Dynamic Patrol: Gel Squad! Episode II

Chapter 46: Rehearsal

"Bode, relax. It's not that bad; please come out." Tommy urged, "No, everyone is gonna laugh at me!" The door muffled Bodi's voice. Tommy again tried to reaccess the panel for the 200th time, and it chirped in denial. The door refused to actuate open. "Bodi, I know you're scared. But you've got to have an inauguration ceremony, or you're not officially the Chancellor. Now suck up your tears, put on this sash so you can read the stupid speech." Tommy growled, and he put his mouth closer to the door. Howie held the sash, which Bodi would don upon crossing the 'stage' as many Chancellors before him did, "If I were you, I would've just slipped into the cracks. You're made of goo, do you know that?"

"Haven't you ever heard of privacy, Howie? He just needs time." Howie scoffed and then put on the sash; he got comfortable with it immediately. "Well. I'm not going to hold this forever. Either you change Bodi's mind or pick someone else to be Chancellor."

"Like you?" Tommy asked, raising an eyebrow, "I wouldn't refuse it." Howie smiled in a way that freaked Tommy out... he forgot that he was talking to a mental health patient. "That'll be the day. Why don't you just hold that instead of wearing it?" Russell showed up an hour later with the robes; they were multi-colored, splotches of all the common Omeocoon colors: teal, pink, white, yellow, and some shades of blue. All swirled together in a pretty wave on a silk woven garment with oversized sleeves; it looked like a very long nightgown. And it was sure to make Bodi look like he was drowning. But that was the point, and they had no other sizes. "Tommy. Why are you outside of this door instead of inside of it?" Russell approached, holding the garment with both hands.

"Bodi's having second thoughts," Howie commented. Russell rolled his eyes and glared at the door. "You said that this would work." Russell's eyes lowered at Tommy. "I know. It's just anxiety. He'll get over it— Bodi." Tommy turned away from Russell and Howie and pounded on the door again. If he'd done this on the day of the actual ceremony, the crowd of over 400 people would've been waiting there for hours. "I wish Cam were here to give him a sedative. I learned that drugs work very well." Howie spoke wickedly. Tommy stepped a foot away from Howie as if he were going to catch whatever disorder he possessed. Howie's tenacity only further enhanced Russell's bad mood.

"Why don't you put your arms up? Like this." Russell demonstrated the maneuver by raising his arms high up in the air as if he were about to touch the ceiling. Of course, that looked harmless— but after a minute of doing it, it was bound to teach Howie a lesson. Howie looked at Tommy, shocked. Tommy shrugged; he'd had enough of Howie's mouth. "The punishment is justified. I can't protect you, Howie." He knew the drill. Howie whimpered and then put his arms in the air in defeat. "Have you tried using your powers? Or is that beyond your skill?" Russell asked condescendingly as he glared at Tommy. Quickly looking him up and down. Tommy groaned at the suggestion again, growing annoyed at the proposal, just as he'd done earlier.

"Why do you always have to get an attitude?" Tommy asked. "Are you having hormones or something?" Russell maintained an annoyingly calm demeanor as he responded, "You shouldn't say that. It's offensive. But yes, Cam says that expecting parents often have certain behaviors that they wouldn't normally have. Instead of fighting them, I've succumbed to them."

"So you like having mood swings?" Tommy questioned. Russell snarled and turned his attention to the control panel on the wall; he keyed in a few commands— leveraging his clearance as the security officer, overrode Bodi's passcode, and the doors hissed open. Russell held out the gown fully extended, like a straight jacket or a dress, "Bodi, come here," Russell invited Bodi to insert his arms into the gown. "No—!" Bodi held his hands up and backed against a wall. "Bodi, I've had it with you. Now, you'll wear this stupid gown and practice your little speech. One way or another, and then after that, we're gonna do it for real." Tommy trailed in after Russell, "Erm... I don't think forcing him to put it on will help."