Turn It Into Magic

After entering the mall, everyone immediately split up into smaller groups. Within milliseconds, Pogo and Twiggy had both disappeared into the mysterious depths of the shopping center. Abi, Elizabeth and Iggy had decided to let them have their fun and instead followed Marilyn, Zim, John, and Ginger as they went to various stores to do their shopping. Finally, Tim had dragged Trent off in the direction of the bookstore. With all the separations they had done, Abi was glad that, before they left the van, she had instructed all the men that they would be meeting in the food court in two and a half hours, lest they wanted to be left behind.

"I'm terrified to know what those two are up to," Abi sighed as they neared a music store. Everyone seemed to unanimously know that she was speaking of Twiggy and Pogo.

"Well, it's Pogo's first day back. Maybe he forgot how to be crazy after six weeks, and whatever he's doing could be considered nothing when you compare it to the other things he's done," Marilyn suggested hopefully, although it didn't sound like he had even convinced himself of that.

Abi sighed once more upon entering the store. "Let's hope you're right. But something tells me that he's brewing up something ridiculous that I'm not going to want to be a part of."

"That may be true - in fact, it probably is - but we shouldn't dwell on it. Might as well have fun while we're here," Zim proposed. "We haven't gone shopping since... well, it's been a while."

He was, of course, referring to the time that he, Abi, and Elizabeth had left the rest of the men at home under the control of Ginger to do their shopping and returned to find that he had been kidnapped and tormented by none other than the two men who were causing them all worry once again.

Marilyn shuddered. He, like everyone else, knew that leaving Twiggy and Pogo together was a recipe for trouble. The keyboardist was an instigator while the bassist was the accelerator. They could spend days together without realizing it, simply because Pogo could throw out an idea that Twiggy would add to until they had wound up with a completely new idea.

"They're going to get arrested, aren't they?" Elizabeth asked, sounding both exasperated and dejected.

"Not necessarily. They can both think straight enough under pressure, and they're both creative. I'm sure they'll be able to avoid the cops," Ginger said, although he looked just as tired as everyone else felt. "But I think we should take Zim's advice. There's no point in worrying about this now."

__________

After two hours of visiting all the stores that sparked their interest, Abi suggested that everyone head back to the food court. At the last second, John decided that he had forgotten to go somewhere and promptly dragged Ginger with him to take care of that matter. Everyone else followed Abi, who had become the unofficial group leader.

"Somehow, for as much as I love Twiggy, I almost don't want to see what those men have gotten themselves into," Elizabeth murmured as everyone found a chair to sit on. Everyone uttered something in agreement.

The thirty minutes until they chose to leave passed quickly as most everyone bought a snack, and all the men - aside from Twiggy and Pogo, of course - returned. Then another fifteen slow minutes ticked by before Abi became fed up with waiting.

"Let's just go. They can take a taxi back to the hospital for all I care," she growled as she stood up.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Marilyn questioned her, despite the fact that he followed her quickly to the exit. That was answer enough for the singer.

"You know it'll be worse if we leave Pogo here and he has to find his own way home," Trent announced as he caught up with Abi, with Tim right behind him. She stopped and turned to looked at him with a deadpan expression.

"Rezzy, I think that's the only sensible thing I've ever heard you say," Abi said emotionlessly. Trent flushed with pride, as he was still attracted to her, despite the implications of her statement.

"Well, th-" Trent was cut short as what sounded like a stampede approached the group.

"We need to leave right now." It was Pogo, out of breath from sprinting to the group.

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?!" Abi shrieked at the two men. Yes, Twiggy and Pogo had returned, both with mischievous grins on their faces. The keyboardist had a pillowcase with a cube-like object inside it clutched in his hands. Beside him, Twiggy was holding several plastic shopping bags and a small cardboard box with tiny holes poked in the top of it.

"I wasn't kidding; we need to leave right now," Pogo repeated, completely serious despite his smile.

"Pogo, what's in that bag?" Ginger asked, entirely summing up everyone's thoughts in one fell swoop. The entire group eyed the men with suspicion, hoping that whatever they were holding wouldn't be released on them once they got in the van.

"We don't have time for questions, we need to go," he responded, inching for the door.

"Christ, Pogo! What kind of trouble did you get yourself into this time?" Abi asked incredulously.

"I said we don't have time for it!" he exclaimed, and for once he sounded exasperated as he pointed to an approaching security guard with a crying child and a furious mother in tow.

Finally, everyone got the hint that it was time to leave as Pogo began to drag Abi from the mall. Nobody wanted to have to take the brunt of whatever they had done. As they left, Abi began yelling at the keyboardist and the bassist while Iggy asked Elizabeth, "How often does this happen?"

"Far too much. Pogo usually has some ridiculous plan brewing every day," she sighed as a response, shaking her head. "It's a shame, really, that he wastes his intelligence on such menial things."

