Drabble Wednesday: Toys, Pets and Pie

Drabble Wednesday disappeared last week due to getting the new book out, but it is back with three new shorts. Enjoy.

Frankie Does Shakespeare

“Zounds! Forsooth! Is that a pie I see before me, wondrous topped with whipped cream and the reddest of cherries.”
“Huh?” I stared at Frankie, who entered the lunch room wearing tights and a weird shirt. “If you’re talking about dessert, then yes, it’s a pie.”
“Oh, marvels. My kingdom for a slice!”
“Help yourself.” Then it dawns. “Practicing for the virtual Shakespeare Festival, I take it?”
“Verily.”
He eagerly cuts a slice of pie and pops a forkful in his mouth, before spitting it out. “Oh, that’s plum. I hate plum.”
I smiled. “Methinks you doth protest, too much.”

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The Toy Conundrum

“They decapitated the monkey!”
Startled out of my nap by Frankie’s voice, I screamed, “What! Where? Are the flying monkeys back?”
“No.” Frankie pouted. “I’m talking about my stuffed toy display.”
“Um, okay.” A vague recollection tickled my brain. “Your toys are damaged? Maybe it was a glitch.”
“I’m not talking about VR! The vintage toy display was a real world addition. And the monkey’s been decapitated. They committed sabotage!”
Confused, I asked, “They? They who?”
“I don’t know. Just they.”
I rubbed my temples. “Okay, show me.”
Frankie led the way. As we entered the VR room, something howled…

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Fluffernutter the Disgruntled Cat

“What the heck was that?” Frankie grabbed my arm as the VR room reverberated with the echo. Something shadowy streaked across the floor to our left. I shrieked and grabbed the nearest thing to use as a weapon.
“Come out, whatever you are!” I brandished a vortex clamp.
Something hissed, and then, “Meeeoooowww.”
“A cat?” I lowered the clamp.
“It’s Fluffernutter! Fluffernutter has returned at last!” Frankie raced forward and scooped a fluffy scrap of angry into his arms. The cat hissed again and tried to bite him.
“Fluffernutter? What the heck is a fluffernutter?”
The cat glared at me.