Man, I'm interested in that Burger of the day family now

…
“Be careful, there’s a step,” warned Mr. Mouton, guiding the boys through the front door.
They all entered the smaller building, and with quick navigation, passed through several tables until they found their own. They placed the heavy thing on the plastic, folding table, right at the side of it. While Tom took time to rest and check on the bot, Chester glanced at the room they were in.
While smaller, it was pretty spacious, having more than ten tables, with each team working on their bot. There were many interesting designs that caught his single glimpse, like a spiky ball, or a disk with a hammer, one that looked like dinosaur, and another that was apparently made from Legos.
“Look at all these geeks…they are even older than us!” Chester noted audibly, causing Tom to notice it too. Then Chester sniffed the air. “What’s with the smell?” he asked.
Looking around some more, he also saw large amount of food that were placed next to each bot. Most were greasy stuff, but that wasn’t what smelled. There was also something burning, which probably came from their adjacent neighbors welding something on their machine.
Then he felt a bump from behind.
“Dude!?” Chester
“IthinkIneedtogotothebathroom!” Tom said rapidly, running past the vice-principal. His head was quite low, as if his neck wasn’t working, and he nearly crashed into a wall. It was as if he didn’t want to look at other contestants.
Mr. Mouton put away his phone, to watch the boy exit the room and then turned to Chester. His face promptly changed, as he come to regret this decision.
“Well then…Chester…”
The older crow was apparently having trouble coming up with something to say. Maybe he couldn’t say something nice, which the hedgehog expected. So, Chester decided to start it himself.
“Hey, can I ask you something, cause it’s been bothering me,” Chester said. “I dunno about you, but I feel like… you were trying to butter up Tom back in the car. I mean, maybe I was just seeing things. Think you can tell me about this…Jack?”
The boy then gave a wide, nasty smile at the end.
“Do you always put your nose in things where it doesn’t belong, Chester?” asked Mr. Mouton evenly. His beak turned upwards, even when he looked at Chester.
“I dunno, I guess I just like putting myself into other people’s business, and maybe even tell them how they should act. Kinda makes me a total control freak, you know?”
Their were locked, this whole time, even if their faces weren’t/
“I have no idea, what you are talking about,” Mr. Mouton said.
“Oh, really?” Chester gave an exaggerated laugh, “Man, how funny. And here I thought you were trying to use us for your personal gain, like you always do. Guess I was wrong. You are, in fact, trying to HIDE the fact that you are using us! Ah, should’ve known.” Chester then shook his head, feigning his disappointment.
“You are a sad, young boy, truly,” Mr. Mouton said, reaching for his phone again. He was starting to turn away from him. “Not everyone is out to get you, young man. A rotten attitude like that will likely keep you friendless. As is being awfully prying in others’ affairs, but who knows.”
“Sure thing.” Chester ran around the table and got right under Mouton’s beak. “Do you still buy your son twenty-year old shoes you find behind dumpster for birthdays?”
Suddenly, Mr. Mouton made a clicking sound, without averting from his phone . He always made when something really got him peeved. Chester chuckled, and went back to his table, happy with just that.
“You can’t always fight against the power, child,” Mr. Mouton said behind Chester. When the boy turned, the beak was no longer aimed up. “At some point, you will learn to follow the rules.”
“Oh, sure,” Chester retorted. “And then I get to be just like you, constantly controlling my poor little baby-son, and make him hate his best friend!”
“He became better this way…” Mr. Mouton paused, and looked at every direction. Afterwards, he leaned in close, and said, in a low-whisper, “so will be each and every member of your little gang, after you’ve done playing around with you.”
He straightened up, and then calmly turned away.
“I have to call someone. Tell Mister Cheshire that I’ll be back,” he said as he was leaving. “Do behave while I’m away.”
Chester, suddenly, shouted, “You won’t get away!”
Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing. In that instant, Chester was surrounded by several eyes, including Mr. Mouton’s own.
