Chapitre 20: Sidekick Baba
Pineapple considered his options of heading right to the restroom or left to confront his enemy, ultimately deciding to go right. He can unload the poop later, Pineapple told himself. He concocted a story for Zoe that he had errands to run and quickly made his way in that direction.
As Leandre and Dustin were en route to the Pentagon building in silence, "Stop right there! You hooligan!" a familiar voice screamed at Leandre, interrupting his silence and prompting him to turn around.
Leandre's foul mood deepened as he noticed an eccentric green-haired weirdo running towards him as if he was running for an Olympics Marathon. "I will kill this knucklehead today if he creates another drama."
Dustin, observing the situation, expressed his frustration through a face-palm gesture. "Did you have any animosity with this weirdo in your previous life?" Dustin sighed. He couldn't understand how Pineapple seemed to know Leandre's every move, leading him to question if he had placed a bug on Leandre's body.
Pineapple stopped before Leandre and Dustin, who were staring at him with impassive expressions as if his presence had turned them into that. Ignoring Dustin's poker face, Pineapple fixed a stern gaze on Leandre, pausing to catch his breath before demanding. "Where did you go early in the morning?" He turned to Dustin and said. "You too..where did you go? Is this a fish market to come and go anytime?"
Leandre, and Dustin lazily glanced at Pineapple in silence.
Pineapple was brushing his teeth early in the morning on his balcony when he saw movement on the horizon. His eyes perked up, seeing Leandre leaving the academy grounds. He would have followed had he gotten up earlier, determined to find out where this hooligan was heading at such an early hour. Blame his sleep, he missed it. Last night, he was awake till 3 A.M, downloading p.o.r.n movies to secretly send the adult content to the trainees in the academy, which will keep them distracted at night. As the end of their training drew nearer, the tightrope was getting harder to walk for Pineapple. To top in training and get into the crime department, Pineapple had to be in the top ten for Duncan to notice. So, he made a devious plan. Push the other trainees to watch adult movies until late in the night, so they make mistakes in the morning with a lack of sleep.
"Answer me! Where did you go?" Pineapple demanded again when Leandre and Dustin didnot open their mouth.
"To get fresh oxygen since you are polluting the academy with your odour," Leandre deadpanned, gazing at the small plastic bottle in Pineapple's hand. Sometimes Leandre wondered where this weirdo got the audacity to demand him as if he was obliged to answer.
"W_hat did you say?" Pineapple snarled, pointing the finger at Leandre.
Dustin chuckled at Leandre's response, and following his friend's gaze, he also looked at the bottle in Pineapple's hand. There is a rumour in the academy that Pineapple brought strength-boosting pills from a local herbalist known as 'Sidekick Baba' to defeat Leandre in physical training.
Pineapple takes two pills before and after each meal to increase his appetite. Since then, he has been eating like a pig, snatching other's food as well. Post that, he goes to the bathroom to unload. During that time, the trainees and the cleaning staff who visit the restrooms complain that the whole bathroom smells like a decomposing dead cat. On top of that, the gas he passes during the field training is as gross as a dog's fart, causing the trainees to run for their noses. Everybody, from the trainees to the cleaning staff, had the urge to find the Sidekick baba and beat him to a pulp.
"What are you doing here? Isn't it time for you to unload?" Dustin asked. "If you pass the gas here, I swear, I will kill you and feed your entrails to the snakes."
Pineapple's face twisted into folds as if he sucked tamarind. How dare this idiot threaten me. He shifted the topic. "I know where you went. I heard you are poking Zoe. Remember, she is under my watch. If you dare to do something to her, unlike what you did in school to the girl_" Pineapple was cut off in the mid-sentence, swallowing his words. Fear filled his eyes upon seeing Leandre press a revolver against his forehead.
"PAPA!" Pineapple squeezed his eyes, crying at the top of his lungs.
