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Chapter 1, "French Toast"
A soft sniffle comes from Shelly, gently rocking back and forth on the side of her bed. Trembling hands cup her face to muffle the noise. Her palms rub slowly, trying to soothe her aching cheeks. She lets out a soft weep, curling in on herself as she finally lays down on the bed. She tosses and turns before turning onto her side.
"Tomorrow's another day, Shells! C'mon, don't be a downer now," she cringes at her words and flips onto her back, "I can take anything for anyone. I'm helpful!" She thrusts her open hands into the air dramatically.
It becomes hard to force a smile, the hungry feeling gnawing on her head. Intangible whispers flood her hearing. She flails to the nearest pillow, covering it over her head desperately. Her hands ball into fists, scraping her nails against them. Quivering sobs escaped the fossil's mouth, her pillow staining with tears.
The poor toon, struggling, "Stop it—I swear I'm trying. I, I'm doing my best!"
Her once gutteral sobs fade into a soft snore, the fossil drifting to dreamless slumber.
A previously snoozed alarm rings in the fossil's room.
Shelly blinks the sleep away from her eyes, what time is it? She glanced to the nightstand, reading the digital clock. Her eyes widened. She quickly picked herself up and threw on her signature clothes.
Hushed voices rest on her shoulders. It won't weigh down Shelly, not today or any other! She opens the door, stepping into the empty hallway of the toon rooms.
Back straight, her best smile on her face! A sweet aroma floats down the hall, dragging Shelly towards the dining area. French toast, her favorite! She peeks in, eyeing the countless toons eating their breakfasts. She doesn't like being late but she knows the main cooks of Gardenview won't let her go hungry!
She shivers slightly at her thoughts yelling at the toons in front of her, making her way to an empty table and sitting down. Soon, Cosmo greets Shelly with a fresh plate of French toast. He tentatively places the plate and a cup of milk in front of her.
"Good morning, Shelly! You're a little later than usual, but don't worry. There's still plenty for you to chow down on!" Cosmo cheers, gently patting Shelly's shoulder.
Next, he sets down a small bottle of maple syrup next to Shelly's plate, "Don't forget, all the syrup you want—just how you prefer it!" He parts with a warm smile to fetch seconds for the other toons.
Shelly waves goodbye to the chocolate roll, "Thank you! You always remember me."
Shelly likes when she's considered, even if it's simply breakfast. It feels warm to be remembered, kind of like a hug? Maybe. He doesn't actually care, it's just his job. Shut up. He's nice. She focuses back on her French toast, savoring the hints of cinnamon and drenching it all in syrup.
Sprout sighs softly as he finishes up the few dishes he was assigned. "Why can't I serve them like you do, Cosmo?"
Cosmo lets out an annoyed huff, but smiles nonetheless. He continues to set dirty dishes into the sink, serving the nearby toons, checking up on the little toons, everything BUT washing the dishes.
"I need someone to clean the dishes so I can keep serving and be ready for lunch. Breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day, Sprout, I can handle everything else."
Sprout's leaves waver slightly, drooping down. He felt as if he was being left out intentionally. Did he do something wrong? Did he goof off too many times? He returns to the dishes with irritated leaf shivers—he'll show him.
Cosmo pauses, looking to Sprout with a little regret. He knows Sprout has some type of unhealthy dependency on him, he hates it.
He gently sets his hand on Sprout's shoulder, giving him a soft smile. "C'mon, do it for Cozzie?"
Sprout's leaves curl, a warm feeling spreading through his face. "Fine, fine... I'll let your handle it today, I needed a break anyway!" He chuckles softly.
With the strawberry toon in a better mood, Cosmo makes his way back to the near-empty dining room tables. Everyone left except for Shelly. She must be looking for something to do, huh? The chocolate roll swiftly makes his way to Shelly's table.
"What's wrong, Shelly?"
She didn't respond. She was staring at her empty plate and cup. Her hands held her utensils firmly.
Cosmo blinks at the uncomfortable silence, "Miss Fossilian? Hello?" He moves himself to the other side of the table, waving one hand in front of her to catch her attention.
Shelly's spine straightens. She quickly looks forward, fixing the crosseyed look she had earlier from spacing out.
"Ah, sorry! I was deep in thought. Uhm. Jeez, where did everyone else go?.." She glances over her shoulders—voices laugh at the embarrassment flushing her cheeks.
