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The janitor had already left to go to bed by the time they were halfway through their milkshakes. Simon kept his gaze on the bedroom door up the stairs while his other allies explored the channels on the television behind him.
“I can’t believe there are so many channels.” Hoppy said, an amazed tone in her voice as Kickin clicked on the button to scroll through the channels.
Kickin agreed with a chuff, “I’m just glad we don’t have to watch anymore reruns of the Smiling Critters.”
“S-M-I-L-E. Everyday.” Bubba absentmindedly mumbled under his breath, hushing his words with his blue Trunk.
“Ugh, don't remind me of that, Bubba,” Crafty complained.
“Sorry.”
Once Kickin landed on an animated show that looked nothing like the smiling critters, Hoppy stopped him. “Ooh, this looks good.”
Simon wouldn’t say that. But it did look better than what they had to get used to in that prison, especially that horrible woman. Ms, Gracie. Agh, if he ever got his hands on her—!
Simon rubbed his paws down his face before turning to the purple kissy missy watching the television screen while sipping on her share of the milkshake with a silly straw. It wasn’t long before she reached the end, her straw trying to scrape up all the liquid goodness at the very bottom of the plastic cup.
Simon cleared his throat the best he could which made the taller toy glanced over at him. “So, Riley, has this… human been alright?”
“Uh Huh,” Riley said, setting down her plastic cup specifically on a coaster shaped like a fried egg.
Simon hadn’t known the larger toy for a long time. He had only known her name when the not-so bigger-body traced her name on the window of her jail cell. Riley didn’t work talk much due to her larger mouth and rows of sharp teeth making her unable to form longer sentences. Any word she said came out more like a rumble or mumble.
“Riley, we need to make a message for the others to let them know that we are all safe and to make sure the rest knows that they can aim at him—safely!” Simon rushed to reassure Riley when she began to glare at him and showcase a glimpse of the fangs waiting behind that large red grin. “Aim to him for safety! Not that other way.”
Crafty took the moment to look away from Dogday and Catnap who were resting on each other. She stumbled forward on the couch cushions and asked Riley. “Riley, do you know where there are any supplies we can use? We need to make something. Are there any crafts we can use?”
Riley took a moment to look around the living room. Her eyes traveled around the room, her gaze going to the kitchen then the hallway before she noticeably perked up. Simon and Crafty watched her stumble to her gangly legs and walked into the hallway.
It wasn’t long before she came back with a pretty decent sized clear box that had beads and different colors pressed against the walls of it. Whatever it had inside, it looked pretty promising for what they were planning.
“Woah,” Crafty cheered. Her excitement drew the other critter’s attention. They all looked happy to see the meager amount of colorful supplies. “This is better than what I thought. We can actually make a friendship bracelet!”
Dogday and Catnap stayed behind on the other side of the couch while the other three joined Crafty at the edge to begin digging through the box for good material.
“Yeah!” Hoppy agreed, digging out plastic pony beads and spools of threads.
Bubba tilted their head down at the box then back up towards where the stairs were. “Why do they have craft supplies? They don’t seem that crafty to me.”
Simon couldn’t help but agree. The janitor didn’t look like the type to sit there and draw or anything. But that might just be because of how tired they look.
Riley held up a hand and stretched out her arm to grab her personal notebook. She picked up and gripped the pen with the velcro on her paws that grasped onto the velcro pad that looked glued onto the body of the pen. Simon waited as Riley wrote, listening to the background noise of the animated show that his allies had put on.
Then, Riley spun the notebook around to show her answer. ‘They got it from a yard sale ‘just in case’. They said I could play with it anytime I want!’
“Really? What else is in that closet?” Kickin asked with a tilt of his head.
Meanwhile, Crafty and Hoppy latched onto the letter beads with a ferocity that Simon had never seen in all of the time they spent in that prison. He watched as they dragged Bubba into the bracelet making almost immediately. However, all he did was hold onto one end of the elastic while the girls began to pick out which beads to use.
Riley took a moment to write down more on the same page. ‘They have a sewing kit in there. First aid kit. Lots of stuff they said was for ‘just in case’.’
“Huh.” Simon said, ignoring Kickin’s yelp as he was dragged down next to Hoppy to help pick out colors. “They seem pretty prepared at least for specific situations.”
“Do you get your own room?” Crafty asked, picking out certain letter beads with an intense joy not hidden in her voice.
Riley nodded.
“Hey, this place is pretty big from what I can see,” Simon replied. Simon took the moment to look around the house from where he sat. It did look pretty big even if he was stuck on the couch for right now. Maybe he could explore more tomorrow with Riley guiding them since she had been here for a full day now. “I would be surprised if she didn’t!”
Riley nodded with her large grin widening even further. “I do! They are going to help me decorate it this weekend!’
“Aww, how nice.” Crafty said. She hummed as she looked down at their work so far and the five letters littered around her legs. Then, those beady eyes targeted him. “Simon, need the red thread. Hand me it.”
He watched her for a moment before walking to the box and digging into it for the red thread at the bottom. He looked back up with the spool in both of his paws. Then, he stared at the unicorn toy until she added, “Please.”
“Here you go, princess.” With a nod, he tossed it to her who eagerly took it and started to make a tie on the elastic with the thread.
Simon frowned when the idea of the big house simmered in his thoughts for a longer time. The only thing he learned about big houses is that the bigger the house means the more ones you have to have. But their savior worked as a janitor? How much does a janitor make? “Why do they have such a big house when they work as a janitor?”
Riley flipped the page again and scratched her pen into her notebook. ‘They said it was their grandfather’s.’
“That makes sense... I think.” Kickin mumbled as he handed another bead to Hoppy.
Riley added in a little scribble off to the side on the same page. “And they have a garden outside!’
“Cool.” Bubba replied. He glanced over at Riley with that permanent grin that looked a bit more genuine with his excited tone. “Can we see it?”
Riley nodded then mumbled, “Show. Toh-mah-row.”
“Yes!” Hoppy cheered. “I can’t wait to jump in the grass again. But it will be different because there will be sunlight this time!”
“Okay. All done!” Crafty announced. Both her and Hoppy finished off the bracelet by cutting it and carefully tying it. They had to use their mouths to pull it tight to really seal in the tie without it unraveling.
Crafty held up the bracelet with such a proud air around her. “How does it look?”
The bracelet was pretty good. It was mostly purple but it had hints of a rainbow with red thread that had two ties that separated the word from the other beads. However, the word itself... Simon tilted his head and spelled out the word.
“A-N-G-L-E.”
Crafty brightened up and held up the bracelet higher. “Yeah, cuz they are like our angels!”
All the critters stared at her for a moment. Even Riley tilted her head at the bracelet. Simon spoke up before anyone else could. He pointed at the word, "I think you spelled it wrong.”
“I did?” Crafty lowered the bracelet so she could take a second look at the word.
“Sorry, I didn’t even notice.” Hoppy apologized, placing a green paw on the uniform’s rainbow hair. "I should have warned you.”
Crafty sighed, “Aw man, I don’t want to redo it.”
“No, no.” Simon waved off her concern. His refusal made the others look at him in confusion. Riley knelt down to see the bracelet closer as Crafty lifted it for her to see. He motioned at the misspelled bracelet. “Leave it like that.”
“What? Why?” Crafty asked.
Simon let out a laugh, already picturing the janitor wearing the bracelet on his next shift tomorrow. “It’s funny.”