Chapter Text
My alarm beeps in that familial awaking tune. My eyes flutter open as I sit up and allow my mind to come to. As I stand up from my bed I drag my feet to check the wall for my calendar. My eyes spring open wide and I feel a smile shoot up my cheeks. Today is my birthday! Today is that special annual day that doesn't happen anytime other than today. In my raspy fresh morning voice I cheer with enough excitement to choke an ankylosaurus!
Hangers clink to the side as I dig into my closet and pick out a slightly lighter than usual brown dress. I put on my special excavation goggles from my side table and place them atop my forehead. I spring out of my door as I go to meet Tisha first thing in the morning. She's my best friend after all!
Shelly runs down the halls of the toon rooms. Slowing down and avoiding any other toons in the hall whom have just woken up every so often. She nearly collides with Boxten as she rushes through. Shelly thankfully was able to halt to a stop before they bumped into another.
“Ah! I'm sorry, Boxten, didn't see you there!” Shelly assures Boxten, though in a hurried voice.
“okseeyoulater byeeee!” She rushes the words out of her mouth.
Boxten untenses as he watches Shelly sprints away without another word.
“Ohm.. h-huh?”
Shelly slows to a walk as she wanders through the rainbow halls to get to the elevators. She knows Tisha is usually up early to look for any messes the Garedenveiw centre’s janitors have missed or not yet gotten too. Tisha doesn't blame them, cleaning every carpet, cement, and wood floor of the eighth sub-floor of the facility is an ugly task.
As the elevator stops at sub-floor four the ammonite fossil toon makes her way into the Sprout themed diner. Out of all places with messes the diner is unsurprisingly the messiest. She bobs up and down looking over booths and tables until she spots Tisha from afar, without any other thought she skips over.
“Tisha! Hey Tisha! Morning!” Shelly blurts as she gets closer.
Tisha turns her attention from the hard-to-scrub sauce stain she has been putting all her elbow grease into for the past thirteen minutes to the toon yelling at her.
“Tisha! AHHH im so excited! Guess what today it-”
“Shelly…” Tisha replies in a cold unexpressive tone
The tissue box toon has very noticeable eye bags and a give-fuck-all expression. Seeing this Shelly lowers her vloume and tone.
“Tish-” “Shelly I'm really busy and very tired. Can we talk later?”
She then goes back to facing the mess. Tisha continues scrubbing the red spaghetti stained seat. Shelly wears a concerned expression.
“But-” “Ugh Shelly im really pooped out of energy right now and im not going literally anywhere until i clean-”
Tisha gestures to the booth frantically “Thi-this disaster of a booth.”
Shelly opens her mouth to speak but closes it shortly after. Tisha sighs, stopping her scrubbing for a bit but not facing Shelly.
“Sorry Shelly.”
The ammonite fossil decides to take that as her cue to awkwardly shuffle away.
Shelly wanders through rainbow wallpapered rooms once again. She stops in her tracks after catching sight of a familiar purple blanket and night cap. Of course! Out of any other toon besides Tisha, Shelly can rely on Astro anytime!
Shelly approaches the door and starts hearing the murmuring of other voices. As she gets closer she sees more of the dim lighted room. Shelly sees Astro pass the gap between the door and the door fram of the ajar door. Ah, Astro seems to be busy with book club.
While still peeking through the gap, watching and hearing as Dazzle timidly shares his opinions on the book as Razzle rests his head, napping from sheer boredom. Shelly quietly backs off from the door and continues walking, aimlessly, feeling slightly more gloomy than she should. When Shelly walks past the elevator she hears it open and someone walks out and calls to someone.
“Oh! You, you.. Uhm. Yeah, Shellbert?” The voice beckons
Shelly turns around out of curiosity, Who’s Shellbert? The voice was a handler’s, or rather the more general handlers that just assist with keeping toons in place.
“Me?” Shellbert asks, the handler nods “uhm It’s Shell-”
“Ok great.” The man interrupts "You're a main right?”
Shelly lets out an apprehensive “Yeah?”
“Alright! Listen, I need you to go up to the lobby and greet the school coming in… 23 minutes.”
“Uhm, may I ask why you couldn't get Dandy to do it?” Shelly asks.
The handler stares blanky at Shelly for a moment before replying.
“Well Dandy is with Vee filming another episode of the new gameshow, and i cant find any other mains around.” The handler walks in a small circle before stopping to face Shelly.
“Just get in the elevator and greet the children up there, please?”
Shelly gives a small practiced smile. “Righty-o, I-I can do it I guess, not like i was do-”
“That's great, you’ve got this… erh.. Sheldon was it?”
Before Shelly can reply the handler walks off. The toon feels her smile falter.
Shelly walks past the large lobby tree and onto the stairs leading up to the entrance floor. As Shelly makes her way up there she notices a school bus stopped in front of the building. Shelly takes in a breath before putting on a bright smile. Maybe some of these kids know it's her birthday? Better to not wander on wishful thinking…
As the doors open kids whiz through as their teacher tries to get them to calm down.
“Hey, Hey! Calm down kids, let me give the entry tickets before you all go flooding through the gate!”
That's a lot of kids, like 2 classes? At least 40 there? Shelly stands ready behind the gate with a handler who she assumes will be leading the classes' tour. As the kids begin to walk in, more organized than when they were coming in through the doors ealier, Shelly gleefully greets the kids with practiced greeting quotes she has known since 1995.
“Hello! Welcome to the Gardenview education museum and play centre!”
None of them even look in her direction. Was she too quiet?
“H-Hello! Welcome to the Gardenview education museum and play centre!”
This time Shelly gets at least three or five fleeting side eyes, ouch.
When the handler starts speaking and introducing the kids to the place they begin walking down to the elevators, leaving Shelly, not even acknowledging the toon. Her smile almost fades off as she leaves, with tears threatening to fall.