Promise not to leave over this
---
Tutelavides walked back to the hotel. It was getting rather late, and he was a little tired from the long drive. He still couldn't believe it. Coming all this way, spending his birthday money on a plane ticket to New York, to meet a bunch of strangers? But in the end, it was worth it for all the presents. He got the chance to hang out with some boarders irl, and though it had been a little uncomfortable at first it was definitely an experience he would never forget. It was truly an awesome party...he even managed to hang out with Tails82 (granted, it was after wave had punched him and he was on the floor barely conscious, but still...)
As he rounded the corner, Tutelavides thought he saw something out of the corner of his eye. It was probably nothing...but for some reason, from the moment he had stepped outside, he felt a familiar rumbling in his stomach.
...Meh. Just his mind playing tricks on him. Chalk that up to the nervousness that was bound to come from being in an unfamiliar city, in a different state, alone. He sighed when he remembered that "alone" part. That was one of the major disappointments of this party: no chicks had shown up. He hadn't been expecting any to come to this sausagefest, but maybe he could go out and get some of his own...hell, even if he had to pay for it. But he soon realized he just wasn't in the mood tonight. Not nearly rested enough to make the effort, and he understood he needed some sleep first. Still...he felt all alone, in one of the most populous cities in the world.
Tutelavides headed back up to his floor and fumbled around in his pockets for the room key. Down the hall, he could've sworn he'd seen something move for a second. Hmm...he was probably just tired and needed some sleep. But just in case, he made sure the door to his room was securely locked before getting into bed.
Tutelavides thought some more about his presents, and about how he had not had the chance to play with his new toys yet...but maybe he could do that now. He had an urge deep down inside to bust out that new lego set he got and get buildin'. Tutelavides reached under the bed and began to get out the pieces, his mind racing from one idea to the next, some building ideas that were good, some that were not. He stacked the pieces faster and faster, higher and higher, laughing and giggling as he reached the top of-
There was a knock on his door. Tutelavides instantly stopped, and cursed under his breath. Who could that be, at this hour? He made his way to the door and looked out through the peephole. Nobody there. Just a damn prankster, knocking on random doors. Tutelavides tried to resume where he had left off, but almost instantly there was another knock at the door.
"I can't believe this" he got up again, and once more saw no one out there. Now he was starting to get angry. Tutelavides had hardly turned around when the sound of more knocking reached his ears, followed by...crunching sounds?
Tutelavides was now starting to freak out. Should he call someone at the front desk? He didn't want to make a fuss over nothing...what if he was just overreacting, and there was nothing to worry about? He'd just look like an idiot, and he wouldn't want to do that. But he couldn't go to sleep with someone knocking on his door all night...he took a deep breath and opened the door.
Tutelavides was instantly tackled by a dark figure. "Help! Help!" he shouted, as he struggled to escape from the object that had pinned him down. He half-expected to be suffocated to death, but thankfully this thing just wanted to play. The object started bumping up against Tutelavides's face, and Tutelavides calmed down somewhat when he realized he wasn't in any danger. He slowly got back on his feet and began to open the bag, making sure not to make any sudden movements just in case. What's a bag doing wandering the halls, anyway? No wonder he hadn't seen anyone outside his room, he wasn't expecting a jumbo sized bag of pretzels! Now Tutelavides knew he had to call downstairs and order room service...he couldn't eat these pretzels without getting a drink to go with it! He headed for the phone, but the bag held him back.
"You don't have to do that, tutela."
The sound of this other voice startled Tutelavides. Did the bag just TALK to him? And how did it know his screen name? Tutelavides turned back to the bag and noticed a faint yellow logo on its side. What kind of company made talking pretzels!? Now he had to be dreaming, hallucinating, anything. Tutelavides quickly pinched himself. He was awake. Still, this was ridiculous...how was it even possible?
"What is this, some sort of prank?" Tutelavides rubbed his eyes, trying to get the beg to disappear. "I really need to get more sleep..."
