Getting back to Dwan Town, there was a whole lot to do. Another couple of days passed, and I got the call from Coach Stabinsky. "It's time for the Monacon City meet. I hope the kids have been getting ready since the qualifiers last month." I hummed noncommittally. I really had no clue. "These are the World Championships! The level of competition will be way higher!" he said angrily. "They will be ready." I snapped back as I hung up. I just needed to go get them. They were ready because they were so high levelled. As long as nothing screwy happened to debuff them, they would dominate everyone at the meet. I got everyone together. That was all of my two-legged kids along with Sunny, Lucy, Caleb and Cameron. We would all be going together to cheer the kids on. Ashton, Kendall, Riley and Corey were pretty excited. We got a large van to take us, and Sunny drove us. It took quite a bit and everyone from the gym was waiting for us. They had their parents here too. Coach Stabinsky gave me a copy of the schedule. We would be in the second semifinals. The first one started tomorrow.
With that out of the way, we were then shown where the hotel we were to be staying was. I let the kids go off and play with the others. They ran with glee. I was going to go to my room when Liam and Vince's parents reached out to me. They were an odd couple. It seemed they both worked in a club in Micropolis. She was a singer. He was a bartender there. I was happy to talk to them. I owed it to Liam and Vince after I said I would. We had some small talk. At some point their mother offered to let the kids come over to play with them. After what Paul said, I was not too sure about it. I looked at them and said "I don't know. There is a huge distance to cross. Maybe they can play together in Dwan Town. Liam and Vince come by every week, right?" They looked at each other and nodded. "I guess that will work. I don't think it will be good for them to be staying at your house." the mother said. I just asked her why. "Coach Stabinsky filled us in. You and your friends on a strip club and the cab depot. That's shady business." she answered. "And your kids aren't drug mules. Let's pretend." I said.
the mother
the father
Their father was smoking in his chair. "I know I look ridiculous. I had the last shift before we had to pack the car." he said referencing his outfit. I just nodded. "Let me tell you something. Everyone in our town is trying their best to survive. My kids are great at gymnastics. That's their ticket out. If all goes well, they won't even have to look at drugs anymore, much less sell them." he said. He was not trying to sugar coat anything. He was already jaded, but he wanted his kids to make it out. I still had to ask something. For my personal peace of mind. "Did you know they were running drugs?" The parents looked at each other. "It's always possible in Micropolis. They paid for their outfits and equipment themselves." the mother said. That settled it. If it was not drugs, it was probably something else equally as shady. I was not going to hold it against them. I knew the setting was pretty grim for most of the NPCs living in it. I looked at them and said "Playing in Dwan Town is fine then. Nobody needs to go to anyone's house." They nodded in agreement. Sunny and Lucy were silent the whole time.
