T.O.T.S.- The Bully Problem - The Script

Scene 3

NARRATOR: Pip's life started to plunge downhill. He worried constantly. At first, it wasn't so bad. It was just Hunter, giving him the general insult about three or four times a minute everyday. Pip learned to ignore that. It got worse fast.

NARRATOR: Hunter staged little accidents for Pip. During one sunny day, before a takeoff, Hunter, whose station was right next to Pip and Freddy's, soaked him with a bucket of water, just before he was about to mount Freddy, leaving him to slip and slide all over the place, without a clue how it happened. Hunter would give Pip a scare whenever he could. He took potshots at Pip, and left the poor penguin in a state of constant alert.

((Hunter is in Captain Beakman's office, talking to her.))

HUNTER: All I'm saying, (speaking calmly to captain beakman) is that I'm worried, not just for Pip, but for our job. How are we supposed to deliver babies, when his penguin habits get in the way?

NARRATOR: Hunter had a point. Pip had been slipping lately, figuratively and literally.

HUNTER: I don't know what's gotten into him. He's constantly scared, he slips... He's becoming a bit of a burden to Freddy. (slowly continued his invisible attack) I've spoken with him. He says Pip has become too heavy for him, with his penguin fat, and it's hard to deliver a baby when Pip's habit of species gets in the way. Pip can't get wet, Pip can't get hot, Pip can't fly... (waited patiently for captain beakman to make a verdict)

((Meanwhile, Pip wandered the hallway, wringing his flippers, and looking over his shoulder constantly.))

NARRATOR: He was certain that, at any moment, Hunter would come popping out of nowhere and scare him. He didn't have accidents anymore, at least, not too often, so that was good. But that was the only good news.

((Pip and walked in the nursery, hoping to find a distraction of some kind. KC had just finished feeding a baby otter. She turned when she heard the door open, and frowned upon seeing Pip.))

NARRATOR: Pip looked worse for wear. He had dark circles under his eyes, and he looked almost, well...blank inside.

KC: Pip? Are you okay?

((Pip shrugged in response.))

NARRATOR: He had to be honest. He didn't think he had much strength left to lie.

KC: (guided pip to sit down on the nursery floor and sat down next to him) You haven't been getting enough sleep, have you?

((Pip shook his head.))

NARRATOR: Freddy had gone to visit his family, and his new baby cousin, leaving Pip alone in their room for a few days. Those few nights should have been easy, but Hunter had made sure they were absolutely terrifying. Hunter would dress himself up as a predator of some kind, or create a spooky side-effect, and jump out at him in the night, in the hall, in the restroom, even Pip's room. And if Pip's scream caught anyone's attention, Hunter would merely say Pip had either mistaken him for a monster in the dark or was still scared of him.

KC: Have you been eating?

((Pip nodded, only to save face.))

NARRATOR: He hadn't, really. Hunter's comments about his weight and body fat were really annoying, but Pip found himself staring at scales, and wondering if Hunter was right. KC, Freddy, and Krysia were acting strange. They often looked at him sideways, or kept their distance. Pip didn't know if this was because they were worried for him. He heard, from Hunter, that they were beginning to think he didn't belong there.

NARRATOR: Pip worried he was becoming a burden. He lay awake at night wondering, was Hunter right? Were Freddy, KC, and Krysia merely tolerating him? He couldn't fly, and he knew he weighed a little more than he should've. He couldn't deliver in some conditions. Maybe... maybe being a flier was a bad idea?