The bird chuckled, and said, “I am not…’going’ anywhere. Now sit down, you’ll embarrass yourself.”
Chester watched him walk away. Everyone returned to their own business, leaving the young hedgehog to himself.
He should be punished, he thought.
…
The girls were in the alleys, weaving through building until they exit the Town’s Center. Flora was particularly fast, to the point that Barbie could hardly keep up. Albeit, also because she wasn’t used to walking fast in higher heels. With that said, Flora desperately want to go back her (technically Barbie’s) room, and be done for today.
“Flora, wait!” Barbie exclaimed, “I think something is stuck to my heel.”
Flora promptly halted, and grabbed Barbie, before she could fall down from loss of balance. As the lizard-girl picked her shoes, Flora said,
“We’ll do more tomorrow, right now, let’s just focus on talking to your dad.”
Barbie looked up, and slowly nodded.
As she done picking, Flora was about to go forward again, only to halt once more.
“I can’t believe this,” she uttered.
Mandy.
Right there, in the middle of the alleyway they were on, filled to the brim with foul smells and loads of garbage, stood the white fox in her pristine clothes. Why, of all places was she here? Why, of all times, she had to be here when they were passing through? Why, of all people, fate decided to bother her that day???
Flora quickly turned Barbie around, and pushed towards the opposite direction,
She kept muttering,
“Pleasedon’tnoticepleasedon’tnoticepleasedon’tnoticepleasedon’tnoticepl-“
But then she noticed.
“Well, well, well!” Mandy exclaimed. “Who do we have here?”
“Let’s go,” Flora said, and tried to pull Barbie away.
“Flora, I think I saw something behind her,” Barbie said.
The deer looked at her, and then towards Mandy. Some form had in fact moved right behind the fox’s white form. Flora bit her lip. She slowly came to realize exactly what was happening within that part of the alley. And it was quite uncomfortable realization, enough to cause a wave of goosebumps on her skin.
“Aww, what is it? Looking for spiders or dung beetles?” taunted Mandy.
Flora did not wanted this at all. Why couldn’t she just be cooking some weird potato pancakes with Barbie’s mom?
“It’s nothing, Mandy, we were just going home,” Flora explained. “We didn’t mean to come here!”
“Look, it moved again!”
Mandy cussed, rather inappropriately for her age, as Barbie loudly pointed to Mandy. Why could you not just stay be quiet.
“You know, I thought maybe I could show you some garbage beetles that scurry here,” Mandy said, looking behind her, to check. Then her sight moved directly to Barbie. “But I guess you already had some to guide you there. So, are you gonna eat garbage, or whatever other stinky thing? Not that I care, but since I have time, and I have my phone here…”
Once again, something happened behind Mandy.
Flora grabbed Barbie’s scaly mouth, before she could say anything else, and leaned in close.
“Barbie…” she whispered, “I need you to do something for me. This is going to be an important lesson, that you’ll HAVE to carry in your life.”
Barbie’s eyes were darting everywhere, looking more and more concerned from Flora pinning her to the wall.
“We need…to show it to her, do you understand?”
“Show her what?” mumbled Barbie right through Flora’s hand.
“How much YOU don’t care! How nothing she says matters, because you are the best in the world.”
Barbie’s eyes were again moved to Mandy’s direction. It was like she could not help but point out the obvious, no matter how appropriate it was to the situation. Flora covered her vision with her other hand.
“I need you, to show her, how little it affects you,” she said, getting lizard’s full attention. “Because if there’s one thing that Mandy hates, is when she don’t care about what she says.”
“Ew, are you kissing, or what!?” Mandy exclaimed. She had her phone out, probably intending on taking pictures and using it to spread rumors.
Flora let Barbie go. As the latter dusted herself, Flora asked her, “Ready?”
Barbie nodded.
They both looked at Mandy, who was still taking pictures of them. Flora was holding Barbie’s wrist, who she felt shaking. To be fair, it wasn’t Barbie shaking, but she wouldn’t realize it herself. In the end, however, she managed to give a smile. And once Mandy looked up from her phone screen, she gave a small spin on her heels, which then Barbie copied. Both of them then raised their heads, and began walking away.
