Polished Floors, Loud Questions

Star Crayon Bear pushed through the sliding doors of Cosmic Crayon Fortress. Her glowing blue cape brushed the clean floor. Above, four blue crayon towers shone through the glass roof like giant markers stuck in the sky.

Eight caribou in maid uniforms lined up by the welcome mat.

“Welcome home, Miss Star,” one said.

They all curtseyed at once. Their aprons fluttered. A wall screen blinked: SHIELD CHARGE 98%.

Star Crayon Bear pointed at a sign taped crookedly under it.

“‘Curtsey = Shield Charge,’” she read. “Who decided that?”

A caribou with a white headband and a neat blond bob swallowed. “I am Maple. We were told it has to be all day. If we stop… the towers flicker.”

Star Crayon Bear lifted her paws. “Okay, but what if I do the curtseys and you take a break?”

Maple’s ears tilted back. “You… want to wear the rule?”

Star Crayon Bear tried a clumsy curtsey. Her mask slipped a little.

The shield screen ticked to 97%.

Aprons and Alarms

Star Crayon Bear steadied her mask and tried again. Her knees bent. Her cape swung forward like a curtain.

The wall screen chirped. SHIELD CHARGE 96%.

Maple, the light-brown caribou maid with the blond bob, grabbed Star’s paw.

“Not here,” Maple said. “Come. The sensor is picky.”

Maple trotted down a service hall where puddles dotted the floor from a leaky pipe. Star tiptoed around them, but her boot still splashed.

They slid into the fortress laundromat. Rows of silver washers hummed. A sign over a basket read: MAID UNIFORMS ONLY.

Maple yanked out a spare dress and shoved it at Star.

Star blinked. “You want me to—”

“Yes. Put it on. The towers only count curtseys in uniform.”

Star pulled the apron over her blue star emblem. It looked like a napkin on a lighthouse.

She curtseyed.

A red alert flashed on Maple’s phone: OUTER SHIELD THINNING.

From a forgotten speaker on a folding table, a man’s voice sang, cheerful and sharp.

“Curtsey neat, curtsey sweet, or shields go off their feet!”

Maple’s ears flattened.

“That is Supervisor Buck,” Maple whispered.