Twinks in Space: Fantastic Voyage - Part Two - 55. Chapter 55 - The Bonanza, Part 1

Phentrom and Captain Suoki arrived at Her Majesty’s Hole just as a glamorous woman stepped out onto the stage.

“Anyone can be a queen!” she declared.

Quiet quirky music was playing in the background.

“I am Frau Meow,” the woman informed the crowd, “and I say again, anyone can be a queen.”

Her Majesty’s Hole had opened much earlier in the day than usual to host the uplifting celebration, and a large group of children was there for a special part of the show that was just for them. They were holding onto the edge of the stage and looking up at Frau Meow with starry eyes.

She smiled down at them. “Even you little ones can all be queens if you want. Are you ready to join me up here?” They nodded and climbed the few steps that led onto the stage as the diva added, “Can you believe it’s been an entire week since our last reading time?” She glanced out at the adults in the crowd with a smile. “We do this every few days.” There was more nodding from the children, confirming Frau Meow’s words as she sat on a small chair, and the little ones all planted themselves on the stage at her feet.

A big bearded hunk dressed in a tutu and wearing vivid makeup came prancing along the curtain at the back of the stage carrying an enormous pink purse. The children noticed him and giggled as he scurried up behind Frau Meow. She looked at their little faces with pseudo-confusion, and she turned to glance over her right shoulder, but the silly fellow hopped behind her left side. The children squealed with glee as Frau Meow turned left and the big man in the tutu hopped to the right.

“I don’t know what you children are giggling about, but tell me kiddies, have you seen my pocketbook?”

They all screamed, “It’s behind you!”

Frau Meow looked right again, but the man hopped to the left.

“Are you kids pulling my leg?”

They all pointed to her left and cried out things like, “He’s right there!” and “He’s behind you!” and “He’s got your pocketbook!”

Frau Meow spun to the left in her seat, and the bearded man was standing so close to her chair that the diva’s face pressed against his big belly. The children laughed and screeched their delight. Frau Meow leaned back and looked up at the man, and the little ones at her feet tried to smother their giggles so they did not miss whatever she was about to say. The big man was holding the purse behind his back.

“Do you have my pocketbook?” she asked the handsome fellow.

He bowed and stretched one leg behind him in a lovely balancing pose, and he extended Frau Meow’s oversized prop pocketbook toward her.

“Thank you, my darling.”

She kissed the top of his head, and he bounced and leapt his way offstage again, just as Lyoth and Stawren appeared at the front entrance to Her Majesty’s Hole. Both of them were dressed in extravagant evening gowns. They spotted Phentrom, Captain Suoki, and Fonith, and they headed through the club to join their group of friends. Quigley and his wife, Finnow, were with them, and their daughter, Riah, was seated onstage with the other children at the diva’s feet. Jintrin was behind the bar, and Stawren waved to her father. His fellow Blue-skinned Allarei, the warrior Tenki, was at the counter with a very large mug of something frothy.

Lyoth leaned close to Phentrom and whispered, “You look beautiful.” He kissed the mandroid’s cheek.

Onstage, Frau Meow asked the youngsters around her, “What do you suppose I’ve got in here, kiddies?”

Many of them knew what was going on because they had attended previous reading sessions with the queen, and they yelled out, “It’s a book!”

“It is a book,” she confirmed, pulling a large colorful paperback out of her purse. “Have any of you kids read this one, The Lonely Planet?” A few of them nodded that they had, but quite a few of them did not know the story. “Who’d like to help me read it?” Several of the children raised their hands. “Okay, how about you two? Little Dizo and Liya, come sit with me and help me read.” Frau Meow squished down her billowy dress and they clambered onto her lap. “Dizo, Liya, we need to make sure everyone can see the pictures, okay?”

The two kids on her lap nodded and got comfortable as the diva began to read.

“The Lonely Planet, by T.R. Malklins.” She held the book up so the other children could see the cover, opened to the first page, and she read.

In a lonely solar system in a lonely galaxy, there was a lonely little planet.

Frau Meow turned the book so everyone could see, and she pointed at the drawing. “Look right here, she’s saying, ‘I’m lonely.’”

“Frau Meow, how do you know the planet’s a she?” one of the children asked.

The diva flipped the book back to herself. “I don’t know. Don’t you think she looks like a she?” Frau Meow faced it toward the child again, who merely shrugged. “Let’s go with she.” Frau Meow turned to the second page.

The lonely little planet was too scared to try and be friends with the bigger planets.

She showed the picture. “Look, all the other planets are playing together, but the littlest one is over in the corner. Let’s see what happens on the next page.”

One of the children on her lap pulled the book closer.

“Are you helping me turn the page? Thank you. Oooh, listen to this, children,” and Frau Meow continued reading.

One day, a spaceship flew down and landed on the little planet.

She showed the drawing. “Isn’t that a cute spaceship? I like it. On the next page, look, a pair of people are getting out of it, and they’re both saying, ‘Hello, little planet.’” It was a drawing of two astronauts exploring the world.

The pilots had been looking for a new place to call home, and the lonely planet seemed perfect.

Frau Meow flipped to the next page, but she looked worried.

When the pilots told the lonely planet that they wanted to be friends, the planet told them that was impossible.

“They look sad!” one of the children declared as Frau Meow showed them a picture of the two astronauts frowning.

The diva nodded her head knowingly and continued reading.

The pilots informed the lonely planet, “We are friends with our spaceship; why can’t we be friends with you?”

“Look, see kiddies, here’s a picture of the two of them hugging their spaceship. And on the next page, they’re still talking with the lonely planet.”

“We are friends with a constellation, and a family of ferrets, and a pebble we call Rock. Little planet, would you like to meet Rock?”

One of the children on her lap helped her hold the book up for the other kids to see.

“Thank you,” Frau Meow said with a smile as she turned the page.

The lonely planet did not understand and did not like being confused.

Frau Meow flipped the book around for the kids and declared, “Oh, goodness, see how grumpy the planet looks?” She continued.

The lonely planet yelled at the pilots, “We’re not the same. How could we possibly be friends?” But the pilots called back, “We choose our friends!”

Frau Meow showed the children a picture of the two astronauts, now hugging each other. She turned the page and one of the children said, “The planet doesn’t look sad anymore.”

“That’s right,” Frau Meow confirmed. “The lonely little planet has been presented with a new idea, and she’s considering something.” She turned the book back to herself.

“Can I do that too?” the lonely planet asked.

Frau Meow turned to the page right before the end.

The pilots smiled and replied, “Of course, and we’d love for you to choose us to be your friends!”

She showed the children a picture of the astronauts dancing together on the little planet. Then Frau Meow smiled wide and flipped to the final page of the book. The drawing was again of the planet, now encircled with people standing on its surface all the way around, but there were no other characters that looked like the astronauts. The book’s artist had included in the final image many sentient species from around the universe, and Frau Meow read the last line.

Friends can come from anywhere.