[Zim is putting his human disguise on, getting ready for skool. GIR is
 doing backflips for some reason.]

ZIM: Stupid, stupid, stupid nightmares. I HATE them! I go to skool,
     something weird happens, I get freaked out, and it starts over
     again!
GIR: Awww, don't be sad, master. I don't think this is a dream.
ZIM: Do you even know what a dream IS?
GIR: Ummm... Issa kind of fish, right?
ZIM: Stop talking, GIR.

[A long pause. Zim hiccups. Soap bubbles float out of his mouth.]

ZIM: Hmm... What if I just didn't GO to skool? If this IS a dream,
     then no one will care. If it isn't, well, they can survive
     without me for a single day. And there are some chores I've been
     meaning to do...

------

[Close-up shot of a piece of paper that has on it what can only be a
 to-do list. Focus on one line, which is just a bunch of Irken
 gibberish. Subtitle: "POLISH SATELLITE RECEIVER"]

[Scene: the roof of Zim's house. A bungee cord stretching from the
 satellite dish to his neck, Zim stands on the roof and washes the
 dish with a bucket and brush. Time passes. Zim slips and falls to his
 death. NO! Not true! He slips and falls, bounces, then lands in the
 dish, coughing and hacking.]

------

[Close-up on the to-do list. "POLISH SATELLITE RECEIVER" has been
 checked off. Next entry: "RECALIBRATE THE MAIN POWER GENERATOR"]

[Scene: the center of Zim's fortress. Zim is standing in front of a
 computer screen; said screen is embedded in the wall, next to a huge
 Tesla-coil-looking thing.]

ZIM: GIR! On! [a quiet whirring noise; Zim examines the screen] Hmm.
     Off! [the whirring stops] Interesting. On! [whir] Off! [no whir]
     I see. [Zim taps the screen several times.] Once more, then.

[Scene: the kitchen. GIR is standing next to the blender.]

ZIM: [off-screen] On! [GIR turns the blender on]

------

[The to-do list. Next: "DEFEAT THE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN A BATTLE
 OF WITS"]

[Scene: Zim stands in the middle of the living room.]

ZIM: Chicken!
COMPUTER: Egg.
ZIM: Chicken!
COMPUTER: Egg.
ZIM: Chicken!
COMPUTER: Egg.
ZIM: Apples!
COMPUTER: Oranges.
ZIM: Apples!
COMPUTER: Oranges.
ZIM: Apples!
COMPUTER: Oranges.
ZIM: Irresistable force!
COMPUTER: Immovable object.
ZIM: Irresistable force!
COMPUTER: Immovable object.
ZIM: Irresistable force!
COMPUTER: Immovable object.
ZIM: Buy!
COMPUTER: Sell.
ZIM: Buy!
COMPUTER: Sell.
ZIM: Buy!
COMPUTER: Sell.
ZIM: Zero!
COMPUTER: One.
ZIM: Zero!
COMPUTER: One.
ZIM: Zero!
COMPUTER: One.
ZIM: Drrrrrr...

------

[The to-do list. The previous entry has been scratched off the list.
 Next: "PLAY WITH GIR"]

[Scene: the public park. Zim and GIR (both disguised) are running
 along the dirt path. Every few seconds Zim will pull a taco out of
 the bag he's holding and toss it to GIR, who leaps up into the air to
 catch and eat them.]

------

[The to-do list. Next: "CHECK UP ON THE FRAMMISTAT PARTICLE
 GENERATOR"]

[Scene: Zim looks around one of the many underground rooms in his
 fortress with a confused look on his face. Time passes.]

ZIM: What the heck *is* a "Frammistat Particle Generator" anyway?

------

[The to-do list. Next: "UPGRADE THE PAK"]

[Scene: Zim is making some modifications to his pak. A few seconds
 pass.]

ZIM: GIR, get me a wrench, would you?
GIR: Okay! [runs off]

------

[Scene: Zim's home base.]

ZIM: [wakes up, screaming] AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
     [pant, pant] Oh, come on! I wasn't even scared!

------------------

Named After Black Horses, chapter 5
http://www.forresterlabs.com/fanfiction/InvaderZIM/NamedAfterBlackHorses/
2003-03-22 -- Completed

< Previous Chapter: Mark Four: Short but immensely painful
> Next Chapter: Mark Six: Desperation's Peak! No, not a lame suspense
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