TROUBLE IN PARADISE
-
By the time they got back to their tent, Marley was already there, waiting for them.
“Where you guys been?”
“Out doing our chores.”
Marley snickered
“Since when did you become so serious?”
The clowns looked at each other, surprised. Then, Kudi’s surprised look changed to a smile.
“I told you that’s how to do it.”
Marley didn’t understand what they were talking about.
“Do what? You guys are acting crazy.”
Keto sat down beside Marley.
“Buddy, what do you remember about the past couple of days?”
-
Marley stared into space like he was trying to remember something he forgot.
“My memory is a little foggy; I can’t seem to remember much – it feels like a dream. What’s going on?”
“Calm down, no need to freak out. What I’m about to tell you will sound crazy to you, but it’s the truth, buddy.”
“Alright, I’m all ears.”
“Nah, first, you gotta be in the right state of mind, you need a joint – several joints, actually. Let’s check up on Lucas, shall we?”
The three of them went to Lucas’s tent and found him sitting down; he was packing a small bag. A closer look reveals the content of what he was packing – cannabis. Keto was happy to see that Lucas back to his old self.
“Now that’s what I like to see. Welcome back my man, I missed you.”
Lucas was a bit confused by the greeting.
“What do you mean welcome? I’ve been in this freak show with you since forever and I never left.”
Keto smiled and asked him the same question he asked Marley:
“What have you been up to these past few days?”
Just like Madcow\, Mushroom tried to remember his activities for the past couple of days but could not:
“Weird. I can’t remember anything beyond Saturday evening. The fuck is going on?”
“It’s alright all will be explained, but first, we gotta light up those joints you got there.”
The four of them headed to their usual spot where they sat and smoked; Marley and Lucas listened as the clowns filled them in on what had happened to them, Of course, Keto left out the part where he didn’t want to save them, but rather wanted to take Horace’s place as the grand puppeteer. By the time they were done, all four of them were completely stoned. Lucas was the first to comment.
“I always thought the old man was a fucker, but I never imagined he’d be this extreme.”
“We only managed to save you guys, the others are still under enchantment. You should thank us for that, by the way, and I can’t think of a better way than to supply us with the best joint out there. I’m particularly interested in the maui wowie – heard it can make even the weakest guy as strong as an ox.”
Lucas laughed.
“Say no more, man. I’ll hook you up. Meanwhile, we gotta pretend like we’re still under the enchantment while we figure out how best to solve this whole issue, cause if the old geezer finds out, he’ll put us back in slavery for real.”
Keto nodded in agreement.
“You took the words right out of my mouth. Which means Marley should probably head back to the booth now.”
Marley reluctantly got up and left their midst. Kudi lit up the last joint and took a long drag.
“So, Lucas, how soon can you hook us up with that stuff?”
“Not soon, I’m afraid. You know I have to pretend to be under enchantment, if I go out without being ordered to, it’ll raise suspicion.”
The clowns were disappointed to hear that, but Lucas suddenly snapped his fingers.
“Alena! She has the strain you want. And since she’s under enchantment, means she hasn’t been smoking just like Marley and I hadn't. She must still have it.”
Kudi had mixed feelings.
“That’s good news, but how do we get it?”
Keto already had the solution for that.
“Easy. We’re on clean-up duty, right? Let’s go ‘clean’ Alena’s room.”
The others smiled. Keto was right, their task gave them the perfect cover to enter anywhere within the premises.
-
In no time, the trio made their way to Alena’s tent. The clowns searched the tent for the weed while Mushroom was on the lookout. They searched various places where they imagined the weed could be kept but did not find it. After a couple of minutes of searching, Kudi pointed to a big, tall wardrobe.
“We’ve searched the entire quarters except for this closet. I’m sure the weed must be in there, but it’s locked.”
“So what?”
Keto looked around the tent and found a tool which he used to break the lock. As soon as the wardrobe was open, they were hit by the thick smell of wax and smoke.
“Do you recognize that smell, Kudi?”
“Yes, exactly like Horace's room.”
-
Just then, Lucas peeked into the tent.
“What’s causing the holdup guys? Whoa! What’s that putrid smell?”
“Get in here.”
“What’s giving off that smell?”
“You’ll find out soon enough”
The clowns examined the closet; it seemed like an ordinary wardrobe at first glance. However, upon closer examination, they discovered that it had a fake wall at the back, and behind the fake wall was an inner chamber. Kudi opened the door of the chamber and what they saw shocked them.