by Will Stanton » Thu Jun 19, 2014 1:31 am
With the room deserted, and Will having had a busy week, it's perhaps not surprising that Will fell asleep sooner rather than later, snoring on the couch.
In his dreams, Will was trapped behind the plastic bubble of an action figure package. His box was festooned with a variety of bright colors and slogans, though rather uncharacteristically, they were unflattering. "Does nothing!" "Inferior quality!" "No refunds!"
In his dream, he was on a shelf in a department store, as people milled by, looking over him with a critical, and derogatory, eye.
"His head comes off?" Laura said, frowning. "That's gross."
"Yeah," Cecil said, nodding. "It's weird. Probably appeals to some fetish on the internet, or something."
"It looks so brittle--I'm afraid I'd snap it in two," Janice said, frowning at it more, and tapping the outside of the plastic. "Pass."
"It's not even the real deal--it's some cheap Chinese knockoff," Mira said, nodding. "You can tell from the lack of articulation. Not worthy of a second look."
"The label indicates it is a choking hazard, and that it was manufactured via a process that was outdated several years ago. Furthermore, indications are that several similar figures have been recalled in the past 3.7 years," ASHLIE observed.
"A waste of time we could be using more productively," Alyson chimed in.
Sara silently nodded. "Who has time to play with dolls, anyway?"
Will screamed, silently, in his packaging, as people began to disperse. He tried to pound on the plastic bubble, but the twistties around his arms and legs kept him pretty much motionless.
Sam walked up and frowned as she walked over to the shelf. She was dressed in a green stock clerk's apron, with the logo of "Morrigan's Department Store" in bright, cheerful red letters imprisoned on it. "Even on remainder, this damn thing won't sell," she said, picking the packaging up off the shelf. "It's just taking up space for the new models."
She walked into the back, and dumped Will's packaging into a cart, filled with out-of-date fads, out-of-season clothing, and damaged merchandise. "No use whatsoever."
"I don't know about that," a new voice said from behind, reaching in and pulling out the box. "You just have to be creative with it."
Turning the box around, the face of Quinton Watson loomed over Will. "I bet I can kitbash the hell out of this. Some of the parts might be useful here and there. You, my friend, have a date with my workbench." Quinton laughed, and laughed, and laughed.
Back in the common room, Will tossed and turned in his sleep.
PLASTICINE