�Please, make yourself as comfortable as possible, �Dr. Cronk said as he entered the room and closed the door. But Mark continued to sporadically hop from one couch to another.
Dr. Cronk tried again. �If you would take a seat, we can begin to tackle your problem.�
�Tackle?!� Mark screeched. �TACKLE?! I�ve been tackled by a tabby cat enough times for the both of us! Please, no more.�
�Would you like to tell my what happen today?� Dr. Cronk asked as calmly and carefully as he knew how. Mark paused from his random monkey acts to focus his attention on the doctor. He was now officially covered with a thin layer of sweat and the skirt of his mother�s sundress was clinging to the insides of his thighs. The make-up he had applied to cover his blemishes was smearing and running in a downward direction. Somebody hand the poor kid a towel!
Mark collapsed on the couch next to the doctor and began to bawl out a detailed review of his day.
�Sound like you have a case of very bad luck. I know what we�ll do! I�ll send you to Madame Foo-Faw for some luck potion.� Said the doctor as he scribbled on a little prescription paper. Mark�s head began to reel, could this man be serious?
�Her name is Foo-Faw?� Asked Mark a bit stunned.
The doctor�s reply was even stranger then his advice. �Her name we can�t pronounce in any human language. She came here long ago from a distant galaxy and now makes potions to improve our sorry race.�
Mark began to wonder who needed more therapy, him or the doctor. However, he was not in the mood to ask questions, so he took the paper the doctor gave him and went to the address instructed.
The place had a giant brass knocker, which Mark knocked with three times. An old hag opened up the door, and with nothing much to say, Mark handed her the doctor�s note. She snatched it from him and read it greedily. Mark did not like how her eyes lit up and scanned over him with glee after she read the note. Giggling and shaking all over she hustled him inside.
He stepped through the door just before it shut with a slam. Mark found himself standing before a massive staircase. Stairs led up a branched off to different wings and stairs led down to who-know-where.
He felt someone breathing at the back of his neck and with one shove, Mark was tumbling down the stairs to who-knows-where. Thump! Thump! Thud! SPLAT! Mark flew off the last step and landed face first on the floor beneath. One would think after such a fall, Mark would be unconscious. But alas, he was not. He was also well aware of the throbbing pain at his temple and the taste of blood in his mouth. This is when he noticed that he could see nothing but blackness.Beginning to panic, Mark waved a hand in front of his face but still saw nothing; not even a hint of movement. Fearing the worst, Mark prepared himself for the thought of being forever blind.
A switch flipped and... "Holy cow! Who found the 5000-watt light bulb?!" Mark was suddenly flooded with blinding white. Covering his eyes and with a yelp of pain, he stumbled forward to mumble a few greetings at a nearby wall, which he had blundered into while trying to escape the light. He heard an evil chuckle coming from behind him.