"It's no prank, tutela." the bag spoke again.
"Yeah, sure. Just a bunch of talking pretzels sent to my room. Real funny, guys."
"If this was a prank, how am I talking to you?" the bag responded.
"I don't know, a mic attached somewhere?" Tutelavides reached over to turn on the lamp.
"DON'T TOUCH THE LIGHTS!" the bag snarled. "I prefer the dark. I reminds me of my childhood, packaged in this bag, in a box for shipping."
The bag jumped up on Tutelavides's bed and looked at him intently. If this was a prank, they'd trained the bag well. Maybe he was hallucinating after all...might as well make the most of it, then...wait, what was he thinking? Wasn't a midnight snack a bit much? He had to maintain his slim figure...still, he could make an exception...Tutelavides noticed that the bag was making odd glances at his stomach. He gasped and quickly covered up his rumbling tummy with a pillow.
"A little nervous?" the bag asked.
"I don't know...what if this is real? I can't shake the feeling that it is, no matter how nonsensical it may seem."
"Well tutela, I am real. I came because...well, I've been observing you...and I think I can trust you, even though you are hungry. I just don't know where else to go."
"Trust me? With what?" Tutelavides asked curiously.
The bag crickled up and rested his head on Tutelavides's lap. "This isn't easy for me to admit, but...it's my packaging. I got stuck in the machine today, and it's all torn. It hurts so much..."
Tutelavides examined the bag nervously. "It's okay. Maybe we can get you to a hospital?..."
"No!" the bag hissed. "I don't trust the people there, and I don't want their treatment. Nobody else can eat me, if they notice I'm damaged goods."
"Okay, but...why did you come to me?"
"Because you're different from the others. Some people avoid me, or think I'm a freak for being so twisty and oddly-shaped. Do you have any idea how hard it is to be a pretzel sometimes?" the bag sighed.
"It's okay buddy, I'll get you fixed up." Tutelavides got up and fumbled around for some tape. "I don't think I packed any, sorry. But I could get another bag to put you in..."
"That would be nice, I guess."
Tutelavides walked out into the hall, wondering if he was going crazy. Did he really just have a conversation with a pretzel? And if it was all just in his head, why did it seem so real? Maybe he should get things checked out when he got back home...
Tutelavides returned with a plastic bag. The pretzel sat up and hopped over happily as Tutelavides placed him inside.
"That feels a little better...thanks" the pretzel added hesitantly.
"Heh, anything to help..."
The pretzel jumped up against Tutelavides again, but quickly pulled back.
"Is the bag too small?" Tutelavides asked.
"Nah...it's just that I'm having second thoughts about being here, now..."
"Why's that? You said you could trust me, after all."
The pretzel nodded. "But I shouldn't have come here, anyway. This goes against all my principles, to not be accompanied by some salt or cheese or what have you."
"It's all right, I'm sure you'll still taste good." Tutelavides answered, still wondering if the current conversation he was having meant he needed help. Tutelavides shifted around and the bag slipped out of his hands.
"Dammit, I'm so clumsy." Some of the pretzels had broken, and now there were crumbs all over his pants. "I'll have to clean this up and get some more."
"Your pants are all dirty now...here, let me help." The pretzel hopped on Tutelavides's lap and dusted it off. Tutelavides tensed up a bit but didn't resist. For some reason, he half-expected the pretzel to make this move. The pretzel shook slightly, and Tutelavides's stomach growled.
"Erm...thanks..." Tutelavides mumbled. After a bit of silence, he spoke again. "Are we going to...?"
The pretzel looked away. "Maybe...that is, if it's what you want..."
"Well, do you want to?" Tutelavides asked. Both were waiting for the other one to make the next move.
The pretzel looked at the floor timidly. "Yes..." He slowly looked up and saw Tutelavides open his mouth wide.
The pretzel leapt into his mouth. Tutelavides lay back and savored the flavor. Tutelavides reached down and grabbed some more pretzels, while his mouth went up and down, up and down...
