Outside the Window

Part 5

"What the hell are you doing, Paul!" Mandy asked, waterlogged and out of the pool. Paul had walked to the other side of the pool, to avoid contact. "Ah, I thought I'd find you here. Lairen said she was talking to you, so I knew you'd be near. Don't worry. Lairen's fine... for now." He trailed off, looking into the pool. "Anyways, the microchip obviously didn't come out of your system. Dr. Shane is a good friend of mine. I had you drugged, while he left the microchip in you and got a clean dog chip off the shelf. Trust me, I was there." He said the last part with a smile. Then, next thing Mandy knew, Paul whipped out a fire extinguisher look-a-like and sprayed it across the fifteen foot pool. It shot fast, like a rocket and reached her nostrils. Next thing she knew, she was asleep. Well, more like she fell to the pool floor, slipped into the pool, and was left to drown.

       But, that wasn't the case. The next morning she was very alive and well, no scratch no cut dressed her body. She woke up in her bed, and said aloud "Huh, strange dream." But she knew it wasn't a dream. Her sleeping mind couldn't possibly make up something this elaborate. It was real. No denying it. She adjusted her eyes to the morning light, and stretched. She cracked each of her knuckles, then rotated her wrists in a circular motion to pop them. After all of that, she walked into the bathroom. It isn't the largest thing on Earth, but it'll do, Mandy thought. She wasn't exactly sure how the handles worked, but she found out after freezing herself. She turned it to hot, and took a quick shower, and put on her bathrobe when she was finished. It was soft, made of sheep fur and white. It had a lion embroidered on the left breast pocket, and it was extremely comfortable. She walked out of her room and pressed the button on the elevator, on the side of a huge fake plant. At first she had no idea it was fake, but she felt the leaves to make sure. The elevator came shortly, but it felt like forever to Mandy. Not knowing where she was going, she stepped in, swiped her card in the slot, and pressed 1. The elevator shot downwards, and her stomach lurched. She reached level 1 in no time, and stepped out. 

           The New Orleans air smelled like mouse crap and sewage, but a quick spray of 'fake' perfume helped block out the smell. She walked aimlessly down the sidewalk, and her stomach decided for her that she needed a bite to eat. She walked around, and saw no sanitary-looking establishments. She decided she'd pay a visit to the well-famed Cafe Du Monde. It was spoken of everywhere, and she'd never been. Heck, she'd never been to Louisiana. She quickly asked Siri "Where is Cafe Du Monde?" "It is just around the corner. Turn left, then-" Siri continued with the directions. She followed them with ease, and soon she was standing in front of the doorway. It was absolutely packed. Siri had said it could sit a max of 400, and she hoped there were only 399. She walked into the busied coffee shop, and asked for a table for one. The kind man seated her, and soon a waiter came. "What you want, honey?" she asked, hands on hips. "Uh, I guess a beignet would be okay." Mandy said, just wanting the waiter to go away. "Mmm hmm, anything else?" she asked. "Orange juice?" Mandy said, shrugging her shoulders. The waiter practically threw up her heart laughing. "Oh, honey. You can't come all the way out to this place and order some O.J." "So are you saying I'm ridiculous or that you're out of orange juice?" Mandy challenged. The waiter gave her an icy look, and walked off. Mandy smiled to herself, and waited for her food/drink.

      The orange juice came first, then the beignets. It was a different waiter this time; the other one probably had enough of Mandy. It came six beignets to a plate, so she ordered two plates. An hour had passed in all the time it took her to eat the twelve beignets. With a full stomach and a merry, jovial spirit, she set off the explore New Orleans.

TO BE CONTINUED...