Seeking An S.O.S.: Behind The Scenes

25. Conference Calls

Murdock froze as Fritz's shadow appeared on the screen. Since he hasn't seen a virtual monitor before, Murdock was quite astonished when he heard the ruler's voice. At first thought, he believed the noise came from a person talking behind him. Thus, Murdock turned around and searched for the culprit. But when he found out no one was there, Murdock shrugged his shoulders.  From the widescreen, Fritz noticed how Murdock was looking away from him. Thus, the cunning alien decided to play a trick on him, for Fritz believed Murdock was deliberately being disrespectful for not acknowledging his presence.

Boo!

Murdock jumped and his antennas went haywire; they kept going up and down and soon the frantic Plutonian felt dizzy.

Fritz laughed out loud causing Xabiere to wonder what all the fuss was about.

Murdock managed to raise his head and saw Fritz looking directly at him. Not knowing what to say next, Murdock's eyes opened wide enough to the fullest extent, while his eyebrows pulled up as much as possible. His mouth was left ajar as he was in disbelief that Fritz could be in two places at once. Panicking, Murdock trembled.

That couldn't be Fritz, could it? I thought he's back on Pluto. How is he here? This can't be possible! He's here to ruin us!

Xabiere heard his friend squirm and noticed how Murdock twitched.

Sweat flowed upon Murdock's cheeks, as Xabiere pitied him.

Looking back at the widescreen above him, Xabiere believed the uninvited visitor must be responsible for Murdock's actions.

Anger built up in him, but if he retaliated Xabiere knew he'd probably be made fun of as well. Deciding to keep his mouth shut, he remained attentive to Fritz's orders.

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He knew it wasn't Murdock's fault that he acted that way. Since Murdock has been exposed to the new alienware, Xabiere didn't expect his friend to take this episode lightly. But Fritz's facial expression said it all; Pluto's ruler should know better than to make fun of one of his loyal subjects.

Thus, Xabiere reminded himself to have a private conversation with Murdock as soon as the unexpected video call ended. Xabiere figured his emotional friend needed to learn not to take everything he sees too lightly or he would always be looked down upon.

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Xabiere broke the silence between them and walked toward Murdock and sat next to him, while he patted his back. This was to assure Murdock that he would be there for him no matter what happened. Nodding to Murdock first and then to Fritz, Xabiere bowed and released his antennae, a sign of acknowledgement. Smiling at Fritz, Xabiere knew he had to start off with a satirical line to impress the majesty.

"Please excuse Murdock's behavior, my Lord. He hasn't seen my virtual screen light up before, so it surprised him. Just imagine if you were in his shoes, and a television screen suddenly came alive by talking to you out of the blue. I'd be shocked as well." Xabiere grinned sarcastically as he tried to appease Fritz. Hoping the ruler wouldn't catch him in the act, Xabiere continued with his rants.

"It's good you didn't try using my 3-d hologram effect machine. It's brand new. The Plutonian Company just installed it."

"STOP!"

Fritz held his hand upwards and placed it forward toward the screen for the two aliens to see that he meant business. Fritz knew what Xabiere was doing. Beating around the bush or avoiding answering his questions was not what he had in mind. Instead, it wasted precious time.