The rugrats have gotten older. In the past four years, a lot has changed. Miss O'Keats married principal Pangborn. Now, she is Mrs. Pangborn, drama coach at Yucaipa High. Charlotte has gained her CEO title back at Mega Corp and is keeping Jonathan as her lackey once more. Randy Carmichael has reinvented the Dummi Bears cartoon, now appealing to kids and teens alike. Chuckie's braces have come off; he is single and looking. The rugrats' toddler-hood rivals have returned: Timmy, Terry, Todd, Ty and Teddy McNulty.
Angelica, Susie, Harold, Savannah, Chuckie, Timmy, Kimi, Lil, Tommy, Phil and Dil are the eleven members of the school's drama club. Angelica, Susie, Harold, Savannah, Chuckie and Timmy are seniors. Angelica and Savannah are sometimes late to their jobs on Wednesdays due to cheerleading. Angelica has an internship at Mega Corp with her mom, mostly organizing files and bossing people around. Though her title is an intern, she still gets paid. Susie has a job at the concession stand at the Octo Plex. Harold dresses like Ringo the Bull at Piggy's Pizza Palace after school. Savannah works at Blockblister, at the mall. Chuckie also works in the mall, in a Pear Company shop. Timmy recently started a job at Skybucks, after his last three-month job at Waldo's Wacky World Pets Shop. Fridays are spent at drama club.
Kimi and Lil are juniors. Kimi maintains a dual job. She works at the mall at Blessed Buy three days a week. Fridays are for drama club, then the rest is spent at the Java Lava. Lil also works at the mall, in Build-a-Bra. Tommy, Phil and Dil are sophomores. Tommy has Junior Filmmakers' Club Tuesdays and Drama Club Fridays; the rest of the time is spent at the Java Lava. Phil works at Zippy's Deli. His best desserts are chocolate clairs and flan. Dil doesn't have a job. He has Poetry Club on Mondays, Extra-Terrestrial Enthusiasts on Tuesdays, Glee Club on Wednesdays, Laser Tag on Thursdays, Drama Club on Fridays, and Creative Expressionism on Saturdays.
The Drama Club has a big musical showdown against sixteen others in the state. It had come down between Yucaipa High, Mothersbaugh Academy, Klasky Christian School and the Csupo Facility. In fourth place... Klasky Christian School. In third place... Csupo Facility. And the winner is... Yucaipa High. Their award is an all-expenses-paid trip for seven weeks this semester in Paris, France. It is currently the first week of February. They will return to school on the first week of April and their averages in school will remain the same, so as not to jostle other grades. Susie, Chuckie, Lil and Dil make straight As. Angelica, Savannah, Kimi and Tommy make mostly Bs. Harold has a B-C average. Timmy and Phil have C-D averages.
On the shuttle to the airport the following week, Mrs. Pangborn informs everyone they will be splitting in groups of two. Since there are twelve of them, they will be drawing straws to choose which six of them will be riding in first class on the way there. The other six will be riding first class on the way back. Savannah, Phil, Dil, Tommy, Timmy and Pangborn will be riding first class to Paris.
"Have any of you ever been to Paris, France before?" Pangborn asks her fellow first classmen.
"I went here when I was a baby." Tommy responds almost instantly. "Me, Dil, Chuckie, Angelica... we all came about fifteen years ago so my dad could fix the Reptar robot in Euro Reptarland."
"Funny you should mention that." She smiles. "We'll be going to that exact amusement park. It's been redone last summer."
In coach, Kimi has a window seat next to Harold. Susie has a window seat behind them, next to Angelica. Across from them, Lil has a window seat, next to Chuckie. Chuckie is holding onto his Wawa doll, fidgeting about his last trip to France. Lil is drumming her fingers on her soccer ball, feeling a bit uncomfortable. Susie is reading up on French customs, listening to a mix tape of translations. This is driving Angelica crazy. She pulls up, between Kimi and Harold.
"Excited about visiting your old home, Kimi?"
"I'd like to visit Euro Reptarland. Now that Coco's gone, we can enjoy the parade and watch the princess opera."
"Yech. Anything is better than being under that old lady's thumb. You know her little toadstool was tryna jam his fist down my throat because I ate some of Madam Bitch's chocolates?"
"What!?"
Angelica had been louder than she thought, due to rising anger when thinking about that Frenchwoman. Not only has Kimi and Harold heard this startling information, but also Susie, Lil, Chuckie and several other patrons. Though the strangers quickly went back to their tasks at hand, her friends are gaping at her with shock and interest.
