Another Friend in Amphibia

Chapter 30: Truck Stop Polly

Drake sat in a small closet filled with boxes of various objects. The space was rather cramped, but it provided the kind of privacy Drake needed for what he was doing. There were a few large frog foot shaped holes in the door where someone could peek in if they wanted.

It was an especially cold morning the day Bessie was brought into this world. The leaves had just changed color, and now I shall describe those leaves to you in great detail.

Drake put the book down. Hop Pop had demanded he read Bessie's history before he could take the reins. It was one of the thickest books he had ever seen but having another person to drive Bessie could be useful in an emergency. Especially since Anne and Hop Pop were the only ones who were allowed to drive at the moment. He just didn't expect Bessie's book to get so boring so quickly. He took a deep breath and was about to go back to reading when the doors behind him swung open.

Polly stood at the door holding another book. "Hey Drake! Put down that book! It's story time!"

"Sorry Polly, but Hop Pop wants me to read this first. We'll have to do it some other time." Drake said, closing the closet doors once again.

As he continued to read, suddenly the fwagon shook violently causing the boxes to fly everywhere. Then the book collided with his face which temporarily dazed him. That was one of the issues that came with being inside the closet. Once everything had settled down and Drake had recovered, he left the closet and noticed Hop Pop had woken up. They both went up to the roof of the fwagon.

"What in tarnation? This is what I get for letting you kids drive!" Hop Pop scolded.

"Wait no! This wasn't our fault." Anne protested.

Hop Pop didn't care. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Drake, go back to reading. You three, inventory duty. I'm driving from now on." Hop Pop ordered as he took Bessie's reins.

The children went back into the fwagon. Drake helped Anne and Sprig take the boxes out of the closet. Once they were done, Drake went back to reading. He could hear voices coming from other side of the door but decided to ignore them. That was when he felt a giant splash of water and the closet was flooded. Drake was forced to stand up and open the door to let the water out or risk drowning. "Ahh!" Drake took a deep breath.

"Aw, criminy! All our mushroom bars are mush." Sprig grabbed a few mushroom bars which disintegrated in his hands.

"What's all the ruckus?" Hop Pop asked, poking his head inside the fwagon.

"It's Polly. She made a huge mess!" Sprig accused.

"Come on, kids. I'm too tired for this."

"If you're tired, Hop Pop, I know what'll wake you up. Zap-tag! Just gotta build up a charge and-" she jumped at Hop Pop.

"Polly, no! It's wet in here!" Hop Pop called out as Polly touched him.

Hop Pop was electrified which quickly spread through the wet surface and electrified Anne, Sprig and Drake. When it finally ended, they were all burnt and covered in ash.

"Polly!" they yelled in unision.

"But you guys loved zap-tag back home." Polly said sadly.

"Yeah, but we're not at home." Hop Pop countered.

Polly sighed. "You don't have to tell me twice."

Hop Pop looked out the window. "Look, there's a truck stop ahead. We'll pull in and clean this mess up. Also, I'm gonna need about thirty cups of coffee."

Hop Pop went back up and drove Bessie towards the nearby truck stop. Once they arrived, they parked Bessie in front of a giant vat of honey. Hop Pop grabbed the feeding tube and gave it to Bessie who started sucking on it.