Cheshire Blast! The Adventures of Pepper and Dot

Cheshire Blast

The first night passed with nary a problem... that is, aside from when Dot slammed Pepper's head into the wall after he criticized her ill temperament. He woke up the next morning to see his roommate already left for the day so he decided to spruce up the place. Pepper never considered himself to be a neat-freak, even though his classmates always mocked his obsession to keep everything from his desktop to his lunch table in perfect order.

He used the day to organize his belongings and clear the dead rat smell from the apartment while figuring where to set up his telescope. He recalled Dot placed hers near the foot of her bed and was itching to see it for himself. <It probably has a decade of dust on it...> he thought, curious if the female firebrand even used it. Several clicks from the front door interrupted his thoughts as a long-faced Dot dragged her feet through the apartment into her room and fell like a sack of potatoes onto the made bed. Noting her obviously rough day, Pepper engaged.

"I take it your interviews didn't go so well?" Face down in her pillow, Dot responded.

"Phey Sai I Phusant Exbeeriaced Benuff!"

Pepper chuckled at the unintelligible words. "Miss Dot, I understand three languages, but 'Muffled Pillow' isn't one of them."

Rolling her eyes, she twisted onto her back and repeated herself. "They said I wasn't experienced enough!" Can you believe that? Me. Dot. 'Not experienced'! Every one of those restaurateurs needs to die a slow, painful death... preferably by my hands." She reached for her downy-filled pillow and threw it into the living room, the feathery projectile exploded near Pepper's head and left a large dent in the wall beside him.

"Our wall!" he cried, caressing the point of impact. "You know how fragile this place is, you half-crazed halfwit!"

While the scientist inspected the wall for damage, Dot walked out of her room, picked the pillow up, and slammed it into his face.

"My glasses!"

-------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------

Nodding rhythmically to the music from her headphones, Dot perked up in bed and sniffed the wonderful aroma that wafted through the late evening air. She pulled the large cups from around her ears and peered into the kitchen to see Pepper stir a myriad of colors in a large skillet.

"You know how to cook?" she asked.

Pepper smiled. "Just one of the many things they taught at 'Scholar University'." he quipped. "Sadly, it's just a simple stir fry. I didn't have much to work with in this place."

Dot stepped into the kitchen to judge his culinary skills. Bright peppers and thick noodles danced around a lightly seasoned oil of crushed garlic and parsley. "Hm. Not bad, Mr. Scholar. Tell you what- I'll check if the butcher's shop is still open and grab some chicken to see if we can't spruce this up a little."

Pepper gave a thumbs up. "Sounds great. I suppose this will be our official housewarming dinner."

Dot smiled and placed her headphones back on as she left the small, warm apartment.

-------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------

"Je suis là" Dot declared, announcing her return. She expected Pepper to still be toiling away in the kitchen, but instead found him sitting on the floor next to a thin sword and her telescope along with a small assortment of cleaning supplies.

"Bon retour" he replied, amused the chef knew more than just the cliché "oui magnifique" or "ces bon." "I figured we should add a little taste not only to our meal but to our home as well—and figured what's more tasteful than my prized epee and your antique telescope." he said with a wink.

Dot rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, Scholar." Pepper placed the telescope onto its-polished tripod. "It's kind of sad though- this thing seems more ornamental than functional. Granted, I didn't disassemble it without your permission, but I could tell it was custom-made. Specialized, even."

Dot walked over to inspect the astronomer's handiwork. She had seen her uncle's telescope out of its case only once in her life and was amazed at how beautiful it was. The main body was hewn from a mahogany wood as symmetrical age lines accented its reddish-brown color. The thick screws and rings that held it together were made of a near transparent gold and gave it an almost ethereal presence. The main eyepiece was a customized jewel with years of dust cleared away to reveal a beautiful engraving that read -Jack & Abigail- around its outer rim. Dot darted her eyes away from the inscription and focused elsewhere on the telescope. She moved to the main lens where, aside from a few random pits and scratches, was an otherwise flawless cut of mirror-reflective glass.

She forced a half-smile and shook the names from her head. "Looks great, roomy. How about we use the one good thing about this apartment and try this sucker out." she said, pointing to the ceiling hatch that led to the roof.

Pepper sighed. "That was the first thing I thought too. Unfortunately, I doubt we'd be able to find anything with all the lights in this city."

But Dot grew determined. "Well, we might see something at least... besides, it's a nice evening out. It'll be fun. We can turn our housewarming dinner into a rooftop dinner."

-------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------

Opening the seldom-used access hatch was no easy task, and getting the dinner supplies, telescope, and tripod through wasn't any easier. After a bit of trial and error (and a few choice words), Pepper and Dot had set up their quaint dinner on the roof. But just as the astronomer predicted, the infinite lights of the city had drowned out the infinite lights of the sky.

<Taught to study the stars I can't even see.> Pepper thought.

He looked back to Dot whom he found devouring the chicken stirfry. He had no idea such a petite girl could have such a monstrous appetite. She sat lady-like on the picnic blanket they brought up, having changed into a pastel blue sundress with a straw woven floppy hat. Her transformation from angry street thug to elegant young lady surprised Pepper and made him think he too should have changed into clothes a bit less casual.

Dot looked up at the barely-visible skies and thought of something to end the dull silence.

"I commend your noodle-making skills, Scholar... and that's coming from a professional trained culinary artist who was rejected by big city jerkholes." She stood and walked to the telescope, dress billowing in the cool breeze. "Now tell me of this 'as-tro-no-my' that you speak of."

Pepper rolled his eyes.

"Okay, sure. Lesson One: this thing is completely useless under the current meteorological conditions. Class dismissed."

His roommate balled her fist and punched him in the back of the head. "Don't get smart with me mister smarty pants. Now show me something cool with this thing."

Pepper looked at the telescope and sighed. <I'm sure there's another one of those coming when she learns it probably doesn't even work> he thought to himself.

"Well, normally we would know what we want to look for-" he said while he scanned the skies then pointed to an unseen celestial object. "There- I think Neptune is supposed to be there around now." He turned the telescope in the same direction he gestured.

"Here. Let's see if you can find it without succumbing to temporary blindness from all this light pollution."

"Whatever." Dot replied. She stepped up to the family heirloom and peered through its eyepiece while the astronomer made small adjustments at its base. She noticed the scratches on the lens from earlier looked more like an astrological chart of some kind. But before she could ask about it, everything began to glow a brilliant white. Dot's eyes widened. "Pepp-" but before she could finish her cry for help, the two stargazers were instantaneously transformed into light and blasted through the telescope into space.