Trapped!

     Chi was just then sneaking from his bed, down the hall, and into the room of his sister, Rissa. Snoring softly, the petite blue Uni slept on, blissfully unaware of what was to happen next. With a strength that belied his small stature, Chi lifted her slumbering form from the bed and managed to drag it all the way down to the end of the hall and through the bathroom door, finally settling her in the tub. His bright amber eyes glimmered in the shadows and he laughed under his breath as he reached out a paw and turned the shower on cold.

     Rissa had known that something wasn’t quite right when she shifted and felt hard porcelain instead of her downy mattress. Before she could think anything else, a torrent of freezing water rushed over her, waking the Uni fully as she uttered a loud screech that sounded something like, “Iiiiyyeeeekaagghhh!!!”

     Quickly she found the faucet and turned it off. Then she got up and glared, water streaming down through her fur, at her little brother who lay bowled over on the floor, laughing so hard that tears came to his eyes. He stopped, though, and stood to run when she leaped out of the shower and shouted, “I’ll GET you for that, Chi-chi!” She didn’t have a chance to carry out her threat, however, because at exactly the next moment everyone burst in and crowded around, asking what on earth had happened.

     No one noticed that the door creaked shut on its own, clicking ominously. It was only after discovering that Chi had pranked Rissa that Kae, a red Lupe with snazzy fashion sense, looked up. Suddenly her eyes grew wide, and she gulped, “Uh, guys? Hey, guys!! Look...”

     She pointed a claw and everyone turned slowly to stare. “We’re locked in,” someone wailed, and they all fell to pounding on the door, scratching and screaming, “LET US OUT!!!” Then they took a look around and sank to the floor. They were all trapped inside the bathroom. There WASN’T anyone to get them out!

     That was when the accusations started flying, along with the toothpaste.

     “It’s YOUR fault we’re here!” Splat.

     “Nuh-uh! Did I lock the door? Nooo...” Squish.

     “Well, I know I didn’t!” Squelch.

     “Hey, I didn’t either!!” Splurt.

     “Watch where you throw that toothpaste, Lupe!”

     “I can throw it where I want! Here, you could use some for that stinky breath o’ yours, Gelert...” Smoosh.

     December watched in awe and disgust as the stuff was squirted on clothes, smashed in faces, and rubbed into fur. Then a blob landed on the girl’s nightgown and she immediately called for a ceasefire. Or rather, she ordered one with an irritated “HALT!!” At that moment, everyone stopped what they were doing in shocked silence.

     Rissa and Chi quit throwing toothpaste and sat down hard, the Uni on the Kougra’s tail and the Kougra in her lap; Dell whimpered and thrust his head in the medicine cabinet, banging the door repeatedly against the back of his skull; and Kae leaned back against the wall, the only one looking a bit calm.

     December’s face was red as she spoke, reprimanding everyone for their chaotic behavior. “We’re trapped. So what? At least we can take a shower whenever we need one! Besides, shouldn’t we be doing something USEFUL, like maybe think of a way to get OUT of here?!”

     The pets looked around at each other, then back at her, shrugged, and went right back to what they’d been doing. Well, actually, they ran out of toothpaste, so that was a no. Dec just closed her eyes and tried to make herself as scarce as possible, huddling back in a corner by the sink- W... was that a spyder she saw crawling toward her?? *screech*

     Gleefully everyone ran wild (well, as wild as one can get in a small bathroom, I suppose), wreaking havoc in everything. Chi and Rissa were fighting again, wrestling down by the toilet, each trying to thrust the other’s head under water and neither one quite succeeding. Kae amused herself by sitting in the bathtub and painting her claws the color of the rainbow. It really was lucky for her to have discovered such a large stash of nail polish...

     “Checkmate!” The Lupe raised an eyebrow at Dell, who was sitting beside her in the tub. Using leftover toothpaste, the Gelert had created a checkerboard on the floor and was talking to the air in front of him. “Uh, Delli...” She sighed. “You do realize that no one’s there, right?”

     He simply grinned and responded, “And that matters WHY?”

     Kae rubbed her eyes tiredly. It was going to be a long night!

     ~~~

     The moment had arrived. It was the moment everyone had secretly been dreading, hoping against hope that it wouldn’t come. Rissa had just come up from a rather thorough dunking in the toilet, and, after angrily shaking the water from her fur, had spoken out absently, “I’ve gotta go t’the bathroom.”

     December fainted.

     Kae accidentally dropped a bottle of nail polish. It shattered, and she stared down mournfully. Green was her favorite color.

     Chi blushed furiously.

     Dell, for once, was struck speechless.

     The Uni looked around, stunned at the effect her words had on everyone, “Did I say something wrong?” Apparently she was unaware of the gravity of the situation. Sighing, Kae pulled her legs out from beneath her and sauntered towards the toilet paper, her tail sliding carelessly across December’s face, causing the girl to come to with a sneeze. Grabbing what she deemed a suitable amount, the Lupe then returned to her place and mopped up the mess, stating her mind only after getting comfortable again.

     “You’ll have to hold it, then.”

     December, still sniffling the ticklish fur from her nose, nodded in agreement. At this sudden announcement, Rissa looked very distraught, “What if I can’t? We’re locked in a bathroom for goodness sake.” She turned to her friend and rival. “Chi! You’re on my side, right?” He just stuttered and turned away. Finally she huffed away to a corner of her own, muttering acidic warnings under her breath.

     And it was like this that everyone fell asleep, each in their own towel make-shift bed, with visions of toothpaste dancing through their- (okay, okay, enough of that.)

     The next morning at the dark and unwelcoming hour of 5, Dell was the first to awaken. Giggling at the sight of his family all fast asleep, he decided to try the door again, just in case. But, as always, it refused to budge. The Gelert frowned, his stomach gurgling. He was ravenous! That was when he saw the doorknob from the corner of his eye and promptly fell over.

     The lock was on the inside. All they had to do was turn it and they would be free.

     I’m sure you can imagine everyone’s reaction to that! But if you can't, I'll give you an idea:

     “AND WHO WAS THE SMART ONE WHO OVERLOOKED THE DOORKNOB???!!!”

The End