Shorty bounced into the burger joint, where Hamm was attempting to stuff 26 burgers into his mouth, some calories he did not need. Burger-Dog watched, disgusted, then came over to take Shorty's order. As Shorty ordered a double ice-cream milkshake with fudge topping and extra icing, Columbo took it as an opportunity to peek his head out of the suffocating overall pocket. He twitched his nose at the array of smells, and gagged on the fumes coming from Hamm. Shorty paid him no mind when he jumped from her pocket to get a closer look at all the cheese burgers sitting on Hamm's table, uneaten for a moment.
Columbo, so busy in his cheese inspecting task didn't notice the shadow that approached, and then the can of, (omygod!) pop! It was that "scary" dude, Strike! Strike picked Columbo up by his tail, and did a backwards flip for no apparent reason. He laughed that booming laugh of his, and Columbo twisted to get a glance of Shorty, still perfecting her sugary order. He squeaked in dismay when Strike slammed him, head first, into his cola can. It was amazing he fit, being so fat and all.
Columbo sat in sticky darkness while Strike bought whatever drugs he had come for, then left, pop can in hand, out the front door. Then came the bumpy walk down the street, with Strike no doubt trying to look as evil and laid back as possible. Columbo rolled his eyes, then began cutting open the aluminum can with sharp incisors. Soon the bottom of the can fell away, and Strike stopped to see what had happened. Lifting the can above his head was a mistake, for Columbo dropped out and bit him on the nose.
"Shit!" was all Columbo heard as he scurried away, into an alley. Soon he came safely to a back door of a night club. Columbo was intensely curious as to what was inside, for Shorty was too young to venture in such places. He squeezed himself under the door, and was found to be in a brick hallway. Walking down it a bit he came upon another door with a large star on it. Inside (under the door again) he was amazed to see Hiro, talking to his image in the mirror. "Narcissus" thought Columbo, as Hiro complimented himself.
"My what sexy hair you have there, Hiro. I love those pants," in his Italian accent, and preening his hair like a bird with it's feathers. Columbo scampered closer, and arrived at a bell-bottomed pant leg. He took a deep breath and jumped aboard, shimmying up the sparkly cloth like lightning. Hiro looked down, giggling at the ticklishness of it, then screamed, a long, high pitched cheerleader scream. The leg shook, frantically, and Columbo was thrown off, while Hiro jumped on his chair. The poor mouse made a run for it, under the door, down the hall, back under a door, and out of the alley. He kept running, and found himself in a strange part of town. It was dark, like night, and yet it had been afternoon at the burger joint. Had Columbo run to the other side of the world? Apparently, for here the buildings seemed to have no depth. As soon as Columbo got around to the edge of one, that was it. The wall was only inches thick, and a Styrofoam white on the opposite side. The mouse walked woozily back to the dark alley, when there came shouts and cries, and the thudding of boots drawing near. The mouse threw himself to the ground, tail in the air, front legs over head, as a big white boot stopped centimeters from crushing him.
A smooth voice asked, "Why, what have we got here?" and a gloved hand plucked him up by the tail. Columbo, trembling, opened his yes to see the face of, none other than, Kitty-N! He gave a loud squeak as she lowered him closer to her mouth, fake ears folded back. Columbo, as frightened as any mouse and annoyed as Hell that everyone chose this day to pick him up by his tail, let it all go. Kitty-N screamed and dropped him, wiping furiously at her wet face and burning eyes. Columbo scampered off, breathing heavily. Behind him he heard a an yell "No! Don't cut, this is great!" and a howl from Kitty-N.
Columbo rubbed his eyes, at he bright light of day. It had taken awhile to find his way out of that studio, but like a mouse in a maze he'd eventually found the cheese. He opened his small mouth wide to take a deep breath of air, as a pink convertible pulled up, and snorted noxious fumes in his face. Coughing he looked up to see Pinky, drumming her bright pink steering wheel with bright pink nails. He climbed up the side of the car, noting that even the door handle and the glass in the side mirrors was pink. He felt like barfing, but dropped in to the fake fur passenger seat, also, yes, a neon pink. Pinky seemed not to notice him, so involved in the song coming out of the CD player. She even sung along at some parts, sounding nothing like the professional's voice. Columbo covered his ears, and leaned back to enjoy the sickeningly pink ride. Lucky for him Pinky's boyfriend hung out at the Burger Joint, so Columbo had a free ride to his exact destination. He could even of ridden on one of Pinky's shoes inside, but didn't think he could stand another moment of pink.
Inside Columbo had no trouble finding Shorty, who was still ordering her milkshake. More like a block of sugar by now, guessed Columbo. Silently he climbed a chair leg, and hopped from there to her overalls, climbing up to his pocket.
As he settled himself, wearily, Columbo promised himself one thing. No matter how good Shorty may dance, no matter how much the crowd cheered his name, he, Columbo would never leave this pocket again, even for a "Fever Time!"
By Dalita, AKA KFL