"Am I obliged to tell you what I do or where I go?" Leandre aimed his Glock at his forehead, taking a step forward, making Pineapple step back in fear. "I don't care if you complain to Duncan or your beloved papa, it's time for you to say goodbye on this earth."
"HELP!" Pineapple's scream was soul-dying. "You Hooligans! Get away from me."
"Stop it, Leandre." Dustin firmly gripped Leandre's arm, trying to calm him down. He was worried that Leandre's anger could lead to him pulling the trigger, and he didn't want that, at least not here. Duncan will not be happy. "Let's not do anything impulsive. We can deal with him outside of the academy."
Just in time, they heard a whistle followed by the voice of one of the authorities from a long distance. "What's going on there!"
"Sir! Please help me." Pineapple screamed, seeing a ray of hope.
"Down the gun, now," Dustin whispered in a stern voice, to which Leandre complied this time, placing his Glock back into his hip pocket.
Dustin turned to the officer and offered a smile. "We were just playing some game with Evandre, Sir. Please carry on with your work."
"Sir! no_" Dustin shoved his boot on Pineapple's to shut him up.
"Sundays are meant for fun! Enjoy before the training ends."
Dustin nodded eagerly at the officer's remarks. He waited until the officer was out of sight before turning to Leandre. "Let's go."
"Next time, you will not be as lucky as today," Leandre warned Pineapple and stormed off along with Dustin.
Pineapple let out a sigh of relief, taking deep breaths as the adrenaline from the close call began to dissipate. "You scoundrels. Wait, and watch! I will complain to the Director about your behaviour," he spat, anger still evident in his voice. Pineapple made a mental note to himself to seek revenge for this incident.
...
Leandre walked into the room with the intention of having some alone time, but his anger rose as he saw Xanth sitting in his chair, engrossed in the news, and Knox, sprawled out on the couch, browsing on his laptop. "Why do you always come into my room uninvited? Get out of my room. I need some personal space."
Xanth and Knox briefly glanced at Leandre but then quickly returned to their tasks, seemingly ignoring his words. Leandre felt a strong urge to kick them out, but he knew it would be pointless. They would only continue to bang on the door and annoy him until he let them in.
''What's with that gloomy face?" Knox asked with a hint of sarcasm. "Did you smell Pineapple's fart on your way here?" He clicked on an article link, which reported on a missing couple who had gone camping in the Elatias forest. A witness, who was an avid traveller, had reportedly seen a strange creature in the woods. Elatias? Knox remembered that Duncan had told them they would be going there for a night training session in the upcoming weeks. What could the creature be? Knox wondered. It would be good if he knew about the creature beforehand to prepare.
"It's worse than Pineapple's fart," Dustin added as he saw Leandre silently sitting on the corner of the bed, deep in thought.
''Is there anything worse than Pineapple Fart's smell on this earth?'' Xanth sarcastically said, gazing at Leandre. He reduced the TV volume considering Leandre's silence.
''Well..enough with your silence, bro,'' Dustin told Leandre, grabbing the TV remote from Xanth's hands and changing the channel to National Geographic Channel. As he expected, the channel was casting a documentary on the Anaconda. Dustin continued. ''Did someone piss you off? What happened to your car? Why did you park in a violated area?'' There were times Pineapple annoyed Leandre pushing his limits but never he lost composure to the extent of threatening with his Glock.
Xanth and Knox exchanged puzzled glances as they struggled to comprehend Dustin's words. Dustin, noticing their confusion, proceeded to elaborate on the situation.
"Really? A car violation?"
Leandre didnot bother if the car was towed away. He could get back the car by paying the fine, or worse, if, in a foul mood, he will give it as a charity to the Government. However, when she gestured with a middle finger, it pissed him off. His hand itched to twist her nose until it came off. "How dare she call me little Giraffe.'' He muttered in a low voice, but Knox heard already.
"What did you say? A Giraffe?" Knox's concentration shifted to Leandre. "Did you say 'she' ?' His eyes perked up at the mention of a girl.
Cadeaux
-- Cadeau
reçu État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone