Pondovadia: World I Love, Tears I Drop

Chapter Seven: Know the Game and Gonna Play It

September 19, 302X

8:25 AM

It was a chilly fall morning in the city of Pondovadia. Maple leaves were fluttering in the wind, the smell of pine needles and baked goods filled the air, and animals were busy with their day. Some were setting up booths for the upcoming fall festival, while others were cooking up street food.

Bell and her friends were walking down the streets wearing warmer clothes than usual. Toshi was in a moss green peacoat with black pants and matching faux fur boots, Ponce had on an indigo windbreaker with ripped grey pants and tall boots, and Bell was bundled up in an oversized pink and white hoodie with white leggings and orange sneakers.

The dry leaves crunched as the trio went out of their way to step on them. They stopped nearby the Paisley Fountain to see what was going on there.
The marble fountain was decorated with strings of leaves and acorns, a few butterfly pollinators were extracting sugar water from the highest basin, and it smelled freshly faintly of maple syrup.

"You gotta be fucking kidding me" Bell groaned as she saw the sign installed on the gate. It read 'PAISLEY FOUNTAIN CLOSED FOR FALL FESTIVAL' in bright blue light.

"Well this is just great" Toshi sighed. "Now what?"

"Hmm...." Ponce was thinking. "We could just walk around and look for something else to do"

Bell shrugged
"Alright"

Toshi suggested another idea
"We could go get breakfast first"

The trio turned around from the fountain and headed back to the subway station. They sat down together on the iron bench and waited for the next subway to pop up.

"Hm. Interesting" Bell was looking over at a sign on the virtual billboard.

Ponce asked "What is it, Bell?"

"Someone's looking for volunteers for a movie experiment" Bell was standing on her tiptoes as she tried to read the digital flyer. "Hey look! A fifty dollar compensation! All we have to do is sign up with this guy's email"

"Well don't be surprised if a Nigerian prince asks for your card—" Toshi snarked.

"Done!" Bell had already sent an email out to the mysterious movie host.

Toshi took a good look at Bell then facepalmed.

"I think the fifty bucks will be worth it Bell" Ponce smiled a bit. "Where are we meeting this guy?"

Bell was tapping away on her phone
"He just wrote back. Dr. Klingas. Some place called Expressive Planetarium Theater. Now what kinda stupid name is that?"

Toshi snorted in amusement. "Probably a reference to some dumb old show"

"Is it close?" Ponce asked.

The beaver shook her head. "No, it's out in the northeast area, right near the Mon Uni science department"

"Of course it'd be a Mon Uni student" the ferret pointed out. "They're always asking others for the weirdest experiments"

"Yeah, they're weird like that. So which station do we have to take?" Ponce curiously asked.

Bell brought up the map on her phone
"Just the Mon Uni one"

———

9:05 AM

The Expressive Planetarium Theater. While most animals prefer the convenience of streaming entertainment on their personal devices, some cinema snobs prefer the experience of widescreen projection, while some Mon Uni students use the theater for experiments and indie film showings. The building was tall and made of a blend of brick and white marble.