The bag quickly pulled back and hopped off the bed. Tutelavides sat up and wondered where the pretzels had gone off to.
"What's the matter, almost empty?"
"Almost" the bag admitted. "But that's not why I quit. Your hand was bumping against my tear, and...it still hurts."
"Well, we could try something else..."
The bag opened up in response. Tutelavides got up and reached into his suitcase.
"This won't be...uncomfortable for you, will it?" Tutelavides asked as he grabbed a chip clip.
"No...it's fine, tutela."
In a moment the tear in the bag was sealed again. Tutelavides munched on the remaining pretzels, smacking his lips and grinning, going at it until the bag was empty. The two collapsed on the bed and held each other close.
The bag gently crinkled up against Tutelavides's forehead. "I hope I...pleased you, tutela."
"That was great" Tutelavides said, as he went to throw out the bag. Tutelavides could feel a few crumbs at the bottom between his fingers. He tilted his head back and emptied the crumbs into his mouth. The bag shook happily in response. The bag crumpled up and released the last of its crumbs down Tutelavides's throat.
Content but thorougly thirsty from the goings on, Tutelavides tossed out the bag and burped. As he lay there on the bed with the pretzels in his stomach, he slowly drifted off to sleep, thinking about what had just happened.
---
Ferret walked down the hall one last time. He could've sworn he had heard someone calling out for help, but he didn't know which room the cry had come from. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to investigate, but he had to see if anyone was in trouble.
"It was coming from around here, I just know it" Ferret said to himself. "But it's late, and I don't want to go knocking on random doors..."
A loud crinkling sound startled him. Ferret quickly ran to where he heard the sound, and knocked on the door.
"Anybody in there need help!?" Ferret shouted. No answer. Inside, Tutelavides was too busy munching loudly to notice Ferret's knocks.
"I can't believe I'm doing this..." Ferret took a few steps back and prepared to kick the door down. There was no time to get help. Who knows, someone could be having a heart attack, and every second counted.
Tutelavides woke up with a fright as Ferret knocked in the door. Ferret quickly shielded his eyes as he caught a glimpse of Tutelavides's blackness. The draft blew the bag under the bed, while Tutelavides ducked down behind it.
"Damn you racists!" Tutelavides blurted out as Ferret wrapped a white blanket around himself. "I mean...CAN'T YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE FOR ONE DAY!!" Ferret realized he needed to be more tolerant of other races and started to back out of the room out of guilt, but Tutelavides reached out and wrapped his arms around Ferret's leg.
"I'll have you charged for a hate crime!" Tutelavides yelled, as he lay before Ferret. The bag hid itself under the bed, so Ferret wouldn't notice the trash and mistakenly believe that black people lived in filth.
"So you were just having...a midnight snack?" Ferret asked, realizing it was wrong to assume Tutelavides was engaged in some criminal activity just because he was African-American. A breeze blew in from outside and blew the pretzel bag out the door.
"Hey!" Ferret ran down the hall after the bag. As he rounded the corner, he bumped into Tails.
"Ouch! Dagnabbit, watch where you're going, ya egghead!" Tails rubbed his aching head. "I already got punched there today, and now this...again..."
"Sorry, Tails. I was just chasing after a pretzel bag. Did it come through here?"
"A pretzel bag? What are you talking about? I thought the vending machine downstairs was out of them."
"It must've blown the other way, then." Ferret looked down and noticed a small pile of salt on the floor.
"Yeah, that's just, um, some garbage. This bag must have a rip in it somewhere..." Tails picked up the garbage bag he had dropped and rushed down the hall.
"Well, goodnight!" Ferret called out. He slowly walked back to Tutelavides's room, hoping Tutelavides wouldn't sue him. Great, now he'd have to pay for two broken doors...just how was he going to explain all this to the management?
Spinning round and round like the deadly hands of a radium clock. 
