They stood on Highway 9 just beyond the northwest corner of the studio Sidechick Corea rented for the week. “Are you sure you don’t want to come see Karl and I’s new place, Sidechick,” spoke Annie. She points down the beach. “Just over there; it’s cute as a button. Unfortunately we don’t have the stove installed. Else we’d invite you over for supper! But still — come take a look.”
Sidechick didn’t mention that Ellen had warned him not to stay on New Island more than a couple of hours at a time due to the aberrant energy. He simply and politely turned them down, saying he had to get back to Nascera and that his supervisor had more chores for him to accomplish.
“Tell me more about your boss,” Annie inquired before he took his leave.
“He’s very, very gracious. He’s kind and gentle. He *radiates*. He is the embodiment of, well, of a perfect man. He eats a lot of ice cream but it doesn’t seem to make him fatter than he already is, haha. He likes snickers.”
“Cool. Karl, we better get back to the house. We have a lot of decorating to do tonight. A lot of ordering from the marketplace.” She stabs him with a bony finger in his hairy chest. And *tomorrow* we attempt another one of those nudes. I don’t know what happened to that last one.”
Karl nudges Sidechick Corea in the ribs. “Get this — she drew me as a *blue* boy. You gotta come see. It’s hilarious.” He’d stopped coughing for some reason. Looks like the Rabbit Hole won’t be needed any longer.
“Interesting,” Sidechick manages.
“Surely it won’t happen again, Karl. It’s like my paintbrush was possessed!”
“Ahh, but we can always switch roles. *You* in the nude, har.”
Sidechick excused himself again and began walking down Highway 9, intending to make his way across East Bridge well before nightfall. Ellen had also told him not to drive a car onto the island.
So Ellen was also right about that, he pondered while striding the middle line as much as possible. And Karl resurrected in a Bluebird Cuddle Van over at Horizons, as he explained in the interview. Blue!
“Hmph. How’d *that* happen??”
Sunklands 