"Did that really happen?" Chuckie breaks the silence.
Angelica looks at the floor, trying to hold in tears. "Yes. That's when I came up with the idea of her marrying your dad. I was just trying to save my own ass."
Susie gives Angelica a hug. Kimi and Harold reach over to give her one as well. Lil reaches across the aisle to grasp Angelica's hand in a somewhat prayer vibe. A snooty elderly plane woman walks up to the arm bridge.
"Oh, look. A heartfelt tug on girly affections. Unfortunately, the union forbids me to allow this to happen." She forcibly pulls them apart. "I better not see that again."
As she walks away, Lil and Chuckie watch with sudden remembrance and realization. Susie places her French things in her bag as Angelica reaches into her own for a pillow and her worn-out Cynthia doll.
"You've still got her?" Susie asks gently and knowingly.
"She's special." Angelica nods. "Cynthia's the only one I've ever told about that whole 'chocolate fist' thing... until just now."
"That's a pretty big secret to keep all to yourself, yourselves." She pats Angelica's shoulder. "It's okay. I keep secrets between me and my diary."
"I tell secrets to Super Thing." Kimi pipes up. "He's in my bag."
"I talk to Wawa, Angelica."
"I talk to my soccer ball." Lil holds up to rugged ball she had gotten as a fifth birthday present. "And Phil still has our old Reptar doll. I've heard him talking to it like it was alive."
"Tommy talks to his plastic screwdriver." Kimi speaks up again. "I've seen it happen."
In first class, everyone has a recliner to themselves. Pangborn and Savannah are asleep, undergoing spa treatments. Phil is on his fourth course of ethnic foods he's never tried. Tommy is filming the other travelers, claiming it for his big school year project. Timmy is hassling other passengers and snagging foods from sleepers. Dil has his area wrapped in aluminum foil, listening to Scandinavian music and trying to understand the message hidden in layers of crab cakes.
"Have you a title?" A woman in her twenties asks in a thick French accent.
"Uh, no." Tommy is taken aback.
"Become something of flair and judgment." She answers. "Films express the repressed fears of the director. Embrace them."
"Yes, Ma'am." He answers, liking the poetic justice.
"Do not call me ma'am. I am hardly older than the director."
"Yes, okay."
His face covers in a blush. Tommy walks away, stumbling into Timmy. The redhead grumbles some sort of profanity then looks up to more or less meet Tommy in the eye. He has a good seven inches on Tommy.
"Got a girlfriend?" He chuckles, motioning to the woman now seemingly attempting for a suntan.
"No, we were just talking."
"Talking about getting in her pants?"
"Shut up, Timmy."
"Whatever, Tommy. Plane Chick says we got two hours and we're landing."
"It seems like so much longer this way around."
Phil walks over, wearing a lobster bib with stains galore. Timmy shoves him on sight. Phil doesn't get mad but shoves right back.
"I sorta 'member last time. We got kicked outta first class. You, me, Lil..."
"And Chuckie and Angelica." Yeah, somehow I can remember that too. "I don't really remember much about the trip, though."
"Did you go on any rides? Or see the opera?" Savannah walks over, waiting for answers.
"We went on the Ooey Gooey World. But we abandoned it to looks for the princess."
"Then we thought the princess was singing 'bout Reptar," Phil adds. "But then we saw it was Coco."
"Coco?" Savannah raises an eyebrow.
"Coco LaBouche." Dil answers from his corner. "I've been told this story lots of times, lots of ways. The way I see it, I was real young,"
"Six months." Tommy interrupts.
"And this crazy lady was tryna marry Chas. She sent her idiot assistant to basically kidnap and maybe kill us since she hates kids. And Angelica helped the woman 'cause she 'really didn't have a choice.' A giant Reptar robot 'sploded and Chuckie stopped the wedding."
Savannah, Pangborn and several other strangers look over at Dil in disbelief. They see honesty on Phil's face and whine. Tommy is telling the truth as well. It must be true. They are shell-shocked.
After a while, the rugrats go back to whatever they were doing, aside from Timmy and Tommy. Both boys catch a window seat and take a nap. In coach, everyone is asleep. Chuckie has Wawa, Angelica has Cynthia and Lil is cuddling with her soccer ball. Susie has been writing in her journal. Harold is asleep against the window; Kimi is asleep on his shoulder. The next few hours go by slowly.
Okay, well, I hope you guys like this story. I'm working on the next chapter already but there's no schedule... Review! (::) (::)
