"THE FLOOR IS LAVA!"
One sentence. That's all that was needed to start chaos. Four words, and nobody is quite sure who yelled it. Some people would point fingers at Florida. Others would say California yelled it. Not that it really mattered in the end.
The states already sitting on chairs were able to react easily. They could pick up their legs and they'd be fine. Connecticut didn't even need to look up from his book to do so. Iowa made a show of kicking his legs into Nebraska's lap. Missouri crossed his legs under himself.
Other states reacted- well a little more in tune with the chaos you'd expect. Most of them clambered over each other for safety. Massachusetts dropped his (thankfully empty) Dunks cup and grabbed onto New York. They both ended up falling over onto Connecticut.
Ohio climbed onto the back of the couch next to Michigan. They both could have existed peacefully, but Ohio thought this might be a great time for revenge. He pushed Michigan from behind. Unfortunately for him, Michigan reached over and grabbed Ohio's wrist. They both ended up falling to the ground. Indiana, Minnesota, and Montana took their spots quickly.
Their fall knocked the hat off Kansas's head. And when Missouri realized this he dove from safety to grab it. Who cares if he burned, he finally got his hat back!
The Dakotas could have taken Missouri's spot before Maine got to it. But instead they tackled each other to the ground. Shouting their usual "Better Dakota" arguments. Which was different from how the Carolinas reacted.
Once North Carolina realized there wasn't a safe place for him to jump too, he went to the next best option. Which was tackling his brother to the ground shouting "Born together, burn together!"
Kentucky stepped away fast enough to avoid getting hit. He raised an eyebrow confused. "The ground ain't lava though? It's carpet?"
"No. Kenny it's a game. Just- come here." West Virginia sighs and pulls his brother onto the armchair by the back of his three shirts.
"Oh- what about Ginny?" Kentucky looked over at their other brother.
Virginia was lying face down on the ground. Arms spread like he wanted to be swallowed up. California was next to him, a similar position but laying on his back. Arizona also stayed on the ground, mumbling that lava wasn't even that hot. Alaska stood between nearby unimpressed.
"Is this a lower 48 thing- oof!" Alaska was not prepared for two states to start crawling up his back. He reached his arms behind on instinct to make sure whoever they were didn't fall and break something. Rhode Island just used it as an extra step to climb higher. New Jersey held on tight to make sure he wasn't pushed off.
"Hey everybody. So I was looking at the list of schedules and- what happened here?" Gov asked. He looked over the scene. States were on top of furniture and each other. Georgia was asleep on the floor, having been pushed onto the floor so more states could use him as a "flotation device".
"The floor is lava." Texas answered. He rocked a little more on his rocking horse. As long as his feet didn't touch the ground, he's safe.
"I- sure. Why not? I need some coffee." Gov left the room.
It took a few minutes, but slowly the states left their safety positions. They left the room to do their own activities. Until all that was left was sleeping Georgia. And Delaware- who was hanging from the chandelier.
"Umm. Hello? Can I get some help please?"
