Hotel Insanity

"Dad"

Major Roles: Paper, OJ,
Minor Roles: Suitcase, Nickel, Baseball, Trophy

The setting is Hotel OJ; OJ's room. It is rather cold outside, and the ground is covered in snow. It is Tuesday, December fifteenth; 5 months since Test Tube, Microphone, and Fan all got the boot.

Paper is sitting next to OJ on the latter's bed. The room is fairly dark, the only lights coming the window and a lamp on OJ's desk. The room is fairly (and intentionally) warm, to compensate for the chill outside. Paper has a cup of hot cocoa in his hands, just made, while OJ set a mug of black coffee on his nightstand to cool off, so as to not burn his tongue.

OJ: So, you know how I told you about Trophy calling me dad?

Paper: Yes...?

OJ: They keep doing it. Not intentionally, but it still makes me feel a little bad..

Paper: You shouldn't let it get to you.

OJ: But it does! Just last week, Trophy did it again! And so did quite a few others! Like the first time.. I'm sure you don't want to hear the story..

Paper: Oh, it's alright.! You can tell me if you want to, but you don't have to.

OJ: Oh.! Well, it all started when...

OJ recalls a basic, watered down version of the original interaction, the one a week ago. He and Trophy were in the kitchen/living room area, OJ on a barstool and Trophy on the couch, looking through what seemed to be a photo album. Little did OJ know that Trophy took them himself, and at least one of a frog past midnight. The sun was up then. It is Tuesday, December Eighth.

OJ: Trophy, can you... never mind. What's that you got there?

Trophy: It's none of your business.

OJ: Oh, alright. I'll leave you alone. Cya later Trophy.

Trophy: Cya dad- OJ! I meant OJ!

OJ: It's fine.

It was not fine. In fact, it was the opposite of which. OJ finishes the first story, Paper's hand on OJ's back, a look of sympathy in the former's eyes. OJ tells another tale of Trophy's calling OJ "dad," then moves onto a story about Suitcase. It happened just, at the time, yesterday.

OJ: Hey Suitcase, what're you doing?

Suitcase: Decorating! Christmas is only eleven days away, and everybody who I've asked celebrates, and I've asked everybody, just to make sure.

OJ: Oh, so that's why you asked me! Mind if I help?

Suitcase: No, I'd be glad if you did!

A few hours pass, and the sun was setting. Suitcase and OJ were very tired from working on decorations all day. They step away and look at the hotel, which they'd, somehow, decorated from the ground to the roof. They were also freezing, and OJ's juice was frozen,

OJ: We did well, didn't we?

Suitcase: Yeah, but I think you should do something about the fact that....

OJ: I froze?

Suitcase: Yes.

OJ: I'll go do that, I only now notice how cold it is here.

Suitcase: Yeah, let's both go inside. Thanks for helping, da- OJ.

OJ: No problem.

OJ was humiliated by being called dad briefly, yet relieved that Suitcase just played it off like nothing happened, and so he stopped telling the story and took a sip of his black coffee.

OJ: Also, Paper, on that topic, thanks for helping me out back there.

Paper: You were just about freezing to death, what was I supposed to?

OJ: Well......

Paper: Exactly.

A snowball hits the window. Paper almost spills his hot cocoa, which he had been drinking, but the amount was too low to flow over the edge. He places it down and, with OJ, heads to the elevator. They wait a bit, arrive on the first floor, and rush to the door.

OJ: Nickel.? Baseball? What are you doing out here? It's freezing!

Nickel: Having a snowball fight! Wanna join?

Nickel gets smacked in the face by a snowball, prompting him to shake the snowball off and turn to Baseball, who threw it.

Nickel: It's on!

OJ: You guys should go inside! You guys will freeze to death out here!

Nickel: You're not my dad! (Baseball, I'm gonna get you!)

Little did Nickel know, that was exactly what OJ needed to hear.