Manny felt cheated! He wasn't even given the chance to explain himself.
I demand to be given the chance to explain myself," Manny argued with Sid the Snake.
"Your time is up, you should have spoken when you were given a chance, now, it's too late!"
"Thank you animals once again for coming here and gracing me with your presence on behalf of this human boy. He will follow the bees to his new home and learn how to live like them," Sid the Snake said.
"This meeting has been adjourned.
The eagle teleported back to her cave and little by little, the animals began to disperse to their habitats.
The frog queen walked up to where Manny, Mrs Jane, Perrie and Dickson were standing and she looked at him as if to say, 'it serves you right.'
"Don't stare at me like that. Your face looks very unbearable," Manny insultingly said to the frog.
"Quest one given, apologize to the frog queen and earn her respect," the system instructed Manny.
"I hope you know you are now at our mercy and I can slap the hell out of you?" Mrs Frog questioned as she bulged her very large eyes at Manny.
What?! Was he just supposed to stand there and allow this lady to insult him from head to toe?
"You know, after the bees are done with you, the ants will have you and after the ants are done with you, the roaches will have you and after the roaches are done with you, you'll be in my pond: when you arrive, you will know the true meaning of wickedness."
Mrs Jane just let the woman do her thing. She allowed her to continue speaking and airing out her frustration. She was once in the woman's shoes.
It wasn't even him that broke her son's legs, it was his friend Tommy that was responsible for that particular crime. He remembered when it happened and he had no hand in it.
"My son….his future was so bright. He had a whole future ahead of him and you came along to spoil it. Now my Fred is limping on only one leg. How is he supposed to lead his people in battle with just one leg?" Mrs Frog whimpered and bent on the ground in a dramatic way.
Mrs Jane rolled her eyes and Perrie stifled a laugh. Dickson was almost in tears. The whole scene was so funny.
Frogs were known for being very dramatic,
"But, I did not break your son's legs. I swear, it was not me. My friend is the one responsible for that.
"Shut up!" The frog yelled and used her staff to hit Manny close to his right antenna.
Manny closed his eyes in pain. He was now the size of the frog, even smaller so he could not fight her. He had no power over her.
He was about to fire back at the queen with insults when the system revealed his rewards.
"EXTRA TEN POINTS WILL BE ADDED IF QUEST IS COMPLETED AND RESPECT FOR LIVING THINGS WILL INCREASE BY ONE PERCENT."
"I'm so sorry ma'am. Forgive me. Next time, my friends and I will do better," Manny said politely.
All the insects and reptiles that stood close to Manny bulged their eyes in surprise.
Was the human bully really apologizing? This looked unreal.
"I am also sorry about your son Fred. I want you to know that it was never my intention to hurt him. If I were present with him, I would've loved to give him a massage if I were there."
"You should try making him drink some lemongrass tea. He will recover in no time," Manny also advised.
"QUEST COMPLETED AND EXTRA TEN POINTS HAS BEEN REWARDED TO THE HOST. RESPECT FOR LIVING THINGS HAVE ALSO CLIMBED BY ONE PERCENT," the system announced.
Only Manny could hear what the system was saying.
Mrs Jane and other animal leaders could monitor the system and Manny's statistics from the control panels in their habitats.
What Manny did not know was that the system could also see his heart and inform the animals. It was not everything the system showed to him but it showed the animals the part of Manny's response to the system and the depth of Manny's heart.
Manny did what was unthinkable. He walked up to Mrs frog and hugged her. She felt really cold and slimy but she smelt like mint and her body was a bit sticky.
"BRAVO! HOST HAS BEEN AWARDED ONE POINT FOR INTELLIGENCE AND TEN POINTS FOR EMPATHY AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE. HE IS NOW A LEVEL ONE USER!" The system awarded Manny.
Manny smiled in his heart. He could not wait for this to be over so he could go home and forget about all of it.
Luna the butterfly flew from her seat and stood in approval of what was happening. She felt so proud.
"I told you he had good inside of him. I believe in him," she remarked as she fluttered her wings in excitement.
Many looked at her like he was staring at someone familiar. "You.. I recognise you. I helped you last month when you had a broken wing! Wow! You look so beautiful.
Luna the butterfly blushed at the compliment and Perrie the bee felt a bit of jealousy.
"Let's wrap it up girl, it's time for us to go home."
Perrie turned on the teleport machine and before they left, the worm and the butterfly waved at them.
"Bye Manny! We will definitely see each other again!" Her voice was loud and shrill.
In a blink of an eye, they reached Mrs Jane's apartment and Perrie and Dickson said their goodbyes.
Mrs Jane went to take a shower and the kids came rallying around Manny. They began to bombard him with different questions and requests. He barely even had time to think!
"Will you play pollen games with us?" Drake the bee asked Manny.
Manny refused at first but with constant pestering he accepted.
"Okay, can you show me how this thing works?"
Drake ran to his room and brought out the games and his mother stopped him and his siblings on their way back to Manny's room.
"Will you allow the boy to sleep? He has a long day ahead of him tomorrow. And you should be in bed."
She walked to Manny's room to tuck him into bed. The room had a honey air conditioner so the temperature was right. Manny actually felt good!
"Mrs Jane?" Manny called just as she was about to turn off the light in his room.
"You've done a good job, well done."
"Thank you Manny, goodnight."
Mrs Jane smiled back at him and turned off the light in Manny's room before closing the door.
She was shocked. Was he really turning a new leaf or was it all a joke?