Felix Takes Charge

"But that's not all, Felix!" I say.

Felix's face folds itself into a grimace so extreme, chunks of dried cheese come loose and fall onto the desk.

"You mean... there's more?" he groans.

"Yes. You see, I didn't come alone. There's these three lab rats..."

I proceed to tell him all about Blue Vinny, Cheshire, and Hudson--how they're the results of experiments gone wrong in the dim and distant future, and how they possess knowledge and tendencies that could cause a whole lot of trouble in 1922.

"And after they've finished running amok and probably stealing everything they can lay their paw on, they'll want to return to our own time." I gulp loudly. "That's where I come in."

A bewildered frown screws up his face. "You! Why you?"

"I'm the only one who knows when the time machine is supposed to return for us. They'll surely nab me to squeeze the day and time out of me."

The Inspector rises and starts pacing around the office, his brow wrinkled in thought. Finally, he stops and faces me, the eyes behind the cheesy spectacles narrow and glittering with determination.

"No, they won't. I won't let them!" Felix declares. "Come along, Prudence. You're going with me!"

Felix Au Gratin

Still exhausted from shock and running around like three sight-challenged cousins from a rather a tasteless nursery rhyme I know, I return to the smelly davenport and conk out.

A sudden noise, like a soda pop exploding, wakes me with a jerk.The door knob rattles violently. Someone, I sense, is trying to get in.

"Felix, is that you?" I squeak.

An exasperated snort. "No. It's the local cat come for my breakfast. Of course, it's me. Open up!"

I unlock and open the door. I scream and try to close it.

A gooey yellow foot pushes across the threshold, followed by a lot more gooey, stringy yellowness. Two angry eyes glare at me behind amber-steaked spectacles.

"Felix?" I ask, trying not to giggle... and failing.

Nodding, he bares his teeth at me.

"You look like a cheese pizza!" I just have to point out.

His eyes screw up in bewilderment, making cracks in his cheesy mask. "What? Oh, never mind!" Felix squishes past in a huff. He turns on me. "How did you know about that fire?"

I take a seat on the davenport. "I studied it in my history class," I calmly explain. "The Great Scrimshander Sprocket Fire of 1922 took out an entire block on the water front, to include a warehouse full of Gloucestshire cheese." I reach out and snag a glob from Felix's jacket. I taste it. "Yes. That's what you're wearing, all right!"

Felix blinks at me in astonishment. He stumbles to the chair behind his desk, collapsing into it. He covers his face with his paws... and immediately regrets it.

"Yuck!"

Holding his liberally au gratin-ed digits out like flippers, he croaks, "It's true then. You have  come from the future!"

"Your forensic skills serve you well, Inspector." I roll my eyes. "Finally!"