Tape on the Floor

Solitude Crayon Box sat in the middle of Craft Room Metropolis like a giant, shiny crayon fortress. Inside, paper citizens bustled—sketches waving, stuffed animals scooting by on felt feet.

Super Crayon zipped through the open lid and slowed to a hover. His red cape fluttered against a stack of poster boards.

A hand-lettered sign on the wall read: NO PEEKING.

“Uh-oh,” he said, smiling anyway.

A doe with a glittery apron hurried up, her phone clutched in one hoof. “Super Crayon! You’re early. Good. We… need calm.”

“What’s up, Poppy?” he asked.

She pointed to a square on the floor sealed with clear tape. A label said STICKER VAULT.

“The golden sticker is supposed to be inside,” she said. “Ribbon-cutting in one hour.”

Super Crayon leaned closer. “Want me to… check?”

Poppy’s ears tilted back. “Not with that vision thing.”

He kept his black sunglasses on. “Careful is my middle name.”

He angled his face toward the taped square and held his breath

Through the Tape

Super Crayon narrowed his eyes at the taped square.

His sunglasses slid down his waxy nose.

For one quick second, his X-ray vision clicked on.

He saw the golden sticker—flat and shiny—stuck to the underside of the clear tape.

“Ha! It’s—”

Then his vision kept going. Past the floor. Past the vault.

He saw inside nearby tote bags: a plush sheep’s sparkly diary, a goat’s lunchbox with a note that said “Do NOT read,” and Poppy the doe’s cracked phone showing a half-written text: I’m scared he’ll—

Super Crayon jerked back and slapped his sunglasses up. “Nope. Nope. Nope.”

Poppy grabbed his gloved wrist. “Out. Now.”

She pulled him into the hallway under the giant lid. A puddle of spilled blue paint spread across the floor like a tiny lake.

Super Crayon tried to hover, but his boot skidded and he bumped the wall.

A green hummingbird with a tiny phone strapped to its chest darted in. “Whoa! Super Crayon just did a mega-peek!” it chirped.

“Don’t post that!” Poppy snapped.

The hummingbird—Zips—already had the screen up, wings buzzing.

From outside the box, fists and hooves started thumping the lid.

“Open up!” someone yelled. “What did he see?”

Super Crayon pressed his cape against the crack, breathing fast as the lid shuddered again