"Really? Every day?" Iggy asked, looking slightly dejected.

"Don't worry about it. After a while, you start to get used to it," John said in an attempt to be consoling. He patted her shoulder.

"Thanks."

When they reached the van, Abi was no longer yelling, but was finishing her rant at Pogo.

"I can't believe you, Pogo," she sighed, giving her voice a break. "I don't even want to see your face right now."

"Why? Too hot for you to handle?"

Abi deadpanned and glared at him unflinchingly as he tried to keep from cracking up. Twiggy, on the other hand, had given way to a flood of giggles. "You are an asshole, Pogo. Far too many times I've wondered why I put up with you This is another one of those times."

Pogo's crooning response was immediate. "Aw, you think about me? That's so sweet, Abigail."

"Can I sit up front with you guys?" she asked, turning to John and Ginger.

"Of course," the drummer responded as he unlocked the doors. Everyone climbed into the van. Ginger, John, and Abi obviously took the front. Tim and Trent took their usual place behind them. Next came Iggy, Elizabeth, and Zim. Finally, Pogo had dragged Twiggy along and sat with him in the back. Marilyn refused leaving those two together to cause even more trouble, so he had taken a seat next to Twiggy in order to keep an eye on his lover.

By this time, Pogo was feeling quite proud of himself. So far, he had been able to cause a sufficient about of damage, and the day was hardly even half over. In fact, he had even recruited an accomplice - Twiggy. Hell, he had even managed to piss Abi off before he showed her what he and the bassist were hiding away in their bags. He smiled and glanced at Abi as she conversed with John. Yes, he was quite pleased.

The drive back the the hospital seemed to be over in no time, and to everyone in the car, it appeared that Pogo was behaving himself. In fact, he had done nothing but stare out the window for most of the short trip. Of course, this 'blessing' was just a curse in disguise. You see, the keyboardist was quietly plotting the next of his antics. Abi seemed to be quite pleased, thinking that perhaps she had finally shouted some sense into Pogo. How horribly wrong she was.

Her first indication that something wasn't quite right came when Pogo and Twiggy had, once again, mysteriously disappeared. It was generally assumed that this meant they had taken their bags upstairs. Abi shrugged and left them to it. She, Elizabeth, and Iggy all went to their office upstairs to sort through their bags. Each of the girls had bought something. Despite Elizabeth's abhorrence of spending money, she had bought a CD to add to her collection. Abi bought some clothes and a variety of materials for painting, although whether she would be able to use them was questionable. Iggy purchased some clothes, a CD, and a movie. They had also bought more coffee, considering that they always seemed to be out of it when they needed it the most.

As she looked at the things they'd bought, Iggy mused, "I wonder what Pogo bought."

"I'm sure we'll find out soon in a very unpleasant way," Elizabeth responded, shuddering at the thought. She glanced at the clock. "I'm hungry."

Abi stood up from the table. "Let's get something to eat."

They ventured the the cafeteria, which took a few minutes. They arrived to find two things: one, they were having Chinese food for dinner, and two, everyone but Pogo and Twiggy had arrived at the dining room, which was saying something. Aside from John, those two were the biggest eaters in the hospital.

The girls ate slowly, giving the men a chance to establish their presence. Only Twiggy did, several minutes before the clean-up would begin. Pogo never showed.

"Well, that's not a very good sign," Abi sighed after they had finished eating and the keyboardist still hadn't come to eat. "He's sacrificing his food for mischief."

"What do we do now?" Iggy asked as they approached the elevator.

"There's two choices, really. One, we could go find Twiggy and ask him what he and Pogo are up to. And the second one is the one we'll ultimately end up at," Elizabeth responded.

"Which is?"

"We sit in the office until Pogo show us whatever he's doing."

"I say we go for Twiggy first. It couldn't hurt, after all," Abi shrugged as she boarded the elevator. We'll go see that he has to say about this."

The room that Twiggy and Marilyn shared was, of course, just next to their office. They had given the two men plenty of time to get themselves situated after dinner, so they didn't hesitate to knock. Marilyn was the one who opened the door, a confused look on his face.

"Hi girls. What do you need?" he asked. Abi was the one who knocked, so therefore became the automatic spokesperson.

"We need to talk to Twiggy, if that's alright," she said. Marilyn was shirtless, but that didn't mean they were interrupting anything. The singer frequently walked around without his shirt on.

"Yeah, of course that's alright. We were just watching TV." Marilyn stepped aside and let everyone in. Twiggy looked up from the reruns of the Twilight Zone he was watching to see who had entered.

"Hi," he said cheerily, scooting over on the bed to make room for the girls. "Come sit down!"

Abi, Elizabeth, and Iggy all made themselves comfortable next to Twiggy. "Hi Twiggy," Elizabeth smiled with a little wave. Before anyone could say anything, the bassist turned to Iggy.

