Pineapple on Canvas: The Odd Adventures of a Toy in the City

The one about the City

All went even more smoothly than planned. After Maher had left for work, Papple jumped off the bed and headed to the front door, swiped the extra set of keys from the counter, and climbed up the mini-ladder Maher left around the apartment for Papple to reach things.

After having listened in via S.K.'s mobile devices, Kitty had thought Papple had overdone it with the snoring, but at any rate, Maher had left wordlessly without disturbing the pineapple.

The reason for the subterfuge was that Papple had been afraid that Maher would ask him what he was up to that day and that he wouldn't be able to successfully lie. As part of the plan, it was decided that Papple would pretend to be asleep to avoid any such interaction.

Armed with his knapsack full of "Operation Bully Take Down" items, and outfitted in the grey jumpsuit Zoe had sewn for him, Papple exited Maher Apartment on his very own. He was very nervous, and his little mandarin orange feet shook in apprehension.

Sensing his unease, Kitty whispered in his earpiece, "Papple, you are the bravest toy I know."

Papple popcorned with joy at that confirmation, nodded to himself, then put one foot in front of the other, and propelled himself forward to the elevator. Using a small slingshot, he grabbed a grape and aimed it at the down button. The weeks of practice with Sweet Lou paid off and Papple was able to engage the elevator on his first try.

It had taken a while for Papple to learn how to use the slingshot. Lou, a toy with a built in zinger (his tail), was a natural at hitting targets--he could just fit the objects on his tail and fling them with pinpoint precision anywhere he wanted. Since Papple didn't have such an appendage, after much thought, a special slingshot had been designed by Sweet Lou and Sir'Duke to work with Papple's very short arms. It did the trick just well.

When the elevator stopped, Papple saw that he wasn't the only occupant and he quietly skated in amongst the Prada loafers and Manolo pumps. Luckily the "L" button, which he remembered Kitty told him stood for "lobby," was already pressed and Papple rode all the way down to street level and not a soul noticed.

As planned, once the elevator hit the lobby, every single person exited and Papple followed swiftly in between the shoes. The daily running regimes were really paying off--who knew the little fellow that was round a yellow and chubby could be so quick? The last line being a reference to a little song he bugged Maher to play on the guitar all the time, which he dubbed "Papple's theme song" even though it was really a song from a show called "Sesame Street."

Papple knew his next mission was to make it past the double lobby doors to "Outside, outside Maher Place." Since the doors were too heavy for him to open on his own, this wasn't as easy a task as it seemed, but contingency plans had been built into Maple's master plan so Papple felt surprisingly calm when he realized that he had missed his first window of opportunity to get through the doors.

Standing in the corner, he waited patiently for the next set of elevator occupants to come through so that the doorman would swing the doors open and he could get to the shuttle that should be parked right outside.

Once outside he studied his surroundings and saw the shuttle bus that Sir'Duke had told him would be waiting. The shuttle was a service given to the many young professionals at Maher's building that got them quickly across Manhattan to the various subway stations. Apparently going cross-town in Manhattan was a nightmare, especially if you lived near the Hudson River. Convenience or the views was the trade off.

Using the hop-up technique, which had been grueling weeks of Papple practicing hopping up cardboard sets of stairs, many times of which Papple ended up flat on his face, Papple swiftly jumped up the stairs of the shuttle bus.

He quickly made his way to the back of the bus where he used a lasso and threw it around the arm of a chair and hoisted himself up onto the seat. He had achieved the second phase of Maple's plan and now he was comfortably seated in the farthest corner of the bus, right on schedule.

Using S.K.'s mini spy camera, which S.K. had stuck to Ella's purse a few weeks ago, the kids were not only able to figure out exactly where Ella worked, but were also able to collect important data, such as the fact the bus was always empty at the back few rows. The goal of sitting on the seat was to enable Papple to see through the window so that he could see the trail of the various Manhattan landmarks that would ensure he got off at the right stop.

Once the bus started to roll, Papple looked out the window intently, even though he knew his stop was at least twenty minutes away. He was to look for the giant brown building with the majestic eagle statue at the top. Once he saw that, he would be the next stop, the Lexington stop.

Fortunately, the eagle statue was easy to spot and so his fear of missing it was unfounded. At his appointed stop, Papple hopped off the bus and made his way into the beautiful Grand Central subway station. Step three of the mission was complete.

One he hopped off the bus, Papple was instantly overwhelmed by the noise, the smells, and the bustle. The city was dazzling and confusing, horns honking so loudly that Papple jumped at each noise, and everywhere there was the helter skelter of feet. Papple's heart dropped to his stomach, right near where his little heart tattoo was outside his body. Could he really do this?

He wanted desperately to turn back and be in the comfort of Couch Room with a bowl of fruits and playing on his iPad. However, the instant the thought crossed his mind, he just as quickly banished it. The thought of disappointing his little sisters, Kitty and S.K., was more than he could bear, not to mention letting down his beloved Ella. Evil, stupid, bad, bad, no good Dick! Papple teach you real good.

With a thump to his chest, Papple entered into the labyrinth of the New York subway system looking diligently for the number "6" in a large green circle. The Uptown train, to be precise.

When Papple entered Grand Central, the speed and intensity with which people moved and shouted was no match for the elevator, the shuttle bus or even the sidewalk just outside. He saw rows and rows of stores, a large clock, and millions of feet, but try as he might, he saw no round green circle with the number "6" on it...