The Adventures of Azalea and Twig (book 6)

Chapter 32

     Lawson walked back into his office, straightening his tie.

"Alright, elves..." he said. "Time for you to take a little trip down town."

He looked up, smirking maliciously, but his smile faded, as he realized the room was empty.

"Wait... what..."

Slowly, he turned towards the window, seeing Molly and the trolls jumping into a taxi.

He glared at them through the window, growling quietly in anger.

"No one runs from Officer Lawson..." he mumbled, quietly. "It's on..."

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In the taxi, the three trolls stood on the windowsill, their hands and faces pressed up against the glass, as they looked at the scenery passing by.

Poppy looked amazed by all the new things, while Branch looked terrified, and Barb... well... Barb was just... meh...

     Molly sat, looking around, as she tapped her foot, nervously.

     "Ooo! Molly look at..." Poppy said, pointing at something out the window. She turned to Molly, noticing the scared expression on her face.

     "It's ok..." Poppy assured, jumping off the window to walk over to Molly. "That giant won't find us. We escaped."
"It's... it's not that..." Molly said, softly.

     Branch overheard the conversation, turning to face the two of them.

     "What's wrong?" he asked. "Usually I'm the only one who's scared."

     "I'm not scared..." Molly said. "It's... it's just that..." She looked around, and then leaned down to whisper to them.

     "You know how I said money buys things."
"Yeah..." Poppy and Branch both said in unison.
"Well... I kinda... used all the money on that plane ticket..."
"So?" Branch asked, not seeing her point.

     She looked around again, whispering even softer.

     "This taxi costs money..." she whispered. Poppy and Branch stared at her, blankly, and she sighed, rolling her eyes. "We have no money!"
"Oh..." Branch and Poppy said, simultaneously, finally realizing.

     "Don't worry, guys. I got this," Poppy said, confidently, climbing up onto the top of the driver's seat.

     "Um... Poppy... I'm not sure that's a good idea..." Branch said, concerned.
"Shush, boy toy," Barb said, suddenly involved in the conversation. She put her hand over Branch's mouth, so he couldn't talk. "I wanna see where this is headed..."

     Poppy climbed up next to the driver's head, and smiled.

     "Hello," she said, waving, but the driver just ignored her. "Um... uh... excuse me... sir?"

     He looked over, noticing the little pink troll.

     "AHHHHH!" he screamed, the car swerving onto the wrong side of the road, right into the path of an oncoming truck.

     'Beep! Beep!' the truck honked, loudly.

     "Watch out!" Molly screamed, pointing at the truck about to hit them.

     Quickly, the driver swerved back onto his side of the road, Branch and Barb stumbling, and falling over onto each other.

     "Whoa... sorry," Poppy said, trying to regain her balance. "Didn't mean to scare you."

     "What... what are you?" the driver asked, looking at her for a moment, before turning his attention back to the road.

     "I'm Poppy," she introduced. "These are my friends, Molly and Barb," she gestured to Molly and Barb, who waved, awkwardly, Barb pushing Branch off of her, immediately after. "And that's my husband, Branch," Poppy continued, gesturing to Branch.

     "H... hi..." Branch said, nervously, as he waved.

     "So... I was just wondering... how much this ride is gonna cost..." Poppy finally said, getting to the point of why she was talking to him.

     The driver looked at the taximeter.

     "So far... fifty two bucks," he replied, still a little shaken by the talking... whatever they where...

     "Oh... well... we may be... a little short..." Poppy said.
"How short?" the driver asked, angrily, suddenly not frightened in the slightest.

     "Fifty two bucks?" Molly replied, with an innocent smile.

     The driver slammed onto the breaks, causing Poppy to fly forwards, crashing into the windshield face first.

     "Ow..." she groaned, rubbing her forehead, as she stood, turning to face the taxi driver.

     "Out," he demanded, putting the car in park.

     "Wait, wait, wait..." Poppy said, jumping onto the steering wheel. "We might not have money... but we can pay you in another way."

     "Oh no..." Branch groaned, slapping his head, knowing exactly what Poppy was about to say.

     "And what way would that be?" the driver asked. Poppy smiled, ready to answer the question.

     "Don't say it... please don't say it..." Branch grumbled, shaking his head, knowing this wasn't going to turn out well.

     "Hugs!" Poppy said, excitedly, opening her arms for a hug.

     "And... she said it..." Branch sighed, lowering his head, his ears drooping a little bit.

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     Obviously, they where all thrown out onto the street.

     "Wait! What about gumdrops? Everyone likes gumdrops!" Poppy pleaded, pulling gumdrops out of her hair, and holding them out, but the driver just sped off, not looking back.

     The trolls coughed, as the exhaust fumes blew into their faces.

     "Thanks for nothing!" Barb yelled after the taxi.
"Drive safely!" Poppy yelled out to the driver.

     Everyone looked at Poppy, confused and annoyed.

     "What?" Poppy shrugged. "I hope he gets home safe."

     "Ugh!" the three groan, facepalming.