(Blog 7) Pip’s Decision
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(Continued from our last post…)
1:10PM: Knock. Knock. KNOCK!!!
Spyder impatiently pounded on the heavy wooden door of Pip’s aunt’s basement. He’d been trying to call Pip all morning with no luck.
Finally, Pip creaked the door open with eyes squinting in the daylight, scales ruffled, and a lone Cheeto stuck to the side of his snout.
“Good afternoon, Blue Beauty,” Spyder said, leaning casually against the doorframe. “Staying true to your nocturnal dragon roots, I see. Is the Cheeto on your face part of your night time facial routine?”
Pip yawned, swiping at the Cheeto. “First of all, it’s not a basement. It’s a subterranean dwelling. And secondly, we’re dragons. We’re supposed to be living in caves, so yeh, living my best life. What do you want, Spyder?”
Spyder pushed past him into the dimly lit room, nearly tripping on piles of half-built gadgets and food scraps. “I’m here because I’ve got something that could actually get you out of here. Something that might even make you... I don’t know... care a little.”
Pip narrowed his eyes. “Oh, so you came here to lecture me? Did my mother send you? Let me just add this to the list of things I didn’t ask for today. What makes you think I’m not happy right where I am anyway?”
Ignoring the question and looking around the piles of trash, Spyder gave a sarcastic smirk. “I’ve got a proposition for you. I found an old sticker factory on the other side of town. It’s an amazing place. Great bones, just needs a lot of work. I’m turning it into a business…”
Pip raised his brows with an expression on his face that was a mix of curiosity and skepticism. “A sticker factory? Really? You want to run a sticker factory? Sounds like you’re just looking for a problem to solve since you left detective work. What’s next, a cupcake shop? Kinda ridiculous, even to me, Spyder.”
Spyder crossed his arms. “Look Pip, I know you’ve been coasting because of what happened, but you’re wasting your life. This factory is a chance to do something fun and, dare I say, meaningful. Plus, Calisto’s already in, and…”
Pip snorted, cutting him off. “Calisto? Calisto? You mean Miss Perfect Everything? Yeah, I’m sure she’ll love having me around. She barely tolerates me.”
Trying to bring it back to a positive tone, Spyder replied. “You’re brilliant when you’re not hiding out in this cave. You’ve got the skills that we need to make this work, Pip. And, yeah, you’re my best friend. I want you to be a part of this.”
Pip leaned back, staring at the ceiling as he tried to withhold the tears that were just behind his eyes. “Yeah, well, the last time I tried to be a part of something right, we both know how that ended. I can’t do it. And if you knew what was really right, you wouldn’t be asking me to.”
Spyder sat down next to him and carefully chose the words he would say next, “That wasn’t on us, Pip. You know that. We gave her a fighting chance. That’s all we could do. But you’ve been using that as an excuse for almost too long ago, and I know you’re better than this. That one week has had a hold on you for almost 20 years, Pip.”
Pip snorted a sad laugh, “What makes you think this factory thing is going to be any different? What if I ruin your dream? I just can’t take that chance, and I’m anything but a regular 9-5 dragon.”
Spyder stood up, his gaze unwavering. “Because I know you better than your own mom. And I know this is exactly the kind of chaos you thrive on. But it’s your call. You want to keep hiding in this cave, fine. But if you want to actually do something, Google ‘Wing Tales Sticker Studio’ and come see me. You’ll have a job waiting for you. We open in four weeks.
Without waiting for an answer, Spyder turned and headed for the door, leaving Pip to wrestle with the choice. The room fell silent and the Cheeto finally fell off of Pip’s snout onto his arm. He stared at the door, unsure of what his answer would be.
He knew Spyder was right and he couldn’t ignore his raised curiosity, the faint glimmer of something he hadn’t felt in a long time.”
To be continued… New posts each Friday. Subscribe below to follow the dragons. Read the beginning of it all at Blog 1: New Adventure Awaits.
