To be completely honest, Kowalski couldn’t wait any longer. He was getting awfully sick and tired of this depressed feeling that crept up from behind, whenever Rico was near. Kowalski felt incredibly guilty and shameful, having been the very reason that Rico was going through this mess. But it was over, now! Rico simply needed to leave for a while, giving Kowalski some time to rethink his feelings and clear his head. Things would soon be back to the way they used to be; and they would all be happy…
“Woah, wait a minute…say that again!” Marlene raised her voice in surprise. Skipper hadn’t exactly planned the procedure, beforehand, which resulted in a very upset otter who was beginning to rethink the idea of housing a manic penguin.
“Relax, Marlene! The boy just needs a little time to himself. Two weeks, tops!” the leader reassured, doing his best to make the job sound as simple as taking out the trash.
The otter placed her hands on her hips and arched a brow in suspicion for a moment of two. Perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to perform a simple favor for Skipper. What could have possibly gone wrong, after all? She could have come up with many different antwoorden to that question, but she quickly decided to think of the positives. At least she would be tonen Skipper how helpful she was, right?
She then smiled and rolled her eyes, “Okay, okay…whatever u say. u just remember this, alright?”
“No problemo, Marlene!” he nodded with a grin, watching as Marlene searched the room for Rico.
The heavyset pinguïn had just finished gathering his things, which only included his large doll and everything that resided in his round belly.
“Okay, Rico, let’s get going…” Marlene beckoned while making her way up the ladder. Rico, however, wasn’t so cheerful to leave just yet. He stopped in front of the ladder and sluggishly turned his head to glance at his three teammates, who, in return, each presented a salute with their flippers. Kowalski did his best not to say anything, despite the growing urge that he could feel in his feet.
“No worries, Rico! We’ll visit every now and then…” the leader noted as he lowered his flipper from his forehead.
“We’ll miss you, Rico!” Private mentioned in a shaky voice. He didn’t fully understand why Rico was needed to leave the team; even it was temporary.
Kowalski refrained from saying a word. He simply lowered his head in a timid manner and stared at the floor, beneath him. Not long after that, he heard the slamming of the fishbowl hatch, signaling their explosive expert’s exit…
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“Okay, Rico! What’s mine is yours!” Marlene led the pinguïn into her cave, tonen him where all of her belongings were and such. Rico didn’t even seem remotely interested in any of it. The only reason he was there was because of Kowalski’s mistake. But, this was how it was meant to be, he supposed. Marlene turned and read the expression on Rico’s face. She knew this was hard for him, and only wanted the best for the penguin.
The otter shook her head and rested a hand on his shoulder for comfort, “Look, if u need anything, don’t be afraid to ask, okay?” she smiled, doing what she could to make Rico feel at home. In turn, Rico looked up from the ground and gave what appeared to be a slight smirk. From that point, Marlene knew he’d be just fine…
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It had been an uur and a half, and Kowalski was already feeling like rubbish. He had a perfect view of Marlene’s habitat from where he stood; volgende to the vis bowl entrance. He was watching Rico and Marlene having conversation. Of course, Marlene was doing most of the speaking. Rico, instead, would communicate through gestures and facial expressions, along with the rare occurrence of a verbal response.
“Do u miss him?” Private crept in from behind.
Kowalski cringed at the unexpected sound of his voice and sighed, “No…” he simply said.
“Are u sure? I noticed u looked a bit-”
“Yes…”
“K’walski?”
“…yes, Private?”
“Is it wrong…for penguins to like other penguins?”
“What do u mean?” Kowalski now turned his head to look down at Private with curiosity.
“Well, it’s just that…I was wondering if it was bad for…men to like…each other…”
“You mean…?”
“I think so, yes…”
Kowalski turned back towards Marlene’s habitat, watching Rico stare into a small pond that they were sitting near, “That is…” he paused, tilting his head to the side. He wasn’t even sure why Private was asking such a vraag in the first place, “Affirmative. Men should be with women. It’s quite simple, Private…”
“Thanks, K’walski! Oh, and Skippa says to come back down. We’re going to watch a movie!” Private added as he hopped away and down the vis bowl hole.
Kowalski arched a brow folded his flippers in thought. Obviously, Private had suspected something between Kowalski and Rico, of else he would never have asked such an awkward question. Eventually, he decided to put it behind him and go on with his life. It wasn’t a very important subject to ponder on, anyway.
That was all behind him!
