Tally Tots X

                       “What is this place?” excitement is evident in Andrew’s voice.

                      “Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum,” Ross announces proudly.

                      “How did you find it?” Joe asks, his eyes practically popping out of his head.

                      “My family came here last week,” Ross is clearly happy about the awestruck expressions on most of his friends’ face.

                      “What is it, exactly?” Zubin is the only skeptic in the bunch. He crosses his arms and looks expectantly at Ross.

                      “It’s only one of the funnest places in the history of ever,” Ross rolls his eyes as he states the obvious.

                      “Of course it is,” Zubin remains unconvinced by his buddy’s assessment of the building in front of them.

                      “Why don’t we just go in and see?” Rob suggests as he heads towards the door.

                      “Yeah, now you will see how AWESOME this place is,” Ross assures Zubin.

                      The five boys head into Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum together. There are devices of all shapes and sizes. Wonders practically cover the entire space, each more interesting than the last. The poor boys have their attention pulled in every direction at once. There is no way that they can decide all together about where to start. Lights flash and sounds emit from the various machines.

                      Andrew heads straight for something called The Guillotine. He watches as the doors open and reveal a beheading. Joe makes a beeline for something called The Price of Chickens. He is riveted to the glass as the wooden parts move. One lady moves her mouth. The other lady pulls a chicken out of a container and then puts it back. Rob is drawn to Marvin’s Lunch Time. There are two scenes in that machine. One depicts sailors cutting up food. The other one shows a guy eating spaghetti in a bathtub with sauce coming out of the faucet. Zubin finds a machine that shows a circus. He giggles as the ringmaster almost gets his head bit off by a pair of lions. Ross makes his way to a machine that he wanted to see the last time he was there, but did not have time to. It is called Invasion of the Body Snatchers. He peeks through the viewing hole and watches the scene unfold of an alien replacing a man on a trolley.

                      “Man, you were right,” Zubin admits when they all cross paths again.

                      “I told you that this place is great,” Ross gloats.

                      “I can’t believe that we have never been here before,” Rob shakes his head in amazement.

                      “I know, right,” Andrew adds.

                      “We might have to come back here”¦a lot,” Zubin informs his friends.

                      “Uh-huh,” the other four agree.

                      “Hey, what’s that one?” Joe’s eye catches on a particular machine.

                      The five of them head over. The name on the machine is The Disgusting Spectacle. They watch, wide-eyed, as the man inside the glass has his pointer finger raised and proceeds to place that finger in his nose. Five little fingers point and start to make the same trip in unison.

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