Chapter 2 - Impatience

“Coach Z, I thought I asked you to replace the batteries in this thing.”

Coach Z whimpered. I usually had that effect on him.

“I did.”
“Then why isn’t it working?”
I shook the remote in front of his face.
“Jeez, I dunno... maybe The Chort came ‘round and borrowed them for somethin’?”
This was ridiculous. “Like what?”
“Um...”
I sighed. “Just find out what’s wrong with it.”
“Why don’t you get Bubs to fix it?”
“Because Bubs has done enough for me over the past week. Besides, I don’t know where he is. He wasn’t at the Concession Stand when I checked earlier.”
Before Coach Z could ask exactly what Bubs had done for me, the latter walked through the door.

“Nice timing, Bubso. Can you work out why the remote’s not working?”
“Coach Z forgot to replace the batteries.”
“I did not!”
Bubs rolled his eyes. “Give it here.”
I tossed him the remote. He studied it for a moment before giving me his analysis.

“It’s broken.”

“Nice work, Captain Obvious. What exactly is wrong with it?”
“Maybe it’s-”
“Shut up, Coach.”
Bubs frowned. “It seems to have short-circuited. What did you do, dunk it in the sink?”
“I haven’t used the sink, Bubs. There’s got to be a logical reason why it’s not working.”
I grabbed the remote and flipped it over. The batteries were gone. I glared at Coach Z.
“What are you lookin’ at me for? I didn’t take them!”
“Then who did?”
“Um... The Chort?”
“Why do you automatically blame him for everything?”
“Because I saw him take them.”
Duh.
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
“Well, you were yelling at me...”
“Give it a rest, you two.” Bubs snatched the remote from my hands. “If we want to find The Cheat before he does something stupid with those batteries, we have to hurry.”
“What would The Cheat want with my dead batteries?”
“Your dead batteries? But I paid for them!”
“Shut up, Coach.”
He would have responded to that had Bubs not grabbed him by the neck.

You are not authorized to comment here. Your must be registered and logged in to comment