It was Tuesday afternoon when I decided to make my move. After sitting through three hours worth of lectures in Guidance Counseling and World Literature, I rode a jeepney and went to SM Cebu, a huge mall in the city. I arrived at the venue 10 minutes later, and I walked around the mall to find the McDonald's restaurant inside.

As I went nearer and nearer to the popular fast food chain, I saw their poster for Kung Fu Panda. I started to worry. Are they still offering Kung Fu Panda toys in their Happy Meals? Will my trip to the mall be pointless then? I arrived at the restaurant. I took a look at their lighted signs on the top. Then, I felt extremely relieved when I saw the image I wanted to see.

It was Conan. The little hero from Detective Conan (Case Closed). Recently, McDonald's is offering Detective Conan toys for their Happy Meals. When I first heard about it, I was ecstatic. This was not something you see everyday in the Philippines. Naruto and Bleach are the anime shows that dominate the airwaves here, so it was surprising to see that they're offering Conan toys. I thought about all the other popular anime shows out there, and how great it is to see that Conan was the one that they decided to create Happy Meal toys on. I mean, you don't see any Death Note Happy Meals now, do you? "What the heck?!" I said to myself then. "I'll buy those things."

I went to the short queue inside. An employee asked for my order. "A Burger Happy Meal for take-out," I nervously replied. "My toy will be the green one." She then writes it down on a special piece of paper. She tears it from her pad and gives it to me. My nervousness slowly evaporated.

I can't help but be nervous then. I mean, why would a physically mature 18-year-old man taking up a college course in Psychology go to McDonald's and buy a toy that's usually reserved for innocent little kids? Wouldn't that be quite odd? That explains why I ordered it for take-out; I didn't want children to go to me while eating my burger and say, "Haha! You ordered a Happy Meal!" That also explains why I ordered for "the green toy" instead of saying "the Challenges from Conan toy"; I wanted to look like a clueless big brother buying a Happy Meal for his little otaku brother, instead of looking like a grown-up anime geek buying toys at a fast food chain to feed his craving.

"But it's Conan dammit!" I said to myself. "Besides, who ever said Happy Meals are only for kids?"

I arrived at the counter and gave my paper slip. She then processed it in her register. I handed out my money, and waited for my change and my Happy Meal. Later, I got all I needed to get and immediately left the scene of the crime (?).

I find a bench and sat there for some time. I took out my burger and ate it. I took out my Coke and drank it. I took out my new Detective Conan toy and --- well, I reserved it for playtime in my home. As I ate my little burger and drank my cold cup of Coke, I thought about my nearly seven years as a loyal fan of the series. Sure, I never did get to update myself that much with the story due to limited resources and because of fear that Conan will be upset if I bought a bootleg, but he remained my number one hero nonetheless. Because of him, I was more determined to think smart, to be a high school valedictorian, to live my life well, to get myself away from my childhood depression, and to get a girlfriend soon (the last being extremely unlikely in the near future). If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be where I am right now in my life. Basically, he was like the big brother I never had.

After consuming my burger-and-Coke lunch, I decided it was time for me to go home. After stopping over at my college to settle some important matters, I rode a jeepney to my home. When I arrived home I quickly went to my bedroom, with my new toy in hand. I opened it and played at the three little games that it had to offer. Using the LED pen that was included in the package, I solved the maze game, the target dart game, and the multiple choice game.

I never had this privilege of a Detective Conan Happy Meal in my childhood years. As I played the toy, I felt like a kid once again. It was like the toy had some of that child-transforming drug that Conan was forced to take.

I took one more look at my toy. I was very happy. It felt really great to be a Detective Conan fan.