Mand scoffed, “Wow…so original, you don’t care…”
Flora kept her pace steady. As they were making distance, the more she felt she could let go of her breath.
And then Mandy said, “Oh my gosh, are those stains!”
Flora cursed herself for forgetting that bit. But she focused on getting away.
“I thought sharing a room with you and being all sister-like would stop the weirdo from being a weirdo, but this is SO BAD!”
Flora stopped and turned. “Who told you that!?” she exclaimed.
“It’s so obvious, too! It’s like staring at my face!” Mandy got overtaken by laughter. “O-M-G, guess I know now why your mother ditched you! Good on her, I would ditch a traitor too.”
“Her mother did not ditch her!” Barbie protested.
“Not here, Barbie!” Flora tried to grab her friend’s arm. To her chagrin, she slipped right past her grasp.
“Oh, she didn’t?” Mandy laughed some more. “Really now? Oh wait, is she coming over? Maybe right about now!?” Mandy did an excited face, one with her hands on her cheeks. She turned her head left and right, not minding Barbie who was getting closer. “Oooh, I think I saw her!” she pointed behind Barbie, making her look, “Oh, wait, no, sorry, that was just a stranger. I guess you lied or something. Eh, whatever, guess some people have to deal with crappy parents that don’t even love them.”
“Her mother does love her!” Barbie exclaimed in protest again. She was sounding genuinely angry. “You don’t know anything about her! Why do you have to be so mean!?”
“Barbie!” Flora called again, as she finally reached the lizard to grab her. But she wouldn’t budge, and instead stood firmly in place, looking very angry.
“Wow,” Mandy smirked, “is that the best you could come up with? I guess you are like a kindergartener, or something. Losers are always gonna be losers. Sorry, Flora, but I guess you’ll never have the same clique as me. Better give it up,” Mandy stated, checking her nails.
Flora was about to tell Barbie to move it, before the lizard could make it worse. And then Barbie’s phone made a sound. Taking that chance, Flora reached into her friend’s coat, causing Barbie to finally leave her attention from Mandy. They both saw a message displayed on it.
It was from Fotia. It simply read, “torque attack.”
“Let’s go,” said Flora, and Barbie nodded.
They both ran out of that alley, away from Mandy.
“Oh, you both got busy or something!?” Mandy called, but the two girls already left.
The fox stared into the distance for a while, before checking around again. Finally feeling alone and in relief, she went back to her phone.
“Sweetie! Back to the car, I have something!”
The fox looked behind herself, and sighed.
…
Tom flushed the toiled with a sigh, “Finally.”
Tom hated small bathrooms. Furthermore, he hated how could hear everyone walking and talking right outside the stall he was in. People just kept on entering and exiting, causing the rather uncomfortable place such as public bathroom become even more uncomfortable than before. Thankfully, after several minutes, he got himself relieved. And then as he was ready to flush, someone knew walked in. Tom wanted to cry, but kept quiet and still instead.
“Man, have you seen the way he destroyed this bot?” one person said.
The other guy answered, “For real, man. He smashed that thing! Nothing left. I’m pretty sure destroyed the battery for the guy!”
“And then spat at him too, what an ass!”
“Oh yeah, I didn’t forget that….” He chuckled awkwardly. “Can’t believe he got to be the tester.”
“I know. I mean, he was pretty infamous back then, but literally, I thought he did it all for show. The guy is actually nuts!”
“I think we should cancel and go to another place.”
“Maybe. Hey, is someone in there?” the first guy said, trying to open the stall.
Tom, without warning except for pushing to flush, broke right through the door, and right pass the two men. He nearly tripped as he tried to get out of the bathroom door, but kept on running regardless.
“Careful there!” The two men looked at the boy run away. “He should watch his step.”
“Crazy people.”
…