"You know what I just noticed?" he asked, a big, cheesy grin on his face.

"That cocaine makes you act like a teenage girl?" Marilyn called from the open bathroom.

"What did you just notice?" Iggy asked, ignoring the singer.

Twiggy's grin widened further. "Our names rhyme!" he announced happily.

Marilyn walked out of the bathroom and stared skeptically at his lover. "Twiggs, are you sure Pogo didn't give you any drugs?" he asked.

"Positive."

The singer shrugged and walked back into the bathroom, presumably to fix his long hair.

"So you probably didn't come here to discuss my drug habits. Or lack thereof. What did you need?" Twiggy asked.

"We were wondering if you would happen to know what Pogo is up to," Abi replied, very straight and to the point. If she was evasive and tried to throw subtle hints at him, he would be completely confused.

"He's setting up," Twiggy replied, simply and honestly.

"Setting up what?"

"That's for me to know and for you to find out," he smiled innocently. Abi looked at Elizabeth and sighed.

"Well, alright. Thanks, Twiggs. I suppose that's better than nothing," she shrugged as she stood up. Before they left, Twiggy demanded a hug from each girl, and then he waved to them as they left for their office.

As the girls made themselves comfortable in their respective places, Iggy asked, "And now we wait?"

Abi nodded. "Now we wait."

__________

They didn't have to wait very long before, somewhere down the hall, they heard Pogo yelling for Twiggy to come to his room immediately. As usual, everyone in the hospital was keeping their ears open for the Right time to find out what the keyboardist had been up to. That was, of course, Pogo's intention. If he really only wanted Twiggy, there were plenty of less obvious ways to get his attention.

Elizabeth set down her cup of coffee and looked at the other two girls. "Do we go see what he's done?" she asked them.

"I think we should," Abi sighed. Everyone set down their drinks and stood up. They would like nothing better than to relax after being subjected to their first day of Pogo back in action, but that wasn't going to be the case.

Pogo's room was two hallways down from their office. They arrived to find that a small crowd had gathered around the door. The keyboardist had opened the door just wide enough for his body to fit comfortably in the crack it created with a sly smirk on his face and a mischievous glimmer in his eyes.

"Come girls, join me up here," he said as he waved them forward. Unwillingly, they stepped up to meet him. Pogo turned his attention to the rest of the group.

"Ladies, gentlemen, and everyone in between... I don't know what you're all here, because what I'm about to show you isn't all that spectacular," the keyboardist announced. "However, I can imagine that Abi's reaction will make up for that. Let's venture in, shall we? Ladies first. That means, you, Zim."

"Fuck you, Pogo."

"Right here? In front of everyone?" Pogo's response was met with Zim's middle finger as he walked by the man and joined the growing cluster of people just inside the room. As soon as they were all inside, the door was slammed shut and the room immersed in darkness.

"Pogo, what the hell are you doing?" Ginger demanded. Everyone was impatiently waiting for their eyes to adjust as they attempted to protect themselves from an imminent attack from Pogo.

"Just hold on, for fuck's sake! The lights are off for a reason!" Pogo explained breathlessly as he scurried around the room. There were a few crashes and the sound of papers being scattered around until finally, the keyboardist breathed, "Aha!"

"It doesn't sound like you know what you're doing," Tim pointed out hesitantly.

"Shut up, Skold. Now, I present to you, one of the many things we acquired today," Pogo said, donning a reporter-like voice. With the flick of a switch, he turned on a Lite Brite. Upon seeing the words on said Lite Brite, a mix of giggles and sighs filled the room. Yes, in multi-colored lettering, Pogo had written 'ANAL FUN'.

The silence that had slowly filled the room was broken by Pogo. "Well...? What do you think?" he prompted everyone. His smile was slightly illuminated by the light from the children's toy.

"... You bought a Lite Brite, specifically to write that on it?" Abi asked, deadpan.

"Of course not," Pogo scoffed, affectionately patting the Lite Brite. "No, I didn't buy this."

"So you stole it?" She got no response, which made her assume she was right. "Why the hell would you steal a Lite Brite, Pogo? And how didn't you get caught?"

"Well, um, we didn't steal it from a store," Twiggy piped up. Many of the people in the room tried to make out his expression, but could not. It was too dark on their side of the room.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we stole this from a child," Pogo giggled, nearly doubling himself over.

"... No words can express how badly I want to destroy you right now," Abi sighed, covering her face with her hands. She massaged her eyes, hoping that would some how make everything around her disappear.

"If it's any consolation to you, we were both incredibly high when we stole it. And we are still very, very high right now," the keyboardist said, nodding slowly.

Marilyn turned to his lover. "I thought you said you didn't do any drugs," he said accusingly.

"No, you asked if Pogo gave me drugs."

Abi clapped her hands together once and said, "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm about to murder someone, so I think I'll be going to the office and not coming out until I've drank excessive amounts of coffee."