fandomhigh | Ethics [Thursday, October 1, 1st period]

When the Ethics class arrived in the Danger Shop, they stepped into an entirely different world.

An incredibly dry, hot one. That smelled really bad.

Anakin waved his hand around the room. "Welcome to the embodiment of gluttony," he said, "the palace of a Hutt."

He concentrated on the controls on the far side of the room, and the simulation sprung to life: dozens of beings drinking, eating, and dancing, with all activity centered around a vile slug of a beast laying on the raised dais at the front of the room.

In a place of honor on the wall was a man, face twisted in a silent scream but his features obscured beyond recognition, encased in silver. Anakin ignored it as he walked past to point at the creature on the dais. "That," he said, nose wrinkling in disgust, "is a Hutt. This particular version was named Jabba, one of the most powerful crime lords in the galaxy." A grim smile turned the corners of his mouth up. "At least until he met my children."

He shook his head. "That is neither here nor there. Today is an interactive experience for you, class. Take a good hard look around. See the effects that gluttony can have."

His eyes went flat. "Touch any of the dancing girls and you'll regret it. That's a promise."

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"HEY," Katchoo snapped at the hologram she'd just mentally renamed after what's his name, that one CEO's kid from Arkansas who'd been such a little sleazeball. "Tentacles off, pal!"

It clicked and whirred and slurped at her. With attitude, somehow. But it did slowly slither the tentacle off of Francine, though not without a stop in her hair.

"Eww eww eww eww eww!" Unoriginal, but it worked, so she was going to stick with it. "If he wanted to teach us about gluttony, why not a candy factory or something? I wouldn't want to touch any of this."

"Because it's a lot more seductive when it comes in pretty packaging?" Katchoo snarled at tiny-tentacly-pervy-CEO-kid. "Not to mention I'm pretty sure his world is just this screwed up."

"Well, that's what I meant. Bad gross people do bad gross stuff isn't exactly a lesson I needed to learn, thanks." Though it did suck, if this place was for real and it was where Professor Skywalker used to live. Francine shuddered and reached for her phone to check her e-mail for---

"Aaaaagh!" And a facepalm. "She didn't forget."

"Better most of 'em learn it this way than the hard way," Katchoo muttered, but what would have been a dark and broody train of thought got derailed quickly enough by the facepalming. "Who didn't forget what?"

"Parents'. Weekend." ~whimper~

"Oh, *(#&$). Your mom?"

. . . not an insult, thanks.

"She booked a room at the hotel! I didn't want to call her and ask because you know, if she forgot that would remind her so I pretended I was checking on the reservation and she already has one!"

". . . oh, god. Is she bringing the dog?"

Look, Katchoo'd just spent a good chunk of the last week hiding. Thinking about the dog was a nice change of pace.

Also slightly more terrifying. Have you met that dog?

"...I don't know." Oh sure, complicate the issue. "She didn't last time, but last time, she could leave Muffins home with Dad."

This was not complicating it! This was the easy . . . okay, no it wasn't.

"I'm gonna have to clean up my half of the room, aren't I?" Yeah, that was a task she would've needed about two weeks' headstart for.

"...That might help ease the shock when we tell her you're, um. Here at all. And then that I live with you."

"Oh, good. A nice relaxing weekend," Katchoo said with a frighteningly bright forced smile. "Just what I was looking forward to."

Francine winced. "Sorry? I mean... we could try to do what we did last year and make sure she never sees you, but--" There were several ways to finish that sentence, the most logical among them being 'we live together so that might be a bit more of a challenge.' What she went with, though, was, "...I don't want to. Do you?"

"I think," Katchoo said, leaning slightly into her, "I'm a little burned out on secrets right now. ~~Oh hey, me and Tiny Creepy Kid. It's a theme.~~"

The leaning? Possibly a device to mask the smile.

"Maybe if I don't spend the whole weekend hiding the gremlins and the blue people from her like last time--" Ulp. "Her mind'll be so blown everything else will seen tiny in comparison?"

"Or she might convince your Aunt Libby to move here." And did anyone really want that? Really?

"...You know, it might actually make Aunt Libby kind of sane, if she knew there really were UFO's. And then she'd stop asking me if I spotted any just because I'm a foot taller than her."

"But then your Uncle Reb might spontaneously stop being a --" Katchoo wasn't finishing that sentence, for the good of humanity.

"Okay, no Aunt Libby. If that really is Uncle Reb, he seems to like it better as a dog anyway." Fandom, you have a lot to answer for.

There might have been a little leaning back. "Maybe we could start with just not actively trying to keep my mom in the dark?" Uh. Not that Francine had some sudden sympathy with that position.

Edited 2009-10-02 16:56 (UTC)

Not at all. Which was why that look Katchoo gave her wasn't slightly guilty. At all. The leaning in was undisputable, though.

"I've tapped out my on-the-run supply for the year anyway."

Francine nodded. "And I'm pretty sure Merlin would play along, but I can't see Arthur agreeing to pretend he just came back from a renfaire, somehow."

It wasn't that Katchoo would be privy to things Francine was going to think later that night, it was just that the idea had universal appeal. Or something. "I would actually pay good money, if I had it, to see Arthur versus your mom, Francie."

"...he'd try to tell her to go brush her hair. He told me to tell her that."

"And just her reaction to that'd make it worth it. Y'know, Student Council'd make a killing if they set up popcorn carts for this weekend."

Re: Explore Jabba's Palace!

thatsamilkshake - 2009-10-02 19:20 (UTC) - Expand

thismaskiwear.livejournal.com - 2009-10-02 20:35 (UTC) - Expand