Bugs Pond (our hero!) stood up as straight and proud as he could, knowing that he had again averted disaster with his quick thinking.
"I sure put that guy in his place", thought Bugs. "Just think what I could have done with a flamethrower!".
Iggy, the Iguana, decided not to spoil Bugs' special moment of glory. He turned to Gator King, signalled the secret reptilian secret sign, and they both grinned widely.
Bugs, now in total control of his environment (as usual ... have you ever seen a super-hero who wasn't?), didn't acknowledge the bow of respect being offered by the Gator King. This, of course, was an insult to the revered king of the gators. The Gator's eyes narrowed to a thin slit.
Iggy, detecting a good situation about to go bad, interjected ...
"Hey, buddy! Remember the night of the Alpha Omega party? Man, that had to be the best fraternity on campus."
The Gator King softened a bit, as he realized that Iggy was trying to divert attention away from a potentially disastrous situation.
The Gator King turned to his entourage, nodded towards a gaping hole in the side of the sewer wall, then headed in that direction.
Muffy started following immediately. That hurt Bugs' feelings. Wasn't it he, Bugs Pond (our hero!), who was supposed to be leading this group into new adventures?
Erroll and Meryl followed Muffy, apparently unaware of the damage they were doing to Bugs' ego.
Rear Admiral and Rusty Irons stood there, unsure of what to do next. It was Bugs they owed their lives to, so it was to Bugs they would be loyal. But, if those others were following the Gator King ....
Precious was too busy counting the cobwebs in the sewer's ceiling to pay any attention to this maneuvering for position by those over-testosteronized macho males.
As the Gator King approached the gaping hole in the wall, he looked over his shoulder to see if Bugs and crew were following.
Bugs hadn't moved. Another insult to the Gator King? Even Iggy's furtive look to try to deflect the angry stare didn't work this time. The Gator King was mad. It's not good to have an angry Gator King. Nope. Not at all.
The Gator King began thinking that the gift of the used toothbrush was merely a ploy to buy time. That was blasphemy! To insult the Gator King was one thing. To ignore the inherent meaning of the gift of a used toothbrush was something else entirely. NOBODY would get by with that kind of disrespect as long as Gator King was in charge!
Gator King motioned all the followers through the hole in the wall. As they passed through one by one, he stood by and glared at Bugs. After everybody who was following had passed through, he looked deep into Bugs' eyes, hissed the hiss that only the leader of the Gators can hiss, and said ... |
