Chapter 3: A Slice of Relief

The doorbell rang again, and Harry's eyes met Link's. "I'll get it," Link said, bounding towards the door with a enthusiasm that made Harry chuckle. When Link opened the door, a smiling young man with a messy mop of hair and a warm smile stood on the porch, holding a steaming hot pizza. "Hey there, I've got a delivery for... Harry?" Link's face lit up. "Oh, Pizza Pete! Me love Pizza Pete!" He flung his arms around the pizza delivery guy, nearly knocking him off balance. Pizza Pete laughed, patting Link on the back. "Hey, buddy! Good to see you too. I've got your usual order right here." He held out the pizza, and Link eagerly took it from him. As Harry came over to take the pizza, Pizza Pete nodded at him. "Hey, Harry. You know, I was just thinking about the grammar of your average sentence, and I was comparing it to the grammar of that little creature from 1998... you know, the one from the movie?" Harry raised an eyebrow. "You mean Gremlin?" Pizza Pete nodded. "That's the one! But, I mean, what's the connection between sentence structure and... and those little creatures? I find it puzzling, to be honest." Meanwhile, Emily had been watching the exchange with interest. "I'm so sorry to intrude on your lives like this," she said, "but I think I should explain how I ended up with... um... a group of gremlins after me." Harry gestured for her to continue, and Emily took a deep breath. "You see, they're not actually gremlins normally. They're... well, they were supposed to be Mogwai. My brother's Mogwai. He left them with me to take care of while he went on vacation to Bulgaria, and I was supposed to follow the rules: never expose them to direct sunlight, never get them wet, and never feed them after midnight." Link's eyes widened. "You feed them after midnight?" Emily nodded. "I'm afraid I did. I was trying to help them, but I didn't realize... and now they've turned into gremlins. And they're not just any gremlins, they're the mischievous kind. They've been causing trouble all over town, and I'm afraid my brother is going to be furious when he gets back." Harry's eyes met Link's, and they both chuckled. "Well, I think we can help you deal with the gremlins," Harry said. "But first, let's eat this pizza. I'm starving." As they sat down to eat, Pizza Pete smiled and shook his head. "You guys have a weird life." He turned to leave, but not before Link called out, "Pizza Pete! Come back soon! Me love Pizza Pete!" Pizza Pete laughed and waved goodbye, still looking puzzled about the grammar comparison.