ll wear the leash, and you can lead me around,” Katrina countered. “Happy?”

Rion raised his hand and asked, “Can I have a turn walking you?”

“Only if you wear that diaper,” Katrina replied.

“Wearwolf will need a collar and tags, too,” Jaime interjected. “You know, in case he does get lost.”

“I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself,” Wearwolf replied.

“I doubt animal control will trust you to be on your own,” Katrina said. “But we can focus on that later. Money is our most immediate concern. We need to scour these want ads and find a job.”

“You know, I could use my laptop and check for job listings on-line,” Jaime noted. She opened her backpack and retrieved the slim, black, portable computer. “I can probably tap into the Municipal Wireless Network from here and surf the web.”

“Yeah, but I already bought the newspaper,” Katrina said, scanning a page.

“Well, I suppose I could skip the newspaper’s site,” Jaime said as she booted up her laptop and loaded the web browser.

“Oh, Garfield,” Rion said with a chuckle as he read the funny pages. “You’re such a timeless classic.”

Jaime and Katrina gave Rion an annoyed stare before Katrina yanked the funny pages from his hands and replaced them with the classifieds.

“Read,” she commanded, eliciting a disappointed groan from Rion.