|| -------- -- -----  A E R I E   O B L I V I A N A . singular book of text wandertainment by Frank Edward Nora ------------------- ----------- PECULIAR LATHER--CUP 5--"EL FLACTOR FLOOR" <-------  ||  Severe Repair  ||  Peculiar Lather  ||  -------> (Cup SRpl005, Created v2 (6/7/99), Copyright 1999) = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Tanner, Minion, and Martin walked along the ledge a little and got into what seemed to be a basement of some sort, with a cold concrete floor and lots of partitions, so they couldn't see very far ahead of themselves. Then finally they got to a raised floor, which they climbed up onto, just as if they were on subway tracks and climbing back onto the platform. A short stairway led out into another area which also seemed to be sort-of outside, with no sky apparent. They continued walking, and then got to what appeared to be a shopping mall. At this point, they began to realize they WERE in an alternate universe of some kind. Somehow, they were very calm about it. Most of the stores were closed, but there were a few people milling about. Tanner went into a few stores looking for shoes, and wound up buying a shitty pair of moccasins at some weird messy little store. They accepted his Baskonontanan currency, much to his surprise. Then they got to a movie theater with extremely steep steps, and went inside. They walked up the stairs in the movie theater. There were lights on, and it seemed to be between movies. They came upon two girls, and got to talking to them. One was a gorgeous red-haired goddess named Janine Engineen, and the other a pretty brunette goddess named El Flactor Floor. El Flactor Floor was talking with Martin and Minion, but soon she said goodbye and left. Janine Engineen was talking to Tanner, and writing on the back of one of the seats with a blue ball-point pen. She asked Tanner if he wanted to go to a dance with her that night, and Tanner accepted gleefully. He had been very struck by Janine's beauty from the moment he saw her. She said they'd meet in the lobby of the Supbam Hotel that night at nine o'clock. She left, and Tanner read what she was writing on the seat, but he couldn't make head nor tail of it. So they left the theater, and continued walking through the mall. Back at college, Tanner rubbed his forehead and began to feel overwhelmed. Then he moved to recall what happened after he told Cudworth about how he had come to Agoopish. In the memory, Tanner walked away from Cudworth and into the elevator bay, saying "Janine" repeatedly just under his breath. After a few minutes, Janine disappeared in, hovering against the wall, the maps on her shirt animated and writhing. Tanner confronted her about the banner outside and asked why she jilted him. She looked behind him and said "Ask her." He turned around and saw the goddess Fluffy Netherfuck, and found her even more attractive than Janine. Then Janine disappeared. Back in the dorm, Tanner felt drained of will. He didn't really feel like remembering this stuff. He had to cringe at how awed he was of Agoopish, considering that as Payjaych, he would have considered Agoopish a deific backwater slum, not worthy of much attention or respect. In any case, he felt like going to sleep, but then the phone rang, and he had a chill that if he answered it it would concrete this alternate past. But he decided to answer it anyway. "Hello?" "Hey Tan, what's up!" It was El Flactor Floor's voice on the phone. He felt his real past draining away quickly now. Payjaych, Lord of Neckties and Vinegar, something not very important, was a name receding into the back of his mind. "Is this, uh, is this El Flactor Floor?" Tanner asked cautiously. Funny. For a second there, Tanner seemed to forget that El Flactor Floor was also a student at Thatterine College. "Of course it is, silly--what are you--drunk?" Tanner said nothing. He didn't want to say anything. "Are you there?" she asked. "Yes, I'm here." "What's wrong?" "Nothing. Nothing at all." "Gee, such a grouch! But seriously, are you helping me to Agoop this afternoon?" "What?" "Whoops! You-know-who just walked in. I'll call you back in a minute." Tanner did not know who. He just unplugged the phone, shut off the lights and the stereo, and went to bed. Things weren't going well. He was terribly confused and he didn't even know why. He cherished the idea of going to sleep and finding this had all been a dream. But then the hotpot started to whistle and he knew he would have to get up and turn it off. But he didn't--he just stayed in bed, his head under the covers, hoping the water would boil away soon. -------> ------------------- ----------- -------- -- -----