Three bags. That was all that Mr. Choy could pack. Three bags to contain all of his possessions and needs for the next several months. “I’m going to need some really big bags,” he thought, staring at the expanse of things in his apartment. Sheets, clothing, soap, umbrella, shoes; all went into one of the three bags that Mr. Choy had bought. The second bag he filled with a surprising variety of things from his closet, desk, and kitchenette cabinets. Cereal crunched beneath his feet as he dragged the heavy bags to the door of his apartment. There was only one problem. The bags were too large to fit through the door.
Mr. Choy sighed. He had hoped that this wouldn’t happen. The doorbell rang. “Perfect,” he thought. “Just as I have my bags ready to leave the doorbell rings.”
Grunting and straining from the effort to move the enormous bags, he moved them to one side and cracked open the door. The mushrooms burst in.
“What’s up, B-man?” asked one.
“I finally found a job,” announced Mr. Choy proudly.
“Dude! Awesome!” exclaimed the mushrooms. “What is it?”
“The question is where,” began Mr. Choy. “I’m going to work on a ship.”
“What are these giant bags doing in font of the TV?” asked the other mushroom.
“Yeah,” continued the first one, “and what’s inside them?”
Before Mr. Choy could reach him he pulled the zipper on the side of one of the bags. Paper, books, a lamp, and an enormous box of thumbtacks cascaded out. More and more junk from Mr. Choy’s desk poured out, covering all of them.
Mr. Choy stood up. Half of his face was covered in glue from a bottle that had broken open. “Don’t touch anything!” he instructed the mushrooms. “I need a shower and this had better be exactly as I left it when I come back!”
As Mr. Choy scrubbed the glue off of his face and contemplated a life without the mushrooms, the mushrooms sat on the couch. “Dude! That was harsh!” commented one.
Mr. Choy continued to think with increasing elation of a time when he would not be bothered by the mushrooms as he dried and dressed. He stepped out of the bathroom and found, to his surprise, that this was actually the case. He looked at the clock. He had spent over an hour in the bathroom. “I must have gotten lost in my thoughts,” he mused, as he hurriedly repacked his bags. “I will really enjoy being free of those idiots.”
Mr. Choy, with the aid of a broom and some duct tape managed to cram all of the things into the three bags. Oddly, the things took up more space this time, but that didn’t bother him. After all, loose papers that were bound before took up more space now, as did everything else. He squeezed the bags through the door, down the stairs, and out to the street to a waiting van in front of his building. He gave the apartment block one last look before it disappeared around a corner. It looked sad and dreary, as if it were exhausted from vomiting shredded wheat several days before.
The carrot met Mr. Choy at an unmarked pier at the edge of town. The surrounding buildings looked industrial and abandoned, with occasional splotches of graffiti sprayed haphazardly on their sides.
“I’m glad you’re here,” began the carrot, “because we have only a few minutes before we leave. Are you sure that you have everything?”
“Yes, I’m quite sure,” replied Mr. Choy.
“Then welcome aboard!” said the carrot, leading Mr. Choy toward a ramp that led up to the enormous ship. “The asparagus in the lobby will direct you to your room. I need to go to an important meeting, but you can leave a message at the front desk if you need any help getting situated.”
“Thanks,” answered Mr. Choy, unsure of what he was getting in to. The ramp drew back, and the ship’s horn signaled that they were about to leave.
Meanwhile, in Mr. Choy’s room...
“Dude!” said one of Mr. Choy’s bags.
“Dude!” replied the other bag.
To be continued…