"Well, I'd like you to help me with some errands today!"
Sprout's leaves wriggle, he's never apart from Cosmo long. Why is he asking her? He scrubs a little harder on the plate he's cleaning.
"Me? Me! I'll help you, Cosmo, don't you worry! Erm. Well, what are you needing help with anyway?" She gave a soft giggle, scraping off the embarrassment from earlier.
"I need some help coming up with dinner today. Sprout and I were totally out of ideas," he's lying. He just didn't like what Sprout picked. "As well as some other things I need help with, maybe helping move storage with Dyle and all that."
Shelly sprang up from her seat, smile wide, "Of course, Cosmo!" She glanced to sprout, feeling the strawberry's tense behavior, "Will he be—"
"No, no, don't you worry about him! He has a bunch of chores he needs to do," Cosmo glides over to Shelly's side and starts leading her to the elevator, "Besides! After that, he's taking a well deserved break!"
Sprout huffs at the jab of what he said earlier, it barely felt like he deserved this.
The whirring of the elevator muffles their conversation, or lack thereof. Shelly wasn't used to being talked to so much, is this right? Maybe she should back out? No, shut up. You can deal with anything for anyone!
Cosmo slouched exhaustedly—he always had to run the kitchen or Sprout would mess something up. He lost count of how many fires that strawberry has caused. He looks over to Shelly, seeing her shuffle and fidget with her hands. Does she always do that?
The elevator roars to a halt, presenting the floor with a pleasant chime. They arrived on the theatre floor. Cosmo lead the fossil over to the projector and countless beanbags setting in front of it. There was nothing playing, there were no other toons present on the floor, just the two of them. Cosmo settled in a purple beanbag first, getting out a small notebook from his hoodie pocket. Shelly was next, sitting down on a yellow one instead. They were both facing across from each other.
Someone had to break the silence, "Shelly, how are you?"
The fossil blinked at the question but answered enthusiastically, "I've never been better!" Why do you lie so much? No wonder you don't have consistent friendships. Shut up, please.
Cosmo lifted a brow and gave Shelly a soft smile, "That's good! I'm mainly asking from earlier this morning—you didn't seem in the right headspace. You were late, though. Were you tired?"
Shelly have a slightly delayed nod, "Yeah! I didn't get good sleep last night, it's what I get for staying up too late..."
The chocolate roll gave a nod back to the fossil, having a slight look of pity for her. "I'm sorry to hear that. You could always drop by my room! I don't mind baking midnight snacks that'll let you rest. Cookies and warm milk is my go-to!" He beams at Shelly, trying to get her comfortable.
Shelly let out a soft sigh as she relaxes into the beanbag. Her eyelids lower slightly as she cups one of her cheeks. Quit mimicking him, what's wrong with you? It was on accident. Play it off. She rests her head on her other hand instead.
"Thank you! I'll be sure to drop by when I can. Now, uhm, why are we here? This is the theater room. Not exactly Dyle's subway, storage, or anywhere to actually do daily chores!"
Cosmo put one of his legs over the other. He really just wanted to get away from Sprout, "I really just wanted to get away from everyone," he looks to the side and frowns slightly, "it's been so stressful this morning. I felt like I might as well talk to you! You're helpful and always cheer people up, right?"
Shelly smiled widely, but kept herself still despite her excitement. She didn't want to jump up and tackle the poor chocolate roll, no, she needed to be calm and listen.
"Y, Yeah! I love helping you and cheering everyone up! It's my whole thing," Shelly cringes slightly at what she just said but straightens her smile back out in time, "lay it on me!" She opens her arms out in a welcoming gesture.
Cosmo gave the fossil a warm smile, cupping one of his cheeks. He chuckled as he waved down Shelly's stretched arms to let her know she doesn't need to be totally invincible right now. He leaned back in his beanbag, beginning to doodle on empty pages of his notebook.
"All I want right now is to get to know you. I think it'll help me relax." Cosmo kept his gaze down and his voice soft.
Shelly couldn't handle it, in her mind she was doing flips! Whispers sting the air around her. She ignores it.
"Huh! I don't know where I could even begin!" Shelly laughs, though she quickly started listing off her interest in dinosaurs, fossils, and sewing...